
Ask / Tell HN: dropped out, learning from books by myself... any advice? - afterz
Sorry for the grammar, I'm not a native English speaker.<p>I left university shortly before getting a bachelor degree in Computer Science. This happened some years ago; I did it because I was very busy with my own startup and I decided focusing on the startup was a better idea. Also, I noticed that I learned much faster by myself than on the university (though that university wasn't a very good one, so maybe it was worth dropping it anyway).<p>This is how things continue now: as I'm passionate about cs and maths, I keep buying undergraduate and graduate level books which I read cover to cover. Since I cannot spend too much doing this because I have other obligations now -I'm not a full time student-, depending on the book, it can be one to four months per book. I'm not focusing on exercises much so far, but rather on learning the concepts and general tools of the trade, which I try to apply whenever possible. So it's possible that a big part of what I read, even if I understand it, will be forgotten in some time, unless I find a way to apply it or to set it in my memory in a better way. I'm using spaced repetition for memorizing important equations and concepts that I don't want to forget though.<p>In the last two years I think I have learned a lot, at a pace slightly slower than that of university (though with a wider variety and more advanced texts maybe). I think I can keep learning this way, progressing to more and more advanced concepts.<p>I'm posting here because I don't know about any other person doing this kind of disciplined self teaching. I'm sure there has to be a lot of people doing this. Any advice from such people? Also, any advice or comments from people not doing this? Actually, all comments are welcome.
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steveklabnik
Don't read; do.

Reading is great, but it's a means to an end. Pick a project, work on it. When
you get stuck, read to figure out how to proceed.

But doing is worth a lot more than reading.

~~~
wings
This advice is spot on. I read a lot of books before I realized I wasn't
really challenging myself.

Actually putting something into practice will require hours of frustration
every day, but it will lead to actual learning.

Pick one project to work on, and no matter what: stick with it.

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julius_geezer
The danger of self-teaching is that it is easy to focus on what interests you
to the exclusion of things that you really ought to know but which don't grab
you the same way. I wish I could tell you how to avoid this danger, but I
can't. Perhaps you could browse sites of respected departments and see what
courses their students must take, and what the students are expected to learn
in the courses.

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Mz
Choose at least some books and other educational materials which appear to be
relevant to some real world problem you are trying to work on. But don't be
too strict about it. Following something that sparks your interest may bring
you the solution you didn't know you needed. Still, anything you can do to tie
it to real world goals will make it more memorable and useful.

Good luck with this.

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pasbesoin
User pkrumins has been doing a lot of self study, albeit more in computer
science and technology than maths, I believe. Perhaps some of his posts might
nonetheless prove interesting with regard to the meta-topic of self-study.

Kudos to you, from one who is slightly envious.

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afterz
Thanks everyone for your comments, they have been very useful!

