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Ask HN: What are you learning right now?

33 points| kotrunga | 8 years ago | reply

Can be anything. What are you currently learning?

71 comments

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[+] graystevens|8 years ago|reply
How to run a bootstrapped startup as a single founder. I don’t have a problem with the tech etc. and those that see it and experience it, love it.

However, that cliche stands true - marketing and sales are hard. ‘Cold emails’ feel extremely spammy to me, as I know when I’m on the receiving end they get deleted almost straight away. I’m working on content marketing (blog posts etc.), but that is a slow burn that doesn’t provide any returns for a while, or at least that is how looks to me from the outside.

At the same time, it’s a great experience and I’m loving that fact I get to talk to strangers about tech and security almost daily, it is certainly a great new way to look at things.

[+] owebmaster|8 years ago|reply
I feel my cold emails are spammy when the value I'm proposed is not a good deal for the reader. Either a still bad product or a overpriced offer.
[+] zanedb|8 years ago|reply
Out of curiosity, what does your startup do/what is it called? I suppose your comment itself could function as advertising.
[+] gallerdude|8 years ago|reply
A lot. I'm in college, so Stats, Japanese, Communication, and History there. But that's just the surface.

I'm also reading a lot of eBooks (mostly nonfiction books: Deep Work, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Models: Attracting Women through Honesty.) I also want to read Wilson's new translation of The Odyssey.

Finally, I just realized I had feelings for a friend of mine when she started dating someone else. I decided that it'd be healthier for both of us if I wished her the best and moved on. We're on good terms, so that's good. So I'm learning a lot about myself and relationships there.

[+] jwist|8 years ago|reply
If you are reading Mark Manson I would also suggest: As You Are by Nick Sparks

Good on you for being honest with how you felt, it's something I still struggle with.

[+] kotrunga|8 years ago|reply
Japanese- through a class in college?

I just finished learning all of the Hiragana pronunciations. Trying to figure out if I want to commit to learning the language or not.

[+] mindcrime|8 years ago|reply
In the most general sense, way too much to list here. But in terms of specific classes or something...

1. I'm taking 3 different Neural Networks related courses on Coursera right now (why 3? Well, I accidentally signed up for one I didn't mean to, but since I already have a Coursera subscription, and since you can keep switching sessions, I just decided to keep it). The three are: Geoffrey Hinton's original NN class, the first class in Andrew Ng's new Deep Learning specialization, and Introduction to Deep Learning, the first course in the Advanced Machine Learning specialization from the Higher School of Economics.

2. I'm taking the first class in the GIS specialization on Coursera.

3. I'm taking the 4th class (Bayesian Statistics) in the "Statistics with R" specialization from Duke on Coursera.

Outside of that, I'm trying to find some time to spend reading Artificial Intelligence - A Modern Approach.

[+] dzjin|8 years ago|reply
React Native and its suite, including Redux/React.

It's been a journey. Once I had to upgrade RN to use RNFirebase on Android side, all the dependencies started falling like dominoes. Right now - dealing with RN not building production, and RN+Android not creating JS bundle correctly.

On the bright side, it's bound to stabilize, and I'm learning a lot about how RN works internally.

[+] owebmaster|8 years ago|reply
> On the bright side, it's bound to stabilize, and I'm learning a lot about how RN works internally.

Exactly! I'm having a lot of troubles the last month (been working professionally for 2 years). I don't mind because I hope it will fixed soon and React 16 was an important move.

[+] petecooper|8 years ago|reply
How to have fun after 10+ years of depression. I'm finding it…tricky.
[+] XOPJ|8 years ago|reply
Stick with it, it's worth finding it. I wish you well!
[+] potta_coffee|8 years ago|reply
I've been in a similar place recently. It's extremely tricky. I'm slowly making progress and enjoying life a little more.

Instrumental to me in this has been strangely enough, getting sacked from jobs and realizing that work isn't all that important. Yes, it is, but there's a whole lot more to life.

[+] rejectedalot|8 years ago|reply
I’m learning how to interview well and face rejection. I’m graduating this year and I’ve been rejected at the final stage from numerous “big 5” companies and some startups, and it’s hard to keep going, but I know that grit is important, so I’m learning :)
[+] zanedb|8 years ago|reply
I'm currently learning React Native [0]. It's interesting that it is in such active development, as the course I'm taking (from a few months ago) already has some outdated lessons.

However, I've enjoyed the experience so far and look forward to building other apps with React Native.

[0]: https://github.com/zanedb/learning-rn

[+] Findeton|8 years ago|reply
CAF (C++ Actor Framework). I plan to use it to compete against Facebook.
[+] zanedb|8 years ago|reply
Are you interested in building a Facebook competitor? If so, I'd love to hear when it launches.

I know many friends/family members who use Facebook despite my repeated attempts to explain Facebook's business model.

If your competitor respects user privacy, I'll certainly look into it.

[+] digitalzombie|8 years ago|reply
I googled up CAF after you mentioned this. It looks interesting but looks too new for me (seeing the version number).

Also how does it compare to Erlang? The website mentions state of the art scheduling I'd like to see that claim against Erlang's BEAM vm.

[+] LargeWu|8 years ago|reply
Screenprinting. I have an online t-shirt store where I fulfill via on-demand DTG printing, but I want better final product and quality control. Planning on getting a press next spring and setting up in my garage. I also just like the feeling of making stuff by hand.
[+] mud_dauber|8 years ago|reply
Re-learning C++. Took a layoff package from my previous co (product manager), and it's damned tough to find a similar gig without relocating. Besides, it's taking me back to my roots.
[+] postit|8 years ago|reply
Been there, found a gig remote. Good luck with your search.
[+] tylerpachal|8 years ago|reply
Elixir and OTP. Really enjoying it and writing some blog posts about it. My latest [1] was an experiment in creating my own simple supervisor.

I am working my way up to having an Elixir application spread across many containers where the processes can pass messages to processes in other containers.

[1] https://medium.com/@tylerpachal/let-it-crash-creating-an-exa...

[+] jwist|8 years ago|reply
What is OTP?
[+] ud0|8 years ago|reply
Data structures and Algorithm. I am a self-taught developer with experience with serverside programming languages but right now I sell myself as a front-end dev.
[+] krapp|8 years ago|reply
- OpenGL programming in C++

- Unity development

- General game development (with... a dozen or so VS subprojects converging vaguely towards an MVP at some point)

- Webassembly, maybe. I have the portable SDK and finished a Hello World but that's already a lot of BS on my plate.

And in more abstract, non-tech terms, how to deal with being 40 and officially "old."

[+] isaiahg|8 years ago|reply
Trying my best to learn how different investment charts are drawn. The information out there is harder to find than it should be. Currently reverse engineering others around and using investopedia as a reference but I really wish there an educational resource for programmers.
[+] togusa2017|8 years ago|reply
To build my first app. I have been learning React -> Redux -> and currently learning React native to finish my mobile application. So happy I decided to learn it. I am a backend engineer and the concept of redux is what a joy
[+] tugberkk|8 years ago|reply
Doing Lego. Just bought a set of Lego City, and will try to build it. My plan is to move on to 1000 piece puzzles or some Lego stuff.

I was never good at "building" and maybe this can improve my creativity a little more.

[+] twoquestions|8 years ago|reply
The C programming language, classical guitar, Olympic weightlifting, music theory, and how to play Overwatch better.

I'm thinking I should try to pare this down a bit, but I feel awful when I have free time that I could be using to learn something.

[+] SirLJ|8 years ago|reply
Dead bait river pike fishing - I am done with carp fishing for the year (water too cold), so I need something to do in the mornings before everything freezes and the ice fishing starts :-)
[+] bluejellybean|8 years ago|reply
Metallurgy, orbital mechanics, and rocket propulsion. Been bitten by the physics bug!