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Life, Learning & Writing
The most popular blog posts about life, learning & writing on Hacker News. 8,933 posts.
So long, and thanks for all the fish
Really sad to hear the news, guys. Wish you both the best in your future endeavors.
Doing is normally distributed, learning is log-normal
There are few things I think about more than the essays on gwern.net, and there are few with as satisfying a theoretical payout to contemplate in my orb as his essay on “leaky pipelines”, aka log-normal distributions. The skulk: Say you’re working on a Laravel web app. You’re about 90% sure you know how to start the…
Dave Täht has died
It is with heavy hearts that we report that Dave Täht has passed away.
Being Present: You have ten to twelve years to connect with your kids
I've recently come back to yoga after a five year hiatus. I didn't realize how much my body missed it. I stopped doing yoga because I couldn't handle the mental aspect of the practice. I struggle with being present mentally for 90 minutes. In fact, I find it impossible. Even as I've come back to […]
Writing for Engineers
This article is available as Korean- (thanks to longfin ) and Chineese- (thanks to webup ) translation.
Teaching how to code is broken
Typically: * Chapter 1: Types * Chapter 2: Variables * Chapter 3: Operators/Math * Chapter 4: Control structures * Chapter 5: Arrays * Chapter 6: Functions * Chapter 7: Structs * Chapter 8: Classes and Objects * Chapter 9: Methods * Chapter 10: Inheritance and Polymorphism * Chapter 11: Some advanced thing X * Chapter…
Gundam is just the same as Jane Austen but happens to include giant mech suits
A friend recently asked how to get started watching Gundam, and as I tripped all over myself, equal parts excitement and not wanting to sound like a
My ranking of every Shakespeare play
A few years ago I set out on a personal journey to study and watch a performance of each of Shakespeare’s 37 plays. I’ve reached my goal and, though it’s not a usual topic around here, I wanted to get my thoughts down while fresh. I absolutely loved some of these plays and performances, and so I’d like to highlight…
How to stay private when using Android
Android is one of Google’s most important tools for collecting data on users. This guide will help you improve your privacy on Android devices.
My love-hate affair with technology
Ten years ago I would have considered myself someone who was excited about new technology. I always had the latest smartphone, I would read the reviews of new…
Off the Grid
People choose to live off-grid for self-sufficiency, resilience, or ecological reasons. For us, to live off-grid, is mostly letting go of the numbing culture of convenience and surrounding ourselves with systems we trust for long transits across the ocean. When far away from the coasts, we have to rely on our vessel…
Keeping People
Written pieces, talks, and other bits by Zach Holman.
Leave work slightly unfinished for easier flow the next day
A breakdown of 4 simple software engineering and coding habits that improved my productivity. These include keyboard shortcuts, learning to say no, reaching flow state faster, and keeping a big book of commands handy.
2k-year-old wine and the uncanny immediacy of the past
Why artifacts like the Carmona Wine Urn, the Pazyryk Rug, and the Sword of Goujian are so important
“Well, He’s Not Going to Get Very Far”
Company culture is incredibly fragile. It's hard for founders/CEOs/execs to understand how little faith and trust people have in us when we stand up at a
Isolating complexity is the essence of successful abstractions
Complexity has to live somewhere; but it does not have to live everywhere.
Getting Ahead by Being Inefficient
Inefficient does not mean ineffective, and it is certainly not the same as lazy. You get things done – just not in the most effective way possible. You’re a bit sloppy, and use more energy. But don’t feel bad about it. There is real value in not being the best.
“A state of flow can be achieved by deep work”
The following article summarizes my lessons learned from the books Deep Work and Flow. It can be the way to achieve a fulfilled life. Cal Newport and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi have written outstanding books in their ...
What do new Sudoku techniques teach us about real-world problem solving?
What do revolutionary new Sudoku techniques teach us about real-world problem solving?
I'm a phony. Are you?
pho·ny also pho·ney (fō'nē) adj. pho·ni·er, pho·ni·est 1. a. Not genuine or ...
Obvious to you. Amazing to others.
Derek Sivers official site. Thoughts on philosophy, culture, self-improvement. Author of Useful Not True, How to Live, Hell Yeah or No, Anything You Want.