
Ask HN: What are the most inspirational blog posts you've ever read? - fromdoon
I was going through my bookmarks and found this:<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=4000394
======
stiff
Mostly not blog posts, but for the last years I tend to revisit the same
resources over and over again for inspiration:

\- "You and your research" by Hamming, and his video lectures which expand on
topics in the original talk:

[http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html](http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html)

[http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2FF649D0C4407B30](http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2FF649D0C4407B30)

\- "On teaching mathematics" by V. I. Arnold:

[http://pauli.uni-muenster.de/~munsteg/arnold.html](http://pauli.uni-
muenster.de/~munsteg/arnold.html)

\- "Undergraduation" by Paul Graham

[http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html)

\- "Learn and relearn your field", and many others in the same category, by
Terrence Tao

[http://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/learn-and-
relear...](http://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/learn-and-relearn-your-
field/)

\- Steve Jobs Stanford commencement address:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc)

\- All articles on programming by Peter Norvig:

[http://www.norvig.com/](http://www.norvig.com/)

~~~
caisah
I just wanted to say "You and your research" by Hamming. Awesome!

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw)

------
smoyer
It's not a blog post, but I think Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" is perhaps the
most inspirational "thing" I've found on the Internet:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo)

~~~
noblethrasher
About ten years beore he was famous for the his Last Lecture, he gave a
fantastic talk on time management:
[https://archive.org/details/GabrielRobins_TimeManagement_byR...](https://archive.org/details/GabrielRobins_TimeManagement_byRandyPausch).

He also gave a revised version of his time management lecture during his brief
post-Last-Lecture fame, but I prefer the original.

------
christiangenco
Mr. Money Mustache's account of how he retired at age 30:
[http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-
from-...](http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-
hero-in-one-blog-post/)

~~~
JoshTriplett
I'm a big fan of that blog, but I actually found the most inspirational post
on it to be the one that crunched the critical numbers:
[http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-
sim...](http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/the-shockingly-simple-math-
behind-early-retirement/)

The key realization from that post: spending less and saving more helps you
retire early not just because you're saving faster, but because you need less
to retire: your retirement savings only has to support your _expenses_ , not
replace your full _income_.

~~~
christiangenco
Ahh yes! I go back and re-read that post about once a month for inspiration.

------
JoshTriplett
"I won't be able to answer all your questions. Rather, I can show you how to
be lost productively, and how to become comfortable not knowing things and
teaching yourself." \-- David Humphrey, Mozilla developer,
[http://vocamus.net/dave/?p=60](http://vocamus.net/dave/?p=60)

It's one of the most valuable skills you'll need to excel in a technical
field, and when mentoring others its one of the most critical skills to
impart.

------
tbirdz
Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years by Peter Norvig:
[http://norvig.com/21-days.html](http://norvig.com/21-days.html)

------
Red_Tarsius
Kejia Zhu ([http://kzhu.net/does-life-end-at-35.html](http://kzhu.net/does-
life-end-at-35.html)) helped me to get through the delusional obsession for
quick success. I gave it to read to all my friends and it's definitely a must
for all HN folks.

The good ol' Raymond's How to Become a Hacker
([http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-
howto.html](http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html)) will teach you
the Hacker attitude, which you can apply to anything. It doesn't matter
whether you're a programmer or not, either way you'll benefit from it.

"1\. The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved.

2\. No problem should ever have to be solved twice.

3\. Boredom and drudgery are evil.

4\. Freedom is good.

5\. Attitude is no substitute for competence."

A Handyman’s Toolbox ([http://ninjasandrobots.com/a-handymans-
toolbox](http://ninjasandrobots.com/a-handymans-toolbox)) taught me not to
always chase the hot new tech and be confident in my skills. It may be common
sense, but it's also well written and straight to the point.

Lastly, the following posts are all about traveling and/or alternative
lifestyles. They show different POVs, but are all equally inspirational.

\- [http://alexwarren.co.uk/2013/06/27/how-i-live-and-how-i-
work...](http://alexwarren.co.uk/2013/06/27/how-i-live-and-how-i-work/)

\- [http://jake-jorgovan.com/blog/remote](http://jake-
jorgovan.com/blog/remote)

\- [https://medium.com/better-humans/6620882dde89](https://medium.com/better-
humans/6620882dde89)

\- [http://blog.alexmaccaw.com/how-to-travel-around-the-world-
fo...](http://blog.alexmaccaw.com/how-to-travel-around-the-world-for-a-year/)

------
brudgers
_I Assume I am Below Average_

Derek Sivers: [http://sivers.org/below-average](http://sivers.org/below-
average)

~~~
catinsocks
_There 's no speed limit._

[http://sivers.org/kimo](http://sivers.org/kimo)

------
manojlds
How to be more Productive, by Aaron Swartz -
[http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/productivity](http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/productivity)

------
merrua
[http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/0...](http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/03/code_like_a_gir.html)
[http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/0...](http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/09/dignity_is_dead.html)
[http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/0...](http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/03/how_to_be_an_ex.html)
[http://sachachua.com/blog/2014/01/share-
learn/](http://sachachua.com/blog/2014/01/share-learn/)

------
Sandman
Don't Call Yourself A Programmer, And Other Career Advice

[http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-
pro...](http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/)

------
namzo
Something small, every day. [https://medium.com/think-different-think-
stupid/c6ce326612c8](https://medium.com/think-different-think-
stupid/c6ce326612c8)

~~~
chestnut-tree
In a similar vain [http://greyscalegorilla.com/blog/2013/01/one-a-
day/](http://greyscalegorilla.com/blog/2013/01/one-a-day/)

------
callum85
Thoreau 2.0
[https://static.pinboard.in/xoxo_talk_thoreau.htm](https://static.pinboard.in/xoxo_talk_thoreau.htm)

~~~
mproenza
Nice article. I liked the Eat The Donuts part. Very well written and really
inspiring.

------
evolve2k
"POOR, POOR CHILD. YOU HAVE NO IDEA. Programming is Hard"
[http://writing.bryanwoods4e.com/1-poor-poor-
child](http://writing.bryanwoods4e.com/1-poor-poor-child)

A brilliant article which lets you know that coding is hard cause it's hard
not cause you are stupid and that something can be hard and fun at the same
time.

I share this with every new coder I help out.

------
ek
Microcosmographia Academica
[http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/people/staff/iau/cornford/cornford....](http://www.cs.kent.ac.uk/people/staff/iau/cornford/cornford.html)

It's not quite a blog post, but it's as close as one might have come in 1908.

I also like a whole host of articles from Matt Might's blog. I think my
favorites are

12 resolutions for grad students

[http://matt.might.net/articles/grad-student-
resolutions/](http://matt.might.net/articles/grad-student-resolutions/)

and Responding to peer review

[http://matt.might.net/articles/peer-review-
rebuttals/](http://matt.might.net/articles/peer-review-rebuttals/)

One last essay that I have enjoyed, also too old to be a blog post, is W.M.
Turski's "I was a computer". It's here on Elsevier but fortunately it looks to
be open access.

[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0167642395...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0167642395000194)

------
mindcrime
pg's _How Not To Die_ essay:

[http://www.paulgraham.com/die.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/die.html)

pmarca's _The Only Thing That Matters_ post:

[http://pmarchive.com/guide_to_startups_part4.html](http://pmarchive.com/guide_to_startups_part4.html)

Pretty much everything Steve Blank has written on Customer Development:

[http://steveblank.com/category/customer-
development/](http://steveblank.com/category/customer-development/)

Mark Cuban on _How To Get Rich_ :

[http://blogmaverick.com/2008/10/04/how-to-get-
rich/](http://blogmaverick.com/2008/10/04/how-to-get-rich/)

Mark Cuban on _Success & Motivation_:

[http://blogmaverick.com/2007/12/24/success-and-
motivation/](http://blogmaverick.com/2007/12/24/success-and-motivation/)

Jamie Zawinski's _Groupware Bad_ post:

[http://www.jwz.org/doc/groupware.html](http://www.jwz.org/doc/groupware.html)

------
rsoto
A few of them:

\- Blueberry pancakes and battleships →
[http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/05/blueberry-
pa...](http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/05/blueberry-pancakes-and-
battleship.html)

\- This Is All Your App Is: a Collection of Tiny Details →
[http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/05/this-is-all-your-
ap...](http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/05/this-is-all-your-app-is-a-
collection-of-tiny-details.html)

\- The Personality Layer →
[http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/07/18/the-
personal...](http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/07/18/the-personality-
layer/)

\- Asking Questions beats Giving Advice → [http://insideintercom.io/asking-
questions-versus-giving-advi...](http://insideintercom.io/asking-questions-
versus-giving-advice/)

------
raldi
A Tale of Two Bridges:
[http://hintjens.com/blog:16](http://hintjens.com/blog:16)

~~~
brickcap
Thanks for sharing this.

------
ilamparithi
Almost all of Paul Graham's essays. Especially

How to Make Wealth -
[http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html](http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html) How to
Do What You Love -
[http://paulgraham.com/love.html](http://paulgraham.com/love.html) Inequality
and Risk -
[http://paulgraham.com/inequality.html](http://paulgraham.com/inequality.html)

and Paul Buchheit's

My startup path - [http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.in/2007/03/my-startup-
path.html](http://paulbuchheit.blogspot.in/2007/03/my-startup-path.html) (I
have actually printed a hard copy of this and have it my wallet. This is what
finally convinced me to join a startup.)

~~~
mproenza
Paul Graham's How to make wealth: very very nice article. A must read for
everyone. The part where he writes about leverage as a characteristic of
technology jobs and it being the only way of multiplying your productivity (or
diminishing it) is very illustrative.

------
Morendil
But Y would I want to do a thing like this?
[http://weblog.raganwald.com/2007/02/but-y-would-i-want-to-
do...](http://weblog.raganwald.com/2007/02/but-y-would-i-want-to-do-thing-
like.html)

------
tinger54
McKenna said a lot of kooky stuff but this one really speaks to me.

[http://zenpencils.com/comic/120-terence-mckenna-nature-
loves...](http://zenpencils.com/comic/120-terence-mckenna-nature-loves-
courage/)

~~~
daphneokeefe
And check out Zen Pencil's top 10 of 2013 list.

------
bennesvig
\- What Would You Do? [http://thestoryoftelling.com/what-would-you-
do/](http://thestoryoftelling.com/what-would-you-do/)

\- Reject the tyranny of being picked
[http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/03/reject-
the-t...](http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/03/reject-the-tyranny-
of-being-picked-pick-yourself.html)

\- The World's Worst Boss
[http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/12/the-
worlds-w...](http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/12/the-worlds-worst-
boss.html)

------
nashequilibrium
[http://www.chrissiewellington.org/blog/taking-the-
plunge/](http://www.chrissiewellington.org/blog/taking-the-plunge/) Because i
didn't know what was to come next and whether she would be successful. A
snippet from the first blogpost:

"Could I be as good as them, if not better? Had I fulfilled my potential, or
did I have more to give? Had I pushed my mind and body to the limit? If not,
what were those limits? What stars was I capable of grabbing? Without giving
it a shot I would never know. I never want to look back and say ‘what if’."

------
narenrulz
Ang Lee and the uncertainty of success

[http://jeffjlin.com/2013/02/23/ang-lee-and-the-
uncertainty-o...](http://jeffjlin.com/2013/02/23/ang-lee-and-the-uncertainty-
of-success/)

------
nick_urban
A transcript of the brilliant speech by Heinz von Foerster titled "Ethics and
Second Order Cybernetics". When I read this I found it truly amazing, because
it effortlessly connected the existential questions I was facing with the
formalism of mathematics and the insight of the humanities, all tied into a
beautiful circle.

[http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/4-2/text/foerster.html](http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/4-2/text/foerster.html)

------
marsay
Miyamoto Musashi 21 rules to live your life:
[http://www.1000manifestos.com/miyamoto-musahi-21-rules-to-
li...](http://www.1000manifestos.com/miyamoto-musahi-21-rules-to-live-your-
life/)

Obstacle is the way: [http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday/2013/11/26/the-
obsta...](http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/stoicismtoday/2013/11/26/the-obstacle-is-
the-way-interview-with-ryan-holiday-by-zach-obront/)

------
guiambros
"Lessons from Habitat" [1], by Chip Morningstar and F. Randall Farmer.

Not inspirational in the strict sense, but it's amazing to see a paper written
more than 20 years ago and still with so many applicable insights in terms of
psychology in gaming and virtual worlds. I keep going back and re-reading
every couple of years.

[1]
[http://www.crockford.com/ec/lessons.html](http://www.crockford.com/ec/lessons.html)

------
deependersingla
Its about story of YC incubated startup Zerocater founder, everytime I read
this it makes me more stronger to work more hard.
[http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/06/how-i-started-
zerocater/](http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/06/how-i-started-zerocater/)

------
nader
"Don't half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing", i.e. "Kill early and often,
keeping it alive is not good enough":

[http://bondero.com/kill-early-and-often-startup-
methodology](http://bondero.com/kill-early-and-often-startup-methodology)

------
3stripe
How to be the luckiest guy in the planet, in 4 easy steps

[http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/02/how-to-be-the-
luckiest-...](http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/02/how-to-be-the-luckiest-guy-
on-the-planet-in-4-easy-steps/)

------
zackboe
"how to blog about code and give zero fucks" by Garann Means

[http://www.garann.com/dev/2013/how-to-blog-about-code-and-
gi...](http://www.garann.com/dev/2013/how-to-blog-about-code-and-give-zero-
fucks/)

------
giis
Gustavo Duarte : Lucky to be a Programmer
[http://duartes.org/gustavo/blog/post/lucky-to-be-a-
programme...](http://duartes.org/gustavo/blog/post/lucky-to-be-a-programmer)

------
coldcode
[http://thecodist.com/article/all-i-need-to-know-to-be-a-
bett...](http://thecodist.com/article/all-i-need-to-know-to-be-a-better-
programmer-i-learned-in-kindergarten)

------
wellboy
"It's time to grow up, fuck no" [http://appreneur-diaries.com/its-time-to-
grow-up-fuck-no](http://appreneur-diaries.com/its-time-to-grow-up-fuck-no)

------
andersthue
How to Deal With Crappy People

[http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/06/how-to-deal-with-
crappy...](http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/06/how-to-deal-with-crappy-
people/)

Made my life easier

------
hkmurakami
the complete guide to not giving a fuck

[http://inoveryourhead.net/the-complete-guide-to-not-
giving-a...](http://inoveryourhead.net/the-complete-guide-to-not-giving-a-
fuck/)

~~~
dominotw
His definition of not giving a fuck is wearing vibram fivefingers. weak.

------
rett12
Why you will fail to have a great career by Larry Smith
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKHTawgyKWQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKHTawgyKWQ)

------
gesman
[http://swombat.com/2014/1/10/money-and-
wealth](http://swombat.com/2014/1/10/money-and-wealth)

------
DavidMunroe83
[http://www.davidmunroeart.com/artists-
blog.html](http://www.davidmunroeart.com/artists-blog.html)

------
asselinpaul
I always like to re-read these:
[http://worrydream.com/](http://worrydream.com/)

------
trumbitta2
The bits about creating and shipping products by Nathan Barry and Amy Hoy

------
dschiptsov
[http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html)

~~~
michaelochurch
Every time I read something Paul Graham wrote before he became The Godfather I
get sad. It may not show in the quality of moderation we see on HN, but he's
clearly an extremely talented man.

~~~
S4M
Yep, and I think the quality of his essays dropped recently. Before he became
"The Godfather" his writing was really some out of the box thinking, while the
recent ones seem to me almost like an ad to go to SV and get funded by YC to
try to build the next Facebook.

~~~
dschiptsov
It seems like PG always had such ambitions, while the brilliant technical
insights came from Rtm.

------
PavlovsCat
I'm not sure about "most inspiring", but this was the first time something on
the internet blew my mind:
[http://www.arachnoid.com/lutusp/symbols.html](http://www.arachnoid.com/lutusp/symbols.html)

