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In the middle of the desert you can say anything you want

01 Dec 2021

Stuff to learn in my free time

Originally written 2016-06-06 13:14:53+00:00, quoting in full:

Один ответ на Кворе 1 стал вот последним катализатором, все это крутилось в голове уже пару лет, настало время формализировать это, пусть  с “крутилось в голове” это станет конкретным чеклистом. Потом (но потом) — конкретными планами уровня “до конца месяца я учу Х”

  1. Learning how to learn
    1. That Coursera course
    2. A couple of books on the topic
      1. Re-read “The art of learning”
  2. Mental frameworks
    1. Теория практического мышления” — законспектировать
    2. Systems theory
      1. Grok “Thinking in systems – a primer” — тоже законспектировать и запостить сюда
      2. Много думать об этом in real life, искать примеры, наблюдать за миром from the perspective of a systems theorist
    3. See https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/mental-models/ and research them
      1. Make a big post here with the full list and good explanations
    4. From this answer about being an expert-generalist there’s “Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger” (goodreads)
    5. Polya — “How to solve it”
    6. Adler — “How to read a book”
    7. Game theory and rationality
      1. Lesswrong’s Core Sequence
      2. Not to learn formally, but regardless freaking interesting resources for my spare time:
        1. https://www.scotthyoung.com/ !
        2. https://feeds.feedburner.com/brutereason
        3. http://slatestarcodex.com/feed/ !
        4. https://feeds.feedburner.com/MeltingAsphalt
  3. Improve my memory
    1. “The Memory Book: The Classic Guide to Improving Your Memory at Work, at School, and at Play” 2

    2. Remember Everything You Want and Manage the Rest: Improve Your Memory and Learning, Organize Your Brain, and Effectively Manage Your Knowledge 3

  4. Productivity and stuff
    1. I hear good things about “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World” (“These books should be taken together as a whole because they give you the WHAT, the WHY and the HOW for being an elite knowledge worker.”)
    2. “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity”, a legend
  5. Philosophy, the very basics; Psychology, the very basics.
    1. Leaving aside the “everything worth doing is worth doing well”, my old project of “reading from the very beginning” is still okay; I’ll need time, but I will do it.
    2. BUT the absolute priority in this is to reread and rethink Seneca and Marcus Aurelius

All this on a thread by itself. I will work on my professional skills independently; that means mostly social engineering and infosec. For infosec there’s this, for SE I should at least working in my uni courses.

I mention a lot of books which, traditionally, I would need to buy in paperback to be able to highlight and write on them. Bad on finances, but the 10% rule is still with me; also, objectively/strategically speaking, it’s a very good investment in my future.

Speaking of books: https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-books-that-expand-our-mind/answer/Marcus-Geduld (“What are some books that expand our mind”) — a very thorough answer.


  1. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-most-useful-skill-I-can-develop-in-3-months ↩︎

  2. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006Q1SQCQ?ref%5F=oh%5Faui%5Fsearch%5Fdetailpage&redirect=true&psc=1&pldnSite=1 ↩︎

  3. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CL8F7EI?ref%5F=oh%5Faui%5Fsearch%5Fdetailpage&redirect=true&psc=1&pldnSite=1 ↩︎

Nel mezzo del deserto posso dire tutto quello che voglio.