Moore’s Law is Crap
Steve Yegge is definitely on point when he speaks about just doing something with your time instead of nothing:
I put a lot of stock in fun. And family. And trying to live my life in such a way that I won’t have any major regrets when the game’s over. So there’s the first part of my schedule: having fun.
If you want to be on an upward curve, just make some time for it, and make it a habit. That’s all there is to it. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to get better at programming, or math, or fitness, or flying kites, or even humanity’s Number One Fear, even worse than the fear of Death: public speaking. You just work your way up, a little at a time.
I can’t promise you any satisfaction from the upward curve. You’ll get better at a lot of things, and you’ll have plenty of interesting insights. You may even get a better job, or build some software that makes you famous, or just have more fun at what you do. But you won’t have much time for television. Something will have to give. We all have to choose how to play our time, and it’s a zero-sum game.
If, like me, you’re dissatisfied with the current state of affairs, well, believe you me, you can find a lot of consolation in a book on math, or machine learning, or compiler construction, or on just about anything that promises to help in some small way.
You do have to learn to put up with the pain of learning, though, and make it a habit to push yourself a little each day.
As far as the actuals go, well, you’ll just have to find an approach that works for you personally. You might only be able to devote one quiet hour a week to studying, but like unit testing, or working out, or brushing your teeth, it’s better than not doing it at all.
Just try to have fun, and hopefully the rest will fall into place.
