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Life, Learning & Writing

The most popular blog posts about life, learning & writing on Hacker News. 8,929 posts.

Any year
2260

Surviving Burnout (2015)

The first thing I know about burnout is this: burnout happens when we become locked in a cycle of caring about the results of our actions but having no meaningful control over those outcomes. I first learned this while reading about social workers, but the problem is abdundant in tech. I’ve seen it play out in every…

2269

We Make Mistakes

We’ve just finished reviewing applications for the Winter 2015 batch and have sent out invitations for interviews. In this cycle we saw a +40% increase in the number of companies applying over the Summer 2014 batch. Reviewing this many companies is a humbling experience and one we take very seriously. Most of us who…

2270

I Got My Attention Back (2017)

There are a thousand beautiful ways to start the day that don’t begin with looking at your phone. And yet so few of us choose to do so. Technology is commanding our attention in infinite, insurmountable loops. A country trip off-grid helped me escape.

2274

William Gibson Reads Neuromancer (2004)

The author Ray Bradbury is one of the early science fiction authors that moved science fiction into a literary form. As a writer Bradbury constructs beautifully written stories and novels. Bradbury's writing is in stark contrast to Bradbury as a speaker. The first time I heard Ray Bradbury speak was at the Association…

2277

A world without power

The 14th of August, 2003 was an interesting day in many ways. I’d just taken the family down to Toronto to spend a day there and pick up our newly minted passports at the Dutch embassy. We had some fun in the city seeing the sights, visited Niagara Falls and were on the way back on a sunny August thursday afternoon…