
Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them? - Carl_Platt
What things (books, activities, courses - anything really) have richly rewarded the time you invested in mastering them?
======
Waterluvian
"Fighting fair."

It's a term I heard a Minister tell the bride and groom during his speech at
their wedding. He talked about how you're going to fight with your spouse, but
the challenge is to fight fair. Hear the other person. Try to see their
perspective with sympathy, if not empathy. Avoid trying to "win" fights,
that's never the point.

I talked about this with my then girlfriend. She was a vicious fighter. I was
too. We knew each other's weak spots and knew exactly what to say. But we
spent a few years slowly getting better. And now our fights are almost always
about a rational disagreement on perspective. They get heated. We get
emotional. Because we both really care. But we fight fair now, and that means
our fights are productive and usually rather short. For me it means forcing
myself to stop the argument for a moment, truly process and soak in everything
she's said, try to understand why she feels that way, and see if maybe she's
got a point. On more than one occasion, we'll be a few minutes into a yelling
match and one of us will just abruptly say, "oh my god you're right..."

It's easily the most powerful skill I've developed in my adult life.

I've been married to her for 2 years now. I've got 78 more years to go with
her and I feel more confident every day that we're going to make it.

~~~
BOOSTERHIDROGEN
Any books/articles about this ?

~~~
overload119
The best relationship advice guide is here in my opinion:
[https://markmanson.net/relationship-
advice](https://markmanson.net/relationship-advice)

If not for the tactical advice inside of the article, it's a launching pad for
other resources to dive into (such as the 5 language of love).

------
lwansbrough
I’m still very much in the earlier stages of learning, but I’ll say
negotiation. Recognizing that virtually any situation involving an “exchange”
between two interested parties can become a negotiation has been a great
insight into control for me.

People often think of negotiation as business, however it can be much more
personal than that and can be very useful for your interpersonal relationships
as much as it can be for your professional relationships.

Understanding how you can leverage another person’s empathy (and your own) in
your favour without exploiting the other person is tremendously valuable
whether you’re trying to get your kid to eat their vegetables or trying to
convince a terrorist organization to free their hostages.

I’ve learned a few simple techniques that have honestly improved my ability to
not only negotiate but communicate and understand people better in general.

I bought Chris Voss’ book on negotiating and it’s been really pivotal for my
understanding of, well, humanity to a certain extent. Highly recommend it to
anyone who wants to make a stronger person out of themselves.

No affiliation with the book btw but I’m a huge fan of the author as a result
of his book.

~~~
denzil_correa
> I bought Chris Voss’ book on negotiating and it’s been really pivotal for my
> understanding of, well, humanity to a certain extent. Highly recommend it to
> anyone who wants to make a stronger person out of themselves.

For people wondering, Chris Voss is the former lead international kidnapping
negotiator for the FBI. Here's a podcast where he talks about negotiation [0]
and the link to the book the above comment refers to [1]. His talk at Google
about the same subject might be interesting too [2].

[0] [https://fs.blog/2018/01/chris-voss/](https://fs.blog/2018/01/chris-voss/)

[1] [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32444582-never-split-
the...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32444582-never-split-the-
difference)

[2]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guZa7mQV1l0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guZa7mQV1l0)

~~~
Buttons840
On thing that has bothered me about some other negotiating books is that they
seem to focus on [what I call] "psychological tricks", then one day you get
two people who've read the same book together and they just go back and forth
trying to play tricks on each other and nobody gets anywhere.

Chris Voss' book teaches [among other things] that listening is the most
important and most difficult negotiating skill. That's a "scaleable" approach
to negotiation, if you happen to get two people together who both believe in
listening to the other, that works.

------
mattlondon
Computer Science degree.

Sure, lots of us "learnt" programming in our bedrooms or whatever by doing our
own thing and messing about in whatever language. I went into my compsci
degree arrogantly thinking that I pretty much knew how to code already so
please just give me the bit of paper saying I have the degree and I'll be on
my way thanks very much.

I was very wrong.

Although I was pretty good at the coding (or at least I like to think so), I
learnt so much more of the theory that is as relevant today as it was then,
and as it was decades before that too. It stretched me in ways I did not even
know I could be stretched - I dont think I would never have learnt the "hard"
theory that transcends specific programming languages if I was just tinkering
around on my own or reading a "How to program Python/Visual Basic 6/PHP/C#"
books etc (aged myself there with VB6!).

More or less every day I still use those skills/knowledge I learnt on my
degree, but not only that I came out beaming with confidence and the knowledge
that I _knew my stuff_.

As a direct result of my degree I enjoy a pretty cushy, well-paid, well-
perked, and secure job at a company that many people dream of working at, and
have done for years. Sure it was 4 years and a few thousand GBP (at the time
in the UK - more expensive now) but totally 100% worth it - I genuinely dont
think I'd be where I am now if I had not done the degree.

~~~
kodablah
While I have no doubt this paid dividends for you, I'm not convinced that the
cost/benefit is greater on the whole than alternatively spending those 4 years
doing real-world development. Subjective, sure, but from my perspective there
are too many amazing self-taught developers and too many subpar ones with
degrees to automatically justify the 4 year time and money cost for the
average person (concerning skill, career prospects have their own reasoning w/
degrees of course).

One of the biggest things one learns is the ability to self-teach.
Unfortunately college charges a lot of time and money to learn via their
chosen methodology which doesn't fit many people. At worst it can build a
dependence on teacher-pupil classroom settings to learn new approaches, hence
so many training sessions and stagnation in their absence. As a tautology,
it's not that one approach is necessarily better than another, but we must
remember that one approach is not necessarily better than another.

~~~
niklasd
I agree that self-teaching is a very important skill, but it is a skill that I
learned in my university time. It itself is a self taught skill, of course. At
least in Germany, lectures are not compulsory, and if I find I don't learn
enough, I go home and try to understand it on my own.

Second, I dispute that spending those 4 years doing real-world development
would have yielded greater benefit. The thing is, he'll be doing his whole
life real-world development, so the longer he is in the profession, the
smaller the benefit of the additional amount of experience will be. On the
other hand, in the four years of college, he has the chance to learn some
other stuff deep in a way that he won't have the chance while he's working.

~~~
kodablah
> I dispute that spending those 4 years doing real-world development would
> have yielded greater benefit

Didn't say that, just saying that's not the case for many

------
pjmorris
Cooking. I am not a chef, but I have spent the time and effort to be able and
willing to tackle nearly any recipe in the cuisines I'm familiar with. More
importantly, I've made my wife, family, friends, strangers, and myself, happy
at my table and via gifts of food. In terms of books, the biggest difference-
makers have been 'The Way to Cook', Julia Child, 'The French Laundry
Cookbook', Thomas Keller, et al, and 'The Flavor Bible', Page and Dornenburg.

~~~
stevekemp
I was going to say the same thing! For me it is baking/making bread, but
cooking generally is rewarding and a practical skill.

~~~
galfarragem
I wouldn't advise to start with baking once the learning curve is way steeper
and less fault tolerant than general cooking. If you are just starting and
want to see cooking as a relaxation activity delay baking and start with
Italian food.

------
msluyter
Readline —- I’m sometimes amazed at the number of relatively seasoned
developers who don’t know simple commands like ctrl-r. This one really pays
off because almost all shells and repls like ipython or the mysql client
implement it.

Sample cheat sheet:

[https://readline.kablamo.org/emacs.html](https://readline.kablamo.org/emacs.html)

You don’t have to learn it all, but mastering the basics like moving to the
end/beginning on the line, moving/deleting by word, yank, history search and
the like will pay off handsomely.

~~~
twinge
If you're a vi user, edit ~/.inputrc and add:

    
    
       set editing-mode vi
       set keymap vi-command
    

This changes readline behavior from emacs to vi. This, along with "set -o vi"
in bash, are really handy (though can be frustrating for others if you ever
share a keyboard pair programming).

~~~
Cyph0n
In Zsh, it will set the editing mode to whatever your $EDITOR is set to. So if
$EDITOR == vim, readline will be set to vim mode.

I’m a vim person, but I feel like the modal workflow does not work well at all
in a shell.

------
neya
I'm going to say something out of the blue - Building speakers.

Building speakers look complex from the outside, but are pretty rewarding once
you know the basics (Thiele parameters, enclosure design and tuning). You can
put together your own speaker with just a couple of parts from eBay or
anywhere else on the internet really and sometimes can end up with really high
quality boxes that can outperform much more expensive commercial ones
available in the market.

Speaker design is one of those things that the more time you put into it,
learning, studying, testing, the better rewarded you'd feel. To add to the mix
there's also amplifiers - Class A, B, C, D and even tube amps and each
combination of amplifier and crossover sounds totally different.

Each speaker box I design, I feel is like good food. Different flavors,
different combinations, different possibilities. You will never feel bored and
never feel you've hit an end. You're always discovering something new.

~~~
faitswulff
Would the barrier to entry for making working speakers be significantly higher
if the aux port goes away entirely?

~~~
tgsovlerkhgsel
If it went away _entirely_ , as in also from laptops, desktops and Raspberry
Pis, without adapters being available, maybe.

But you're not going to be driving a speaker with a phone anyways. You'll need
an amplifier, and if the aux port goes away, the amp will likely have
whatever-alternative-input-there-is.

------
EliRivers
Being good at reading and writing.

The ability to quickly and efficiently understand and mentally absorb large
amounts of the written word, and the ability to write clearly, simply and
coherently about subjects both simple and complicated.

Being good at reading is a force multiplier in everything academic I have ever
done, and continues to be a huge advantage in both learning and simply doing
my job, and in so much of life in general. So much information about how
everything works, physical devices and procedures and interacting with
governments and organisations, is provided as the written word. If you can do
it quickly and correctly, you're ahead of the game.

Being good at writing helps me transmit knowledge and instructions across time
and space to other people, helping them understand faster and better. It also
saves me time; I work with people who genuinely struggle to express precise
technical information through the written word, spending large amounts of time
producing text that really isn't adequate. Often they write as if they're
speaking, which just doesn't work.

A lot of people go through life with just functional literacy; being good at
reading and writing is a force multiplier across so many activities in life,
right from early education all the way through such a huge range of jobs and
careers. The return on investment spent on being good at reading and writing
is huge.

~~~
Keinstein
Do you have any tips on getting better at this (eg writing explanatory pieces
on technical issues) apart from simply doing it over and over again?

~~~
EliRivers
Harsh, brutal critique from other people (ideally the target audience),
prompted by deliberate questions from us about how easy it is to read and
understand, and questions from us to test that understanding.

Writing happens entirely inside one's own mind; it can be so hard to see that
what we're writing _isn 't_ clear, _isn 't_ well structured, _doesn 't_ guide
the reader deftly through understanding and enlightenment. I wonder if it's
even possible to properly critique our own explanatory pieces on technical
issues, given that we cannot read it without having that knowledge already in
our heads, as the target audience will have to.

It can be quite a shock to learn how badly written some of our own work is; as
with code reviews, ego has to step aside.

------
songzme
Learning how to smile. I would spend time in front of the mirror practicing my
smile for different situations.

During interviews I would force myself to smile. It helped get rid of some
nervousness. When I get stuck on a problem I would smile stupidly and usually
the interviewer would help me out.

When I feel like conversations are getting heated I would take a step back and
smile, it helps me direct the conversion to a more positive place.

Sometimes when stuff happens outside my control and life just sucks I'll force
myself to smile and handle things to the best of my ability

~~~
dominotw
Wow. Amazing advice. I was feeling shitty and nervous now and tried a bit of
forced smiling. Changed my mood for sure.

~~~
daninus14
Me too! :D !! :D

------
monster_group
Learning Sanskrit. I have spent the last few years learning it and it's been
tremendously rewarding. Sanskrit is a beautiful language. Learning it is a
great mental challenge and gives great satisfaction (to me). Before learning
Sanskrit I had never really pursued a hobby this seriously. Since I have been
doing this I no longer feel like a machine who just goes to work, eats and
sleeps. Before this, I used to feel great despair if the work in the office
was not to my satisfaction. Since I have started pursuing this passion, work
no longer dictates my life. Work is not the only thing that makes my life
meaningful. I view work as one of the important things in life and not the
only important thing in life. And that has made all the difference. My
contentment and happiness level has gone up dramatically since I have been
learning Sanskrit.

~~~
treydey
This is an extremely interesting perspective. I actually had the opposite
experience. I was forced to learn sanskrit throughout my high school career
and I absolutely hated it. I'm an extremely practical person and I have no use
for the language at all.

~~~
svat
There is no contradiction actually. While talking about the state of Sanskrit
in school education, Chamu Krishna Shastry says[1] that schools are factories
for producing students who hate Sanskrit.

IMO, whatever other reasons there may be, a most compelling reason for
learning a language is its poetry (Robert Frost defined poetry as that which
gets lost in translation), and here Sanskrit poetry is unlike anything in the
world. You may like to read this collection of essays[2] that my friend wrote
during his first real encounter with Sanskrit poetry.

[1]: [https://youtu.be/ZoS1nA8RVko?t=740](https://youtu.be/ZoS1nA8RVko?t=740)
(starts at 12:20),
[https://youtu.be/WwtIJ8_bQf8](https://youtu.be/WwtIJ8_bQf8) (ends at 35:00).

[2]:
[http://sadasvada.com/Sadasvada_Print_Apr2014.pdf](http://sadasvada.com/Sadasvada_Print_Apr2014.pdf)

~~~
why_only_15
Are you the editor of the essays, "SHREEVATSA R."?

~~~
svat
Yes. (Mohan kindly included my name as "edited by", but all it means is that I
read his essays and gave some feedback / made minor suggestions, before he
posted it.)

------
csomar
Drinking lots of water.

It might not be the same for everyone. However, I have noticed that I rarely
drink water. It is interesting that I only noticed that this year (late
twenties). The effects on my body and mind were phenomenal. I used to drink
less than 1 liter a day.

I don't feel thirst. So I don't drink water when I'm dehydrated (because I
almost never feel it). Instead, I have a prescribed quantity that I drink
everyday. Also when I'm out for food/coffee/bar I always order a bottle of
water. I might not drink all of it, but it'll help me drink.

You should drink 3-4 liters per day to feel the difference. The difference
will be massive only if you are dehydrate it without realizing it. In my case,
I was severely dehydrated, but I never noticed it.

The effects: I feel fresher. Smarter. More active. My eyes are much less sore
and I suffer less when I'm looking at a screen. It is interesting I have never
noticed or thought that water dehydration was the cause. The first days that I
started the water dosing, I felt that the exhaustion was relieved.

To give you an idea of how serious this is. Look at this chart:
[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3e/ed/4a/3eed4ad01533479b473e...](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3e/ed/4a/3eed4ad01533479b473ee0fffb240cba.jpg)
My pee color was always on the extreme side before. I have never questioned
it. Talk about ignorance.

The very first days of hydration, I felt almost 10 years younger. By
continuing I certainly no longer feel the effects since I'm used to the new
standards. But I'll never forget the day I discovered that I was in severe
dehydration. I also will not forget the almost instantaneous change in my body
after the few hours of drinking.

~~~
songzme
During my interviews, I notice a profound difference in performance when I
drank 2 gallons of water a day before the interview. I got out of those
interviews thinking, How did I even come up with that solution? I pocketed a
few offers and drinking water definitely played a pretty big role.

Now I drink 2 gallons of water every day, it's become a habit and I feel sharp
every day.

~~~
growtofill
2 US liquid gallons? 7.5 liters?

~~~
songzme
Yeah. 2 of those gallon bottles.

------
alexchamberlain
Programming

(I feel like that might be cheating on HN...)

I started programming about 16 years ago (I think), when my Dad bought a basic
introduction to HTML for himself, which I ended up "borrowing". I super geeky
teenage life followed where I learned various languages, including Python,
Delphi and an obscure language called RapidEuphoria (honest, that is a
programming language, with some interesting features actually). Fast forward
through a Maths degree and 2 internships, I'm now a happy Engineering Team
Lead at Bloomberg, generally utilising JS, Python and C++ as appropriate.

Of course, there are a bunch of other skills needed to be a successful
software engineer, but I think turning my hobby into my career has been the
most richly rewarded skill so far.

~~~
MattHood0
I'm curious about your experience going from a maths degree to a software
engineering career - do you find the maths to be specifically and/or broadly
relevant to your work? Are there any anecdotes you'd like to share on the
process?

~~~
irchans
I have degrees in Math (PhD), CS(MS), and Engineering(BS). I find wonderful
interactions between all three.

My career is a bit mixed up: Taught Math at a college (part time on and off
for 10 years), Meteorologist (only 2 years), Nuclear Engineer (only 2 years),
Systems Engineering (7 years), Hedge Funds (15 years). I did a lot of ML/AI
(20 years) mostly for Trading Stocks, Poker, Torpedos, and Satellites. I wrote
about 100,000 lines of C++ and about 10,000 lines for each of the following:
BASIC, Mathematica, Matlab, and Haskell.

Math is an integral a part of my life and my thinking. :)

If I get some time later, maybe I will try to write up a few stories.

------
cstanton
My marriage.

No one else in my life has my back, protects my confidence, and shares this
wild adventure like my wife does. We have invested a LOT of time and money
into getting better at overcoming disagreements, digging deeper into what is
actually causing a rift between us, defining the company we want to keep, etc.

We are both athiests, so we didn’t have access to church or religious marital
counciling (probably for the best). We took it upon ourselves to study all we
can, to treat our marriage as a foundation to improve our self-awareness and
help each other see their blind spots.

Some education that has been helpful: \- Nonviolent Communication by Marshall
Rosenberg. Great foundational book. His other book “Speaking Peace” is a how-
to manual for conflict resolution between warring communities/tribes/nations.
Both are VERY powerful and cheap. Both have audiobooks.

\- Wired for Love by Stan Tatkin. Great book about building a foundation in a
partnership.

\- “Deep Psychology of Intimate Relationships” course (DPIR) from
RelationshipSchool.net and the free “Smart Couple Podcast.” DPIR is a “masters
degree” in building a rock solid partnership, and the podcast offers some
great ongoing commentary. What secular relationship books or courses or events
do you recommend?

------
beamatronic
SQL. Ultimately a software company is a business, run by business people who
have to solve business problems. Often to do that they come up with questions
which need to be answered by ad-hoc (written on the fly for one purpose) SQL
queries. Having that ability, to answer arbitrary questions FAST will elevate
your status in the minds of managers and business people.

~~~
geokon
What's a good place to start learning SQL? (for someone with 5+ years C++ and
now dabbling in Clojure/ELisp)

~~~
dan-robertson
0\. Look at a few simple sql queries (at most one join) and the corresponding
schema. Internalise what the queries do and a rough idea as to the syntax

1\. Have a database to query (or think of some project that is basically a
frontend on a database and which you can give a reasonable amount of data)

2\. Come up with questions for the database you want to answer

3\. Look at the SQLite documentation. They have fantastic diagrams for the
syntax of a sql query.

4\. Write down the sql for your query (or work out what you can’t express and
see if you can search on the internet to find out how to express it)

5\. Look into relational algebra and try to work out how it corresponds to sql
databases.

6\. Repeat steps 2-4

7\. Understand what different types of joins there are

8\. Repeat steps 2-4

9\. Read about more exotic things like nested queries, window functions,
recursive queries, and so on (just look at the features of your database of
choice and see what you can learn about). These might come in handy for future
questions

10\. Repeat steps 2-4 (repeatedly)

If you don’t know which database to use then start with SQLite. It’s basically
fine for anything simple and manything complicated.

------
wallflower
Going to a gym two to three times a week for small group training sessions.

In terms of investment, it is not as expensive as private training and it
keeps you on track. The real investment is in you. Your most important asset
is your ability to produce income. Having a healthier body helps maintain that
ability. The damage that I do through typing is only barely counteracted by
these training sessions. I don’t take typing for granted, having had soreness
and pain for many years, and going to the gym and lifting weights has been the
best action I’ve done towards addressing that. For you young and older people
out there, do not take your ability to pound at a keyboard for granted. One
day, it may start to lead to soreness which goes away after some rest.
Eventually, the soreness does not go away.

The true returns are the cumulative effects of sticking with a healthy habit.
You may not become “jacked” and super muscular but you will become fitter.

After almost two years, the benefits of regular exercise are so apparent that
I have to hold back getting on my bully pulpit to encourage other friends to
do so.

~~~
sridca
I'd recommend calisthenics instead of going to a gym. Far less chances of
getting injuries with bodyweight exercises.

This book is a good start:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/overcominggravity](https://www.reddit.com/r/overcominggravity)

~~~
tarsinge
> Far less chances of getting injuries with bodyweight exercises

I found no evidence for this, arguments seems to boil down to an "appeal to
nature". Many variations of bodyweight exercices are far from healthy for
tendons (single arm push ups or single arm pull ups for example), even basic
push ups are harder on the shoulders than dumbbell bench press.

If you keep the rep range above 15-20 the risk of injury is pretty minimal
with weights.

With that said, bodyweight exercises can be a good alternative if you don't
have access to a gym, or if you like to train outside on a playground. But be
careful with some exercises because bodyweight != healthy.

~~~
sridca
>> Far less chances of getting injuries with bodyweight exercises

> I found no evidence for this,

From Wikipedia:

""" Bodyweight exercises have a far lower risk of injury compared to using
free weights and machines due to the absence of an external load that is
placing strain on the muscles that they may or may not be able to deal with.
However, the lower risk of injury is only provided that the athlete/trainee is
progressing through the correct progressions and not immediately skipping to
strenuous movements that can place undue and possibly harmful stress on
ligaments, tendons, and other tissues. Although falling on the head, chest,
buttocks, and falling backwards can occur, these are far less harmful injuries
than dropping a weight on a body part, or having a joint extended beyond its
natural range of motion due to a weight being used incorrectly. """

~~~
tarsinge
I stand corrected on this, my sentence was too strong and large, I should have
been more specific. I still maintain the rest of my points though.

~~~
sridca
The quote actually addresses the rest of your points pertaining to
calisthenics (correct progression, with good form, is important; those who
"rush" are likely to get injured regardless of weights).

------
beautifulfreak
Learning Photoshop. My photo restorations:

[http://imgur.com/a/uzUzP](http://imgur.com/a/uzUzP)
[http://imgur.com/a/BuwKp](http://imgur.com/a/BuwKp)
[http://imgur.com/a/q61eH](http://imgur.com/a/q61eH)
[http://imgur.com/a/1lp9O](http://imgur.com/a/1lp9O)
[http://imgur.com/a/OyMWI](http://imgur.com/a/OyMWI)
[http://imgur.com/a/iVhUq](http://imgur.com/a/iVhUq)
[http://imgur.com/a/4zv43](http://imgur.com/a/4zv43)

~~~
tonyedgecombe
That is impressive, how long does it take to restore a typical photo?

~~~
beautifulfreak
Most took 5-10 hours, but the photo of the couple covered in black spots took
about 15 hours. That one was a woman's only surviving photo of her parents, so
she was extremely happy with the results. I did them all for Reddit users for
free, and it was very gratifying. I'd recommend fielding Reddit requests as a
good way to practice. Here's one I worked on for two days before giving up,
early in my stint doing restorations.
[https://imgur.com/a/56pSsS7](https://imgur.com/a/56pSsS7) I really should
start over, but don't have the drive anymore. I'd say that was my most
ambitious attempt. The guy I did it for still had it framed, despite its
flaws. Thanks for liking my work!

------
maroonblazer
Learning a musical instrument to a high degree of proficiency.

What's a "high degree of proficiency"? Obviously somewhat subjective but I'd
argue its one of:

1) being able to play intermediate to advanced pieces in the standard
repetoire. In the case of my instrument, piano, it's being able to play Bach,
Brahms, Debussy, Bill Evans, T Monk, etc.

2) being able to think of a musical phrase and then play it on your instrument
without much/any guesswork.

My parents forced me to take piano lessons - classical - for 6 years starting
when I was 9. I hated it. When they finally let me stop we moved across the
country and I fell in with some new friends, one who played bass and the other
drums. They would regularly get together to do something called 'jam', which
I'd never heard of. They invited me and although I only knew one non-classical
piece - a simple blues - the feeling of playing/making music with other people
was electrifying.

I ran home and asked my mom if I could start taking lessons again - this time
jazz. I went on to attend a music school for undergrad and have never stopped
playing, picking up guitar, bass and drums along the way.

Playing/making music has been one of the greatest sources of comfort and
pleasure. I don't often get depressed but on those rare occasions when I do,
being able to sit at my piano and play something like [0] is the best
medicine.

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

~~~
hipjiveguy
So ultimately, you think your parents forcing you to take lessons was good for
you? My son is in that zone - kind of likes, kind of hates taking lessons. But
I feel parents have to push their kids to do something to understand that
applying effort will help you in life, not just playing video games. Thoughts?

~~~
maroonblazer
Yeah, I do. I don't know if it's good for everyone. I tend to think it is
though, in the same way that perhaps forcing your child to learn a 2nd
language is more than likely good for them, despite the fact that they may not
appreciate it while in the process of learning.

------
q845712
Meditation -

I wouldn't say I've mastered it, but after 4+ years of study and practice
including several 5-7 day retreats I can honestly say I'm far more emotionally
balanced, calmer, happier, more insightful, more confident and comfortable in
my own skin, better at dealing with setbacks and difficulties, ...

There's many things that call themselves meditation and as far as I can tell
the majority of them are legit. I'd advocate picking one large and well
established school / method and sticking with it for a few years rather than
attempting a breadth-first search of the space or going into some niche branch
that really just has one charismatic instructor.

~~~
SirensOfTitan
I’d heavily recommend the book: The Mind Illuminated—I consider it _the_
training manual on meditation and it considerably pushed my practice forward.

------
stareatgoats
Planting fruit trees on the property. Fruit trees require little maintenance
and can, when mature and when things have been done right, produce amazing
yields year after year for several decades. The previous grass lawn mono-
culture has given way to several rows of apple and cherry trees, thanks to a
few hours spent learning how and digging the holes. I know of nothing more
rewarding as a function of the (tiny) time and money invested.

~~~
secondtom
Do you have any recommended resources?

~~~
paulclinger
Not OP, but here is one that I liked: The Holistic Orchard Tree Fruits and
Berries the Biological Way By Michael Phillips. It covers a variety of topics
and different types of fruit trees and berries.

------
y0ghur7_xxx
\- Learning x86 assembler back in school: knowing what everything comes down
to in the end has no price.

\- reading "Smashing the stack for fun and profit": I learned so many things
from that article, that I felt like a god when I finally understood all the
things. And all of those things are still relevant today when debugging stuff.

\- learning ruby: when rails came out I jumped on the hype train and started
learning ruby. I was mainly a java dev, so learning all the new ways of doing
things made me grow a lot.

\- javascript: I hated the language, but once I bit the bullet and overcome my
hate for it and started learning it, I now love all the things I can do.

\- learning git: it was an uphill battle at the beginning, but now I can't
live without it.

I am sure there are a lot of other things I am forgetting, but these come to
mind now.

~~~
ekr
> Learning x86 assembler back in school: knowing what everything comes down to
> in the end has no price.

I think going a couple of steps lower, learning electrodynamics (from a book
like morin&purcell), and then electronics (art of electronics), will give you
even more satisfaction.

------
stevesimmons
Flamenco dancing, from Andalucia in Spain:
[https://youtu.be/t5nusnPUXSY](https://youtu.be/t5nusnPUXSY)

I had never danced before, had no coordination, and was petrified of looking
stupid in front of others.

Then five years ago, I saw an ad for beginners' flamenco dance classes and
decided to give it a go. Right away, I got hooked on the physically demanding
athleticism, the precision of the complex rhythmic structure, the way you make
the music with your feet stamping on the floor, and the way it requires total
concentration. After a high-pressure day in front of the computer at work, I
love leaving that behind and walking into the dance studio...

The most rewarding part is I now take classes taught by the top Spanish
dancers. It's a real buzz to see them perform on stage on a Friday night then
spend the Saturday and Sunday in workshops with them teaching the same
choreographies.

Incidentally, that You Tube link above is of Marco Flores and Manuel Linan,
two of my favourite male flamenco dancers. I will be doing a workshop with
Manuel Linan this Christmas and one with Marco Flores in Spain next February.

------
skrebbel
Directed meditation.

I read a weight loss book called "the Gabriel Method" and it changed my life.
Besides all kinds of food related things, it teaches a sort of goal-oriented
meditation/visualization technique that I found to work for many more things
than changing eating habits.

I've felt more like good food and less like bad food so I eat healthier
without needing to muster discipline. Lost 10 kilos so far without really
trying all that hard.

I've been procrastinating less because I changed the way I feel about many of
the tasks I'd keep postponing.

My relationship has never been better, despite our lives having become more,
not less, busy during the same period. We fight way less because I'm less
annoyed by things and I'm better at not letting things escalate when she's
annoyed by things.

Frankly it's been pretty spectacular.

~~~
sAbakumoff
OOC - how long did it take to lose 10 kg? Did you experience decrease of body
temperature during that period?

~~~
skrebbel
About 8 months. Unexciting speed compared to diets, but I'm not on any diet
and I eat whatever I like. It's not going to come back on. I expect to lose
the same amount again in the next 8 months or so.

No idea about body temperature, sorry.

~~~
sAbakumoff
That is perfectly normal speed of losing ~1 kg per month. I have been
there...lost ~20 for 2 years and keep it until now. As for the body
temperature I read somewhere that losing 3% of weight slows down metabolism
significantly that leads to wide spectrum of side effects like low body
temperature.

~~~
jarekdziedzic
Not an expert here, but your metabolic rate depends on how much muscle you
have. Losing fat alone is hard. Typically you lose some muscle along the way,
unless you try to fight it with weight training.

------
faitswulff
1\. Learning Chinese characters with Anki. After a decade out of practice, I
realize I would have done a lot better in my college studies if I _actually
studied._ Wild idea, I know.

One thing that prevented me from memorizing characters was the idea that it
wasn't worth doing. However, this passage from the Self-Regulated Learning
paper [0] that circulated around HN convinced me otherwise:

"We need to understand, too, that our capacity for storing to-be-learned
information or procedures is essentially unlimited. In fact, storing
information in human memory appears to create capacity — that is,
opportunities for additional linkages and storage — rather than use it up."

2\. Learning (even very basic) Chess has opened my eyes up to how interesting
a "solved" game can be.

[0]: [http://www.excaliburtsa.org.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2017/11/Se...](http://www.excaliburtsa.org.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2017/11/Self-regulated-learning-Bjork.pdf)

~~~
msvan
As someone who spent a lot of time learning Chinese without any clear end
goal, I think it was mostly a waste of time. Educational? Yes, and it's fun to
be able to understand Chinese characters from time to time, but in hindsight I
would've rather spent all that time on something more meaningful to my life.

That said, if you intend to live in China or have Chinese heritage or you have
some other reason to study Chinese --- that's great! But it's not a bad idea
to consider where you're going with something before dumping thousands of
hours into it. (In fact, I quit chess for the same reason...)

~~~
faitswulff
That's a fair point. It's a heritage language for me, and my wife and in-laws
are fluent, which leaves me in the dark or asking for translations all the
time. I don't have a concrete goal, but I do have motive.

------
mrcnkoba
Learning English.

It opened up a whole new area of the internet that I was excluded from simply
because I didn't know the language. There are communities that I can actively
participate in and learn from.

~~~
h1d
I wouldn't have been the programmer I am now without learning English.
Everything starts in English. Every other languages catch up after a few
years.

~~~
idrios
What's your native language? A year ago I started learning Chinese and I'm
wondering if there will ever be a day that it helps me be a better engineer or
programmer.

~~~
h1d
I'm Japanese. Too bad Japanese software industry is lagging behind due to the
language barrier.

------
yakcyll
Playing Go.

I picked the game up around the time when AlphaGo was on the up and up. My
goal with it was to work on patience and fulfill my competitive drive. It
proved to do so much more for me - a year in, I got to play solid games,
experience success against players stronger than me, meet a lot of awesome
people, travel a bunch and, most importantly - and probably the most cliche -
learn a lot about myself, about my character and how to become a better person
in general. People think it's impossible to improve significantly after a
certain age, but, whilst I certainly don't have enough time or drive to pursue
the highest echelons of rankings, I have been steadily getting better and
better and the end isn't anywhere in sight. Can't get enough of playing in
tournaments either - not only do you get to really duke it out with others,
you get to learn a ton from them, form great relationships and sight-see a
whole lot.

In my limited experience with classical board games and extensive with video
games, I found Go (known also as Baduk and Weiqi) to be the most fun, the most
challenging, the most social game out there. Simple, yet complex - you can
learn the rules in two minutes, but learn all the intricacies of the board for
years. I strongly recommend checking out a local club at least once - there's
a strong chance you'll really enjoy playing the game with the people there.

~~~
mathgenius
> learn a lot about myself

This is so true: playing Go strips you naked, everything about your
personality comes out in the game. It's completely terrifying. And awesome.

------
KineticLensman
Learning to use a modern DSLR camera in fully manual mode. I now intuitively
understand the relationship between the control inputs of shutter speed,
aperture and ISO and the outputs of image brightness and depth of field (I
still mostly use auto-focus). I have sufficient muscle memory for the controls
that my big complex camera is truly a point and shoot device and I can have a
few pictures in the can while the crowds with their mobile cameras are still
waiting for the things to focus. Don’t get me wrong, I use my iPhone camera
all the time, but if I want to get pictures that are different from most other
peoples, I can.

I’ve also learned to take a portfolio perspective to photography (building
sets of pictures that tell a story) rather than instantly uploading everything
in a competitive search for ‘faves’. I’ve rediscovered younger me’s joy in
photography, whilst posting less than I have for years.

~~~
balladeer
I often feel an urge to go for an SLR. For me the biggest draw, to be honest,
is the optical viewfinder.

What do you think about modifying photos a lot after taking them? What are
your views on photographs that are just those moments locked in time forever
and otherwise when you try and modify them (esp. in the age of social media).

~~~
KineticLensman
For most of my work my post-processing is 'darkroom' equivalent - shooting raw
and then checking the white balance, and levels/curves (in Photoshop terms).
I'll often crop. If I'm trying to flatter a model I might do some minimal
retouching. And that's it! I don't usually return to a shot once I've done
this basic processing.

For digital art my starting point is usually a 3D render created in something
like Daz Studio rather than a real-world photo

------
pram
Learning Linux/UNIX has by far yielded the most return in my life. I started
at 14. It turned into my career. It has been very lucrative and I still love
it. In contrast: I started learning how to draw digitally ~2 years ago and
it’s mostly just painful and unrewarding. I feel like an emo teen again. I
can’t quit though because I have strong feelings about the sunk costs :V

~~~
randcraw
Agreed, my time spent learning Linux/unix has reaped rich dividends. A
textbook on operating systems offers only an abstract intro to the concepts.
Wading hip deep into a high powered open unix in which you configure and build
your own kernels, filesystems, networks, and program both high and low level
services — as Linux allows — greatly empowers the curious admin or developer,
and offers insights into computer infratructure that far exceeds mere
coursework or certifications.

------
sgt101
Relationships; my wife, my child, my family, my friends, my employees, my
peers and my bosses. I find all my real regrets and upsets stem from not doing
these right, they all compete for time, but in the end they make the tapestry
of your life.

~~~
goelakash
I think this is the most sage advice of all. There's a TED talk that also says
the same based on an extensive study: "What makes a good life?"
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KkKuTCFvzI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KkKuTCFvzI)

------
drpossum
This may sound weird, but estimation. This book literally changed my thinking
and how I do a lot of calculations

[http://web.mit.edu/6.055/book/book-
draft.pdf](http://web.mit.edu/6.055/book/book-draft.pdf)

Basic physics principles combined with the above. Being able to not only see
how something works, but to be able to at least estimate it's parameters is
invaluable to designing anything new

~~~
comboy
Can you provide the title/author of this book?

~~~
liuhenry
It's a set of course notes from MIT 6.055 - "The Art of Approximation in
Science and Engineering". They have been edited and updated into a book as
well:

[https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-
compu...](https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-
science/6-055j-the-art-of-approximation-in-science-and-engineering-
spring-2008/readings/)

------
taneq
Typing. The bulk of my communication is text, and being able to type fast and
effortlessly makes basically my whole life easier.

~~~
another-cuppa
Definitely this. The majority of people I've worked with over the years have
used a keyboard as their main interface but simply do not know how to use it.
Learning the keyboard does more than just making typing faster. It enables you
to banish the rat and achieve far greater overall efficiency.

~~~
DenisM
What is the best way to learn typing well? Any particular app?

Also, what is the criteria - speed / accuracy?

~~~
Too
It's very easy. One and only rule: Never look at your keyboard. Cover it with
carboard if you cant resist looking. First week will be a pain but eventually
it will just get faster.

Another good tip is to know what the "home row" is but if you've already
developed a fast personal style you don't have to follow it strictly.

------
Tepix
\- touch typing - this is a no-brainer

\- english at C2 level - the current lingua franca. You really want to be able
to accurately express yourself

\- vi/vim. Available everywhere.

\- UNIX networking

\- shell and shell programming. Turns you into a power user

\- at least one programming language and its important frameworks

\- regular expressions. Super useful everywhere. Learn why they are slow/fast
as well.

\- low level computer stuff. It helps you analyze higher level problems

------
jhwang5
Running. Been running ~ 2 years fairly seriously. Lost a lot of weight, and
have never been healthier. Now have run marathons under 3 hours, qualified for
Boston, ran in international races, Hawaii, etc. Running and any active sports
feel fun when you are fast.

~~~
balladeer
I wish everyone who runs that may they never stop , ever :-)

Was a long distance runner from 2012-2016. It was so fun, used to look forward
for my morning run every single day - I'd once forgotten all my credit cards
when flying to another city but not my running shoe. Almost never missed it
for anything. Minor injury broke it for 1.5 months. Been struggling to pick up
again since then. It's 2 years. Procrastination and complete loss of
motivation.

It helped me keep in shape, improved stamina, and surprisingly it actually had
kept my diet disciplined and healthy. I have 12 half organised marathons and
one 38km under my belt.

(PS. Had stepped on a slightly bigger rock and had to abandon my first and
last marathon - it was trail)

~~~
SiVal
Hey, balladeer, maybe this will help: I often pick something to listen to that
I'm really interested in--an audio book, a podcast episode, some music I've
started liking--and I make a strict rule that I have to be at least walking
when I listen to it. If I stop (get in the car, go home, etc.) I have to stop
listening to it immediately. Often, I'll just go out walking because I want to
find out what happened next in the story, but then if I'm walking, I don't
mind an easy jog instead. I don't try for speed or distance or "exercise". I
just want to listen for a while, so I have to keep moving. And over time, the
gentle running is good for my health, but I don't need to "motivate" myself,
because I'm just going out to listen to something I like. So I can't be sure,
but maybe if you don't pressure yourself to be "a runner" and just have some
fun instead, you'll end up running again. Just a thought.

------
mrmrcoleman
Public speaking is by far and away the best ROI I've had on a new skill.

Being able to communicate effectively to a group of people has positive
impacts in all aspects of my life.

~~~
mantesso
Could you share any resources you've used to learn it?

~~~
pjmorris
I've been part of two Toastmaster's clubs. I've found the Toastmasters program
for learning how to speak publicly to be thorough, thoughtful, and easy to get
started with. I've found the people in both clubs (different eras, different
places) to be friendly, creative, fun, and supportive. I'd recommend
Toastmasters to anyone interested in learning public speaking.

------
PopePompus
Learn the constellations. It doesn’t take very long, and it’s quite satisfying
to walk our at night and immediately be oriented. How many things can you look
at that are largely unchanged from when your ancestors looked at them
thousands of years ago? Plus, you can tell directions at night without a cell
phone!

------
toptal
Sound engineering. If you're a good sound engineer, you can basically get any
album or record signed. All major labels look for excellent sound engineering
first, and creativity second. This may sound counterintuitive, however if
something is very creative and sounds unprofessional, they won't sign it. If
it sounds excellent though very uncreative, it's still professional so there
is a high chance of them signing it.

Of course you need both, much like anything great, however a well engineered
track will get you significantly further than a creative track with poor
engineering.

If you can do both, you will be a rockstar, literally.

~~~
efigle2501
Isn't it insanely complex and difficult to get some music sounding
professional, refined and diminished? Not to mention the cost of equipment...
Only from watching friends trying to get their music published, and even after
paying big names in the industry it was still rubbish..

~~~
dsnuh
Not that I have mastered it, but what I have found richly rewarding, and in a
similar vein, is learning about MIDI and beatmaking. I bought a MIDIFighter 3D
from DJ Tech Tools, and just started messing around. I'm still a novice, but
expanding out from there and purchasing a Roland TR-8 (rebooted TR-808) and
learning how to program beats into it has been a blast. And I have learned a
ton in process. You naturally move into how to get better sounds for your
recording, and learn what you need to know to try to get the sound in your
head into the recording. You get to experiment. You get exposed to new types
of music, and whole subcultures of enthusiasts and professionals that you
probably never knew existed.

I've mostly tried to practice "controllerism" or "finger drumming". There's
tons of different soundpacks for Ableton (Lite is free, but limited), Traktor,
and other software. It's really relaxing sometimes to just sit and tap out
beats and clear your mind by concentrating on it. It's like an adult version
of Simon where you get to set the pattern. It's really fun, and you can get a
capable USB MIDI controller for a hundred bucks, even better deals on
Craigslist. There's a lot of tutorials on Youtube to get you started, if you
decide to give it a try.

Here's a good example of what controllerism is, if you are curious:
[https://youtu.be/mUUbbaBkZHw?t=28](https://youtu.be/mUUbbaBkZHw?t=28)
(skipped ahead of some cursing at the beginning of the video).

------
seer
Dance lessons Was particularly helpful to me because it taught me so much more
than how to appreciate human movement as art or to exercise. It taught me the
intricacies of human interaction, especially with the opposite sex, because my
computer oriented hight school was practically a monastery.

Its a highly structured way to learn about those things, so easy on software
people - just read and follow the instructions, and was (is) very fun in its
own right :)

~~~
uiae
I was just going to post this, but you where faster;)

So yes: I am also very thankful that I had the opportunity to learn a social
couple dance (with 'social' meaning non-competitive and without fixed dance-
partners)

The first lessons were hard and sometimes frustrating when you don't make
progress as fast as you want to. But for me it paid out and changed my life.
Today I go dancing twice or more a week. No matter how stressed I am after
work: I always come home from dancing relaxed and smiling.

When dancing you have to deal with a multitude of things in parallel:

1) You listen to the music carefully and match your body movement to it.

2) You are creative and come up with figures/movements fitting the music in
realtime (you cannot plan too much into the future)

3) You constantly "read" your partner: You only have fractions of a second to
feel his/her center of mass, anticipate her/his possible future movements and
react accordingly. Blindly forcing your partner into movements he/she can
currently not execute (for example due to having the weight on the "wrong"
foot) will not work.

Besides that it helped me to:

* Get to know interesting people outside of my bubble. I've been in CS academics for over 10 years now and it is so refreshing and mind-opening to talk to people of different backgrounds

* Get a boost self esteem. Nowadays I can stay calm and natural when talking to people that are new to me. This wasn't the case before. Especially when talking to people of the gender, I'm attracted to.

Bonus: You get healthy exercise (not a joke: most of us bring 1-2 additional
spare shirts to the dance to change during one evening) and improved body
control for free.

Here are some popular couple dances without particular order. Of course the
list is not complete and a single video will not completely represent each
dance and its subgenres.

 _Samba de Gafieira_ :
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9ia7iGVY-M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9ia7iGVY-M)

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

 _Zouk_ :
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_j8SiLBAoU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_j8SiLBAoU)

 _Salsa /Bachata_:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-JofUEsbD0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-JofUEsbD0)

 _Lindy Hop_ :
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GTrNLauLrs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GTrNLauLrs)

 _Blues Dance_ :
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpPwmclBxiw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpPwmclBxiw)

~~~
mathgenius
_Argentine tango_ :
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRQ1T5zKTJ4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRQ1T5zKTJ4)

~~~
uiae
Wow thank you. That was great. I completely got sucked into their performance
even though I have never danced argentine tango.

~~~
tanderson92
That was milonga, one of the three primary sub-dances of tango, though the
technique overlaps almost entirely. Here is the most common style, actually
called tango (words are heavily overloaded in tango):
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiT4OS6MKVQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiT4OS6MKVQ)

For completeness, here is the 3rd main type:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWSugQxwpEA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWSugQxwpEA)

Worth mentioning it is entirely improvised.

------
Al-Khwarizmi
Learning the very basics of photography: what shutter speed, ISO and aperture
do, and how to adjust them for each situation.

It takes literally half an hour to learn this, and of course you won't be
taking professional quality photos, but your photos will go from crappy to OK
or even good, even if you only have a phone (as long as it has manual mode).
You know that time you took a random photo and the light and colors came out
better than normal? You can achieve that consistently.

After learning this, I felt dumb for not having spent that half an hour years
before.

~~~
lquist
Link for this?

~~~
uiae
[https://www.exposureguide.com/exposure/](https://www.exposureguide.com/exposure/)

In addition to learning about the technical basics about photography, I found
the following guide highlighting certain patterns of composition useful:
[https://antongorlin.com/blog/photography-composition-
definit...](https://antongorlin.com/blog/photography-composition-definitive-
guide/)

------
dorfsmay
Learning more about how to use the editor you use every day. Take notes.
Review, at least monthly, and make sure you always incorporate new learnings.

Do not worry about which editor, there is something about the one you use
right now that makes you using it, your best bang for the buck is to learn how
to use this particular editor better. Returns will be immediate (no learning
curve to learn a new one). Returns will be huge: Not learning advanced usage
is literally wasting a bit of time every time you use your editor. If you work
with computers (ops, dev, etc...), you spend a lot of time inside your editor.

If in six months you find your editor too limiting, or somebody convinces to
use another one, so be it. The time you spent learning the current one isn't
wasted, you have raised the bar to what you need from an editor, and, will
learn the new one faster, because you now have advanced patterns that you need
and will immediately look on how to do that with the new tool.

------
kaivi
Deep work.

Not a huge time investment, but an indispensable skill or revelation I wish I
had before starting college. Think I've found the book here on HN:
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-
work](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work)

------
jbob2000
I’m really surprised this hasn’t been mentioned yet, but; playing a musical
instrument.

I don’t know what it is that makes music pleasurable, but when you get in the
flow and the music is just coming naturally to you, it feels like you’ve been
taken over by a higher power. Somehow, the next note and lyric just comes to
you. You lose control, in a way, and the music takes over.

I know that’s a corny, irrational explanation and I’m hoping someone can back
me up with more eloquent words, but _goddamn_ it feels good play music.

------
srik
Penmanship & Calligraphy. One of my non-computer fascinations that turned out
to be spiritually rewarding. Once one gets past shallow modern trends, there's
so much to discover, study, learn, practice, master and let loose with. It's
really fun. I don't necessarily ship or sell anything, at least as of yet, but
still the act itself is kinda like meditation.

~~~
another-cuppa
I started to get into calligraphy. I got quite good at copperplate/engrosser's
script (I was never quite clear on the difference). My script was good enough
that people thought it was printed. But I just don't know where to take it
from there. I feel like I need a good book on the subject. Like The Art of
Computer Programming, but for calligraphy. I've been unable to find such a
book, though. Any suggestions on how progress?

~~~
srik
let me start with sharing a link to my instagram where I've been recording and
sharing some penmanship study notes. It's a little nerdy, but I think there
oughta be lots more video resources :)
[https://www.instagram.com/theksop](https://www.instagram.com/theksop)

As for good books, oh so many. Please dont discount the value of a book
because it's in public domain or because they've been written a while ago.My
taste generally favors american penmanship derivations and as such prefer
engrosser's script over styles grouped under copperplate. Copperplate are
styles that derive from English Round hand. Engrosser's script evolved from
copperplate but did so in a time of the steel nib which allowed more nuanced
curves. Engrosser's script has a very definitive guide from the Zanerian
college that is clear, concise and has great exemplars. So my recommendation
is - The Zanerian Manual. There is a copy in archive.org but David Grimes
recently scanned a high def version of it on his website
[https://masgrimes.com/archive](https://masgrimes.com/archive) . Beauty of a
book. I refer to very often.

You didn't ask but some good material suggestions with KISS in mind - get a
good (not speedball) oblique holder, McCaffery's Iron gall Ink, a rhodia book
and a bunch of Leonardt Principal nibs because you'll go through them a lot.
Just like programming, once you get the fundamentals right, you can handle
anything that whimsies you.

I have a particular fondness for the Spencerian family and as such regard the
"New Spencerian Compendium" as a definite recommendation. It was done by Papa
Spencer's sons(including a genius penman Lyman Spencer) and has some well
written teaching material and theory on styles that have spring from the
Spencerian family. While on this topic, I'd like to recommend a book from the
Zanerian college about one of my favorite penmen - Louis Madarasz. It's called
- The secret of the skill of Louie Madarasz.

All of these books are freely available as pdfs on archive.org . Also you
should visit iampeth.org at some point - an organization that has spent lots
of resources to dig up and preserve the beauty that was the golden age of
American Penmanship. So many good helpful notes on that website.

I wouldn't mind offering personalized advice or more book recommendations.
Feel free to DM me on instagram.

~~~
another-cuppa
Thanks for that. I'll look into everything you've mentioned here.

As for nibs, I bought a load of different ones but the only one I got good
results with was Gillot 303. Are the Leonardt Principal ones like that?

~~~
srik
The 303s have better flex than Leonardt Principal. The catch is there’s just
so many duds, I’ve found it easier just to get the Principal. If you have
Gillots already though, that’s great :)

------
MarkArts
Learning to make/compose music. I's very rewarding to listen to your own
music, mostly because you make the stuff YOU like.

And being able to play whats in your head on an instrument makes playing allot
more fun.

And there are a some extremly valuable lessons to be learned from spending
hours a day practicing.

1) I learned how to practice efficiently (which made learning porgraming
languages and university for me allot easier)

2) I learned that I can do everything and it's just a matter of how much time
I'm willing to invest.

3) I spend allot of time on my creative process which also helps allot with
problem solving in daily life (and programming)

~~~
glass_of_water
How did you go about learning to compose?

~~~
justtopost
By doing mostly. But theory eventually creeps in as you figure it out. For the
lazy, yt channels like 12tone, jazz duets, and 8bit music theory, lay it out
quite well in differing but succinct manner.

~~~
mushishi
Those are great channels. Though my goto channel is Rick Beato's. For
orchestral composing Samuel Andreyev's.

------
observr9
Software Development interview questions. My skills, experience and education
don't seem to matter as much in the industry. Those questions were the single
factor that got me better jobs and increased my salary several times, the
effects of which extend to myself and my family.

I don't even like the questions. They're mostly puzzles, which I'm not good
at, in the guise of programming questions.

------
bayonetz
Regular expressions and SQL. It boggles the mind to think of the imperitive
version of custom logic you'd have to write to accomplish the same things. Two
of my most prized technical tools...

------
spacejunke
Learning Jiu Jitsu. It is a art form in the truest sense and is an incredible
equalizer of humans. You can not truly participate in the sport without
learning discipline, patience, humility and passion. The sport has nourished
my soul in such a way I detest imagining a life without it.

------
du_bing
Think about WHO AM I.

I think this is the most important question one can have for his entire life.

I am 28, but I have spent about 15 years to think about who am I? Where am I
come from? Where will I go?

And gradually, I get clearer and clearer about it.

And knowing who am I is the greatest source of happiness, strength and
calmness.

If you also do this, I think you may understand. You will have small
enlightment day by day, and finally a big enlightment.

What you really need to do is keep thinking, and you body will take you to
where you belong.

~~~
Dowwie
Check out business school application essays. They demand deep reflection.

~~~
du_bing
Any suggestion? Thanks!

~~~
Dowwie
What matters most to you, and why?

------
elorant
The subtle art of small talk. There are so many benefits, from flirting to
sales and whatnot. Especially in business relationships it helps smooth the
process and make people feel comfortable with you. Over the years I've noticed
that people who are very good at sales are masters of small talk.

~~~
bemmu
How did you go about learning this art?

~~~
psiegman
My algorithm:

1\. Start by saying something, something neutral/positive or a compliment:
"Nice weather, eh?", "Great party!", "Nice tie"

2\. Ask questions: "How are you doing ?", "What brought you here ?", "What
line of work are you in ?"

3\. Repeat #2 until you find something that you have something to say about.
Could be that you discover you're in the same line of work, grew up in the
same town, etc

4\. Keep your talking time to 50% or less, be sure to throw in questions here
and there and respond to the answers.

5\. Profit !

~~~
maroonblazer
I love this approach. Step 4 is key. I've found tremendous success simply
asking questions about what people do, their interests & opinions, etc.

It's cliche but it's true: "Interested people are interesting."

------
owurkan
Breathing. So much can be accomplished with something seemingly so simple.

~~~
bgaragan
Could you elaborate a little bit? How do you master breathing and how has it
helped you?

~~~
owurkan
There's a wide variety of different breathing techniques that can be used for
specific purposes. It's been literally life-changing for me. Some techniques
can help you getting out of a bad moment (anxiety, stress,...) but others have
much deeper effects and can transform how you function as a human being. You
can for example check the following broad categories: a) Conscious breathing
(Holotropic, rebirth, and the likes), b) Pranayama (Kapalabhati, anuma
viloma,..), c) Buteyko + McKeown, d) Anapana Sati, e) Qi gong, f) Wim Hof. It
takes time to absorb the practical knowledge and use it in daily life but as
the question asked, I was richly rewarded for the time I've invested in
mastering these techniques.

~~~
owurkan
I also wrote a post on my experience with Wim Hof technique:
[https://medium.com/the-mission/a-year-of-cold-
showers-662ec6...](https://medium.com/the-mission/a-year-of-cold-
showers-662ec6d73454)

------
mathgenius
Social dancing, in particular _argentine tango._ Would totally recommend it to
all the nerds here, it attracts quite a cerebral crowd. You can go to any
major city and there will be tango to be found and people to meet there.
Definitely saved my ass from oblivion more than once. Doesn't matter if you're
the ugliest dude in the room, if you can dance then the girls will want some.

------
refurb
Investing. Read a few solid, no BS books by people like Bernstein. Realize
that there is a ton of BS out there. Develop your own investing strategy and
execute it yourself.

In the end you save money, get some financial security and stop asking
yourself “do I know what i’m doing?”

~~~
samat
Suggestions would be appreciated.

~~~
refurb
This is where I started: [https://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Asset-Allocator-
Portfolio...](https://www.amazon.com/Intelligent-Asset-Allocator-Portfolio-
Maximize/dp/0071362363)

It should resonate with the HN crowd as it starts from the basics and builds
up a strategy. Very understandable. It then uses that to help you build an
overall investment strategy.

Bernstein is in line with the Boglehead investing theory. Own the market,
don't try and beat it.

It has served me very well.

------
WalterBright
Learning to touch type properly. A short course I took in the summer pays off
every time I use a keyboard, which is all day.

The other one was a summer course in basic accounting that taught the basics
of double-entry bookkeeping, balance sheets, and income statements. That has
paid off literally, ongoing, and well. Very good investment of time.

------
enitihas
Learning to control impulsive eating, and starting to exercise. Weight control
never seemed difficult afterwards.

~~~
xcubic
Would love to know more about "Learning to control impulsive eating"

------
skyisblue
Mediatation.

I’ve been meditating daily using the app Headspace for the past 3 months and
have seen improvements in my focus and a reduction in anxiety.

My mind would previously wonder off in meetings and I would miss a lot of the
discussion, but with meditation I’ve noticed that I’m alot more focused and my
mind doesn’t wander off as much.

I’ve also felt alot happier and less anxious, as meditation has allowed me to
notice my thoughts and feelings and let go of those that are negative.

------
billwear
Health and fitness. I see the subthread about producing income, but you can’t
produce income if you’re dead, and you can’t produce as much income if you’re
fat, out-of-shape, and can’t hink straight for hours at a time. Not to mention
that fitness allows people over 25 to more easily expand the executive
functions in the brain, which increases your ability to produce income.

------
vagab0nd
Understanding risk vs reward, and maybe some math behind it. It sounds simple
on the surface, but once I deeply understood it, it just keeps showing up
again and again in life: financial investing, trading, playing poker, taking
risks in life, making better decisions, etc. Where other people see
"gambling", I see calculated risk taking. And it pays off.

------
mastazi
For me it has to be the following two:

1.Learning languages,

2.learning to play musical instruments.

They are both great for someone like me because they enhance your social
skills and facilitate interpersonal relationships

------
webreac
Perl. Knowing perl removes the need to know the tricky parts of awk, sed and
bash. It is the most pleasant language when you need to extract data from
badly formatted files (like log files or even binary recordings) and provide a
report. It is a very good glue language. The autovivification is really
handsome and helps to code very very quickly.

------
s0rce
Riding a bike and driving a car. While I didn't really chose to do these (my
parents chose for me) they both provide immense use from getting to work,
fitness and recreation to exploring the country. I'm glad I learned them
young.

Also, I think this has been mentioned, but learning to cook. I never really
formally made an effort to learn but my mom is a great cook and I seemed to
have absorbed the knowledge/natural ability and over a decade of trial and
error I seem to have managed to be decent. Useful day to day and for special
occasions. Only downside is eating too much.

------
phkahler
Flying. It's hard to put into words. Heightens your senses. Teaches discipline
and planning. Requires and teaches concentration and assertive communication.
Builds confidence. You'll meet interesting people and go places you never
would have otherwise. It's forcing me to face some of my deepest demons.

------
orasis
18 years of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu transformed me from an insecure geek into an
alpha male.

------
soulchild37
Reading "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "Badass: Making Users
Awesome" and some other book on understanding human psychology and how to
understand better.

In a world where millions of developers rush to compete to build the best,
most sophisticated apps, Understanding user / audience / customer has become
an overlooked field.

Understand your user / client's pain points so well that they love you so much
by buying your products / continuing to hire you for consultation feels really
good.

------
sizzzzlerz
Learning to play piano later in life. I'll never be close to being
professional but I've spent enough time and effort in practice to become
proficient enough to confidently play in front of others. My only regret is
why I didn't start earlier.

~~~
jcomis
how did you get started? just bought my first keyboard and not really sure
what's next.

~~~
sizzzzlerz
Find a teacher. Seriously, working with a knowledgeable teacher will help you
learn what and what not to do. With some regret, however, that's not what I
did.

I had been a musician, playing clarinet and sax, in high school and college so
I knew how to read music and knew a bit of music theory. I decided one day
that I wanted to learn. I bought an inexpensive Yamaha keyboard and a beginner
level book and started working through it. It took me about a year but I was
playing songs using both hands and with lots of mistakes.

At that point, I decided I liked it and wanted to continue so I bought a new
upright piano and continued learning from other books and finding popular and
jazz music I wanted to learn and just dove in. I'm probably a piano teacher's
worst nightmare but I don't care. I love to play and I would love to get
better but, at this point, I just can't devote the additional time at the
keyboard needed to do that. And that's OK by me.

------
newusertoday
emacs, it has paid so much of dividend over the time. Sometimes i regret not
having adopted it earlier.

~~~
jtms
Same answer, but VIM flavored :-)

~~~
Monkoton1
What is the difference between that and using vim?

------
faizshah
Painting/drawing

I am horrible at drawing, even doodling, but I spent a few weeks taking a
drawing class that covered the basics (perspective, lighting, seeing shapes
etc) and it's amazing how rapidly you can improve with just a little practice.
It taught me that you could really learn anything (even things you think you
are bad at) if you put in consistent practice over time. It also taught me
that doing drills is not useless. It's best to do drills, get the hang of the
small skills that you routinely use on a bigger project then take on the
bigger project once you're comfortable.

Everyone should find an outlet to experience that slow and incremental
improvement of skills especially hands on skills like painting and drawing. Be
sure to keep your earliest works to look back on how much you've improved.

------
uf00lme
Enjoying my own mind, either when or when lying down eye closed just thinking
through different ideas. Amazed at how many people don't enjoy their own mind.

~~~
davebryand
Agree. After developing my ability to quiet my mind, closing my eyes feels
like coming home to my favorite place.

~~~
morokhovets
Next step, be at home with eyes opened

~~~
davebryand
Comes and goes, but it’s lovely when it’s happening.

------
gdubs
A lot of mine have been covered here already, so I’ll keep it to Drawing.

No matter where you’re at — even if you can only draw stick figures — working
on drawing skills is an incredible, compounding investment that pays continual
dividends.

~~~
dcraw
Sounds interesting, but not obvious to me. What are the dividends?

~~~
gdubs
Most relevant here on HN I think would be the ability to communicate and
articulate ideas very quickly and efficiently. I say dividends because while
you can get rusty, the skill never really goes away; I constantly feel
grateful for all the time I’ve put into improving my drawing skills over the
years.

“Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” is the book I typically recommend for
anyone at any skill level.

------
henriquemaia
My case: reading poetry.

At the starting point of my poetic journey, I was ignorant of the genre, very
opposed to it (for I couldn’t make the sense out of it) and arrogantly sure
that poetry was mostly a scam.

Fortunately for me, a teacher of mine at college had this whole class around
Portuguese poets. We had to read them for each other and explain the meaning,
while he provided solid interpretations to the texts we were working on.

Thinking I had something in me clearly broken for I could not make the sense
of any of the readings we were assigned, I got myself to go the library,
picked up one of Fernando Pessoa’s heteronyms to read, and gave myself the
task of reading at least a poem a day, trying to make whatever sense I could
make out of it — whatever long it took for me to read the whole book. Also, if
poetry was supposed to be this highly aesthetic experience, I would have to
read the poem (or poems) out loud. And that I did.

When I had finished Pessoa’s book, I felt something was changing in me. Most
of the poems still sounded nonsensical, but the ones that _worked_ , the ones
I felt I got a sense out of it, really made me feel that I was heading
somewhere. So I drudged along.

After the finishing the first book (after a month or two), I picked up
another. This time one Alberto Caeiro, one of Pessoa’s most beloved
heteronyms. I can’t exactly pinpoint where the magic happened, but, suddenly,
I was no longer the same self that started that journey. Now I was not reading
out of obligation, but reading as a necessity. Poetry had gone under my skin,
and I was starting to get this huge crave to read more and more poetic works.

To make a long story a bit shorter, nowadays I’m an avid reader of poetry,
having read most of the great poets of Portuguese literature. I find
particularly at home in the poetic genre and I’m even trying for a masters
degree in philosophy working on... a poet!

This to me was the thing that I felt most accomplished by putting myself to
master it. Looking back to how I felt before; knowing what I now know about
poetry, my thoughts are the exact opposite of what they were in regards to
poetry. Now I cannot even imagine how I managed to live my whole life at that
point without giving poetry a try.

~~~
saamm
Poetry is great! To me, it seems like there should be more software folks
interested in it. I definitely see a few parallels.

------
BerislavLopac
Cunnilingus. I'm dead serious.

~~~
HugoDaniel
Then wait until you master fellatio

------
alacer
Learning the concept of meta, meta skills, particularly learning how to learn,
distinguishing what is useful to learn from what is not, constructing a
comprehensive view for navigation in all circumstances.

------
ritoune
Learning to learn. Being able to go from "I know nothing about this subject"
to 80% in a year or so for the most complex subjects has completely changed
how I approach professional challenges.

~~~
bartlomieju
Can you reveal how you did that?

EDIT: typo

~~~
inetsee
Coursera has a course with exactly that title. The course can be found here
[https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-
learn](https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn) . It is one of
THE most popular courses on Coursera.

~~~
jppope
Its a good course written by sharp people. Unfortunately the production
quality rivals an 11 year old using their parents iPhone 4s and crayons. Just
needed to put that out there, because it stopped me mid-course... I just
couldn't anymore

------
lisper
Common Lisp. I can't even begin to describe how much leverage I've gotten out
of that over the years.

~~~
0xakhil
I am curious. Could you elaborate? How would it be useful compared to, say
Python to someone who is not going to use it for primary work?

~~~
lisper
Python is not a bad choice nowadays. When I started out, Python did not exist.

But even today CL has a few killer features that no other language has. Three
in particular are huge levers for me: macros, generic functions, and the
ability to redefine classes without having to recreate all the existing
instances.

S-expressions in general are also a huge lever. Ironically, the reason they
are a huge lever is that they are simple to parse, and because they are simple
to parse you can easily write an S-expression parser in any language, but
hardly anyone does. Learning to "think in S-expressions" just takes you to a
whole new level of understanding. It's the red pill. (But it's a bit dangerous
too because once you get there, the syntax of other languages will just start
to feel annoying.)

------
msluyter
Toastmasters — I only did it for a few months but it was enough to get over
the general fear of public speaking and make it pretty easy for me to get up
and give presentations. Highly recommended.

~~~
mathgenius
Toastmasters is very cool, and also a bit weird. It's like AA for people that
are addicted to shyness.

------
pastullo
For me, it has been the ability to build websites. This is the very skill that
changed my life for the better. Why? First of all it opened so many more job
opportunities. I graduated in Economics and Management, just like tens of
thousands of other kids. Very few of them though knew HTML, leave alone a
full-stack web framework. Coding was an incredible asset that landed me great
executive digital jobs all over the world and made my low grades much less
important.

So from a career and safe job point of view it was great. But even more
important is that somehow i am the go-to person when a friend of mine wants to
build a brand new digital business, which today's always requires a website of
some sort. Being able to bootstrap a digital business is an incredible way to
increase my chances to reach financial independence.

Being able to build any kind of website has thus been the greatest advantage
and has definitely shaped my life for the best.

All the time spent reading programming books, tutorials and debugging my early
apps really has paid off. When i look back, i am amazed by how much each
single hour i have invested into web development, has given back to me as
financial return.

This however has shaped a bit negatively the way i relate to learning new
skills. When i am comparing each potential new skill i have to invest time in,
with the incredible returns i got from web development, i find tough to invest
time in something difficult to monetize immediately. In the end i guess each
skill you learn enrich you somehow.

------
xyproto
Learning the game of Go to a medium proficient level (3kyu). It's a humbling
experience, but the insights and lessons about strategy, influence, timing and
prioritization feels universal.

------
JSeymourATL
Cognitive behavioral therapy - (CBT) is a short-term, goal-oriented
psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands-on, practical approach to problem-
solving. Its goal is to change patterns of thinking or behavior that are
behind people's difficulties, and so change the way they feel.
>[https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/cbt-cognitive-
behaviou...](https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/cbt-cognitive-behavioural-
therapy-books/)

------
danmaz74
Learning to touch-type. I spent maybe a few days in aggregate when I was in
high school to learn it on my own, and it's a skill that massively paid off in
the almost 20 years since.

------
Insanity
VIM - it makes programming more enjoyable, but I use it for other kinds of
text editing as well.

------
rstuart4133
Judo.

But not for the reasons you expect. When you learn Judo you spend the first
weeks learn how to fall, followed by people picking you up and slamming you
into the ground alternating with you picking them up and slamming them into
the ground. The amount of body control you learn is amazing - it's like doing
gymnastics, but in a cement mixer. Turns out learning how to land safely in
unexpected situations is amazingly useful and makes you a lot safer (I've
never broken a bone), and things like falling off a 3 story building is
unlikely to cause you too much damage. Unlike karate Judo is mostly harmless
as there is no striking - it's best described as Japanese wrestling.

I've done a lot of other sports, some more enjoyable Judo, and sadly Judo is
more of a young persons sport. All have something to teach you about teams,
practice and persistence. Some like, swimming, teach you things a skill that
is useful in the obvious places. But surprisingly to me, Judo was the one that
always that unexpectedly saved me when I did something stupid, which in you
younger days I did at least once a year.

------
sunstone
Really inculcating that the conservation laws of physics are inviolate and
provide the solid reference point that any analysis must satisfy. They're a
"have to have" not a "nice to have".

And when they are violated you can be confident some sleight of hand is in
play (I'm looking at you "the holes of semiconductor physics" and the RF "path
loss equation".)

~~~
jquave
wut

------
davebryand
Meditation and all forms of activity (contemplation, journaling, calligraphy,
singing, drumming, guitar playing, painting, skateboarding, etc) that put me
in a meditative state. My mind is primary to everything in my present and
future experience and cleaning it up and keeping tidy has brought unimaginable
(to me prior to experiencing it) joy and peace into my life.

------
mishoo
Emacs, the One True Program.

------
hvd
Thinking of working with systems rather than towards goals. I got this idea
from How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of
My Life [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COOFBA4/ref=dp-kindle-
redirect?...](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COOFBA4/ref=dp-kindle-
redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)

Learning to type - Enhanced productivity
[https://hkelkar.com/2014/03/02/learn-to-type-before-you-
lear...](https://hkelkar.com/2014/03/02/learn-to-type-before-you-learn-to-
code/)

Writing a blog has been extremely rewarding. It takes effort to Blog Over the
years I published a book based on the blog.

Understanding Compounding.

Learning Python for fun. Learning Python was really the stepping stone to
learning other interesting things.

------
acd
Hobbies - Rewarding not in money but in enjoyment and experiances

Learning to play a music instrument. I started playing the piano as an adult.
I can highly recommend learning to play an music instrument if you ever felt
like you wanted to play. It teaches you coordinate your hand and feet with
your brain and you have to keep rhythm. Being able to play music is relaxing.
Its humble feeling to be an improving beginner.

Photography being able to capture moments in your life. Being able to capture
better pictures of your family and friends is rewarding.

Scuba diving, it is beautiful to watch the creatures and landscape of
underwater places. Often if its beautiful under water it is also a pretty
place above water. Plus you get to move around when on vacation so you see
more of the vacation place. You usually meet new people when diving.

------
adam-_-
Cooking. I can’t imagine how much less enjoyable (or more expensive) life
would be without cooking skills.

------
billhathaway
Learning to type faster.

I used to have a "hunt and peck" typing style requiring me to always look at
the keyboard. I spent about 40 hours practicing over the course of a month and
went from ~ 20 WPM to about 60 WPM.

I can now be looking at the screen about 99% of the time.

------
geden
Sitting meditation / mindfulness with a Shinzen Young / Culadasa vibe.

------
knitHacker42
I know I sounds like every other functional programmer but this year I spent
the time to learn about monads after 5 years of copying IO examples from the
internet. The last few weeks my boss let me do a prototype using haskell and
the ease at which it came together was amazing. I don't know if I will ever
use Haskell or any other functional language at work, although I can hope, and
I don't think that every needs to know how to use a monad but the experience
for me of learning a new problem solving tool and then using it effortlessly
was extremely rewarding.

~~~
irchans
I used Haskell at work for the first time about 3 months ago. I reimplemented
a chunk of our trading software. It ended up being about 1000 lines of
Haskell. Fun :)

------
Annatar
Learning how to create OS packages. Learning auto mechanics. Mastering UNIX.

------
jobigoud
Blind typing on a keyboard.

~~~
smithmayowa
I up-voted because of your keen sense of humor hurrah jobigoud, this made me
laugh.

jahbdcbf vmbfkv mfvrm ervj ewrm v,m erwhj v wer vj er,m vj we,m
vkjljsdkhdugercrk xioeg opacxugseifcm elfrhf; ckrv

sorry i blind typed that.

~~~
jobigoud
Oops, French idiom was lost in translation. I meant "touch typing".

------
nithishdivakar
A few things. \- A habit of reading: Took a while but, whenever I am
traveling, I am reading stuff. Books, articles you name it. But strictly no
social media. BTW, Pocket is a great app for this. \- Learning vim: Writing
code faster has really paid off. I have reached a point where I don't remember
the vim key bindings. But my hand does. So things are pretty fast. \- Learning
emacs org mode: All the writing and planning activities have become much
simpler. Highly recommend it.

------
buboard
To answer this one could list things that lasted in time and thus the reward
from compounds over time. For example , C, vim, touch typing,
HTTP/Html/PHP/javascript/mysql , weightlifting, calculus/geometry , English
(if not your native tongue), the piano.

OTOH what are the things i have avoided learning because of perceived short-
term value: ios development, android development, toolshelves of javascript
gimmicks that only google needs, ORMs, various javascript frameworks, R.

------
barking
Nothing but I think if I had mastered another language that would probably be
very rewarding. Actually I think mastering just about anything must be very
rewarding. The more you put in the more you get out. There were subjects I did
in school that were boring only because I didn't put enough into them to find
them interesting. So my answer would be just about anything. Except don't go
for something at which you know you don't have the attributes for.

------
lmiller1990
Learning Japanese. Although this can apply for any language different to your
own, it opened my eyes to a new way of thinking and lots of literature, ideas
and culture.

~~~
Max_Mustermann
I recently read Wittgenstein's quote; "The limits of my language are the
limits of my mind.". I keep coming back to it.

------
jcutrell
"Master" is a strong word - feeling more like a perpetual student than
approaching mastery.

Before I became a developer, learning to play music. There is almost nothing
more rewarding than the ability to speak a non-verbal, near-universal language
in order to express yourself.

Private pilot's license.

Podcasting.

Understanding more about cognitive bias. Rhetoric and logic.

Philosophy.

(Not sure you can master these last two within a lifetime.)

Fatherhood and being a good husband to my wife. These are easily the most
rewarding experiences of my life.

------
raleigh_user
Learning sales. I use to only code and my ability to make money doing things I
enjoy went way way up once I dedicated $$$ and time to learning how to sell.

~~~
abledon
How’d u get over the fact that most sales is pushing rubbish on to people,
things they don’t need

~~~
raleigh_user
Sales certainly can be that. But I don’t sell things that way. If you solve a
problem you get paid for it. Just do this over and over.

------
phillc73
Home brewing, although I wouldn't say I've mastered that craft yet. I still
have a lot to learn, and of course much more stainless steel to buy.

~~~
sitkack
Home brewing is awesome, chemistry, art and cleanliness. And once a brew
starts, it encompasses everything for hours. The cleaning can meditative.

~~~
phillc73
Even more than that. Check out the iSpindel[1]. Basically build your own
tilting hydrometer. Now I have electronics in the mix too.

I have also become fascinated with yeasts (biology!) and really want to start
harvesting and propogating my own from local varieties.

Hops is another complex subject. So many different varieties with different
aromas and flavours.

[1] [http://www.ispindel.de](http://www.ispindel.de)

------
HugoDaniel
sex

------
jimijazz
Most definitely dance lessons. I've taken both salsa and tango classes and
from day one it's been a rewarding experience.

------
mattdeboard
Critical self-analysis, and, though I don’t think there is a “mastery” to be
achieved, seeing a therapist weekly is a huge improvement in my life. As the
current top commenter said, “After almost two years, the benefits of” therapy
“are so apparent that I have to hold back getting on my bully pulpit to
encourage other friends to do so.”

------
luhego
Learning English. It allowed me to work as a remote developer. I earn a lot
more than senior developers who work locally.

------
ArcMex
Been learning hiragana for a few months with my girlfriend. We are both
pleased at our ability to recognize symbols even if we do not understand all
the words we read. The joy of taking something completely foreign and over
time becoming familiar with it is incredible.

------
beefman
Singing in a choir. There's no sound so beautiful, especially when you're in
the middle of it, making it. It combines the benefits of music and martial-
arts-like breathing practice (each mentioned more than once in this thread)
with intimate teamwork.

It's cooperative, not competitive (though choirs can optionally compete).
Anyone can participate. While rough skill parity helps, stronger singers
naturally help weaker ones, so it's less sensitive to skill disparity than
many other activities.

The drawback is that it requires teammates. Basic music literacy, and
especially choir singing, has been in decline in the West for at least four
decades. All the best stuff to sing is Christian, so you have to get over
that. I'm an atheist but somehow I love the lyrics (I would also love it if
choir singing were revived and a new repertoire with inspiring humanist lyrics
appeared).

One subculture that is relatively healthy or even growing is Sacred Harp
singing. There are groups meeting weekly at many universities in the U.S.
While the repertoire is somewhat limited, it's a good way to get started.

I think there's potential for choirs at tech companies. I nearly started one
at Apple back in the aughties, but I was so busy with work and a new family
that I decided against it.

------
ChrisCinelli
7 Habits of Highly Effective People

------
randcraw
Deferring judgement, especially when it's negative.

I'm still terrible at it. But whenever I can refrain from destructive
criticism, judgementalism, and general cynicism, I enjoy life more and I'm
sure others near me do too.

------
chris_wot
Learning logic and set theory, even if it is only really scratching the
surface.

------
vouhardy
Music with programming, mostly with SuperCollider and TidalCycles. :)

------
tobbe2064
Family:) But I wouldn't dare say I have mastered it

------
B1FF_PSUVM
Understanding the concept of "negative feedback" in control systems.

Really. That's how you get accurate instruments out of mostly widely varying
parts.

------
jason_slack
Totally unrelated to each other, but I have spent the last few years learning
Chinese and pursuing a degree in Economics (and I'm 41).

------
Jeff_Brown
Ear training. After spending twenty minutes a day at it for two months, I
could hear an unfamiliar meldoy and know how to play it.

------
jjuhl
"Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering
them?" \- For me personally: Linux, C++.

------
balladeer
Learning swimming. I learned in my late 20s. It has changed my relationship
with water bodies.

Next goals: driving, a musical instrument.

------
pvg
The blade, blockchain and inner strength.

------
marikio
Beatboxing.

You get so much respect when you have a party trick that can turn any
gathering into an improv acapella concert.

------
Dowwie
Giving a talk / presentation is consistently rewarding, but also very
demanding of time and effort.

------
pndd90
Deep meditation. It is not quick to learn but it profoundly changed
circumstances around and within me.

------
stretchwithme
Learning to read has worked out well.

------
Iwan-Zotow
Masturbation

------
twblalock
Hand tool woodworking, although I can't say I'm anywhere near mastering it.

------
JoshuaAshton
Not me, but my boss knows regex and I probably should too as he is a wizard
with it.

------
hkyeti
Activism work, and the research and learning about the world to try to do it
better.

------
stretchwithme
Combining running and massage has been amazing. They both make the other
easier.

~~~
goelakash
Is there such a thing as effectively massaging yourself? Or do you mean that
your partner went to masseuse school while you developed a habit of running?
:p

~~~
stretchwithme
Yes, there is. Obviously, it's difficult to massage everything, but there's a
lot you can do. Especially if you have long arms or especially flexible.

In fact, you may be able to do MORE than a massage therapist can do in many
parts of the body because you're always around and you only have one patient
to deal with. And, while you are not as objective, you do know how everything
feels.

I took an intro to massage class and have done quite a bit of reading on the
topic.

------
NPMaxwell
Psychology, especially cognitive behavioral therapy for depression and anxiety

------
elros
Vim

------
fiveFeet
Touch typing - got me interested in programming

Python - made programming enjoyable

------
timwaagh
basic economics. it helps if you have a great teacher.

it tells you how the world works. basically when i started high school i was a
communist. if i had gone on with that worldview i would have found things very
difficult, like why this person has x and other person has y. doing stuff like
calculating the market price of a good kinda helps with that. and
understanding the economy and what people do in business helped me understand
things better. It gave me a healthy dose of cynicism and a better idea of what
behavior can be productive and what things are ultimately admirable sentiments
that lead to nothing. in terms of practicality i use some of these ideas to
adjust the price of the rooms i let out. no doubt being able to keep them
filled without being unnecessarily cheap is profitable.

------
zubairlk
Going to local meetup groups, meeting and talking to people!

------
fhe
copywriting skills; humor; basic graphic design skills.

~~~
mkbkn
How does one learn copywriting? Is there any good specific path to follow?

Also, could you elaborate how copywriting skills rewarded you?

------
Ayesh
Regular Expressions and SQL.

------
posterboy
CS: Not ever graduated, but once I had to sort a pile of letters by zip code I
knew the education would come in handy. Although, because I couldn't remember
anything, I resorted to bucket-sort (the difference wasn't measurable anyhow).

Sports: Incidentally, that internship at a local governing sports association
left a lasting impression. A two week course on sports training theory from a
graduate was really inspiring and transferable to all sorts of learning, in
spirit. It's probably meaningful that high-school (college) in German is
called "Gymnasium".

Language: Understanding syntax and semantics helps so much. It's also a hobby
that works in every situation. Just for a topical example: master, muster and
pattern - I'm not very good at it, mind you - those words highlight different
aspects of the same problem. A master piece is a prototype, a new pattern,
compare "gold master"; And it is a work to be mustered. In fact, German
"Muster" means pattern. A "Muster-Schüler" is a top notch pupil, a role model,
you might almost call that a master student. IMHO this gives a different view
on the master-slave-replication naming issue. Also consider the British
pronunciation of master (ie. muster). If you look it up, it will say something
different, but it will not account for the derivation of "magnus"- _big_ to
"magister"- _teacher_ with any semantic aspect, other than the big cheese,
although that may be explained by "monstrare"- _to show_ which even explains
"minister", too, usually given as "minus" \+ either "-ister", or the
comparative suffix "-tero", but better explained with the Proto-Indo-European
root _men- (_ to think), whence indeed "monstrare". That doesn't exclude an
influence of _méǵh₂s (_ big _), though. There is enough time for that to have
happened before the classical Latin. Compare also "meist" (most), "Meister"
(master), "most" and "utmost"; also "μύστης" (mústēs - initiated one), _mewH-
_mew-,_ mey-. Classical Latin likely established the folk etymology. There's
the lesson applicable to history in general - it is written by the masters.

Signal-Processing: Information science is often transfered wrongly in
metaphors to the universe and everything. Still, as far as simple concepts are
concerned it's illustrative of how we get a clear grasp of things. It re-
appears in physics, music, art and statistics. It's a shame that it's not in
the standard curriculum in the information age.

Maths: Logic fits in with language. Linear algebra and related fields (no pun
intended) fits to signal processing

Overall I'm not a master of anything and wasting my live away and that of
others. So if know anything, it's to be quiet. And I try to achieve that like
everyone does, by being the loudest quieting everyone else down. Then enter a
feedback loop and ultimately try to be an example staying quiet, adjusting my
expectation of silence.

------
hamilyon2
Studying english language

------
Exuma
Programming

------
openfuture
Mathematics

------
ergest
SQL

------
p4bl0
Emacs.

------
bantersaurus
Golf

------
fredsir
> Your most important asset is your ability to produce income.

I think that's an incredibly sad way to view yourself and your life, albeit I
bet that for many people producing income is the single most important thing.

I see that as a consequence and a failure of society.

~~~
MisterOctober
May be, but most anyone who has ever been economically disadvantaged can tell
you that it's damn sure the practical reality if you aim to participate in
contemporary industrial civilization.

When you're home-insecure, health-vulnerable, and have a family depending on
you, income starts to dwarf things like ideals in one's value schema.

Which is more sad, the people who debase themselves in order to provide for
their family, or the ones who go run off to live in the canyon pines or in an
art squat and leave their family to fend for themselves?

~~~
fredsir
> I see that as a consequence and a failure of society

~~~
tcgv
Consequence yes, failure maybe not, since failure implies lack of success
trying to achieve a goal. From my point of view it was never a goal of
"society" to avoid that.

------
mrhackerpoland
From my experience:

After my startup got acquired, i ended up with lots of money (10s of millions,
small start-up) and time. This created a vacuum in my life. I was very sad
having finally made it.

I had no purpose in life.

Since then,

Self Acutualization - walking the path devised by yogic culture of
spritualism.

Cannabis - The king of herbs, it helps me in self Acutualization and achieving
state of trance aka ultimate ignorance.

Knowledge is only born out of something you don't know. If i accept my
ignorance, suddenly it's no longer ignornance but something 'unknown'

If you already know something, then you won't gain any knowledge from there.

What did i gain? Finally, i am happy and content. My all questions about life
have been answered. I've no need of traveling afar and exploring new places,
I've no desire to travel back in past or future or to some distant planet.

~~~
sauravt
Very interesting to see someone transcend all way to the top of maslow's
hierarchy of needs pyramid. Having achieved this state, what do you look
forward to when you wake up every morning?

~~~
phkahler
Wouldn't that be travel to the future? Just experience right now.

------
trevyn
> _Your most important asset is your ability to produce income._

You... may want to reconsider that one.

~~~
rubicon33
I would love to know, oh wise one, which of your many assets is going to help
you when you have no means of securing a roof over your head, no means of a
meal every night, no means of healthcare, or safety.

I'm going to go ahead and agree with OP. Your ability to make money is your
greatest asset, and one you should protect.

~~~
codr4
There are plenty of people who are managing that without making any money at
all, despite all sorts of prolonged efforts to turn their way of living into
hell.

Integrity, being surrounded by loving people, being in good health, having the
freedom to be all that you are. Those are all more important from my
perspective.

We've been carefully conditioned to believe that this game is the only
alternative, it's not.

~~~
EpicEng
>Integrity, being surrounded by loving people, being in good health, having
the freedom to be all that you are. Those are all more important from my
perspective.

Sure, because you don't have to worry about where your next meal is coming
from. As soon as the risk of death due to starvation or exposure to the
elements is real, your priorities are going to change real quick.

More than anything, we have to survive. Money is how we do that today.

~~~
codr4
Worrying where it will come from is never going to be a good idea, worrying in
general is the worst kind of visualization. Dying from starvation is not
really realistic in any western country, many will even stop you from doing it
by your own choice. Money is not how we survive, you can't eat money or build
anything worth building using it. All it takes is a slight disruption and it's
paper with funny faces on and digits in a computer that doesn't run anymore.

------
gaius
Linear algebra and linear programming. So many problems in so many fields boil
down to matrix manipulation in the end.

------
lowry
Languages. English to start with. French, because of quality of life. Dutch
for business and education for kids.

------
another-cuppa
Programming: I've spent the longest on this but I can now use a computer to
solve some of my problems.

Guitar: I like being able to make music come out of an acoustic instrument.

------
mmirate
Why is it necessary to truly avoid exploiting the other party, instead of
merely maintaining for them an illusion that they're not being exploited?

~~~
pergadad
Most people are happier if they know that they are actively contributing to
the world or at least to others people's happiness. Whether that applies to
you is a question you have to answer yourself.

I wouldn't want to live my life knowing that I'm trying to pull everyone and
everything over the table and that i make others miserable wherever I go.

If you want to find a business reason: long term relationships and trust both
are valuable and build future business and new connections. But, really, the
first reason should be enough.

~~~
mmirate
Business negotiations are one thing. But the goal of a hostage negotiation is
generally to waste enough time (and/or agree upon such a maneuver) so that the
enemy exposes themselves all to simultaneous incapacitation by well-placed
bullets, no?

~~~
lwansbrough
The FBI has botched a number of high stakes operations using the tactics you
mentioned.

Going in weapons hot is really dangerous for everyone involved and much like
lawyers with law, the smartest people will seek to minimize their exposure to
risk (ie. courtrooms, raids, etc.)

A better and cheaper solution in a hostage negotiation is to figure out the
core motives for the hostage takers (often money [and why they need it]) and
lead them to realistic expectations and a feeling of fairness.

