

Ask HN: What have you learned from Hacker News? - adsyoung

When I read the title of Paul's latest post "What I've Learned from Hacker News" I was hoping he was going to talk about what things he's learned from the stories and discussions here that stand out, not what he's learned about running the site itself. So I figured that may possibly make an interesting Ask HN question.<p>What important/useful things have you learned from the stories and discussions here that stand out to you?
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sofal
I've learned a lot about the nature of opinions. There are as many ways to
approach a subject as there are people. I've read several comment threads
where people were countering each other and yet I couldn't help but upmod both
sides because of the excellent points that each side made. It's refreshing to
see the different but valid perspectives. It adds color and breadth to
understanding. It's also a tad bit intimidating knowing that no matter what I
think, some smart person out there can poke holes in it if I try to
generalize.

I've also learned to react to others' opinions in a more thoughtful and
objective manner. The culture here encourages me to consider how people may
interpret what I say. People here will listen to you if you speak calmly and
rationally, even if you're misguided.

It's one thing to read comments written by people who know more about a
subject than I do. It's quite another thing to read comments that are crafted
with more emotional maturity and wisdom than I would have. That kind of
experience just does not happen to me on other social news sites, and it is
why I keep coming back here.

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mixmax
I learned to program :-)

I've always been curious and somewhat technically inclined, but also the guy
that would put on a tie (I can actually do three different tieknots and a
bowtie...) and go out and swing my arms madly around until someone pitied me
enough to invest in or buy whatever I happened to be selling at the time.
Worked pretty well too.

Then I started coming here, and realised that there was so much I didn't know,
and that if I could learn it I would have a much easier time creating good
products. Instead of the whole arm-swinging business to convince someone to
program something for me I could just learn how to do it myself!

And so I did. And I realised that I should have done so ten years ago.

So thanks a lot, and sorry for all the silly questions.

~~~
adsyoung
Me too actually. When I first started coming here I had barely written a line
of code and was rapidly discovering my chosen career path of aerospace
engineer was boring the hell out of me and not what I thought it would be.
Then all of a sudden I found myself reading about programming non-stop, a good
hint that a change is at hand!

So I was able to talk my way into the software development team and have been
learning like mad ever since, thanks mostly to this site.

Even though I had little experience, the sheer variety of technologies and
points of view I've seen here has made an enormous difference in getting me
started.

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Shamiq
I've learned how incredibly efficient I can be at wasting time and wiling away
hours when I don't want to work.

It's been a real eye-opener for me.

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matthewer
I learned I was part of a community of people like myself, and that the only
thing that matters here is what you can create and how dedicated you are to
doing it.

~~~
unalone
I learned that everybody's different, that there's no magic solution for doing
any one thing. I learned that most stories and opinions have more than one
side to them, and that there isn't necessarily always a right side.

I learned that it's important to learn how to speak civilly and clearly - even
if you're like me and enjoy being mad at people, there's a time and place for
it, and it's rarely when you're talking to people online.

I learned that the absolutely most thrilling feeling in the world is making
stuff, and that the second-most is talking to somebody that has. I remember,
early on, saying something dismissive about Delicious and having one of the
programmers respond directly to me. I love meeting the people behind things. I
still get a thrill when I get into a conversation with somebody who's built a
web site or runs a blog.

I think that's also what I learned, which goes with what you said: I learned
that the thing I value most in others is what they build and how passionate
they are about building it. That's a really useful thing to learn about
yourself, and to some degree about others.

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TomOfTTB
I’ve learned that I need community more than I thought I did.

I have a blog, I get comments and e-mails on that blog. But what I’ve started
to realize is that there’s a "blogger penalty" to the conversations I can have
there. No matter how hard I try to make people comfortable in saying anything
to me the fact that it’s my blog still puts me in a perceived higher position
in the conversation.

What Hacker News does for me is to give me an environment to debate where
everyone is on equal ground. Sure there are karma points but unless you go out
of your way to look for them you won’t know who is at what level. That puts
the focus on ideas more than people and that is a great thing.

I still enjoy my blog and still post longer pieces to it. But I don’t know
what I’d do without HN at this point.

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jacoblyles
I don't know yet. Certainly, it has given me a broader view of the world of
computer science, which is edifying and has allowed me to speak intelligently
with recruiters. It is also motivating me to do risky things (left a good job
in finance to go back to grad school for CS, applying to Y Combinator this
summer). Mostly, it has taught me that I am easily influenced by people I
admire, and people I admire include entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers.

Basically, I am what your children will become if you allow them to read too
much sci fi growing up.

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paulgb
I've learned about the Arduino, and bought one for myself. Just last night, I
learned that an LED can be used as a photodiode.
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=447770>

I'm also participating in "HN Reads SICP", a SICP book group that started on
HN: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=428248>

I've also attended three events that I probably would not have heard of
without HN.

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zitterbewegung
A great deal of information about running a startup. Also the latest things on
the web.

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tristian
Through HN I have learnt that sophisticated discussion with a large number of
participants is achievable. Which, up until this point, is something that I
didn't really consider to be possible. Certainly not over a long term.

Moreover the site doesn't require an oppressive method of control to keep the
conversation in line. It is as much the communities common virtue as it is the
technical merits of pg's system which brings that about.

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prateekdayal
I have learnt that there are a lot of bootstrappers and its not that hard to
make a profitable business :)

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jonnycoder
I've learned there are a lot of people out there that think the same way I do.
For example, I agree with most of the comments on this thread. I've also
learned to get off my ass and start making frequent posts to my own blog and
not being afraid of sharing it with the community.

~~~
streety
I'm fairly sure your site is easy to find with a quick google search but why
not make it easy for us all and update your profile here as well?

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oscardelben
I've learned who hackers are and what they do/like. There is often a
misconception about what great programmers do and this site helps a lot to
know and eventually join the hackers community (if it can be called like
this).

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cake
I learned there is a place where I can find smart and insightful articles
mostly about computer science but also humanity in general, whereas most of
the Internet is about silly stuff (yes digg I'm talking to you !)

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lionhearted
Gained a base ability to discuss some interesting subjects I had no
familiarity with before. Picked up a number of various tips, tricks, and best
practices. Some really intelligent commentators that consistently offered
interesting thinking points - pg, unalone, and patio11 are 3 of my favorites.

But if I'm to be really, truly honest with myself - Hacker News is
entertainment for me, masquerading as productive time. When I focus and read a
novel or a piece of nonfiction or a scientific paper, I get a hell of a lot
more long term, practical gain than I do reading HN. For quite a while, I
thought HN was a great use of time. It is - but it's cooldown/relaxation time,
and I won't be fooled into thinking otherwise again.

