Action Figure Daniel

Category: Notes

  • The first 20 hours — how to learn anything: Josh Kaufman

    Traditional research tells us that it takes about 10,000 hours to become an expert at something (that is 40 hours a week for about 5 years). Kaufman suggests instead of trying to become an “expert,” we should focus simply on being reasonably good which only takes about 20 hours. To do this:

    1. Deconstruct the skill into smaller components. This will give you manageable pieces to practice on a daily basis.
    2. Learn enough to self-correct. Kaufman suggests getting three to five sources that will give you enough information to able to know when you are making a mistake.
    3. Remove distraction.
    4. Practice at least 20 hours. The commitment will help you overcome the frustration barrier.

    The first 20 hours — how to learn anything: Josh Kaufman

  • The hidden meanings in kids’ movies: Colin Stokes

    Stokes presents a blunt discussion about how movies, particularly childrens’ movies, are melding our children, and society in general, in a negative way.

    The hidden meanings in kids’ movies: Colin Stokes

  • Mike Rowe: Learning from dirty jobs

    Rowe shapes a humorous story of castration and enlightenment as he argues that we, as a society, have waged a war on work. We try so hard to avoid work when it is work that allows us to experience “anagnorisis” and “peripeteia” (a great self-discovery of personal identity and a reversal of behavior caused by that discovery).
    Mike Rowe: Learning from dirty jobs

  • “The Information” by James Gleick

    While it is a massive book, The Information is a fantastic read. It summarizes the evolution of information and communication through time. From the early pioneers of long range communication (early African drummers and later the telegraph), standardizing the English language through the publication of dictionaries through to the development of information theory (which had an odd start branching off from math).

    Interesting tidbit: Ranchers, in the early days of the telephone, would connect through cattle fences together and run the phone line through the barb wire instead of running new wire.

  • Amy Webb: How I hacked online dating

    Webb discusses how she found that the the online persona presented through online dating sites often do not match the persona of the real person. She also shares several funny stories.

    Amy Webb: How I hacked online dating (TED)