# Introduction

## What is a personal wiki anyway?

This is a place where I share everything I know in [gitbook](https://wiki.stojanow.com) form.

## How to use this wiki?

Browse the categories on the left or use the search bar above.

## My other projects

You can find more of my writing on my [personal page](https://www.stojanow.com) and on [twitter](https://github.com/psto/episteme/tree/9bc69528c2cbd2c1f822f5b6fd39d3c7490ab393/www.twitter.com/piotrstojanow/README.md).

I sometimes write `code` and share it on [github](https://github.com/psto/episteme/tree/9bc69528c2cbd2c1f822f5b6fd39d3c7490ab393/www.github.com/psto/README.md).

## More wikis

Check out [other wikis](https://github.com/RichardLitt/meta-knowledge#readme) and make your own.

## Contributing

Found a mistake? [Contact me](https://stojanow.com/contact/) or open a [github issue](https://github.com/psto/episteme/issues).

## Say Hi

On twitter: [@piotrstojanow](https://twitter.com/piotrstojanow) or send me an [email](https://stojanow.com/contact/).


# Learning

> Human beings, who are almost unique in having the \_\*\*\_ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
>
> * Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See

[Learning how to learn notes](/learning/learning-how-to-learn) [The Feynman Technique](/learning/the-feynman-technique) [How to remember stuff?](/learning/how-to-remember-stuff)

## Links

* [Learn Anything](https://learn-anything.xyz/) - community curated knowledge graph of best paths for learning anything.


# Learning How to Learn

The following are [/u/meflou](https://www.reddit.com/r/GetMotivated/comments/5950tm/text_i_just_finished_the_online_coursera_course/)'s notes (who has done a far better job summarizing than I did) from Barbara Oakley's course [Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects](https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn). She is also the author of [A Mind for Numbers](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18693655-a-mind-for-numbers) on which the course is based on. I highly recommend both.

## Week 1: What is Learning?

**Brain Facts**:

* Cells of the nervous system are called neurons. Information from one neuron flows to another neuron across a synapse. Human brain has a million billion synapses.
* Your brain creates synapses whenever you learn something new. Sleeping helps "update" your brain cells. Literally.

**Why do we procrastinate (scientifically):**

**Problem**:

Learning a new thing or doing something you would rather not do can be stressing. This can cause anxiety at first. This activates the area associated with pain in the brain. Your brain looks for a way to stop that negative feeling by switching your attention to something else more pleasant.

**Solution**:

The trick is to just start. Researchers discovered that not long after people start actually working out what they didn't like, that neuro-discomfort disappeared. Remember that the better you get at something, the more enjoyable it can become. Consider using the pomodoro technique.

**Learning hard and abstract things:**

The more abstract something is, the more important it is to practice to create and strengthen neural connections to bring the abstract ideas to reality for you.

**Ex**: You should practice a lot with the math vocabulary to understand it and recall it easier.

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/xC7oDy6hUzTOTo1bra6yAj5cuntchAwY97rGBeFoWcgdTa3zNFclWS2F9bTBjTyBBkCYhmJvpp4JiGIRso18iOgDxCUqVJv54o31gEiMGg6Ly7gYHokMlYWv5ylaUShaDfj8exB2uCT76y2RLg)

**Summary of what I learnt:**

1. There are two modes of thinking: - **Focused mode**: Concentrating on things that are usually familiar. - **Diffused mode**: A relaxed mode of thinking "your thoughts are free to wander".
2. When you don't desire doing/learning something, go through it and just start. The discomfort goes away and, in the long term, this will lead to satisfaction.
3. When you learn something new, make sure to take time to rest, then come back to it and recall what you learnt. - This is very important. Don't cram information in one day. This leads to inefficient learning. It's like building a wall without letting it dry. Revisiting and practicing what you learn is important. Research shows that **spaced repetition** (repeating things after few days) is the best way to build and strengthen the synaptic connections.
4. Sleep is very important. It clears the metabolic toxins from the brain after a day of "brain use". It is best to sleep directly after learning new things.
5. It was shown that exercising and/or being in a rich social environment helps your brain produce new neurons. Don't lock yourself in your room. Stay active and spare time for exercise (including general physical activities) and friends daily.

## Week 2: Chunking

**Chunks**:

Pieces of information, neuroscientifically speaking, bond together through use and meaning. They can get bigger and more complex, but at the same time, they are single easy to access items that can fit into the slot of the working memory.

**Chunking** is the act of grouping concepts into compact packages of information that are easier for the mind to access.

**Example**: If you understand and practice a math formula. You no longer will need to focus much to solve it like you did the first time. That's because your "formula chunk" got so abstracted into your brain that it can only take one slot of your working memory to solve it.

**Turn off distractions**. You want to use all the four slots of your working memory when studying. Learning will be inefficient if some of those slots are connected to something else.

**You have to solve the problem yourself.** Just because you see it, or even understand it, doesn't mean that you will be able to solve it (Illusion of competence). It is always easier to look at the material, even if you think it's easy, then doing it yourself.

**It gets easier.** When you think that a chapter or a book has too much information and that there's no way to go through them all; just focus on whatever section you're studying. You'll find that once you put that first concept in your mental library, the following one will be easier. This concept is called **Transfer**; a chunk you have mastered in one area can often help you much more easily learn other chunks of information in different areas.

**Master the major idea** and then start getting deeper. However, make sure not to get stuck in some details before having a general idea. Practice to help yourself gain mastery and sense of the big picture context. Try taking a "picture walk" before you dig through the material, this means, look briefly at the pictures, chapter titles, formulas used… before diving into details.

**Recall mentally** without looking at the material. This is proven more effective than to simply rereading. Reread only after you try to recall and write down what was in the material. Consider recalling when you are in different places to become independent of the cues from any giving location. This will help you when taking a test in the class.

**Test yourself** to make sure you are actually learning and not fooling yourself into learning. Mistakes are a good thing. They allow you to catch illusions of competence.

**Don't always trust your initial intuition**. **Einstellung** problem (a German word for Mindset). An idea or a neural pattern you developed might prevent a new better idea from being found. Sometimes your initial intuition on what you need to be doing is misleading. You've to unlearn old ideas and approaches as you are learning new ones.

**Mix up the problems (Interleaving)** from different chapters. This is helpful to create connections between your chunks. It can make your learning a bit more difficult, but it helps you learn more deeply. Interleaving is very important. It is where you leave the world of practice and repetition, and begin thinking more independently.

**Don'ts**:

* Highlighting too much and creating maps are often ineffective without recalling.
* Repeating something you already learnt or know very well is **easy**. It can bring **the illusion of competence**; that you've mastered the full material when you actually just know the easy stuff. Balance your studies and focus on the more difficult (**deliberate practice**). This sets the difference between a good student and a great student.
* A big mistake is to blindly start working on an exercise without reading the textbook or attending the class. This is a recipe of sinking. It's like randomly allowing a thought to pop off in the focus mode without paying attention to where the solution truly lies.

## Week 3: Procrastination and Memory

**Procrastination**:

* The routine, habitual responses your brain falls into when you try to do something hard or unpleasant. Procrastination makes you focus solely on making the present moment feels better.
* Unlike procrastination which is easy to fall into, Willpower is hard to come by. It uses a lot of neural resources and you shouldn't waste it on fending off procrastination except when really necessary. You actually don't need to.
* The long-term effect of Procrastination can be dangerous. Putting your studies off leads to studying becoming even more painful. Procrastination is a habit that affects many areas of your life, if you improve in this area, many positive changes will unfold.
* Procrastination shares features with addiction. At first, it leads you to think that if you study too early you'll forget the material. Then, when the class is ahead of you, it leads you to think that you are inadequate or that the subject is too hard.
* You want to avoid cramming which doesn't build solid neural structures, by putting the same amount into your learning, and spacing it over a long period by starting earlier.

**First time learning something:**

* The first time you do something the deluge of information coming at you would make the job seem almost impossibly difficult. But, once you've chunked it, it will be simple.
* At first, it's really hard, later it's easy. It becomes like a habit. Ex: Driving for the first time.

**Habits**:

* Neuro-scientifically speaking, chunking is related to habit.
* Habit is an energy saver. You don't need to focus when performing different habitual tasks.
* Habits can be good or bad, brief or long.

**Habits Parts:**

1. **The cue**: The trigger that launches you into zombie mode (habitual routine). a) **Recognize** what launches you in zombie procrastination mode: - Location. Time. Feelings. Reaction to people or events… b) Consider shutting your phone/internet for brief periods of time to prevent most cues.
2. **The routine**: Routine you do in reaction to the cue. a) You only need to use your willpower to change your reaction to the cues. b) Actively focus on rewiring your old habits. - You need a plan. You need some willpower.
3. **The reward**: Habits exist because they reward us. a) Give yourself bigger rewards for bigger achievements. But after you finish them. - Ex: If I study for 4 hours today, I'll watch a movie, guilt free, at night. b) Habits are powerful because they create neurological cravings. It helps to add a new reward if you want to overcome your previous cravings. c) Only once your brain starts expecting a reward will the important rewiring takes place that will allow you to create new habits.
4. **The belief**: To change your habits, you need to change your underlying belief. a) **Ex**: You might feel like you'll never be able to change the habit of studying late. This is not true. You can actually rewire your brain b) Joining a student community helps, either online or in real life. c) Trust your system. You have to feel happy and worry-free when you are resting.

**Weekly/Daily list**:

* Researchers showed that writing your daily list the **evening before** helps you accomplish them the next day. If you don't write them down, they will take the valuable slots of memory.
* Plan your finishing time, this is as important as planning your working time.
* Work in the most important and most disliked task first, even if it's only one pomodoro.
* Take notes about what works and what doesn't.
* Have a backup plan for when you will still procrastinate.

**Focus on Process**:

You should realize that it's perfectly normal to start a learning session with a negative feeling even if you like the subject. It's how you handle those feelings that matters.

**Solution**: Focus on the process, not the product. The product is what triggers the pain that causes you to procrastinate. Instead of saying "I will solve this task today", put your best effort for a period of time continuously over the days.

**Memory**:

* Use your visual memory to remember things. - **Ex**: Link a memorable picture to a formula.
* Images help you encapsulate a very hard to remember concept by tapping into visual areas with enhanced memory abilities.
* The more neural hooks you can build by evoking the senses the easier it will be for you to recall the concept.
* Keep repeating what you want to learn so that the metabolic toxins won't suck away the neural patterns related to that memory. **Spaced repetition** is the key.
* **Flashcards** help. Consider using Anki.
* **Handwriting** helps you deeply convert what you are trying to learn into neural memory structures.

**Memory Techniques**:

* Create meaningful groups and abbreviations.
* To remember numbers, associate them to memorable events.
* Create mnemonic phrases from first letters of the words you want to remember.
* **Memory Palace Technique**: Use a familiar place (like the blueprint of your house) and associate visual images of things you want to remember with physical places. - This is not easy. You'll be very slow at first. But with practice, you'll get better. - The more you practice your "memory muscle" the easier you'll remember.

## Week 4: Renaissance Learning and Unlocking Your Potential

**You should know**:

* Exercising is by far more effective than any drug to help you learn better. It helps new neurons survive.
* Learning doesn't always progress linearly and logically. Inevitably your brain will hit a knowledge-collapse sometimes. This usually means your brain is restructuring its understanding, building a more solid foundation.
* You learn complex concepts by trying to make sense out of the information you perceive. Not by having someone else telling it to you.

**Metaphors**

* Metaphors and analogies are very helpful, not only to memorize, but to also understand different concepts.
* It is often helpful to pretend that you are the concept you're trying to understand.

**Intelligence**:

* Intelligence does matter. Being smart usually equate to having a large working memory (more than just four slots).
* However, a super working memory can hold its thoughts so tightly that new thoughts won't easily find a way into the brain. Such a tightly controlled attention could use an occasional breath of ADHD. You attention shifts even if you don't want it to shift.
* **Deliberate practice** is what helps the average brain lift into the realm of those naturally gifted. Practicing certain mental patterns deepens your mind.
* Brilliant scientist like Ramón y Cajal, the father of neuroscience, or Charles Darwin, were not exceptionally gifted. The key to their success was **perseverance, taking responsibility for their learning and changing their thoughts.**
* Take pride in the qualities you excel at. Tune people out if they try to demean your efforts.

**Right hemisphere**:

* Helps us put our work into a big picture perspective and does reality checks.
* **When you go through homework or test questions and don't go back to check your work, you're acting like a person who's refusing to use parts of his brain.**

**Left hemisphere**:

* Interprets the world for us but with a tendency for rigidity, dogmatism and egocentricity.
* May lead to overconfidence. **Ex**: believing dismissively that your answers are correct.

**Best practices**:

* Always step back and recheck to take advantage of abilities of both-hemispheres interactions.
* Brainstorm and find focused people to analyze your work with.
* Your errors are sometimes easier to be found by others.
* Explaining yourself to others helps you understand more.
* Studying in a team helps you catch what you missed, or what you can't see.
* Don't fool yourself. Don't blindly believe in your intellectual abilities. Having a team can bring those projections down.

**Test Checklist**:

* [ ] Did you make a serious effort to understand the text? If you had a study guide, did you go through it?
* [ ] Did you attempt to outline every homework problem solution?
* [ ] Did you understand all your homework problems' solutions? If not, did you ask for explanations?
* [ ] Did you work with classmates on homework problems? checked your solutions?
* [ ] Did you consult your instructor/teacher when you had a problem with something?
* [ ] Did you sleep well the night before the test?

**Test Taking Technique: Hard Start - Jump to easy**: (Try this strategy with homework first)

1. Take a quick look at the test when it's handed to you to get a sense of what it involves.
2. Start with the hardest problem. Pull yourself out if you get stuck for over 2 minutes. - Starting with a hard problem loads your focused mode first and then switches attention away from it. This allows the diffused mode to start its work.
3. Turn next to an easy problem. Solve what you can, then move back to a hard one. - This allows different parts of your brain to work simultaneously on different thoughts.

**Taking Test Tips**:

* Being Stressed before a test is normal. The body puts out chemicals when it's under stress. How you interpret the body reaction to those chemicals makes all the difference.
* Shift your thinking from "I am afraid of this test" to "I am excited to do my best".
* If you are stressed during a test, turn your attention to breathing. Relax, put your hand on your stomach and slowly draw some deep breaths. This will calm you down.
* Relax your brain on the last day before a test. Have a quick final look at the materials. Feeling guilty the last day is a natural reaction even if you prepared well. So relax.
* Good worry motivates you. Bad worry wastes your energy.
* Double check your answers. Look away, shift your attention, and then recheck.


# The Feynman Technique

#### Step 1. Choose the concept you want to understand.

Take a blank piece of paper and write that concept at the top of the page.

#### Step 2. Pretend you're teaching the idea to someone else.

Write out an explanation of the topic, as if you were trying to teach it to a new student. When you explain the idea this way you get a better idea of what you understand and where you might have some gaps.

#### Step 3. If you get stuck, go back to the book.

Whenever you get stuck, go back to the source material and re-learn that part of the material until you get it enough that you can explain it on paper.

#### Step 4. Simplify your language.

The goal is to use your words, not the words of the source material. If your explanation is wordy or confusing, that's an indication that you might not understand the idea as well as you thought – try to simplify the language or create an analogy to better understand it.

#### Bonus:

#### Step 5. Teach it to someone else for real.

Then you are forced to simplify the language :)

#### Step 6. See what other areas of your life the idea applies to.


# How to remember stuff?

Two words: [spaced repetition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition).

I use [Anki](https://apps.ankiweb.net/), sync it with [AnkiWeb](https://ankiweb.net/) to my [phone](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ichi2.anki). As with most things the key is to make it a daily habit. I use morning coffee as a cue and reward.

Some plugins to enhance your Anki experience:

* [ActivityWatch for Anki](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/567877061) for monitoring your Anki in [ActivityWatch](https://activitywatch.net/).
* [AJT Media Converter](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1151815987) for automatically converting images and saving disk space.
* [AnkiConnect](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/2055492159) allows external applications to communicate with your Anki collection.
* [LPCG (Lyrics/Poetry Cloze Generator)](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/2084557901) for studying long passages of verbatim text (useful for memorising [poems](/poems))
* [Progress bar (Fixed by Shige)](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1708250053) shows your reviewed cards progress.
* [ReColor](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/688199788) for styling your Anki's theme.
* [Review Heatmap](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1771074083) visualises your review history like the contribution view on GitHub.
* [SwiftAnki: Quick Anki Navigation with Keyboard Shortcuts](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1467361433) faster navigation with [vim](/tools/text-editor) movements.
* [Switch Note Type Hotkey](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/565948788) provides shortcuts for quickly changing the note type when creating new cards.

## Links

* [How To Remember Anything Forever-ish](https://ncase.me/remember/) by Nicky Case.
* [Spaced Repetition](https://www.gwern.net/Spaced-repetition)by Gwern.
* [Augmenting Long-term Memory](http://augmentingcognition.com/ltm.html) by Michael Nielsen.
* [Effective learning: Twenty rules of formulating knowledge](https://www.supermemo.com/en/blog/twenty-rules-of-formulating-knowledge) by Piotr Wozniak.
* [Art of Memory](https://artofmemory.com/start/) - on how to learn memory techniques.


# Language Learning

## Links

* [How to Learn a Language: INPUT (Why most methods don't work)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_EQDtpYSNM) by Joseph Everett
* [Michel Thomas - The Language Master](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0w_uYPAQic) and the [Michel Thomas Method](https://www.michelthomas.com/how-it-works/)
* [Why studying will never help you speak a language](https://www.fluentin3months.com/studying-will-never-help/) and [Fluent in 3 Months learning missions](https://www.fluentin3months.com/all-the-missions/) by Benny Lewis
* [BBC languages](http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/)


# Books

> If a book has been in print for forty years, I can expect it to be in print for another forty years. But, and that is the main difference, if it survives another decade, then it will be expected to be in print another fifty years. This, simply, as a rule, tells you why things that have been around for a long time are not "aging" like persons, but "aging" in reverse. Every year that passes without extinction doubles the additional life expectancy. This is an indicator of some robustness. The robustness of an item is proportional to its life!
>
> * Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile

The described above [Lindy effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect) instructs us that we should favour old books over new ones. The older the problem, the older the solution should be. Otherwise it wouldn't stick.

> A new book is still on its trial and the amateur is not in a position to judge it. It has to be tested.
>
> * C.S. Lewis

I am guilty of falling for the buzz around new books. However, I follow:

### My Rules for Reading

1. Skim through fast.
2. Start anywhere.
3. Start conservatively, finish liberally. Start good books, move on if they turn out bad.
4. Follow your curiosity. Don't follow "must reads" and "best seller lists".
5. Knowing what NOT to read is as important as knowing what to read.
6. Read it when you need it. Don't read just-in-case you'll need it. Practice just-in-time reading.
7. A book is a menu. Read what you are starving for.
8. Opportunity cost: what could I be reading/doing instead of reading this?
9. Read as if you were investing. Does it compound my knowledge or am I chasing quick gains (insight porn)?

### [**Books I Recommend**](/books/books)

### [**My Book Notes**](/books/book-notes)

## Links:

* [A Helpful Guide to Reading Better](https://fs.blog/reading/) and [How To Read a Book](https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/how-to-read-a-book/).
* [Speed Reading is Bullshit](https://medium.com/the-mission/speed-reading-is-bullshit-f5acbee7f59e)
* [Hacker News Books](https://hackernewsbooks.com/) - the top books mentioned in comments on [Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com).
* [A taxonomy of ways books change your worldview](https://juliagalef.com/2017/01/06/a-taxonomy-of-books-that-change-your-worldview/) by Julia Galef
* [Awesome SciFi](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome-scifi) - Sci-Fi worth consuming.
* [Books To Base Your Life on](https://ryanholiday.net/reading-list/) by Ryan Holiday
* [The Book Club](http://investorfieldguide.com/bookclub/) by Patrick O'Shaughnessy
* [Talk to Books](https://books.google.com/talktobooks/) by Google - browse passages from books using experimental AI.
* Book notes: [Derek Sivers](https://sivers.org/book), [James Clear](https://jamesclear.com/books), [Taylor Pearson](https://taylorpearson.me/book-review), [Tyler Cowen](https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/category/books), [Nathaniel Eliason](https://www.nateliason.com/notes).
* Nassim Taleb on [what not to read](https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/843099931279790081).


# Books I Recommend

## Favourite Books

* [Meditations](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30659.Meditations) by Marcus Aurelius
* [Moral letters to Lucilius](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42457668-moral-letters-to-lucilius) by Seneca
* [Man's Search for Meaning](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Meaning) by Viktor Frankl
* [Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/189989.Finite_and_Infinite_Games) as Play and Possibility by James P. Carse
* [Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23692271-sapiens) by Yuval Noah Harari
* [The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11324722-the-righteous-mind) by Jonathan Haidt
* [The Elephant in the Brain](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28820444-the-elephant-in-the-brain) by Robin Hanson and Kevin Simler
* [Behave](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31170723-behave) by Robert Sapolsky
* [Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28815.Influence) by Robert Cialdini
* [Poor Charlie's Almanack](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/944652.Poor_Charlie_s_Almanack) by Charles Munger
* [Incerto](https://www.goodreads.com/series/164555-incerto) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
* [Anything You Want](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11878168-anything-you-want) by Derek Sivers
* [Rework](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6732019-rework) by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
* [Zero to One](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18050143-zero-to-one) by Peter Thiel
* [The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13721709-the-antidote) by Oliver Burkeman (my [notes](https://stojanow.com/the-antidote/)).

## Other Recommendations

### Biographies

* [Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16121.Titan) Book by Ron Chernow
* [Benjamin Franklin: An American Life](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10883.Benjamin_Franklin) by Walter Isaacson
* [Talleyrand: Betrayer And Saviour Of France](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4446705-talleyrand) by Robin Harris
* [The Autobiography of Charles Darwin](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/185404.The_Autobiography_of_Charles_Darwin_1809_82) by Charles Darwin
* [Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1429989.Richard_Feynman) by Richard Feynman
* [What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1334384.What_I_Learned_Losing_a_Million_Dollars) by Jim Paul
* [My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/404747.My_Life_in_Advertising_and_Scientific_Advertising) by Claude C. Hopkins
* [Sam Walton: Made in America](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10631.Sam_Walton) by Sam Walton
* [The Power Broker](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1111.The_Power_Broker) by Robert Caro
* [Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27220736-shoe-dog) by Phil Knight
* [Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14546626-total-recall) by Arnold Schwarzenegger
* [Open](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6480781-open) by Andre Agassi
* [Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40604846-nothing-to-envy) by Barbara Demick
* [American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31920777-american-kingpin) by Nick Bilton
* [Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37976541-bad-blood) by John Carreyrou

### Economics

* [Wealth of Nations](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25698.The_Wealth_of_Nations) and [The Theory of Moral Sentiments](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25700.The_Theory_of_Moral_Sentiments) by Adam Smith
* [That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1609227.That_Which_Is_Seen_and_That_Which_Is_Not_Seen) by Frédéric Bastiat
* [Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/162120.Extraordinary_Popular_Delusions_and_the_Madness_of_Crowds) by Charles Mackay
* [Economics in One Lesson](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3028.Economics_in_One_Lesson) by Henry Hazlitt
* [What Has Government Done to Our Money? and Anatomy of the State](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/81977.What_Has_Government_Done_to_Our_Money_and_The_Case_for_the_100_Percent_Gold_Dollar) by Murray Rothbard
* [The Evolution of Cooperation](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/366821.The_Evolution_of_Cooperation) by Robert Axelrod
* [The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7776209-the-rational-optimist) by Matt Ridley
* [The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life](hhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2423424.The_Art_of_Strategy) by Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff
* [Makers: The New Industrial Revolution](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13414678-makers) by Chris Anderson
* [Race Against The Machine](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12952273-race-against-the-machine) by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee

### Fantasy

* [Ficciones](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/426504.Ficciones) by Jorge Luis Borges
* [The Way of Kings and Perfect State](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7235533-the-way-of-kings) by Brandon Sanderson
* [The Name of the Wind](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186074.The_Name_of_the_Wind) by Patrick Rothfuss
* [The Lies of Locke Lamora](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29588376-the-lies-of-locke-lamora) by Scott Lynch
* [Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10016013-harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality) by Eliezer Yudkowsky
* anything by [Terry Pratchett](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1654.Terry_Pratchett)

### Graphic Novels

* [Daytripper](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8477057-daytripper) by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá
* [Fleep by Jason Shiga](http://www.shigabooks.com/fleep.php)
* [The Arrival](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/920607.The_Arrival) by Shaun Tan

### History

* [The Lessons of History](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/174713.The_Lessons_of_History) by Will Durant
* [The History of the Peloponnesian War](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/261243.History_of_the_Peloponnesian_War) by Thucydides
* [Plutarch's Lives](https://www.goodreads.com/series/157208) by Plutarch
* [Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40718726-genghis-khan-and-the-making-of-the-modern-world?ac=1\&from_search=true) by Jack Weatherford
* [The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2714607-the-ascent-of-money) by Niall Ferguson
* [The History of Money](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/103226.The_History_of_Money) by Jack Weatherford
* [Debt: The First 5,000 Years](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6617037-debt) by David Graeber
* [Guns, Germs, and Steel](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1842.Guns_Germs_and_Steel) by Jared Diamond
* [How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20893477-how-we-got-to-now) by Steven Johnson
* [The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17994.The_Code_Book) by Simon Singh

### Marketing

* [The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1258489.Ultimate_Sales_Machine) by Chet Holmes
* [Stealth Marketing](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17288278-stealth-marketing) by Jay Abraham
* [The Boron Letters Book](http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/Boron/BoronLetterCh1.htm) by Gary Halbert
* [Breakthrough Advertising](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8662312-breakthrough-advertising) by Eugene M. Schwartz
* [The Ultimate Sales Letter: Attract New Customers. Boost Your Sales](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112466.The_Ultimate_Sales_Letter) by Dan S. Kennedy
* [The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33449.The_22_Immutable_Laws_of_Marketing) by Al Ries
* [Ca$hvertising: How to Use More Than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make BIG MONEY Selling Anything to Anyone](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6238528-ca-hvertising) by
* [Badass: Making Users Awesome](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24737268-badass) by Kathy Sierra
* [Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22091581-traction) by Gabriel Weinberg
* [Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22668729-hooked) by Nir Eyal
* [80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17214272-80-20-sales-and-marketing) by Perry Marshall
* [SPIN Selling](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/833015.SPIN_Selling) by Neil Rackham

### Politics

* [The Law](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1609224.The_Law) by Frédéric Bastiat
* [The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11612989-the-dictator-s-handbook) by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith
* [Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12617.Manufacturing_Consent) by Noam Chomsky
* [The Origins of Totalitarianism](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/396931.The_Origins_of_Totalitarianism) by Hannah Arendt
* [On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33917107-on-tyranny) by Timothy Snyder
* [Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20186.Seeing_Like_a_State) by James Scott
* [Democracy in America Book](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16619.Democracy_in_America) by Alexis de Tocqueville
* [Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/74034.Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death) by Neil Postman
* [The Social Contract](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12651.The_Social_Contract) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

### Programming

* [Professor Frisby's Mostly Adequate Guide to Functional Programming](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25847352-professor-frisby-s-mostly-adequate-guide-to-functional-programming) by Brian Lonsdorf ([read online](https://mostly-adequate.gitbooks.io/mostly-adequate-guide/))
* [You Don't Know JS series](https://www.goodreads.com/series/139311-you-don-t-know-js) by Kyle Simpson ([read online](https://github.com/getify/You-Dont-Know-JS))
* [JavaScript Allongé](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17154990-javascript-allong) by Reginald Braithwaite ([read online](https://leanpub.com/javascript-allonge/read))
* [Speaking JavaScript](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19484760-speaking-javascript) by Axel Rauschmayer ([read online](http://speakingjs.com/))
* [Functional JavaScript](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17623632-functional-javascript) by Michael Fogus
* [The Principles of Object-Oriented JavaScript](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20799234-the-principles-of-object-oriented-javascript) by Nicholas Zakas
* [Ruby on Rails Tutorial: Learn Web Development with Rails](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13705557-ruby-on-rails-tutorial) by Michael Hartl ([read online](https://www.railstutorial.org/book))
* [Practical Object Oriented Design in Ruby](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13507787-practical-object-oriented-design-in-ruby) by Sandi Metz
* [99 Bottles of OOP](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31183020-99-bottles-of-oop) by Sandi Metz and Katrina Owen
* [Eloquent Ruby](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9364729-eloquent-ruby) by Russ Olsen
* [The Well-Grounded Rubyist](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3892688-the-well-grounded-rubyist) by David Black
* [Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/463882.Why_s_Poignant_Guide_to_Ruby) by Why The Lucky Stiff ([read online](https://poignant.guide/))
* [Pro Git](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6518085-pro-git) by Scott Chacon ([read online](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2))
* [The Linux Command Line](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11724436-the-linux-command-line) by William E. Shotts ([read online](http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php))
* [Don't Make Me Think!: a Common Sense Approach to Web Usability](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18197267-don-t-make-me-think-revisited) by Steve Krug
* [But How Do It Know? - The Basic Principles of Computers for Everyone](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18276352-but-how-do-it-know---the-basic-principles-of-computers-for-everyone) by J. Clark Scott

### Psychology

* [Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/788461.Dan_Ariely) by Dan Ariely
* [Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2652751-kluge) by Gary Marcus
* [Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18774981-waking-up) by Sam Harris
* [The Art of Taking Action: Lessons from Japanese Psychology](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24504151-the-art-of-taking-action) by Gregg Krech
* [Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/522525.Mistakes_Were_Made_But_Not_by_Me_) by Carol Tavris
* [Stumbling on Happiness](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56627.Stumbling_on_Happiness) by Daniel Gilbert
* [Mindset: The New Psychology of Success](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40745.Mindset) by Carol Dweck
* [The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10865206-the-willpower-instinct) by Kelly McGonigal

### Science

* [The Feynman Lectures on Physics](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5546.The_Feynman_Lectures_on_Physics) by Richard Feynman
* [A Short History of Nearly Everything](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21.A_Short_History_of_Nearly_Everything) by Bill Bryson
* [Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time and Reality Is Not What It Seems Book](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25734172-seven-brief-lessons-on-physics) by Carlo Rovelli Carlo Rovelli
* [A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18693655-a-mind-for-numbers) by Barbara Oakley
* [The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10483171-the-beginning-of-infinity) by David Deutsch
* [Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10361826-why-we-believe-in-god-s) by J. Anderson Thomson and Clare Aukofer
* [The Selfish Gene](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61535.The_Selfish_Gene) by Richard Dawkins
* [The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16176.The_Red_Queen) by Matt Ridley
* [Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23995360-superforecasting) by Philip Tetlock
* [Good and Real: Demystifying Paradoxes from Physics to Ethics](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1096665.Good_and_Real) by Gary Drescher
* [How to Lie with Statistics](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1096665.Good_and_Real) by Darrell Huff

### Science Fiction

* [Stories of Your Life and Others](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223380.Stories_of_Your_Life_and_Others) by Ted Chiang
* [The Player of Games](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18630.The_Player_of_Games) by Iain Banks
* [Foundation](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29579.Foundation) by Isaac Asimov
* [The Futurological Congress](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/733473.The_Futurological_Congress) by Stanisław Lem
* [Paradyzja](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/733473.The_Futurological_Congress) by Janusz Zajdel
* [Replay](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/341735.Replay) by Ken Grimwood
* [1984](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40961427-1984) by George Orwell
* [Little Brother](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/954674.Little_Brother) by Cory Doctorow ([free download](https://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/))

### Technology:

* [Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56829.Hackers) by Steven Levy
* [Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23546676-digital-gold) by Nathaniel Popper
* [The Internet of Money](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31869077-the-internet-of-money) by Andreas Antonopoulos
* [The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28503628-the-attention-merchants) by Tim Wu
* [The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2615.The_Innovator_s_Dilemma) by Clayton Christensen
* [Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20527133-superintelligence) by Nick Bostrom
* [Clock of the Long Now: Time and Responsibility: The Ideas Behind the World's Slowest Computer](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33279.Clock_of_the_Long_Now) by Stewart Brand
* [Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13187824-abundance) by Peter Diamandis
* [Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34272565-life-3-0) by Max Tegmark


# Book Notes

* [A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young](https://stojanow.com/a-technique-for-producing-ideas/)
* [Are Your Lights On?: How to Figure Out What the Problem Really Is by Donald Gause and Gerald Weinberg](https://stojanow.com/are-your-lights-on/)
* [Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow](https://stojanow.com/built-to-sell/)
* [Direct Truth: Uncompromising, non-prescriptive Truths to the enduring questions of life by Kapil Gupta](https://stojanow.com/direct-truth/)
* [Escaping the Build Trap: How Effective Product Management Creates Real Value by Melisa Perri](https://stojanow.com/escaping-the-build-trap/)
* [How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christensen](https://stojanow.com/how-will-you-measure-your-life/)
* [MAKE: Bootstrapper's Handbook by Pieter Levels](https://stojanow.com/make/)
* [Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker](https://stojanow.com/managing-oneself/)
* [Pretotype It: Make sure you are building the right it before you build it right by Alberto Savoia](https://stojanow.com/pretotype-it/)
* [The 80% Approach by Dan Sullivan](https://stojanow.com/the-80-approach/)
* [The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman](https://stojanow.com/the-antidote/)
* [The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing by John Perry](https://stojanow.com/the-art-of-procrastination/)
* [The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry by John Warrillow](https://stojanow.com/the-automatic-customer/)
* [The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen](https://stojanow.com/the-innovators-dilemma/)


# Blogs

I use [inoreader](https://inoreader.com) to stay up date with my subscriptions.

## Favourite blogs

* [Melting Asphalt by Kevin Simler](https://meltingasphalt.com/)
* [Astral Codex Ten](https://astralcodexten.substack.com/) by Scott Alexander (used to be [Slate Star Codex](https://slatestarcodex.com/))
* [Overcoming Bias by Robin Hanson](http://www.overcomingbias.com/)
* [Farnam Street](https://fs.blog/)
* [Nir and Far by Nir Eyal](https://www.nirandfar.com/)
* [Derek Sivers](https://sivers.org/)
* [Unenumerated by Nick Szabo](https://unenumerated.blogspot.com/)
* [Truthcoin by Paul Sztorc](http://www.truthcoin.info/)
* [Wait But Why by Tim Urban](https://waitbutwhy.com/)
* [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://medium.com/@nntaleb)
* [Marginal Revolution by Tyler Cowen and Alexander Tabarrok](https://marginalrevolution.com/)

### Tech

* [a16z](https://a16z.com/) and [Future](https://future.a16z.com/)
* [Benedict Evans](https://www.ben-evans.com/)
* [Balaji Srinivasan](https://balajis.com/)
* [Daniel Gross](https://dcgross.com/)
* [Elad Blog](http://blog.eladgil.com/)
* [Eugene Wei](https://www.eugenewei.com/)
* [Kalzumeus Software by Patrick McKenzie](https://www.kalzumeus.com/)
* [Paul Graham](http://paulgraham.com/articles.html)
* [Sam Altman](https://blog.samaltman.com/)
* [Stratechery by Ben Thompson](https://stratechery.com/)


# Podcasts

I don't watch TV or read the news, but I do listen to podcasts. They are still underrated. Ideas seem to flourish more in a long form medium with a conversational tone. Also, I love how authors are forced to distil their needlessly-long-books.

I am subscribed to a lot of podcasts but I only listen to topics that sound interesting to me.

**Tip**: listen to podcasts at 3x speed (you can get used to it, start at 1.5x speed and work your way up).

I use [AntennaPod](https://antennapod.org/) and sync with [gPodder](https://gpodder.github.io/) on desktop through [gpodder.net](https://gpodder.net/).

## What I listen to

### **Crypto**:

* [Lets Talk Bitcoin](https://letstalkbitcoin.com/)
* [What Bitcoin Did](https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/)
* [The Flippening](https://p.nomics.com/podcast)
* [Noded Bitcoin Podcast](https://noded.org/)
* [Unchained](https://unchainedpodcast.com/)
* [Unconfirmed](https://unconfirmed.libsyn.com/)
* [Crypto Cast Network](http://www.cryptocast.network/)
* [The Bitcoin Knowledge](https://www.bitcoin.kn/)
* [Epicenter](https://epicenter.tv/)

### **Business**:

* [a16z podcast](https://a16z.com/podcasts/)
* [Business Wars](https://wondery.com/shows/business-wars/)
* [Masters of Scale](https://mastersofscale.com/)
* [The Indie Hackers Podcast](https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast)
* [The Startup Chat](https://thestartupchat.com/)

### **Economics**:

* [Conversations with Tyler](https://conversationswithtyler.com/)
* [EconTalk](http://www.econtalk.org/)
* [Planet Money](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money)
* [Freakonomics](http://freakonomics.com/)

### **History**:

* [Hardcore History](https://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/)
* [Internet History](http://www.internethistorypodcast.com/)
* [Revolutions](https://www.revolutionspodcast.com/)
* [The History of Rome](https://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/) (concluded)

### **Philosophy**:

* [The Partially Examined Life](https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/)
* [Very Bad Wizards](https://verybadwizards.fireside.fm/)
* [Philosophy Bites](https://philosophybites.com/)
* [Making Sense Podcast with Sam Harris](https://samharris.org/podcast/)

### **Random**:

* [The 80,000 Hours Podcast with Rob Wiblin](https://80000hours.org/podcast/)
* [The Tim Ferriss Show](https://tim.blog/podcast/)
* [The Knowledge Project Podcast with Shane Parrish](https://fs.blog/the-knowledge-project/)
* [The Kevin Rose Show](https://www.kevinrose.com/)
* [Under The Influence with Terry O'Reilly](https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence)

### **Psychology**:

* [Hidden Brain](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510308/hidden-brain)
* [You Are Not So Smart](https://youarenotsosmart.com/podcast/)
* [Choiceology](https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/podcast)
* [The 1-3-20 Podcast by Daniel Pink](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-1-3-20-podcast/id1295773682?mt=2)

### **Science**:

* [Stuff to Blow Your Mind](https://www.stufftoblowyourmind.com/podcasts)
* [Sean Carroll's Mindscape](https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/)
* [Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe](https://www.danielandjorge.com/)
* [Science Vs](https://www.gimletmedia.com/science-vs)
* [The Long Now - The Long Now Foundation](http://longnow.org/seminars/podcast/)

### **Tech**:

* [Exponent by Ben Thompson and James Allworth](https://exponent.fm/)
* [IRL Podcast: Online Life is Real Life](https://irlpodcast.org/)
* [Command Line Heroes](https://www.redhat.com/en/command-line-heroes)
* [Future Thinkers](https://futurethinkers.org/)
* [MIT Artificial Intelligence Podcast](https://lexfridman.com/ai/)

## Links

* [Listen Notes](https://www.listennotes.com/) a podcast search engine.
* [Best Podcast Search](https://bestpodcasts.com/)
* "[Awesome podcasts](https://github.com/rShetty/awesome-podcasts)" podcasts for software engineers/programmers.
* [Podcast Notes](https://podcastnotes.org/) - distilled notes from podcasts


# Marketing

> "Most businesses actually get zero distribution channels to work. Poor distribution — not product — is the number one cause of failure. If you can get even a single distribution channel to work, you have great business. If you try for several but don't nail one, you're finished. So it's worth thinking really hard about finding the single best distribution channel." - Peter Thiel

**Warning**: *marketing is not a panacea for crappy products or a solution to a problem that doesn't exist*.

## Marketing 101

![Tactical Triangle](https://s3.amazonaws.com/psma-legacy-images/2009/10/ttriangle.png)

*source:* [*The Tactical Triangle*](https://www.perrymarshall.com/2100/tactical-triangle/) *by Perry Marshall*

To sell, you have to get **T**raffic → **C**onvert it → profit (**E**conomics). Re-invest the earnings to get more traffic forming a loop.

### 1. **Traffic**: Who are the buyers?

* case studies: [growing a website](https://sumo.com/stories/growing-website), [first 10000 visitors](https://sumo.com/stories/first-10000-visitors-sarah-peterson), [0-10k](https://sumo.com/stories/0-10k-nat-eliason), [100,000 Visitors in 1 Year](https://okdork.com/grow-blog-100000-visitors-less-year/)
* [Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22091581-traction) by Gabriel Weinberg and implement [The Bullseye Framework for Getting Traction](https://medium.com/@yegg/the-bullseye-framework-for-getting-traction-ef49d05bfd7e)

### 2. **Economics**: Can we reach them affordably?

* Patrick McKenzie: ["Aspirational pricing: set your price high and build the value to support it rather than dropping price to compensate for early issues."](https://twitter.com/patio11/status/638362266778365952), [Doubling SaaS Revenue By Changing The Pricing Model](https://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/08/13/doubling-saas-revenue/), [SaaS pricing](https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/saas_pricing)
* [Unit Economics](http://blog.samaltman.com/unit-economics) by Sam Altman

### 3. **Conversion**: How can we persuade them to buy?

#### The Customer Factory model

![The Customer Factory](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*7VHpW523MitQv6qK.png)

*source:* [*The Science of How Customers Buy Anything*](https://blog.leanstack.com/the-science-of-how-customers-buy-anything-84e72920e644) *by Ash Maurya*

> "The first battle isn't fought on the ground but in the mind of the customer. It isn't fought with your built out solution but instead with an offer." - Ash Maurya

Every offer consists of 3 elements:

1. **Unique Value Proposition** that grabs customer's attention.
2. **Demo** which takes them from current reality to desired reality.
3. **Price** that locks in commitment.

> "The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself." - Peter Drucker

The offer must turn unaware visitors into interested prospects.

Be aware of a this journey that happens inside your customer's mind:

![The Motivational Forces That Drive Customers to Buy](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/0*_HyzghYYi1LacO86.png)

You have to take a potential customer from Point A (current reality without your product) to Point B ( new reality where they need and use your product): Reach (USP) → Engage (demonstrate) → Convert.

Even with everything done right you are still facing:

* **friction** (anxiety/uncertainty of embracing something new): the "I don't need this" voice.
* **inertia** (switching cost): the "It's too much effort" voice.

You must make the transition to your product as seamless as possible.

After the sale you have nurture your relationship with the client (onboarding, [showing how your product makes them awesome](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24737268-badass))

## Notes

* Tips on content marketing:
  * People focus on the content and forget the marketing part. **50/50 Rule**: spend 50% of the time writing the content and the other 50% promoting it. Eric Siu goes further: [20% Creation and 80% Promotion](https://www.singlegrain.com/blog-posts/content-marketing/why-content-marketing-should-always-be-20-creation-and-80-promotion/). Neil Patel on [promoting blog posts](https://neilpatel.com/blog/the-uncensored-guide-to-promoting-a-blog-post/) and on [how much should you write](https://neilpatel.com/blog/write-fewer-blog-posts/).
  * A question for creating interesting content: how would X look like through the lens of Y? Example: [If Football and Golf Commentators switched places](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXzLu4Ps3dY).
  * [Document Don't Create](https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/creating-content-that-builds-your-personal-brand/) by Gary Vaynerchuk: "Documenting your journey versus creating an image of yourself."

## Links

* [Books on marketing I recommend](https://wiki.stojanow.com/books#marketing)
* [Quant Based Marketing](https://github.com/psto/episteme/tree/4be4f8804a51ebbd652065d912c2f0258aad3392/quant-based-marketing-for-pre-launch-start-up/README.md) by Noah Kagan
* [28 Ideas For Content Upgrades To Grow Your Email List](https://sumo.com/stories/content-upgrades)
* [1,000 True Fans](https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/) by Kevin Kelly
* [Selling Software To Large Businesses](https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/enterprise_sales) by Patrick McKenzie


# Advice

> "In this way you must understand how laughable it is to say, 'Tell me what to do!' What advice could I possibly give? No, a far better request is, 'Train my mind to adapt to any circumstance.' …In this way, if circumstances take you off script… you won't be desperate for a new prompting." —Epictetus, Discourses, 2.2.20b– 1; 24b– 25a

Most advice is divorced from consequences. Advice is also cheap and lacks skin in the game. We discount advice because we [anticipate more regret from following bad advice than our own plans](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bdm.2048). That said:

> "Good advice is priceless. Not what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. Not imaginary, but practical. Not based on fear, but on possibility. Not designed to make you feel better, designed to make you better. Seek it out and embrace the true friends that care enough to risk sharing it. I'm not sure what takes more guts—giving it or getting it." [Seth Godin](https://seths.blog/2014/05/good-advice/)

Beware of the [Solomon's Paradox](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263016241_Exploring_Solomon's_Paradox_Self-Distancing_Eliminates_the_Self-Other_Asymmetry_in_Wise_Reasoning_About_Close_Relationships_in_Younger_and_Older_Adults)

> "People reason more wisely about other people's social problems than about their own."

Since we are better at giving advice than taking it ourselves, we can hack it by asking: "what would I advise to my best friend?" or "what would X do (where X is the master of that particular domain)?". Considering a problem from a third-person perspective ([self-distancing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distancing_%28psychology%29#Self-distancing_perspective)) makes us more adept at solving it.

## Links

* [Should You Reverse Any Advice You Hear?](https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/03/24/should-you-reverse-any-advice-you-hear/) by Scott Alexander
* Nassim Taleb: [Advice given to any young person](https://twitter.com/nntaleb/status/975748062176952322?lang=en), [“Seneca’s Barbell”](https://www.nuggetsofthought.com/2018/04/02/nassim-taleb-senecas-barbell), [I hesitate to give advice because every major single piece of advice I was given turned out to be wrong and I am glad I didn’t follow them.](http://fooledbyrandomness.com/AUBCommencement.pdf)
* [Patrick Collison's advice](https://patrickcollison.com/advice)
* [Uncommon Sense](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBAAC8C0430D64F4D) by Derek Sivers
* Sam Altman: [The days are long but the decades are short](https://blog.samaltman.com/the-days-are-long-but-the-decades-are-short), [How To Be Successful](https://blog.samaltman.com/how-to-be-successful)
* [Paul Graham’s Startup Advice for the Lazy](https://medium.com/swlh/graham-for-the-lazy-51a170dacc86)
* Charlie Munger: [Life Advice To Young People](https://www.nuggetsofthought.com/2018/02/18/charlie-mungers-advice-to), [on Getting Rich, Wisdom, Focus, Fake Knowledge and More](https://fs.blog/2017/02/charlie-munger-wisdom/)
* [How to Get Rich (without getting lucky)](https://twitter.com/naval/status/1002103360646823936) by Naval ([thread reader](https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1002103360646823936.html))
* [Ask Ariely column](http://danariely.com/tag/advice-column/)
* [Find a fulfilling career that does good](https://80000hours.org/career-guide/) by 80,000 Hours - based on five years of research alongside academics at Oxford.
* [What Should You Do with Your Life? Directions and Advice](https://guzey.com/personal/what-should-you-do-with-your-life/) by Alexey Guzey
* [Boilerplate Advice](https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2021/01/06/boilerplate-advice/) by Venkatesh Rao


# Crypto

> "The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that's required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust." - Satoshi Nakamoto

## Learn about Bitcoin in under an hour

In one sentence: [Bitcoin](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Bitcoin) is censorship resistance value transfer.

In 6 minutes: [Bitcoin Properly](http://bitcoinproperly.org/) (video).

In \~25 minutes: [Ever wonder how bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) actually work?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4) by 3Blue1BrownN or [The Trust Machine: The Story of Bitcoin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKwqNgG-Sv4) by Art of the Problem

Read the [Bitcoin whitepaper](https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf) ([same](https://fermatslibrary.com/s/bitcoin) but annotated). It's quite short (skip the calculations) and you'll know the [principles of Bitcoin](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Principles_of_Bitcoin).

That's it. Now comes the tough part. You have to read more. Everyday.

## Some resources to get you started

* [Why Bitcoin Matters](http://blog.pmarca.com/2014/01/22/why-bitcoin-matters/) by Marc Andreesen

> "The practical consequence of solving this problem is that Bitcoin gives us, for the first time, a way for one Internet user to transfer a unique piece of digital property to another Internet user, such that the transfer is guaranteed to be safe and secure, everyone knows that the transfer has taken place, and nobody can challenge the legitimacy of the transfer. The consequences of this breakthrough are hard to overstate."

* [Proof that Proof-of-Work is the only solution to Byzantine Generals' problem](https://gist.github.com/oleganza/8cc921e48f396515c6d6) by Oleg Andreev

> "Imagine you are sitting in a bunker. You have no idea what people are out there and what are their intentions. You only receive some incoming messages from strangers that may contain anything. They can be just random garbage or deliberately crafted messages to confuse you or lie to you. You never know. You cannot trust anyone. The problem of "money" or any other "social contract" is that everyone should be able to know what the majority agrees to without trusting some intermediaries (otherwise they can easily obuse their special position)."

* anything by Nick Szabo, start with: [Money, blockchains, and social scalability](https://unenumerated.blogspot.com/2017/02/money-blockchains-and-social-scalability.html), [The dawn of trustworthy computing](https://unenumerated.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-dawn-of-trustworthy-computing.html), [Shelling Out: The Origins of Money](https://nakamotoinstitute.org/shelling-out/)

> "the secret to Bitcoin's success is that its prolific resource consumption and poor computational scalability is buying something even more valuable: social scalability. Social scalability is the ability of an institution –- a relationship or shared endeavor, in which multiple people repeatedly participate, and featuring customs, rules, or other features which constrain or motivate participants' behaviors — to overcome shortcomings in human minds and in the motivating or constraining aspects of said institution that limit who or how many can successfully participate."

* [Hyperbitcoinization](https://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/hyperbitcoinization/) and [Appcoins Are Snake Oil](https://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/appcoins-are-snake-oil/) by Daniel Krawisz
* [The Bullish Case for Bitcoin](https://medium.com/@vijayboyapati/the-bullish-case-for-bitcoin-6ecc8bdecc1) by Vijay Boyapati

> "Owning bitcoins is one of the few asymmetric bets that people across the entire world can participate in. Much like a call option, an investor's downside is limited to 1x, while their potential upside is still 100x or more. Bitcoin is the first truly global bubble whose size and scope is limited only by the desire of the world's citizenry to protect their savings from the vagaries of government economic mismanagement."

* [Why It’s Hard to “Get” Bitcoin: The Blockchain Spectrum](https://blog.unchained-capital.com/blockchain-spectrum-806847e1c575) by Dhruv Bansal

![Blockchain and cryptocurrency diagram by Taylor Pearson](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*xILoZ-QpFWYLjAFEfjWWaw.png)

> "A blockchain is a distributed system using cryptography to secure an evolving consensus about an economically valuable token."

## Other great crypto resources

* [Bitcoin Resources](https://lopp.net/bitcoin.html) by Jameson Loop.
* [Crypto Canon](https://a16z.com/2018/02/10/crypto-readings-resources/) by a16z
* [Crypto podcasts I recommend](/podcasts#crypto)
* [Blockchain demo](https://blockchaindemo.io/) - a visual demo of blockchain technology.
* [Coin demo](https://coindemo.io/) - a cryptocurrency demo.
* [Privacy in Bitcoin](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Privacy)
* [check out MimbleWimble](/protocols/mimblewimble)
* [Privacy and Cryptocurrency, Part I: How Private is Bitcoin?](https://medium.com/human-rights-foundation-hrf/privacy-and-cryptocurrency-part-i-how-private-is-bitcoin-e3a4071f8fff)


# Courses

## Some courses I've enjoyed

* [Learning to Learn by Barbara Oakley](https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn) ([notes](/learning/learning-how-to-learn))
* [Human Behavioral Biology by Robert Sapolsky](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL848F2368C90DDC3D) ([notes](https://www.robertsapolskyrocks.com/))
* [Justice with Michael Sandel](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL30C13C91CFFEFEA6)
* [A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harar](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfc2WtGuVPdmhYaQjd449k-YeY71fiaFp)
* [Death with Shelly Kagan](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEA18FAF1AD9047B0)
* Financial Markets with Robert Shiller ([youtube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8FB14A2200B87185), [coursera](https://www.coursera.org/learn/financial-markets-global))
* [A Beginner's Guide to Irrational Behavior by Dan Ariely](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUc5eJ1g5zWxz3lTpJy5Jtc5BJVJdk1NQ)
* [Y Combinator's Startup School](https://www.startupschool.org/latest) with [recommended readings](http://startupclass.samaltman.com/lists/readings/)
* [Model Thinking by Scott Page](https://www.coursera.org/learn/model-thinking)
* [Game Theory by Matthew Jackson, Kevin Leyton-Brown and Yoav Shoham](https://www.coursera.org/learn/game-theory-1)
* [Cryptography I by Dan Boneh](https://www.coursera.org/learn/crypto)
* [Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies by Arvind Narayanan](https://www.coursera.org/learn/cryptocurrency/)
* [Introduction to Digital Currencies by Andreas Antonopoulos, Antonis Polemitis and Dmitry Apraksin](https://digitalcurrency.unic.ac.cy/free-introductory-mooc/)
* [Economics of Money and Banking by Perry Mehrling](https://www.coursera.org/learn/money-banking)

## Links

* [hn.academy](https://hn.academy/) - collects, ranks, and showcases the online courses recommended by [Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/) users.
* [Awesome courses](https://github.com/prakhar1989/awesome-courses) - list of awesome university courses for learning Computer Science.
* [Computer Science](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science) - path to a free self-taught education in Computer Science.
* [Take at least one good Statistics course](https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/4lshg6/lpt_take_at_least_one_good_statistics_course/d3q4l74/)
* [Machine Learning by Andrew Ng](https://www.coursera.org/learn/machine-learning)


# Communities

* [Indie Hackers](https://www.indiehackers.com/)
* [Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/)
* [Slate Star Codex](https://slatestarcodex.com/) and [r/SlateStarCodex](https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/)
* [LessWrong](https://www.lesswrong.com/)
* twitter, use [TweetDeck](https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/) (chronological feed) and curate your timeline. Use lists like: [Naval's crypto](https://twitter.com/naval/lists/crypto), [Patrick Collison's reading](https://twitter.com/patrickc/lists/reading).
* [r/Rational](https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/)
* [r/DataIsBeautiful](https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/)
* [r/BadEconomics](https://www.reddit.com/r/badeconomics/)
* [r/Stoicism](https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/)
* [r/AskHistorians](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/)
* [r/AskScience](https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/)
* [r/Privacy](https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/)
* [r/ChangeMyView](http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview)
* [StackOverflow](https://stackoverflow.com/)
* [Lobste.rs](https://lobste.rs/)
* [GrowthHackers](https://growthhackers.com/posts)

AI: [r/MachineLearning](https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/), [r/ControlProblem](https://www.reddit.com/r/ControlProblem/), [r/DecisionTheory](https://www.reddit.com/r/DecisionTheory/), [r/ReinforcementLearning](https://www.reddit.com/r/reinforcementlearning/), [r/MediaSynthesis](https://www.reddit.com/r/MediaSynthesis), [r/artificial](https://www.reddit.com/r/artificial), [r/OpenAI](https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI), [r/deeplearning](https://www.reddit.com/r/deeplearning)

More fun subreddits: [r/Architecture](https://www.reddit.com/r/architecture/), [r/BizarreBuildings](https://www.reddit.com/r/bizarrebuildings/), [r/CrazyIdeas](https://www.reddit.com/r/CrazyIdeas/), [r/DepthHub](https://www.reddit.com/r/DepthHub/), [r/Design](https://www.reddit.com/r/Design), [r/EducationalGifs/](https://www.reddit.com/r/educationalgifs/), [r/ExplainLikeImFive](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/), [r/IAmA](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/), [r/PhysicsGifs](https://www.reddit.com/r/physicsgifs/), [r/Space](https://www.reddit.com/r/space/)

## Links

* [Well-Kept Gardens Die By Pacifism](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tscc3e5eujrsEeFN4/well-kept-gardens-die-by-pacifism) by Eliezer Yudkowsky
* Scott Alexander's [We Are All MsScribe](https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/12/23/we-are-all-msscribe/) and [Archipelago and Atomic Communitarianism](https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/06/07/archipelago-and-atomic-communitarianism/)
* Clay Shirky's [Communities, Audiences, and Scale](https://web.archive.org/web/20020802153649/http://shirky.com/writings/community_scale.html) and [A Group Is Its Own Worst Enemy](https://www.gwern.net/docs/technology/2005-shirky-agroupisitsownworstenemy.pdf)
* [Designing For Evil](https://blog.codinghorror.com/designing-for-evil/) by Jeff Atwood


# Privacy

Modern web is a [Panopticon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon)'s guard wet dream. We are being tracked by both private and state organizations. Data is the new gold rush and "[Surveillance Capitalism](https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/debatten/the-digital-debate/shoshan-zuboff-on-big-data-as-surveillance-capitalism-13152525.html)" is [the biggest game](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2594754) in town.

But "[I have nothing to hide!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_to_hide_argument)"

> ["Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say."](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/36ru89/just_days_left_to_kill_mass_surveillance_under/crglgh2/) - Edward Snowden

### What I use

**Browser**: [Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/kab/firefox/developer/) with [add-ons](https://www.privacytools.io/#addons) + [configs](https://www.privacytools.io/#about_config) and [Tor](https://www.torproject.org/download/download-easy.html.en); [Firefox mobile](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/mobile/) and [Tor for android](https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en#downloads-alpha) with [orbot](https://guardianproject.info/apps/orbot/). Currently trying out [LibreWolf Browser](https://librewolf-community.gitlab.io/) and [Brave Browser](https://brave.com/).

**Text messaging**: [Signal](https://signal.org/)

**Email**: [Mailpile](https://www.mailpile.is/) on pc and [K-9 Mail](https://github.com/k9mail/k-9/releases) on mobile. I've changed my email accounts to [protonmail](https://protonmail.com/) and [tutanota](https://tutanota.com/), but I'm still forced to use gmail sometimes.

**Search**: I'm a [DuckDuckGo](https://duckduckgo.com/) user since 2011 and it's getting better and better. A few others: [Searx](https://searx.me/), [Qwant](https://www.qwant.com/), [MetaGer](https://metager.org/), [Swisscows](https://swisscows.com/).

**OS**: [Debian](https://www.debian.org/) with [i3 window manager](https://i3wm.org/). Sometimes [Tails](https://tails.boum.org/). Trying out [EndeavourOS](https://endeavouros.com/).

**Mobile OS**: [LineageOS](https://www.lineageos.org/)

**Password Manager**: [KeePassXC](https://keepassxc.org/)

**2FA**: [FreeOTP](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.fedorahosted.freeotp/) for two-factor authentication.

**Online Communication**: [Element.io](https://element.io/) (former Riot).

**VPN**: [ProtonVPN](https://protonvpn.com/)

## Links

* [Surveillance Self-defense](https://ssd.eff.org/en) by the EFF.
* [How to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour](https://medium.freecodecamp.org/tor-signal-and-beyond-a-law-abiding-citizens-guide-to-privacy-1a593f2104c3) by Quincy Larson.
* [Privacy Tools](https://www.privacytools.io/) and [Prism Break](https://prism-break.org/en/) for finding-privacy focused software alternatives.
* [r/privacy wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/wiki/index)
* [Google-free Android Setup](https://niftylettuce.com/posts/google-free-android-setup/)
* [A Modest Privacy Protection Proposal](https://medium.com/s/story/a-modest-privacy-protection-proposal-5b47631d7f4c) by Jameson Lopp
* [Jolly Roger’s Security Guide for Beginners](https://www.deepdotweb.com/jolly-rogers-security-guide-for-beginners/)
* [The Hated One](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjr2bPAyPV7t35MvcgT3W8Q/featured) a privacy focused youtube channel.
* Read up how websites manipulate you into buying, subscribing to stuff you don't need and giving up your privacy: [Deceived by design (pdf)](https://fil.forbrukerradet.no/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-06-27-deceived-by-design-final.pd://fil.forbrukerradet.no/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-06-27-deceived-by-design-final.pdf), [darkpatterns.org](https://darkpatterns.org/)
* [I've Got Nothing to Hide' and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565&) by Daniel J. Solove
* More on Surveillance Capitalism: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveillance_capitalism), [The Age of Surveillance Capitalism](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26195941-the-age-of-surveillance-capitalism) book
* Other firefox configs: [ghacks-user.js](https://github.com/ghacksuserjs/ghacks-user.js) and [this gist](https://gist.github.com/0XDE57/fbd302cef7693e62c769).
* [Turn It On](https://www.turnon2fa.com/) - guides to turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts.
* [Restore Privacy guides](https://restoreprivacy.com/category/guides/) by Sven Taylor like [Private Search Engines](https://restoreprivacy.com/private-search-engine/) overview.
* [Awesome Privacy - A curated list of services and alternatives that respect your privacy because PRIVACY MATTERS.](https://github.com/pluja/awesome-privacy)


# Economics

> "All models are wrong, but some are useful".

### Thoughts

* Most economics is speculation without stakes.
* Observe the underlying incentives.
  * Who profits the most?
  * Who suffers the most consequences directly from one's actions?
  * How to (re)align the incentive structures?
* There is always an opportunity cost (even if good things happen). Always ask:
  * "What is the trade-off?"
  * "Under what conditions would my idea be a bad idea?"
* Politicians/bureaucrats are incentives to practice first-order thinking (anticipating the immediate results of their actions/policy). It's what gets them re-elected.
  * By "solving" one problem that way they create a bigger one down the road. They compound problems.
  * Solution: solve for the long term. Practice second-order and n-th order thinking.
    * "What are the consequences in 10 hours? 10 months? 10 Years? 100 years?"
* The demand curve slopes downward: if something becomes more expensive you do less of it.
* Markets work when both parties benefit from a trade.
* Understanding the price system tell us what ends up where doing what.
* The more growth you have, the bigger your margin of error. When in doubt optimize for growth.
  * "What actions can I take now that will produce compounding returns?"
  * "Am I on a track where my knowledge compounds?"
* Leave small crises to resolve themselves. Step in for huge ones.
* Debt is easy, but it's not the answer. Bureaucrats love it: no one gets fired for adding more debt.
  * Private debt shouldn't become public debt. Taxpayers shouldn't pay for bailouts.
* Crony capitalism is rent-seeking as a service. Warning signs:
  * Wealth is seen as a zero-sum game.
  * Wanting economic gain without any real risk.
  * High positions are equated with wealth, prestige and status.
  * Competition is seen as inconvenient and battled with special permits, grants, tax breaks.
* Decentralised systems withstand more than centralised systems.
* Governments use taxes to create demand for their currency. After Adam Smith:

  > "A prince, who should enact that a certain proportion of his taxes should be paid in a paper money of a certain kind, might thereby give a certain value to this paper money"

### What I enjoyed reading

* Adam Smith: [An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38194) and [The Theory of Moral Sentiments](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_Moral_Sentiments)
* [The Law](http://bastiat.org/) by Frédéric Bastiat
* [Economics in One Lesson](https://archive.org/details/HenryHazlittEconomicsInOneLesson) by Henry Hazlitt
* [I, Pencil: My Family Tree](https://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/rdPncl.html) by Leonard E. Read
* [The Use of Knowledge in Society"](https://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw.html) by Friedrich A. Hayek
* [Charlie Munger: Academic Economics — Strengths and Weaknesses, after Considering Interdisciplinary Needs](https://fs.blog/2015/03/charlie-munger-academic-economics/)
* [More books I recommend](https://wiki.stojanow.com/books#economics).

## Links

* [Economic podcasts I listen to](https://wiki.stojanow.com/podcasts#economics).
* [Econlib](https://www.econlib.org/cee/) The Library of Economics and Liberty.
* [The Economics of Seinfeld](http://yadayadayadaecon.com/) - using Seinfeld scenes to make economic concepts come alive.
* [r/Economics](https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics) suggested [blogs](https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/wiki/blogs) and [reading list](https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/wiki/reading).
* [r/BadEconomics](https://www.reddit.com/r/badeconomics/) - a repository for all of the woeful, antiquated, or plain old misguided notions Redditors post about how the economy works.
* [Literary Works with Economic Insight](http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Fictional%20Economics/Embedded%20Economics.html) by David D. Friedman - economics in storytelling.


# Psychology

### Index

* [Emotions](/psychology/emotions)
* [Habits](/psychology/habits)
* [Happiness](/psychology/happiness)

## Links

* [Simply Psychology](https://www.simplypsychology.org) - psychology articles about the theories and perspectives that have shaped the discipline, in a user-friendly format.
* [r/Psychology](https://www.reddit.com/r/psychology/wiki/readinglist) reading list.
* [Moralities of Everyday Life](https://www.coursera.org/learn/moralities/) course by Paul Bloom.
* [The Evolution of Trust](https://ncase.me/trust/) game by Nicky Case.


# Emotions

The following is my understanding of [Lisa Feldman Barrett's research](https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/academic-papers/) and the [theory of constructed emotion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_constructed_emotion).

The key insight to the science of emotions is that "[**emotions are constructions of the world, not reactions to it**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5390700/)."

Brains are not pre-wired with neurons dedicated to a specific emotion. They are not hard-wired in the "reptilian" part of the brain nor are there distinct parts of the brain dedicated to specific emotions.

There are no "universal" emotions.

Emotions are concepts and predictions that are constructed by the brain:

> "[your brain makes an emotion by using prior experiences of emotion to predict and explain incoming sensory inputs, and guide action](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lisa-feldman-barrett-emotions)"

The brain is making sense of the information it receives. Using previous experience as a guide is a simple way to do this. It saves a lot of time and energy if it matches the current experience with a past memory. Yet, it takes too long to go through thousands of old memories, one at a time.

That's where concepts come in. A concept is thousands of previous experiences compressed into one. We are familiar with the concept of a car and don't have to go through thousands of them we saw before. It's not a new idea, Barrett just applies this to emotions.

"Negative" emotions are also concepts. They just don't feel like ones because we experience them vividly. For example, when we learn that something really bad happened to someone we know, the sadness we feel is a prediction of the appropriate way for our body to react to the news. It wasn't a reaction per se. It arose from a complex system that made a self-fulfilling forecast of what our body required to deal with.

It would take too long for the brain to passively interpret data. To act more quickly it "simulates" what might happen next and acts on that guess. When we are going to a funeral the brains predicts we will feel sorrow and grief. But the same event can bring [different emotions in various cultures](https://ideas.ted.com/11-fascinating-funeral-traditions-from-around-the-globe/).

Emotions are real. Yet, what they are telling us might not be. We can't control them but we can ride them out.

## Links

* [The theory of constructed emotion: an active inferenceaccount of interoception and categorization](https://www.affective-science.org/pubs/2017/barrett-tce-scan-2017.pdf) and [How emotions are 'made': why your definition of sadness is unlike anyone else's](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lisa-feldman-barrett-emotions) by Lisa Feldman Barrett
  * her book: [How Emotions are Made](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23719305-how-emotions-are-made)
  * and [critique](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/opinion/sunday/what-faces-cant-tell-us.html?_r=0) of Paul Ekman's [emotions as universal categories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ekman#Emotions_as_universal_categories) (his [response](https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/are_facial_expressions_universal)).


# Habits

## Why motivation isn't enough?

Motivation fluctuates, it goes up and down. During peaks we are temporary capable to do hard things. However, most of the time we are in the dips, where we can do only simple things.

Relying on motivation is a losing long term strategy.

The key is to make things easy enough to do regardless of the motivation level.

## It's a design challenge not a motivation challenge.

Designing for the outcome is designing at the wrong place. You need to design for behaviour that leads to the outcome.

Behaviour change is a skill and gets better with practice. But it must be practiced the right way:

* pick behaviours that you want to have, not ones you should have.
* if you practice and it's not working, revise it.
* have fun with it.
* don't worry about being perfect. If you miss a day, it's not over. Adapt until you find a fit.

## What causes behaviour?

Three things that must happen at the same time:

1. Some level of Motivation.
2. The Ability to do it.
3. The Trigger, call to action.

## The Formula:

Step 1: Make it TINY: floss one tooth. Step 2: Find a spot: right after brushing your teeth. Step 3: Train the cycle: repeat everyday.

Plant a tiny habit in the right spot and it will grow without coaxing.

## The Secret: chaining tiny habits.

If you use an existing behaviour in your life and you put the new tiny behaviour after it, you can use the existing behaviour as a trigger.

The Format for Tiny Habits: After I \[existing habit], I Will \[new tiny behaviour].

## Sources:

* [Tiny Habits: BJ Fogg](https://www.tinyhabits.com/)
* [BJ Fogg's Behavior Model](https://www.behaviormodel.org/)
* [Fogg Method](http://www.foggmethod.com/)
* [Fogg Behavior Grid](https://www.behaviorgrid.org/)

## Links:

* The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
* Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy Baumeister


# Happiness

> "True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not." — Seneca

A human being is the only animal that thinks about the future ([Dan Gilbert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Gilbert_%28psychologist%29)). We are not good at predicting it accurately though:

* We forget to consider that we'll be a different person in the future.
* We can't predict our emotional reactions to future events.
  * "Once I get the promotion/car/house I'll be happy." → after short bliss no lasting change.
  * "Losing my job will be terrible!" → ends up being awesome.
* Almost everything we experience feels different once we have experienced it than we imagined it would have.
* We overestimate our reactions to future events and underestimate how good we are in rationalizing decisions we make today.

It's also worth noting that happiness may be genetic ([study by Lykken and Tellegen](http://cogprints.org/767/) estimates that around 50% of happiness is determined by genes, whereas a [study by Jan‐Emmanuel De Neve](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1553633) shows that 33% of the variation in life satisfaction is explained by genetic variation).

#### We must face these 2 facts:

1. We didn't evolve to be happy.
2. We make bad predictions about the future and what will make us happy.

### What can we do?

We can focus on what's under our control:

> "The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own" —Epictetus, Discourses, 2.5.4– 5

Since using our own imagination to predict the future isn't accurate, we can ask people who are already living in "our future" how they feel. Seek out people who are doing what you're only imagining and measure their happiness. But, be aware that we have a bias to prefer information that we gather by our own actions over other people's opinions. We suffer from the illusion that we differ so much from other people that their experiences don't apply to us.

### Happiness vs Satisfaction

We should keep in mind the difference between happiness and satisfaction. As [Daniel Kahneman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Kahneman) notices the key to understanding the difference is memory. Satisfaction is retrospective, whereas happiness occurs in real time. We tell ourselves stories about our lives. Our day-to-day experiences may produce positive feelings that don't have an effect on our story.

* Memory is enduring, but feelings pass.
* someone who has had many happy experiences may not feel satisfied on the whole.

Satisfaction relies on comparisons:

> "Life satisfaction is connected to a large degree to social yardsticks–achieving goals, meeting expectations." —Daniel Kahneman

Money has an immense influence on life satisfaction, but happiness is affected by money only when funds are lacking.

Since happiness is fleeting, a life filled with happy moments doesn't have to lead to overall satisfaction.

Satisfaction is a long-term feeling, cultivated over time and built on achieving goals and building the kind of life you admire.

Chasing happiness is often the thing that makes us miserable.

## Links

* [The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13721709-the-antidote) by Oliver Burkeman (my [notes](https://stojanow.com/the-antidote/)).
* The older the problem, the older the solution: [Ancient Wisdom Reveals 7 Rituals That Will Make You Happy](https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2018/05/ancient-wisdom-2/)


# Productivity

> "People tend to abandon the good system they'll follow in search of the perfect system that they will quit." ―Tim Ferriss

### Notes

* On distractions:

  > "Follow the wandering, the distraction, find out why the mind has wandered; pursue it, go into it fully. When the distraction is completely understood, then that particular distraction is gone. When another comes, pursue it also." Jiddu Krishnamurti
* The **70% Rule** by Jeff Bezos ([2016 Letter to Shareholders](https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/z6o9g6sysxur57t)):

  > "Most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70% of the information you wish you had. If you wait for 90%, in most cases, you're probably being slow. Plus, either way, you need to be good at quickly recognizing and correcting bad decisions. If you're good at course correcting, being wrong may be less costly than you think, whereas being slow is going to be expensive for sure."
* Can't start? Use [BJ Fogg's technique](https://wiki.stojanow.com/habits): make an action as small as possible, do less than you are capable of doing.
  * Use positive constraints like the [Pomidoro Technique](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique).
  * Build in incentives and consequences: make yourself socially accountable, check in or a bet (we work harder to combat [loss aversion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_aversion)).
* Too big To Do list? Can't decide where to start? Ask: "Which one of these if done will make the rest irrelevant or easy?"

## Links

* [Structured Procrastination](http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/) by John Perry
* [Good and Bad procrastination](http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html) and [Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule](http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html) by Paul Graham
* [Productivity](http://blog.samaltman.com/productivity) by Sam Altman
* [The Not-To-Do Lis](http://tim.blog/2007/08/16/the-not-to-do-list-9-habits-to-stop-now/) and ["Productivity" Tricks for the Neurotic, Manic-Depressive, and Crazy (Like Me)](http://fourhourworkweek.com/2013/11/03/productivity-hacks/) by Tim Ferriss
* [Get specific!](https://sivers.org/get-specific) by Derek Sivers
* [Execute by Default](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FHukyfMagq4HrBYNt/willpower-hax-487-execute-by-default) by Eliezer Yudkowsky
* [How We Use the Procrastination Equation](https://alexvermeer.com/how-we-use-the-procrastination-equation/) by Alex Vermeer and Jimmy Rintjema
* [Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible](https://guzey.com/productivity/) by Alexey Guzey
* [Minding our way](http://mindingourway.com/) by Nate Soares: a rational take on productivity.
* [Plaintext Productivity](http://plaintext-productivity.net/) by Michael Descy: a productivity system using plaintext files.
* [The Secret Weapon](https://thesecretweapon.org/the-secret-weapon-manifesto/manifesto-part-1-the-issue/): email + Evernote + GTD.


# Meditation

> "Meditation is one of the greatest arts in life (…) and one cannot possibly learn it from anybody, that is the beauty of it." Jiddu Krishnamurti

Meditation is the art of recognising again and again that you are not who you think you are.

### Thoughts

* We are always in problem-solving mode. Even when we think we are in the present, we are looking for what'll happen next.
  * Thinking is useful but constantly losing oneself in thought is a nightmare.
  * We are unaware of the story we are telling ourselves all day long.
* Meditation is the practice of running your brain in "[debug mode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debug_menu)".
  * Create space between your thoughts by being aware of them.
  * "We suffer more in imagination than in reality" – Seneca
* One can't fail at meditation.
* The practice isn't about staying in focus but coming back into focus.
  * coming back to paying attention to the breath
  * building up an "attention muscle".
* It's better to ask "how am I relating to what's happening?" than "what is happening?".
  * How we think about our experience changes the experience.
* Be kind to yourself.
* It's not about sitting. Walk around and practice accepting the moment you are in without making judgements.

### But how does it work (studies)?

* [Meditation, mindfulness and executive control: the importance of emotional acceptance and brain-based performance monitoring](https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/8/1/85/1694475): "emotional acceptance and performance monitoring play important roles".
* [Mindful Emotion Regulation: Exploring the Neurocognitive Mechanisms behind Mindfulness](https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2015/670724/): "mindfulness has achieved effective outcomes in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and other psychopathologies through the contribution of mindfulness to emotional regulation".
* [How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26168376): "Evidence suggests that mindfulness practice is associated with neuroplastic changes in the anterior cingulate cortex, insula, temporo-parietal junction, fronto-limbic network, and default mode network structures".

## Links

* [Buddhism and Modern Psychology course](https://www.coursera.org/learn/science-of-meditation) - Robert Wright explores the science of Buddhism.
* [Daily Zen](https://www.dailyzen.com/) a blend of Eastern quotes for each day of the year.
* [This Is How To Use Mindfulness To Make Better Decisions](https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2017/12/make-better-decisions/)


# Tools

### Tools I use

* [My privacy tools](/privacy#what-i-use)
* [Text editor](/tools/text-editor) ([neovim](https://neovim.io/))
* Favourite [command line tools](/tools/cli)
* [GitBook](https://www.gitbook.com) - create books or documentation. It's also how I render markdown files in this wiki.
* [GitHub](http://github.com/) and [Gitlab](https://about.gitlab.com/) for hosting code.
* [Cloudflare pages](https://pages.cloudflare.com/), [GitHub pages](https://pages.github.com/), [Netlify](https://www.netlify.com/), [Vercel](https://vercel.com/) for hosting
* [Astro](https://astro.build/) for transforming markdown into static websites.
* [n8n](https://n8n.io/)- automate the boring stuff by getting all your apps and devices talking to each other.
* [transfer.sh](https://transfer.sh/) - easy file sharing from the command line.
* [Firefox Send](https://send.firefox.com/) with [ffsend](https://github.com/timvisee/ffsend) for simple and private file sharing.
* [Tiny Letter](https://github.com/psto/episteme/tree/bf7fe1e50e6e78b32f167343d2541fc195cb56b8/tinyletter.com) - a free personal newsletter by Mailchimp.
* [Todo.txt](http://todotxt.org/) from the [command line](https://github.com/todotxt/todo.txt-cli) - simple todo list based on a todo.txt file.
* [Hemingway App](https://hemingwayapp.com/) makes your writing bold and clear.
* [Grammarly](https://www.grammarly.com/) - eliminate errors from grammar and spelling to style and tone.
* [CodeSandbox](https://codesandbox.io) - an online editor that helps you create web applications.
* [gammastep](https://gitlab.com/chinstrap/gammastep) - adjusts the color temperature of your screen according to your surroundings.
* [Loom](https://www.useloom.com/) - communicate by sharing a video instead of a wall of text.
* [Wolfram Alpha](https://www.wolframalpha.com/)
* [Obsidian.md](https://obsidian.md/), [Web Clipper](https://obsidian.md/clipper) for notes and saving websites and [Zettlr](https://www.zettlr.com/) (a markdown editor).
* [paletton](http://paletton.com) and [color calculator](https://www.sessions.edu/color-calculator/) - pick a color scheme.
* [Kill the Newsletter!](https://www.kill-the-newsletter.com) - convert email newsletters into Atom feeds.
* [useful bookmarklets](/tools/bookmarklets)

## Links

* [Hacker Tools](https://hacker-tools.github.io) - make the most of the tools that hackers have been using for decades.
* [Uses This](https://usesthis.com/) - asking people from all walks of life what they use to get the job done.
* [Awesome Design Tools](https://github.com/LisaDziuba/Awesome-Design-Tools) - the best design tools for everything.
* [Awesome Research Tools](https://github.com/emptymalei/awesome-research) - a curated list of tools to help you with research.
* [/uses](https://uses.tech/) - a list of /uses pages detailing developer setups, gear, software and configs.


# Bookmarklets

Create a new bookmark and paste the JavaScript code in the URL box. Set an easy to remember keyword.

* [Kill sticky headers](https://alisdair.mcdiarmid.org/kill-sticky-headers/) to remove annoying sticky headers.
* [sci-hub.tw shortcut](https://github.com/psto/episteme/blob/master/tools/research-papers.md#TIP)
* to [see a dead page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Using_the_Wayback_Machine#JavaScript_bookmarklet) with the [Wayback Machine](https://web.archive.org/):

```javascript
javascript:(function(){window.location.href = "https://web.archive.org/web/*/"+window.location.href;})();
```

* save a web page:

```javascript
javascript:void(window.open('https://web.archive.org/save/'+location.href));
```

* remove distractions from an article:

```javascript
javascript:(function(){window.location.href = "https://outline.com/"+window.location.href;})();
```

* google site search the entire page:

```javascript
javascript:q=%22%22+(window.getSelection?window.getSelection():document.getSelection?document.getSelection():document.selection.createRange().text);if(!q)q=prompt(%22Search%20terms%20%5Bleave%20selection%20and%20box%20blank%20to%20list%20all%20pages%5D%20...%22).replace(/%5Cs%5C+/g,%22%252B%22);if(q!=null)location=%22http://www.google.com/search?q=%22+q.replace(/%5Cs+/g,%22+%22)+%22+site:%22+location.hostname;void(0);
```

* translate the current page:

```javascript
javascript:{var d,b,o,v,p;b=(d=document).body;o=d.createElement('script');o.setAttribute('src','https://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=googleTranslateElementInit');o.setAttribute('type','text/javascript');b.appendChild(o);v=b.insertBefore(d.createElement('div'),b.firstChild);v.id='google_translate_element';v.style.display='none';p=d.createElement('script');p.text='function googleTranslateElementInit(){new google.translate.TranslateElement({pageLanguage:""},"google_translate_element");}';p.setAttribute('type','text/javascript');b.appendChild(p);};void(0);
```

* define words with google

```javascript
javascript:d=%22%22+(window.getSelection?window.getSelection():document.getSelection?document.getSelection():document.selection.createRange().text);d=d.replace(/%5Cr%5Cn%7C%5Cr%7C%5Cn/g,%22%20,%22);if(!d)d=prompt(%22Enter%20the%20words:%22,%20%22%22);if(d!=null)location=%22http://www.google.com/search?q=define:%22+escape(d).replace(/%20/g,%22+%22);void(0);
```

## Links

* [Bookmarklet Maker](https://caiorss.github.io/bookmarklet-maker/) - generate a bookmarklet from `JavaScript` code


# Command Line Tools

### Editors / Core

* [neovim](https://github.com/neovim/neovim) is my default [text-editor](/tools/text-editor).
* [tmux](https://github.com/tmux/tmux) - terminal multiplexer.
* [starship](https://github.com/starship/starship) - cross-shell prompt.

### File Management / Navigation

* [eza](https://github.com/eza-community/eza) - a modern replacement for `ls` (community fork of exa).
* [fd](https://github.com/sharkdp/fd) - a fast and user-friendly alternative to `find`.
* [zoxide](https://github.com/ajeetdsouza/zoxide) - a smarter `cd` command, learns your habits.
* [fasd](https://github.com/clvv/fasd) - frecent files and directories.
* [lf](https://github.com/gokcehan/lf) - terminal file manager (ranger-like, written in Go).
* [xplr](https://github.com/sayanarijit/xplr) - terminal file explorer.

### Search / Find

* [fzf](https://github.com/junegunn/fzf) - command-line fuzzy finder. Used everywhere.
* [television](https://github.com/alexander-television/television) - a fast fuzzy finder with channels (zoxide, tmux, systemd, npm, etc.).
* [ripgrep](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep) - recursively searches directories for a regex pattern.
* [bat](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat) - a cat(1) clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration.
* [tldr](https://github.com/tldr-pages/tldr) - simplified and community-driven man pages.
* [ddgr](https://github.com/jarun/ddgr) - search DuckDuckGo from the command line.
* [cheat.sh](https://cheat.sh/) - community-driven cheat sheets (wrapped as `cheat()` function).

### Git

* [git](https://github.com/git/git) for version control.
* [lazygit](https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit) - TUI git client.
* [gh](https://github.com/cli/cli) - GitHub CLI.
* [delta](https://github.com/dandavison/delta) - syntax-highlighting pager for git and diff output.
* [git-lfs](https://github.com/git-lfs/git-lfs) - Git Large File Storage.

### Packages / Language Toolchains

* [paru](https://github.com/Morganamilo/paru) - AUR helper (Arch Linux).
* [pacnews](https://github.com/grayski/pacnews) - check pacman news before updates.
* [reflector](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Reflector) - fetch and sort pacman mirrors.
* [doas](https://github.com/Duncaen/OpenDoas) - lightweight sudo replacement.
* [fnm](https://github.com/Schniz/fnm) - fast Node.js version manager.
* [pnpm](https://github.com/pnpm/pnpm) - fast, disk space efficient package manager.
* [uv](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv) - Python package and project manager.
* [npm-check-updates](https://github.com/raineorshine/npm-check-updates) - upgrade npm package versions.

### Productivity / Task Management

* [atuin](https://github.com/atuinsh/atuin) - shell history with syncing, search, and encryption.
* [fabric-ai](https://github.com/danielmiessler/fabric) - AI-powered CLI.
* [llm](https://github.com/simonw/llm) - LLMs from the command line.
* [navi](https://github.com/denisidoro/navi) - interactive cheatsheet.
* [newsboat](https://github.com/newsboat/newsboat) - RSS/Atom feed reader.
* [notmuch](https://notmuchmail.org/) - email indexer and search.
* [taskwarrior](https://github.com/GothenburgBitFactory/taskwarrior) - task management.
* [taskwarrior-tui](https://github.com/kdheepak/taskwarrior-tui) - TUI for taskwarrior.

### Media / Download

* [mpv](https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv) - media player.
* [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp) - download videos from YouTube and other sites (active fork of youtube-dl).
* [streamlink](https://github.com/streamlink/streamlink) - pipes video streams from various services into a video player.
* [chafa](https://github.com/hpjansson/chafa) - image-to-sixel converter for terminal image previews.
* [glow](https://github.com/charmbracelet/glow) - render markdown in the terminal.

### CLI Utilities

* [openvpn](https://github.com/OpenVPN/openvpn) - an open source VPN daemon.
* [translate-shell](https://github.com/soimort/translate-shell) - easy access to translation engines.
* [transfer.sh](https://transfer.sh/) - easy file sharing from the command line.
* [trashy](https://github.com/oberblastmeister/trashy) - safe file deletion with trash management.
* [dragon-drop](https://github.com/mwh/dragon) - drag and drop files from terminal to GUI.
* [htmlq](https://github.com/mgdm/htmlq) - HTML query tool (like jq for HTML).
* [surfraw](https://github.com/surfraw/surfraw) - CLI web search.
* [sesh](https://github.com/joshmedeski/sesh) - tmux session manager.
* [gum](https://github.com/charmbracelet/gum) - tool for glamorous shell scripts.
* [thefuck](https://github.com/nvbn/thefuck) - corrects errors in previous console commands.
* [btop](https://github.com/aristocratos/btop) - a cool monitor of resources.

## Tmux Plugins

Tmux plugins are managed with [TPM](https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tpm):

* [christoomey/vim-tmux-navigator](https://github.com/christoomey/vim-tmux-navigator) - seamless vim/tmux pane navigation.
* [tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect](https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect) - save and restore tmux sessions.
* [tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum](https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum) - auto-save and auto-restore tmux sessions.
* [tmux-plugins/tmux-yank](https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tmux-yank) - copy to system clipboard.
* [jabirali/tmux-tilish](https://github.com/jabirali/tmux-tilish) - i3-like window management in tmux.

## Links

* [Learn the Command Line](/programming/learn-the-command-line)
* [Awesome Command Line Utilities](https://github.com/learn-anything/command-line-tools)
* [Awesome Shell](https://github.com/alebcay/awesome-shell)
* [r/commandline](https://www.reddit.com/r/commandline/) - for questions, tips, and interesting programs.


# fish

[fish](https://fishshell.com/) is a smart and user-friendly command line shell. [Try it in the browser](https://rootnroll.com/d/fish-shell/).

I use [fisher](https://github.com/jorgebucaran/fisher) to manage packages, because it [uses a clean package structure](https://github.com/jorgebucaran/fisher/issues/481).

### Some packages I use:

* [tide](https://github.com/IlanCosman/tide) 🌊 rhe ultimate Fish prompt.
* [z](https://github.com/jethrokuan/z) enables you to jump to the directory in mind.
* [Bass](https://github.com/edc/bass) use utilities written for Bash in fish shell.
* [Fzf](https://github.com/jethrokuan/fzf) integrate fzf functionality into fish.
* [pisces](https://github.com/laughedelic/pisces) helps you to work with paired symbols in the command line.
* [nvm.fish](https://github.com/jorgebucaran/nvm.fish) Node.js version manager.
* [fish-ssh-agent](https://github.com/danhper/fish-ssh-agent) start your ssh agent.
* [fish-colored-man](https://github.com/decors/fish-colored-man) color-enabled man pages.
* [dracula/fish](https://github.com/dracula/fish) dracula 🧛 theme.
* [done](https://github.com/franciscolourenco/done) automatically receive notifications when long processes finish.

## Links

* [Tutorial](https://fishshell.com/docs/current/tutorial.html) and [Documentation](https://fishshell.com/docs/current/index.html).
* [The Fish Shell](https://flaviocopes.com/fish-shell/) - a user introduction to the fish shell by Flavio Copes.
* [Awesome Fish](https://github.com/jorgebucaran/awesome-fish) - a curated list of packages, prompts, and resources for the amazing fish shell.
* [The Fish Cookbook](https://github.com/jorgebucaran/fish-cookbook) - tips and recipes for fish, from shell to plate.
* [The fish Shell](https://mvolkmann.github.io/fish-article/) by Mark Volkmann


# zsh

A modular, hand-rolled ZSH setup. No oh-my-zsh, no prezto, no framework bloat.

Config lives in `~/.config/zsh/` and is loaded from `.zshrc`. See my full config at [.dotfiles/zsh/.config/zsh](https://github.com/psto/.dotfiles/tree/main/zsh/.config/zsh).

## Why Skip the Framework?

oh-my-zsh includes 300+ plugins, 140+ themes, and a slow `compinit` that adds **300-500ms** to every shell start. This config does the opposite:

| Concern         | oh-my-zsh approach                           | This config                                        |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Plugin loading  | Sources everything at once, blocking startup | Auto-clones and sources only what's needed         |
| Completion init | Loads all completions upfront                | Cached, daily compinit (`-C` flag after first run) |
| Features        | 200+ plugins you didn't ask for              | 4 plugins, each justified                          |
| Startup time    | \~400ms+                                     | \~50ms                                             |
| Maintenance     | Opaque framework to learn                    | Flat files, trivial helpers, zero magic            |

## Core Files

| File            | Purpose                                                                          |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `.zshrc`        | Main entrypoint: options, completions, sourcing, keybinds, external tool init    |
| `zsh-exports`   | PATH, environment variables, language runtimes (node, ruby, go, rust, deno, bun) |
| `zsh-aliases`   | 200+ aliases: git, packages, system, taskwarrior, yt-dlp, media, etc.            |
| `zsh-functions` | Plugin loader, FZF helpers, git helpers, download helpers, history widget        |
| `zsh-vim-mode`  | vi mode with per-mode cursor shape changes                                       |
| `zsh-prompt`    | Legacy prompt (currently unused in favor of starship)                            |

## Plugin Infrastructure

No plugin manager, just a single 6-line function:

```zsh
zsh_add_plugin() {
  PLUGIN_NAME=$(echo $1 | cut -d "/" -f 2)
  if [ -d "$ZDOTDIR/plugins/$PLUGIN_NAME" ]; then
    zsh_add_file "plugins/$PLUGIN_NAME/$PLUGIN_NAME.plugin.zsh" || \
    zsh_add_file "plugins/$PLUGIN_NAME/$PLUGIN_NAME.zsh"
  else
    git clone "https://github.com/$1.git" "$ZDOTDIR/plugins/$PLUGIN_NAME"
  fi
}
```

If the plugin isn't cloned yet, it auto-clones on first shell start. After that it's a no-op. A companion `zsh_add_completion` does the same for completion scripts.

## Plugins

* [**Aloxaf/fzf-tab**](https://github.com/Aloxaf/fzf-tab) - replaces ZSH's tab completion menu with an fzf interface. Must load before autosuggestions and syntax highlighting.
* [**zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions**](https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions) - suggests completions as you type based on history. Uses `(history match_prev_cmd)` strategy with a blue highlight (`fg=#668ac4`).
* [**zdharma-continuum/fast-syntax-highlighting**](https://github.com/zdharma-continuum/fast-syntax-highlighting) - real-time syntax highlighting as you type (faster than the original `zsh-syntax-highlighting`).
* [**hlissner/zsh-autopair**](https://github.com/hlissner/zsh-autopair) - auto-closes quotes, brackets, and parentheses.

## External Tools

Composed CLI tools, not ZSH plugins. They're installed once via the system package manager and wired in with a single `eval` or `source`.

### FZF History Widget with Delete

The standard `^R` is replaced with a custom `modified-fzf-history-widget` that:

1. Appends the current buffer to `$HISTFILE`
2. Loads a fresh history stack (so `^D` can delete from it)
3. Deduplicates entries via `awk`
4. Accepts a custom query (not just history selection)
5. **Deletes entries** with `^D` by writing `HISTORY_IGNORE` patterns

### Vim Mode with Cursor Shapes

```zsh
bindkey -v
export KEYTIMEOUT=1
```

Per-mode cursor changes:

* **Normal** (`vicmd`): block cursor (`\e[1 q`)
* **Insert** (`viins`): beam cursor (`\e[5 q`)

Cursor resets to beam on every new prompt via `preexec`.

### Smart `cd` Hook (`status-ls`)

```zsh
add-zsh-hook chpwd status-ls
```

On every directory change:

* Inside a git repo: `git status -sb`
* Otherwise: `eza` (directory listing)

### OSC-7 for Foot Terminal

The `osc7` hook emits an escape sequence so the foot terminal opens new windows in the current directory - not `$HOME`.

### Built-in ZSH Text Objects

No plugin needed. These are native ZSH:

```zsh
autoload -U select-quoted
autoload -U select-bracketed
```

Enables `ci'`, `ci"`, `ci(`, `ci{`, `ci<` and `di'`, `di(` etc. in visual mode.

### Clean History

20+ history `setopt`s including: append-only, no duplicates, no space-prefixed commands, share across terminals, immediate append, and command duration recording.


# Text Editor

[Vim](https://www.vim.org/) is my favourite text editor (I use [Neovim](https://github.com/neovim/neovim)). It has changed completely how I interact with text. Any editor that forces you to use a mouse is wasting your time.

Think of using Vim commands as composing sentences. Take a "verb"' `d` (delete) + a "subject" `w` (word) and a whole word is deleted. It's easier than pressing `ctrl + shift + right arrow + delete` in a normal editor.

Vim spoiled me to the point that I use vim-like movement to browse the web ([vimium](https://github.com/philc/vimium)).

My [config](https://github.com/psto/dotfiles/blob/master/init.vim) file and my [nvim plugins](/tools/text-editor/vim-plugins).

## Links

* [Your problem with Vim is that you don't grok vi](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1218390/what-is-your-most-productive-shortcut-with-vim/1220118#1220118).
* [Interactive vim tutorial](https://www.openvim.com/)
* [Vim Novice Videos](http://derekwyatt.org/vim/tutorials/novice/) by Derek Wyatt.
* [Vimcasts](http://vimcasts.org/episodes/archive/) learn essential vim skills by Drew Neil.
* [TJ DeVries](https://www.youtube.com/c/TJDeVries/videos) YouTube channel by a core contributor to Neovim and the author of the excellent [telescope.nvim](https://github.com/nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim) plugin.
* [ThePrimeagen](https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePrimeagen/videos) - VIMtertainer extraordinaire.
* [Vim anti-patterns](https://sanctum.geek.nz/arabesque/vim-anti-patterns/) - what not to do in vim.
* [vim\_talk\_notes](https://github.com/r00k/vim_talk_notes) write code faster: expert-level vim by Ben Orenstein
* [Let Vim do the typing](https://georgebrock.github.io/talks/vim-completion/) and [talk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TX3kV3TICU) by \_\*\*\_George Brocklehurst
* [VimGolf](http://www.vimgolf.com/) pick a challenge, fire up Vim and share the result.
* Examples of `.vimrc` files: [Chris Hunt](https://github.com/chrishunt/dot-files/blob/master/.vimrc) and [Gary Bernhardt](https://github.com/garybernhardt/dotfiles/blob/master/.vimrc).
* `init.vim` and `init.lua` configs I take inspiration from: [ThePrimeagen](https://github.com/ThePrimeagen/.dotfiles/tree/master/nvim/.config/nvim), [TJ DeVries](https://github.com/tjdevries/config_manager/tree/master/xdg_config/nvim)

## Other editors I use

* [VSCodium](https://vscodium.com/) - a community-driven, freely-licensed binary distribution of Microsoft's editor VSCode. Second best choice for me after Neovim.


# Vim Plugins

Before installing a plugin try to do it the pure Vim way.

Plugins are managed with [lazy.nvim](https://github.com/folke/lazy.nvim). See my full config at [.dotfiles/nvim/.config/nvim](https://github.com/psto/.dotfiles/tree/main/nvim/.config/nvim).

## AI / Completion

* [Exafunction/windsurf.vim](https://github.com/Exafunction/windsurf.vim) - Windsurf AI inline completions.
* [saghen/blink.cmp](https://github.com/saghen/blink.cmp) - fast auto-completion with LSP, snippets, buffer, and path sources.
* [saghen/blink.pairs](https://github.com/saghen/blink.pairs) - intelligent bracket pair management.
* [kylechui/nvim-surround](https://github.com/kylechui/nvim-surround) - quoting/parenthesizing made simple.
* [windwp/nvim-ts-autotag](https://github.com/windwp/nvim-ts-autotag) - auto-close and rename HTML/JSX tags.
* [L3MON4D3/LuaSnip](https://github.com/L3MON4D3/LuaSnip) - snippet engine.
* [psto/friendly-snippets](https://github.com/psto/friendly-snippets) - my fork of [rafamadriz/friendly-snippets](https://github.com/rafamadriz/friendly-snippets) curated collection of snippets.

## LSP / Language Support

* [neovim/nvim-lspconfig](https://github.com/neovim/nvim-lspconfig) - core LSP client configuration.
* [mason-org/mason.nvim](https://github.com/mason-org/mason.nvim) - portable package manager for LSP servers, DAP, linters, formatters.
* [mason-org/mason-lspconfig.nvim](https://github.com/mason-org/mason-lspconfig.nvim) - bridges mason and lspconfig.
* [WhoIsSethDaniel/mason-tool-installer.nvim](https://github.com/WhoIsSethDaniel/mason-tool-installer.nvim) - ensure tools are installed automatically.
* [j-hui/fidget.nvim](https://github.com/j-hui/fidget.nvim) - LSP progress and status updates.
* [folke/lazydev.nvim](https://github.com/folke/lazydev.nvim) - faster LuaLS setup for Neovim config.
* [folke/ts-comments.nvim](https://github.com/folke/ts-comments.nvim) - tree-sitter-based commenting.

## Debugging

* [mfussenegger/nvim-dap](https://github.com/mfussenegger/nvim-dap) - Debug Adapter Protocol client.
* [rcarriga/nvim-dap-ui](https://github.com/rcarriga/nvim-dap-ui) - UI for nvim-dap.
* [nvim-neotest/nvim-nio](https://github.com/nvim-neotest/nvim-nio) - async IO library for Neovim plugins.
* [jayp0521/mason-nvim-dap.nvim](https://github.com/jayp0521/mason-nvim-dap.nvim) - install DAP adapters via Mason.

## Git

* [lewis6991/gitsigns.nvim](https://github.com/lewis6991/gitsigns.nvim) - async git signs in the signcolumn.
* [sindrets/diffview.nvim](https://github.com/sindrets/diffview.nvim) - side-by-side diff viewer.
* [ThePrimeagen/git-worktree.nvim](https://github.com/ThePrimeagen/git-worktree.nvim) - git worktree management.

## Navigation

* [nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim](https://github.com/nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim) - Find, Filter, Preview, Pick.
* [nvim-telescope/telescope-fzf-native.nvim](https://github.com/nvim-telescope/telescope-fzf-native.nvim) - FZF sorter for telescope.
* [nvim-telescope/telescope-file-browser.nvim](https://github.com/nvim-telescope/telescope-file-browser.nvim) - file browser extension.
* [nvim-telescope/telescope-ui-select.nvim](https://github.com/nvim-telescope/telescope-ui-select.nvim) - UI select integration.
* [debugloop/telescope-undo.nvim](https://github.com/debugloop/telescope-undo.nvim) - visual undo tree in telescope.
* [alexghergh/nvim-tmux-navigation](https://github.com/alexghergh/nvim-tmux-navigation) - seamless navigation between tmux panes and vim splits.
* [dmtrKovalenko/fff.nvim](https://github.com/dmtrKovalenko/fff.nvim) - blazing fast fuzzy finder with native binary.
* [developedbyed/marko.nvim](https://github.com/developedbyed/marko.nvim) - marks UI and navigation.
* [nvim-neo-tree/neo-tree.nvim](https://github.com/nvim-neo-tree/neo-tree.nvim) - file tree explorer.

## Search / Replace

* [nvim-pack/nvim-spectre](https://github.com/nvim-pack/nvim-spectre) - search and replace across the project (like ripgrep + sed).

## Colors / Highlighting

* [nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter](https://github.com/nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter) - tree-sitter interface for Neovim (highlighting, indentation, incremental selection).
* [folke/tokyonight.nvim](https://github.com/folke/tokyonight.nvim) - a clean, dark colorscheme.
* [nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons](https://github.com/nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons) - pretty icons and colors.
* [brenoprata10/nvim-highlight-colors](https://github.com/brenoprata10/nvim-highlight-colors) - highlight color codes with their actual color.

## UI / Status

* [nvim-lualine/lualine.nvim](https://github.com/nvim-lualine/lualine.nvim) - blazing fast and easy to configure statusline.
* [folke/which-key.nvim](https://github.com/folke/which-key.nvim) - displays keybinding popups as you type.
* [folke/trouble.nvim](https://github.com/folke/trouble.nvim) - pretty diagnostics, references, telescope results, quickfix and location list.
* [akinsho/nvim-toggleterm.lua](https://github.com/akinsho/nvim-toggleterm.lua) - floating and split terminal manager.
* [lewis6991/satellite.nvim](https://github.com/lewis6991/satellite.nvim) - a scrollbar with diagnostics, git signs, marks, and search.
* [mini.indentscope](https://github.com/echasnovski/mini.indentscope) - indent scope visualization.
* [lukas-reineke/indent-blankline.nvim](https://github.com/lukas-reineke/indent-blankline.nvim) - indentation level lines.

## Formatting

* [stevearc/conform.nvim](https://github.com/stevearc/conform.nvim) - code formatting on save.

## Writing

* [folke/zen-mode.nvim](https://github.com/folke/zen-mode.nvim) - distraction-free writing.
* [folke/twilight.nvim](https://github.com/folke/twilight.nvim) - dims inactive parts of the buffer for hyperfocus.
* [gaoDean/autolist.nvim](https://github.com/gaoDean/autolist.nvim) - automatic list continuation and cycling.
* [MeanderingProgrammer/render-markdown.nvim](https://github.com/MeanderingProgrammer/render-markdown.nvim) - preview markdown in the buffer.
* [zk-org/zk-nvim](https://github.com/zk-org/zk-nvim) - Zettelkasten note-taking integration.

## Quality of Life

* [goolord/alpha-nvim](https://github.com/goolord/alpha-nvim) - fast, feature-rich dashboard / start screen.
* [m4xshen/hardtime.nvim](https://github.com/m4xshen/hardtime.nvim) - helps build good Vim habits by disabling bad movement patterns.


# Search

Searching is an essential skill. Yet for something we do every day we spend little time learning how to do it effectively. It's funny how search engines are improving faster than we become better at searching.

## Links

* [Power searching](http://www.powersearchingwithgoogle.com/) by Google - skip the videos and head straight for the "Text Version".
* Practice searching: [A Google a Day](http://www.agoogleaday.com/).
* [Internet search tips](https://www.gwern.net/Search) by Gwern.
* [The Tiny, Essential Google Tricks for Way Better Search Results](https://lifehacker.com/the-tiny-essential-google-tricks-for-way-better-search-1826791031).
* Use the [Internet Archive: Wayback Machine](https://archive.org/web/web.php) to find unavailable pages; also an addon like [View Page Archive & Cache](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/view-page-archive/).
* Learn about DuckDuckGo [bangs](https://duckduckgo.com/bang) and [features](https://duck.co/help/features).


# Movies

I love movies where things are not what they seem.

## Favourite Movies

* [Le voyage dans la lune (1902)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000417/)
* [Rear Window (1954)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047396/)
* [Shichinin no samurai (1954)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047478/)
* [La Jetée (1962)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056119/)
* [2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/)
* [Solaris (1971)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069293/)
* [The Godfather (1972)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/)
* [The Holy Mountain (1973)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071615/)
* [Barry Lyndon (1975)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072684/)
* [Life of Brian (1979)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470/)
* [Blade Runner (1982)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/)
* [Brazil (1985)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/)
* [Ran (1985)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089881/)
* [Dekalog (1989)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092337/)
* [La vita è bella (1997)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118799/)
* [Memento (2000)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/)
* [Oldeuboi (2003)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/)
* [The Prestige (2006)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/)
* [The Man from Earth (2007)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/)
* [Synecdoche, New York (2008)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383028/)
* [Enter the Void (2009)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1191111/)
* [Madeo (2009)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1216496/)
* [Moon (2009)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/)
* [Inception (2010)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/)
* [Coherence (2013)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2866360/)
* [Victoria (2015)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4226388/)

## Animations

* [Akira (1988)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/)
* [Spirited Away (2001)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/)
* [Paprika (2006)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0851578/)

## Short Animations

* [Everything Will Be Ok (2006)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0887734/) and [I Am So Proud of You (2008)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1282053/)
* [It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2396224/)
* [World of Tomorrow (2015)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4171032/) and [World of Tomorrow Episode Two: The Burden of Other People's Thoughts (2017)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7278178/)

## Short Films

* [Exit (2012)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2034679/)
* [One-Minute Time Machine (2014)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3620860/)
* [Uncanny Valley (2015)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5269194/)
* [Hyper-Reality (2016)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6067174/)
* Tomasz Bagiński: [Katedra (2002)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351167/), [Sztuka spadania (2004)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0440846)


# Documentaries

* [The Century of the Self (2002)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432232/)
* [Planet Earth (2006)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795176/) and [Planet Earth II (2016)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5491994/)
* [The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0923752/)
* [Apocalypse: La 2ème guerre mondiale (2009)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1508238/) and [Apocalypse la 1ère Guerre mondiale (2014)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3638584/)
* [Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587707/)
* [How TV Ruined Your Life (2011)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1827733/)
* [Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1772925/)
* [Kumaré (2011)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1865425/)
* [Prohibition (2011)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1950799/)
* [The Act of Killing (2012)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375605/) and [The Look of Silence (2014)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3521134/)
* [Al midan (2013)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2486682/)
* [The Men Who Built America (2012)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2167393/)
* [Cosmos (TV Series 2014)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395695/)
* [The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (2014)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3268458/)
* [The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4299972/)
* [Icarus (2017)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6333060/)
* [The Vietnam War (2017)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877514/)
* [The War](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0996994/)
* [Dirty Money (2018)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7889220/)
* [Wild Wild Country (2018)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7768848/)
* [Abstract: The Art of Design](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6333098/)
* [The Story of Film: An Odyssey](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2044056/)


# TV Series

## Favourite Series

* [Rick and Morty](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2861424/)
* [Black Mirror](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085059/)
* [Cosmos](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395695/)
* [Dekalog](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092337/)
* [Over the Garden Wall](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3718778/)
* [Inside No. 9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2674806/)
* [Monty Python's Flying Circus](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063929/)
* Planet series: [Planet Earth](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795176/), [Planet Earth II](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5491994/), [Blue Planet II](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6769208), [Human Planet](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1806234/)
* Apocalypse series: [Apocalypse: The First World War](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3638584/), [Apocalypse: The Second World War](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1508238), [Apocalypse: Hitler](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2094220/), [Apocalypse: Stalin](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5287808/)
* Ken Burns's documentaries: [Prohibition](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1950799/), [The War](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0996994/), [The Vietnam War](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877514/)


# Music

I listen to a wide variety of music. Favourite genres are [progressive rock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_rock), [electronic music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_music) especially [IDM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_dance_music) (I use the abbreviation because the name is terrible) and [krautrock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krautrock).

### Some Favourites

* [King Crimson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Crimson)
* [Pink Floyd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd)
* [Camel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_%28band%29/)
* [Anathema](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anathema_%28band%29/)
* [Porcupine Tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcupine_Tree)
* [Steven Wilson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Wilson)
* [The Pineapple Thief](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pineapple_Thief)
* [dredg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dredg)
* [The Mars Volta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mars_Volta)
* [Tangerine Dream](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangerine_Dream)
* [Satellite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_%28Polish_band%29/)
* [Opeth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opeth)
* [Talk Talk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_Talk)

### Electronic Music

* [Aphex Twin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphex_Twin)
* [Boards of Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boards_of_Canada)
* [Tycho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_%28musician%29/)
* [Jon Hopkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Hopkins)
* [Ulrich Schnauss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulrich_Schnauss)
* [Nils Frahm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nils_Frahm)
* [Odesza](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odesza)
* [Moderat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moderat)
* [Emancipator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipator_%28musician%29/)
* [Kiasmos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiasmos)
* [DJ Shadow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Shadow)

### Krautrock

* [Kraftwerk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraftwerk)
* [Ash Ra Tempel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Ra_Tempel)
* [Neu!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neu!)
* [Can](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can_%28band%29/)
* [Faust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust_%28band%29/)
* [Klaus Schulze](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Schulze)
* [Popol Vuh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popol_Vuh_%28band%29/)

## Links

* [Reddit Music Player](https://reddit.musicplayer.io/) - play music from subreddits.
* [Music Map](https://www.music-map.com/)
* [Every Noise at Once](http://everynoise.com/)
* [Music Theory: The TL;DR Version](https://gumroad.com/l/tldrmusic)


# Short Stories

## Some short stories I recommend:

* [Stories of Your Life and Others](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223380.Stories_of_Your_Life_and_Others) by Ted Chiang, also: [Understand](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7234685-understand), [The Lifecycle of Software Objects](https://subterraneanpress.com/magazine/fall_2010/fiction_the_lifecycle_of_software_objects_by_ted_chiang), [The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate](https://bbs.pku.edu.cn/attach/80/a2/80a255d7a8fc70db/Ted_Chiang.pdf), [The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling](https://subterraneanpress.com/magazine/fall_2013/the_truth_of_fact_the_truth_of_feeling_by_ted_chiang), [Exhalation](http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/exhalation/)
* [Ficciones](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/426504.Ficciones) by Jorge Luis Borges
* [The Egg](http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html) by Andy Weir
* [Three Worlds Collide](http://lesswrong.com/lw/y4/three_worlds_collide_08/), [Dark Lord's Answer](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33406999-dark-lord-s-answer) and [The Sword of Good](http://yudkowsky.net/other/fiction/the-sword-of-good) by Eliezer Yudkowsky
* [The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant](http://www.nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html) by Nick Bostrom
* [Folding Beijing](http://uncannymagazine.com/article/folding-beijing-2/) by Hao Jingfang
* [Water](http://www.iftf.org/fileadmin/user_upload/downloads/th/4._Water_RamezNaam.pdf) by Ramez Naam
* [The Cambist and Lord Iron](http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-cambist-and-lord-iron-a-fairy-tale-of-economics/) by Daniel Abraham


# Writing

The best writing advice:

> "Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence you know." - Ernest Hemingway

### Books on writing

* [Why I Write](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9644.Why_I_Write) by George Orwell
* [On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10569.On_Writing) by Stephen King
* [Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12543.Bird_by_Bird) by Anne Lamott
* [On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53343.On_Writing_Well) by William Zinsser
* [The Elements of Style](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33514.The_Elements_of_Style) by William Strunk and E.B. White
* [The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1319.The_War_of_Art) by Steven Pressfield
* [A Rulebook for Arguments](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/454614.A_Rulebook_for_Arguments) by Anthony Weston
* [The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20821371-the-sense-of-style) by Steven Pinker
* [Daily Rituals: How Artists Work](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15799151-daily-rituals) by Mason Currey

## Links

* [The Day You Became A Better Writer](https://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/06/the_day_you_bec.html) by Scott Adams
* [Writing Briefly](http://www.paulgraham.com/writing44.html), [Write Like You Talk](http://www.paulgraham.com/talk.html) by Paul Graham
* [Story Structure 101: Super Basic Shit](https://channel101.fandom.com/wiki/Story_Structure_101:_Super_Basic_Shit) by Dan Harmon
* [Brandon Sanderson - 318R Lectures](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH3mK1NZn9QqOSj3ObrP3xL8tEJQ12-vL) - [notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XpHaeK464xN2aqQm3QipYWbawuabEoCjg4HUe5CMkRo/edit)
* [Riding The Writing Wave](https://www.perell.com/blog/writing) by David Perell
* [Kurt Vonnegut on how to write a short story](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmVcIhnvSx8)


# Programming

> "Every great developer you know got there by solving problems they were unqualified to solve until they actually did it." —Patrick McKenzie

## Links

* [What is Code?](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-paul-ford-what-is-code/) by Paul Ford
* [Programming Language Theory](https://steshaw.org/plt/) - a path to enlightenment for programming practitioners who didn't learn it at school.
* [GitHut](https://githut.info/) - visualize and explore the complexity of the universe of programming languages used across the repositories hosted on GitHub.
* [Programming paradigms for dummies: what every programmer should know](https://blog.acolyer.org/2019/01/25/programming-paradigms-for-dummies-what-every-programmer-should-know/)
* [Tips for reading new codebases](https://blog.safia.rocks/post/170269021619/tips-for-reading-new-codebases)
* [Signs that you're a bad programmer](http://www.yacoset.com/Home/signs-that-you-re-a-bad-programmer) and [Signs that you're a good programmer](http://www.yacoset.com/Home/signs-that-you-re-a-good-programmer)
* [Mastering Programming](https://www.prod.facebook.com/notes/kent-beck/mastering-programming/1184427814923414#) by Kent Beck
* [Clean Code cheat sheet](https://github.com/charlax/professional-programming/blob/master/cheatsheets/Clean-Code-V2.4.pdf)
* [What every computer science major should know](http://matt.might.net/articles/what-cs-majors-should-know/)
* [Teach Yourself Computer Science](https://teachyourselfcs.com) - give yourself a world-class CS education without investing years and a small fortune in a degree program.
* [Professional Programming](https://github.com/charlax/professional-programming#readme)
* [Awesome Cold Showers](https://github.com/hwayne/awesome-cold-showers#readme) - a list of cold showers on overhyped topics.
* [Best websites a programmer should visit](https://github.com/sdmg15/Best-websites-a-programmer-should-visit)
* [arl](https://github.com/kaxap/arl#readme) - lists of most popular repositories for most favoured programming languages (according to StackOverflow).
* [Good books for deep hacks](https://begriffs.com/posts/2017-04-13-longterm-computing-reading.html) by Joe Nelson, a list of books for a deep dive into interesting technical topics.
* [The Tao of Programming](http://www.mit.edu/~xela/tao.html)


# Git

### "Gitting" started

* [Git - the simple guide](https://rogerdudler.github.io/git-guide/)
* [Learn Enough Git to Be Dangerous](https://www.learnenough.com/git-tutorial/getting_started) by Michael Hartl.
* [Git Immersion](http://gitimmersion.com/index.html) - learn fundamentals of Git by doing.
* [Learn Git Branching](https://learngitbranching.js.org/) - a visual and interactive way to learn Git.
* [Git-it-electron](https://github.com/jlord/git-it-electron) - a desktop app that teaches you how to use Git and GitHub on the command line.
* [Think like a Git](http://think-like-a-git.net/) - understanding Git enlightenment.
* [Understanding Git Conceptually](https://www.sbf5.com/~cduan/technical/git/)
* [Git Magic](http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~blynn/gitmagic/index.html)
* [Codecademy's Learn Git](https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-git)

### Git Books (free)

* [Pro Git](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2) by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub
* [Pro Git Reedited](https://leanpub.com/progitreedited/read)
* [Ry's Git Tutorial](https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/498426) by Ryan Hodson
* [Learn Version Control with Git](https://www.git-tower.com/learn/git/ebook/en/command-line/introduction)
* [Git from the Bottom Up](https://jwiegley.github.io/git-from-the-bottom-up/) by John Wiegley
* [Git Workflows](https://documentup.com/skwp/git-workflows-book#) by Yan Pritzker
* [Conversational Git](http://blog.anvard.org/conversational-git/) by Alan Hohn
* [Git in the trenches](https://cbx33.github.io/gitt/intro.html) by Peter Savage

## Links

* Best Practices: [Version Control Best Practices](https://www.git-tower.com/learn/git/ebook/en/command-line/appendix/best-practices#start), [Git Best Practices](https://sethrobertson.github.io/GitBestPractices/), [Workflow Guidelines](https://www.lullabot.com/articles/git-best-practices-workflow-guidelines), [Git branching and tagging best practices](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/165725/git-branching-and-tagging-best-practices).
* [Github Cheat Sheet](https://github.com/tiimgreen/github-cheat-sheet#readme) - a list of cool features of Git and GitHub.
* [A Visual Git Reference](https://marklodato.github.io/visual-git-guide/index-en.html) - a visual reference for the most common commands in git.
* [Git for Computer Scientists](http://eagain.net/articles/git-for-computer-scientists/)


# JavaScript

> "Any application that can be written in JavaScript, will eventually be written in JavaScript." — Jeff Atwood

### Quick guides to get started

* [JavaScript For Cats](http://jsforcats.com)
* [JavaScript The Right Way](http://jstherightway.org)
* [Mozilla's JavaScript Guide](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Introduction)
* [How to Learn JavaScript Properly](http://javascriptissexy.com/how-to-learn-javascript-properly/)
* [Learn X in Y minutes Where X=javascript](https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/javascript/)

### JavaScript Tutorials

* [Free Code Camp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/) - learn to code for free
* [The Modern Javascript Tutorial](http://javascript.info/)
* [javascripting](https://github.com/workshopper/javascripting) - learn JavaScript by adventuring around in the terminal.
* [Codecademy's Learn Javascript](https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-javascript)
* [The Odin's Project Javascript](https://www.theodinproject.com/courses/javascript)
* [JavaScript 30](https://javascript30.com/) - 30 Day Vanilla JS Coding Challenge
* [ES6 Katas](http://es6katas.org) - Learn ES6 by doing it. Fix failing tests.

### JavaScript Books (free)

* [You Don't Know JS](https://github.com/getify/You-Dont-Know-JS) series by Kyle Simpson.
* [Eloquent JavaScript](https://eloquentjavascript.net/) by Marijn Haverbeke.
* [The JavaScript Way](https://github.com/bpesquet/thejsway) by Baptiste Pesquet.
* [Professor Frisby's mostly adequate guide to Functional Programming](https://mostly-adequate.gitbooks.io/mostly-adequate-guide/)
* [Speaking JavaScript](http://speakingjs.com/es5/) and [Exploring ES6](http://exploringjs.com/es6) by Axel Rauschmayer.
* [JavaScript Allongé](https://leanpub.com/javascriptallongesix/read) by Reg Braithwaite.
* [JSbooks](https://jsbooks.revolunet.com/) - links to more free JS books.

## Links

* [JavaScript Garden](http://bonsaiden.github.com/JavaScript-Garden) - a collection of the most quirky parts of JavaScript.
* [33 concepts every JavaScript developer should know](https://github.com/leonardomso/33-js-concepts#readme)
* Style Guides: [Airbnb's Style Guide](https://github.com/airbnb/javascript), [JavaScript Standard Style](https://standardjs.com), [Principles of Writing Consistent, Idiomatic JavaScript](https://github.com/rwaldron/idiomatic.js)
* [JavaScript in 10 minutes](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/spencertipping/js-in-ten-minutes/master/js-in-ten-minutes.pdf) - a quick intro to JS advanced features.
* [Functional Programming in Javascript](http://reactivex.io/learnrx/)
* [Learning Advanced JavaScript](https://johnresig.com/apps/learn/) by John Resig
* [Javascript Explained for Dinosaurs](https://medium.com/the-node-js-collection/modern-javascript-explained-for-dinosaurs-f695e9747b70)
* [Clean Code concepts adapted for JavaScript](https://github.com/ryanmcdermott/clean-code-javascript#readme)
* [JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures](https://github.com/trekhleb/javascript-algorithms#readme) - JS examples of many popular algorithms and data structures.
* [Design Patterns JS](https://github.com/fbeline/Design-Patterns-JS) - all the 23 (GoF) design patterns implemented in Javascript.
* [JavaScript Visualizer](https://tylermcginnis.com/javascript-visualizer/) - a tool for visualizing Execution Context, Hoisting, Closures, and Scopes in JS.
* [Awesome JavaScript](https://github.com/sorrycc/awesome-javascript) - a collection of awesome browser-side JavaScript libraries, resources and shiny things.
* [JS dev reads](https://github.com/twhite96/js-dev-reads) - a list of hand-picked books and articles for JavaScript developers
* [JavaScript in one pic](https://github.com/coodict/javascript-in-one-pic) learn javascript in one picture.
* [JS Tips](https://github.com/loverajoel/jstips) - short and useful JavaScript tips that will allow you to improve your code writing.
* [JS Bits](https://github.com/vasanthk/js-bits) - JavaScript concepts explained with code.
* [Superhero.js](http://superherojs.com) - a list of articles that help explain the syntax of JavaScript, how to organize your projects, how to test your code, and what's on the horizon.
* [JS channels](https://github.com/andrew--r/channels#readme) - a collection of useful YouTube channels and other videos sources for javascript developers and web designers.


# Ruby

> Often people, especially computer engineers, focus on the machines. They think, "By doing this, the machine will run faster. By doing this, the machine will run more effectively. By doing this, the machine will something something something." They are focusing on machines. But in fact we need to focus on humans, on how humans care about doing programming or operating the application of the machines. We are the masters. They are the slaves. —Yukihiro Matsumoto

### Get started with Ruby

* [Ruby in Twenty Minutes](https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/documentation/quickstart/)
* [Learn to Program](https://pine.fm/LearnToProgram/) by Chris Pine, the best beginner programming book I've read.
* [Codecademy's Learn Ruby](https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-ruby)
* [Learn Ruby the Hard Way](https://learnrubythehardway.org/book/) by Zed Shaw
* [Ruby Koans](http://www.rubykoans.com/) - achieve Ruby enlightenment.
* [Ruby Monk](https://rubymonk.com/) - interactive tutorials to help you discover Ruby idioms.
* [Test First](http://testfirst.org/) - learn to program through "Test-First Teaching".
* [Ruby Kickstart](https://github.com/JoshCheek/ruby-kickstart) - an interactive guide to learning the Ruby.
* [I Want To Learn Ruby](http://iwanttolearnruby.com/)

### Ruby guides

* [The Definitive Ruby Tutorial For Complete Beginners](https://www.rubyguides.com/ruby-tutorial/)
* [Ruby User's Guide](http://www.rubyist.net/~slagell/ruby/)
* [Ruby Hacking Guide](https://ruby-hacking-guide.github.io/)
* [Just Enough Ruby to Get By](http://jasonkim.ca/projects/just_enough_ruby_to_get_by/) by Jason Kim
* [Ruby Tutorial](http://rubylearning.com/satishtalim/tutorial.html) by Satish Talim
* [The Unofficial Ruby Usage Guide](http://www.caliban.org/ruby/rubyguide.shtml) (at Google) - Ian Macdonald
* [PLEAC-Ruby](http://pleac.sourceforge.net/pleac_ruby/index.html#AEN4) - an implementation of the Solutions of the Perl Cookbook in the Ruby language.

### Ruby Books (free)

* [Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby](https://poignant.guide/) by by Why The Lucky Stiff
* [The Bastards Book of Ruby](http://ruby.bastardsbook.com/) by Dan Nguyen
* [Programming Ruby](http://ruby-doc.com/docs/ProgrammingRuby/) by Dave Thomas, Chad Fowler and Andy Hunt
* [Rubyfu](https://rubyfu.net/) - a great collection of ideas, tricks, and skills that could be useful for Hackers.
* [Introduction to Programming with Ruby](https://launchschool.com/books/ruby) and [Object Oriented Programming with Ruby](https://launchschool.com/books/oo_ruby) by Launch School
* [I Love Ruby](https://i-love-ruby.gitlab.io) by Karthikeyan A K
* [Ruby Web Dev: The Other Way](https://leanpub.com/rwdtow/read) by Yevhen Kuzminov
* [Developing Games With Ruby](https://leanpub.com/developing-games-with-ruby/read) by Tomas Varaneckas

## Links

* Style guides: [Ruby style guide](https://github.com/rubocop-hq/ruby-style-guide), [Ruby Style Guide](https://github.com/airbnb/ruby)
* [Lean Code Ruby](lhttps://github.com/uohzxela/clean-code-ruby#readme) - Clean Code concepts adapted for Ruby.
* [Notes From "Practical Object-Oriented Design In Ruby" by Sandi Metz](https://gist.github.com/speric/31ae0987d21eac1d4f87)
* [Practicing Ruby](https://github.com/elm-city-craftworks/practicing-ruby-manuscripts) by Gregory Brown
* [The Philosophy of Ruby: A Conversation with Yukihiro Matsumoto](https://www.artima.com/intv/ruby.html)
* [My 10 Favorite Things About the Ruby Language](https://yehudakatz.com/2009/08/24/my-10-favorite-things-about-the-ruby-language/) by Yehuda Katz
* [Using Ruby in 2019](https://jasoncharnes.com/using-ruby-in-2019/)


# Learn The Command Line

* [Learn Enough Command Line to Be Dangerous](https://www.learnenough.com/command-line-tutorial/basics) by Michael Hartl - a tutorial introduction to the Unix command line.
* [Codecademy's Learn the Command Line](https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-the-command-line) - interactive course.
* [LinuxCommand](http://linuxcommand.org/index.php) and [The Linux Command Line](http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php) book by William Shotts
* [The Art of Command Line](https://github.com/jlevy/the-art-of-command-line) - master the command line, in one page.
* [Bash Guide](https://github.com/Idnan/bash-guide) - a guide to learn bash.
* [Shell Style Guide](https://google.github.io/styleguide/shell.xml) by Paul Armstrong
* [The Bash Hackers Wiki](https://wiki.bash-hackers.org) - human-readable documentation.


# Best Practices

### JavaScript

* [Clean Code JavaScript](https://github.com/ryanmcdermott/clean-code-javascript#clean-code-javascript) - Clean Code concepts adapted for JavaScript
* [best practices](https://github.com/stevekwan/best-practices/blob/master/javascript/best-practices.md) by Steve Kwan
* [JS: The Right Way](https://jstherightway.org/) - a quick reference to best practices for writing JavaScript.
* JavaScript best practices: [part 1](https://www.thinkful.com/learn/javascript-best-practices-1/) and [part 2](https://www.thinkful.com/learn/javascript-best-practices-2/)
* [Untangling Spaghetti Code: How to Write Maintainable JavaScript](https://www.sitepoint.com/write-maintainable-javascript/) by Moritz Kröger
* [Best Practices for Using Modern JavaScript Syntax](https://www.sitepoint.com/modern-javascript-best-practices/) by M. David Green
* [JavaScript Clean Coding Best Practices](https://blog.risingstack.com/javascript-clean-coding-best-practices-node-js-at-scale/) by András Tóth

## Links

* [Basics of the Unix Philosophy](http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taoup/html/ch01s06.html) by Eric S. Raymond
* [best practices](https://github.com/timoxley/best-practices) by Tim Oxley - tidbits of developer best practices from around the web.
* [Awesome Clean Code Resources](https://github.com/abiodunjames/Awesome-Clean-Code-Resources)


# Cheatsheets

### JavaScript

* [ES6 cheatsheet](https://github.com/DrkSephy/es6-cheatsheet)
* [Asynchronous JavaScript cheatsheet](https://github.com/frontarm/async-javascript-cheatsheet)
* [node.js cheatsheet](https://github.com/LeCoupa/awesome-cheatsheets/blob/master/backend/node.js)
* [Cheatsheet JS](https://github.com/gordonmzhu/cheatsheet-js)

### Bash

* [Bash cheatsheet](https://gist.github.com/LeCoupa/122b12050f5fb267e75f)
* [Bash scripting cheatsheet](https://devhints.io/bash)
* [Bash shortcuts cheatsheet](https://github.com/fliptheweb/bash-shortcuts-cheat-sheet)

### Git

* [Github's jGit Cheat Sheets](https://github.github.com/training-kit/)
* [Git Cheatsheet](https://gist.github.com/hofmannsven/6814451)

### Other

* [VIM Cheatsheet](https://github.com/LeCoupa/awesome-cheatsheets/blob/master/tools/vim.txt)
* [tmux cheat sheet](https://gist.github.com/andreyvit/2921703)
* [Markdown Cheatsheet](https://github.com/adam-p/markdown-here/wiki/Markdown-Cheatsheet)
* [Frontend Cheat Sheets](https://github.com/logeshpaul/Frontend-Cheat-Sheets)
* [npm Cheat Sheet](https://gist.github.com/AvnerCohen/4051934)

**Tip**: Use [DuckDuckGo](https://duckduckgo.com/) for instant cheatsheets (example: [vim cheat sheet](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=vim+cheat+sheet\&ia=cheatsheet))

## Links

* [OverAPI](http://overapi.com/) - collecting all cheat sheets
* [Awesome Cheatsheets](https://github.com/LeCoupa/awesome-cheatsheets#readme)
* [Rico's cheatsheets](https://devhints.io)
* [Essential micronutrients cheatsheet](https://devhints.io/fitness/micronutrients)


# Cryptography

## Links

* [Awesome Cryptography](https://github.com/sobolevn/awesome-cryptography) a curated list of cryptography resources and links.
* [Awesome Crypto Papers](https://github.com/pFarb/awesome-crypto-papers) a curated list of cryptography papers, articles, tutorials and howtos.
* [Cryptography I](https://www.coursera.org/learn/crypto) and [Cryptography II](https://www.coursera.org/learn/crypto2) by Dan Boneh
* [Gambling with Secrets](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB4D701646DAF0817) and [Public Key Cryptography](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbg3ZX2pWlgLoapF5VvM_8h5OR-XW9pbr) by Art of the Problem
* [Introduction to Cryptography](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1usFRN4LCMcfIV7UjHNuQg/videos) by Christof Paar
* [Crypto 101](https://www.crypto101.io) is an introductory course on cryptography.
* [the cryptopals crypto challenges](https://cryptopals.com)
* [r/crypto wiki](https://old.reddit.com/r/crypto/wiki/index)
* [Practical Cryptography With Go](https://leanpub.com/gocrypto/read) by Kyle Isom


# News

> "News is what somebody does not want you to print. All the rest is advertising." - Anonymous
>
> "What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions". In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us." - Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

**Thoughts**

* The news is not the end product, we are.
* The media are merchants of fear, anxiety and [doubt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchants_of_Doubt). Scaremongering hacks our brains and distorts it.
* We are preprogrammed with fears that we've outgrown the need for. Danger and violence are not equally distributed. Imported fear hacks our attention ([negativity bias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negativity_bias)).
* It's used as a [tool for profit and control](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent). The more fear is imported, the more freedom can be extorted.
* The news consumes us. We must be aware that most news is propaganda or [entertainment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death) at best.

## Links

* [Avoid News: Towards a Healthy News Diet](https://www.gwern.net/docs/culture/2010-dobelli.pdf) by Rolf Dobelli
* [Why You Should Stop Reading News](https://fs.blog/2013/12/stop-reading-news/)


# Mental Models

> "What is elementary, worldly wisdom? Well, the first rule is that you can't really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try and bang 'em back. If the facts don't hang together on a latticework of theory, you don't have them in a usable form. You've got to have models in your head. And you've got to array your experience — both vicarious and direct — on this latticework of models. (…) What are the models? Well, the first rule is that you've got to have multiple models — because if you just have one or two that you're using, the nature of human psychology is such that you'll torture reality so that it fits your models, or at least you'll think it does. (…) And the models have to come from multiple disciplines — because all the wisdom of the world is not to be found in one little academic department." -Charlie Munger, [A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom As It Relates To Investment Management & Business](https://old.ycombinator.com/munger.html)

## Links

* [Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions](https://fs.blog/mental-models/) by Farnam Street
  * available as a book: [The Great Mental Models: General Thinking Concepts](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44245196-the-great-mental-models) by Shane Parrish
* [What are mental models?](https://mentalmodels.princeton.edu/about/what-are-mental-models/)
* [Mental Models I Find Repeatedly Useful](https://medium.com/@yegg/mental-models-i-find-repeatedly-useful-936f1cc405d) by Gabriel Weinberg,
  * now also in book form: [Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41181911-super-thinking)
* [Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15155833)
* [Mental Models: Learn How to Think Better and Gain a Mental Edge](https://jamesclear.com/mental-models) by James Clear
* [Mental Models](https://www.safalniveshak.com/mental-models/) by Safal Niveshak
* [It’s Not Easy](https://www.oaktreecapital.com/docs/default-source/memos/2015-09-09-its-not-easy.pdf) by Howard Marks
* Tren Griffin: A Dozen Things I've Learned from Charlie Munger about: [Making Rational Decisions](https://25iq.com/2015/08/22/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-about-making-rational-decisions/), [Mental Models and Worldly Wisdom](https://25iq.com/2015/08/22/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-about-mental-models-and-worldly-wisdom/), [Benjamin Graham’s Value Investing System](https://25iq.com/2015/08/29/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-about-benjamin-grahams-value-investing-system/), [Risk](https://25iq.com/2015/09/05/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-about-risk-2/), [Inversion](https://25iq.com/2015/09/12/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-about-inversion-including-the-importance-of-being-consistently-not-stupid-2/), [Mistakes](https://25iq.com/2015/09/19/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-about-mistakes/), [The Berkshire System](https://25iq.com/2015/09/26/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-about-the-berkshire-system/), [Capital Allocation](https://25iq.com/2015/10/03/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-about-capital-allocation/), [Moats](https://25iq.com/2015/10/10/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-about-moats/), [how he Thinks like Philip Tetlock's Superforecasters](https://25iq.com/2015/10/17/a-dozen-ways-charlie-munger-thinks-like-philip-tetlock-suggests-in-his-new-book-superforecasting/), [Ethics](https://25iq.com/2015/10/24/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-about-ethics/), [Distilled to less than 500 Words](https://25iq.com/2015/10/30/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-charlie-munger-distilled-to-less-than-500-words/), [How does Charlie Munger recommend dealing with adversity?](https://25iq.com/2015/11/14/charlie-munger-ama-how-does-charlie-munger-recommend-dealing-with-adversity/)


# Design

> "Principles of design:
>
> 1. Use both knowledge in the world and knowledge in the head.
> 2. Simplify the structure of tasks.
> 3. Make things visible: bridge gulfs between Execution and Evaluation.
> 4. Get the mappings right.
> 5. Exploit the power of constraints.
> 6. Design for error.
> 7. When all else fails, standardize." ―Donald A. Norman, The Design of Everyday Things

## Links

* [Good Flag, Bad Flag](https://nava.org/good-flag-bad-flag/) by Ted Kaye - a short booklet on designing flags using 5 principles.
* [UI Design Do’s and Don’ts](https://developer.apple.com/design/tips/) by Apple
* [RefactoringUI](https://refactoringui.com/) learn how to design awesome UIs.
* [Brand Style Guide Examples](https://saijogeorge.com/brand-style-guide-examples/) hand-picked collection of brand style guide examples, pattern libraries and design manuals for inspiration.
* [The Front-End Design Checklist](https://frontenddesignchecklist.io)
* [A Comprehensive Guide To Web Design](https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2017/11/comprehensive-guide-web-design/) by Nick Babich
* [The Psychologist’s View of UX Design](http://uxmag.com/articles/the-psychologists-view-of-ux-design)
* [Design Languages](https://design-languages.com/) - discover the best design languages.
* [Awesome Design Tools](https://github.com/LisaDziuba/Awesome-Design-Tools#readme) the best design tools for everything.
* [Color Hunt](https://colorhunt.co/) - hand-picked color palettes for designers and artists.


# Research papers

* [Two Minute Papers](https://www.youtube.com/user/keeroyz) - short videos showcasing the latest and greatest AI research.
* [Fermat’s Library Journal Club](https://fermatslibrary.com/journal_club) is a platform for illuminating academic papers.
* [the morning paper](https://blog.acolyer.org) presents an interesting/influential/important paper from the world of CS every weekday morning.
* [SciRate](https://scirate.com/) is a free and open access scientific collaboration network.
* [Papers We Love](https://github.com/papers-we-love/papers-we-love) papers from the computer science community to read and discuss.

[Kevin Kelly](https://kk.org/) on understanding technical papers:

> The best way I've found to understand a very technical or scientific paper is to search YouTube for someone to explain it. The ideal is to find a journal club report. Journal clubs are informal groups who share the task of explaining an interesting paper to each other. Each member rotates in picking a paper to explain to their peers. This is 100 times better than having the author explain it, because authors assume too much prior knowledge. It is better to have a newbie who just figured it out. If you are lucky, a journal club will video their reports and post. Search YouTube with the paper's title or topic and add the term "journal club."

#### **TIP**

{% hint style="warning" %}
Create a new bookmark. Paste the code below in the URL box. When you are on a site with a paper behind a paywall, click on the new bookmark you've created. It's a quicker way of typing <http://sci-hub.tw/> in front of the article's URL.
{% endhint %}

```javascript
javascript:(function(){window.location.href = "http://sci-hub.tw/"+window.location.href;})();
```

> *I don't use* [*sci-hub*](https://sci-hub.tw) *unless the paper was financed through public means and ended up behind a paywall*.

## Links

* [The Dark Rule Utilitarian Argument for Science Piracy](https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/03/19/the-dark-rule-utilitarian-argument-for-science-piracy/) by Scott Alexander
* How to read science papers: [How to read an academic article](http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2010/08/31/how-to-read-an-academic-article/), [How to read and understand a scientific paper](http://violentmetaphors.com/2013/08/25/how-to-read-and-understand-a-scientific-paper-2/), [Advice on reading academic papers](https://www.cc.gatech.edu/~akmassey/posts/2012-02-15-advice-on-reading-academic-papers.html), [Should I Read Papers?](http://michaelrbernste.in/2014/10/21/should-i-read-papers.html)
* [arXiv Vanity](https://www.arxiv-vanity.com/) renders academic papers from arXiv as responsive web pages so you don't have to squint at a PDF.
* [How I Research](https://acesounderglass.com/2019/03/27/how-i-research/) by Aceso Under Glass
* [Awesome Research Tools](https://github.com/emptymalei/awesome-research#readme)
* [Academic Torrents](http://academictorrents.com/) - a distributed system for sharing enormous datasets - for researchers, by researchers.


# Talks

### Favourite Talks

* [The Psychology of Human Misjudgement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqzcCfUglws) by Charlie Munger ([transcript](https://web.archive.org/web/20151004200748/http://law.indiana.edu/instruction/profession/doc/16_1.pdf))
* [Are Humans Just Another Primate?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWZAL64E0DI) by Robert Sapolsky
* [Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc)
* [Neil Gaiman 2012 Commencement Speech "Make Good Art"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plWexCID-kA)
* [Death and the Present Moment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITTxTCz4Ums) by Sam Harris
* [Forget big change, start with a tiny habit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKUJxjn-R8) by BJ Fogg
* [Meaning of Life](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzcCWEb-tyk) by Derek Sivers
* [The power of vulnerability](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o) by Brené Brown
* [How to negotiate the Long, Slow, SaaS Ramp of Death](https://businessofsoftware.org/2013/02/gail-goodman-constant-contact-how-to-negotiate-the-long-slow-saas-ramp-of-death/) by Gail Goodman
* [The mother of all demos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJDv-zdhzMY) by Douglas Engelbart
* [How The Economic Machine Works](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHe0bXAIuk0) by Ray Dalio

### Interesting

* [What Bodies Think About: Bioelectric Computation Outside the Nervous System](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjD1aLm4Thg) by Prof. Michael Levin

## Links

* [TechYaks](https://techyaks.com) - over 80K tech talks ranked algorithmically to showcase the best presentations.
* [Awesome Talks](https://github.com/JanVanRyswyck/awesome-talks)
* [Awesome Speaking](https://github.com/matteofigus/awesome-speaking) - resources about public speaking.


# History

[History book I've enjoyed](/books/books#history).

[History podcasts I listen to](/podcasts#history).

## Links

* [history of the entire world, i guess](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuCn8ux2gbs) and [history of japan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh5LY4Mz15o) by bill wurtz
* [The Great War](https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar) covers World War 1 week by week.
* [Awesome computer history](https://github.com/watson/awesome-computer-history) - a list of computer history videos, documentaries and related folklore.
* [r/History recommended resources list](https://www.reddit.com/r/history/wiki/recommendedlist) and other [history subreddits](https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryNetwork/wiki/listofhistorysubreddits)
* [r/ColorizedHistory](https://www.reddit.com/r/ColorizedHistory/) - high quality colorizations of historical black and white images and discussions.


# Progress

> Most people agree that life is better than death. Health is better than sickness. Sustenance is better than hunger. Wealth is better than poverty. Peace is better than war. Safety is better than danger. Freedom is better than tyranny. Equal rights are better than bigotry and discrimination. Literacy is better than illiteracy. Knowledge is better than ignorance. Intelligence is better than dull-wittedness. Happiness is better than misery. Opportunities to enjoy family, friends, culture, and nature are better than drudgery and monotony.
>
> All these things can be measured. If they have increased over time, that is progress.
>
> -Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

## Links

* [The Roots of Progress](https://rootsofprogress.org/) - the story of human progress—and how we can keep it going
* [Our World in Data](https://ourworldindata.org/) - research and data to make progress against the world's largest problems
* [Human Progress](https://humanprogress.org) - looking at worldwide long-term trends through data
* [Histography](http://histography.io/) - an interactive timeline of historical events
* [We Need a New Science of Progress](https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/594946/) by Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen
* [Progress studies reading list](https://danielmay.io/progress) by Daniel May
* [About the 'Progress' in Progress Studies](https://nintil.com/progress-in-progress/) by Artir
* [On Progress and Historical Change](https://www.exurbe.com/on-progress-and-historical-change/) by Ada Palmer
* [A Progress Studies Manifesto](https://www.progressstudies.org/2019/08/09/manifesto/)
* [Is There a Science of Progress?](https://www.aier.org/article/is-there-a-science-of-progress/amp/) by Adam Thierer
* [Progress Studies, Some Initial Thoughts](http://www.williamrinehart.com/2019/progress-studies-some-initial-thoughts/) by William Rinehart
* [How do we move the needle on progress?](https://elidourado.com/blog/move-the-needle-on-progress/) by Eli Dourado
* [Normative Progress Studies](https://jasminew.me/post/progress/) by Jasmine Wang
* [A Simple Combinatorial Model of World Economic History](https://arxiv.org/abs/1811.04502)


# Protocols

## Some protocols I'm interested in:

* [Dat](/protocols/dat)
* [Matrix](/protocols/matrix)
* [MimbleWimble](/protocols/mimblewimble)
* [IPFS](/protocols/ipfs)


# Dat

[Dat](https://datproject.org/) is a p2p hypermedia protocol for sharing data between computers. It has public-key-addressed file archives which can be synced securely and browsed on-demand. Data is hosted and distributed by many computers on the network and can work offline or with poor connectivity. The original uploader can add or modify data while keeping a full history.

### Goals

* public & private places for communities, without selling data to advertisers.
* more user control.
* share directly and establish new models for digital collaboration.

## Links

* [How Dat Works](https://datprotocol.github.io/how-dat-works/), [Dat whitepaper](https://github.com/datprotocol/whitepaper/raw/master/dat-paper.pdf) and [Dat protocol specs](https://datprotocol.com/)
* [Dat Protocol Book](https://datprotocol.github.io/book/)
* [Try Dat](https://try-dat.com/) - a tutorial that teaches you how to work with datasets using dat.
* [Beaker Browser](https://beakerbrowser.com/) - a peer-to-peer browser with support for the dat:// protocol.


# Matrix

[Matrix](https://matrix.org) is an open standard for interoperable, decentralised, real-time communication over IP. It's designed to replicate conversation data across multiple servers via federation (there are no single points of control or failure for conversations or their history). Matrix is designed to make it easy to bridge existing communication apps and networks.

### Goals

* fix the problem of fragmented IP communications: letting users message and call each other without having to care what app the other user is on.
* act as a generic HTTP messaging and data synchronisation system for the whole web.
  * allowing people, services and devices to easily communicate with each other.
  * empowering users to own and control their data and select the services and vendors they want to use.

## Links

* [Riot](https://about.riot.im/) - universal secure chat app (built on Matrix) entirely under your control (you own your data). Stop juggling different apps for different teams, suppliers and networks by bridging other services, like Slack and IRC.
* [What is Matrix?](https://matrix.org/docs/guides/faq.html#what-is-matrix)


# MimbleWimble

Mimblewimble uses [elliptic-curve cryptography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliptic-curve_cryptography) that requires smaller keys than other cryptography types. There are no addresses on the blockchain, and the network's data storage is efficient.

## Links

* [MIMBLEWIMBLE](https://scalingbitcoin.org/papers/mimblewimble.txt) by Tom Elvis Jedusor
* [Mimblewimble Explained](https://www.mycryptopedia.com/mimblewimble-explained/)
* [Introduction to MimbleWimble and Grin](https://github.com/mimblewimble/grin/blob/master/doc/intro.md) and [MimbleWimble for Bitcoiners](https://github.com/mimblewimble/grin/blob/master/doc/grin4bitcoiners.md)
* [MimbleWimble: History, Technology, and the Mining Industry](https://www.theblockcrypto.com/2019/01/08/mimblewimble-history-technology-and-the-mining-industry/) by Arjun Balaji
* [Behind MimbleWimble](https://medium.com/scalar-capital/behind-mimblewimble-cd9da78a00e9) by Jordan Clifford
* [Mimblewimble explained like you’re 12](https://medium.com/beam-mw/mimblewimble-explained-like-youre-12-d779a5bb483d) by Conor O'Higgins
* [Grin and the Mythical Fair Launch](http://uncommoncore.co/grin-and-the-mythical-fair-launch/) by Arjun Balaji and Hasu
* [Circle Research on MimbleWimble](https://www.circle.com/en/research/mimblewimble)
* [Mimblewimble: Private, Massively-PrunableBlockchains](http://cyber.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj9936/f/andrewpoelstra.pdf) by Andrew Poelstra


# IPFS

The [Inter-Planetary File System](https://ipfs.io/) is a distributed system for storing and accessing files, websites, applications, and data. It's a synthesis of Git, Bittorent and distributed hash tables.

## Links:

* [Awesome IPFS](https://github.com/ipfs/awesome-ipfs#readme) - list of resources related to IPFS.
* [IPFS white paper](https://github.com/ipfs/papers/raw/master/ipfs-cap2pfs/ipfs-p2p-file-system.pdf), Understanding the IPFS White Paper [part 1](https://decentralized.blog/understanding-the-ipfs-white-paper-part-1.html) and [part 2](https://decentralized.blog/understanding-the-ipfs-white-paper-part-2.html)
* [Basic usage](https://docs.ipfs.io/introduction/usage/)
* [Interactive Tutorials](https://proto.school/#/tutorials) to learn about the the decentralized web by writing code and solving challenges.
* [IPFS Introduction by Example](http://whatdoesthequantsay.com/2015/09/13/ipfs-introduction-by-example)


# Questions

> "I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned." ―Richard Feynman
>
> "In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." ―Bertrand Russell
>
> "To ask the 'right' question is far more important than to receive the answer. The solution of a problem lies in the understanding of the problem; the answer is not outside the problem, it is in the problem." ―Jiddu Krishnamurti

### Useful questions:

* When facing a tough situation (or dealing with [sunk cost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_costs)) use the **wise outsider** question:
  * Imagine a wise outsider has come to make a decision for you (not burden with the baggage, the cost, the backstory). What would he do?
  * [Andy Grove](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Grove): if we got kicked out, what would our successor do?
* To be more productive: "What one task can I do now that will make the rest irrelevant or easy?"
* Avoiding [confirmation bias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias): "Under what conditions would my idea be a bad idea?"
* Gaining claritiy: "What is the real truth of the situation that is not yet obvious to me?"
* When you want different results (in life/business/etc) than everyone else, ask questions no one else has the courage or will to ask.
  * "What is currently not possible in my life/industry that if it was possible, would change the game?"
* "What would your life look like if you measured every decision you made against your future vision?"
* "What does it mean?" is often impractical. It's better to ask:
  * "How can I use it?"
  * "What can I learn from this?"
* What is working and what could be working:
  * "What brings me satisfaction in my life? How can I do more of it?"
  * "What could I be happy about?"
* When a question triggers anxiety or fear, ask **kaizen questions** - small, gentle, action-oriented questions:
  * When you are trying to reach a goal, ask yourself every day: "What is one small step I could take toward reaching my goal?"
  * After [Epictetus](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Epictetus,_the_Discourses_as_reported_by_Arrian,_the_Manual,_and_Fragments/Book_2/Chapter_13): What is it I want that is not within my power?
  * When you are unhappy but aren't sure why: "If I were guaranteed not to fail, what would I be doing differently?"
* When stuck on something challenging: What might it look like if it was easy?
* "[Via Negativa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifragile#Via_negativa)" questions like:
  * What kind of person I **don't** want to be?
  * What is my **not**-to-do list for today?
* To avoid [survivorship bias](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias) when presented with a new statistic, inference, assessment, ask:
  * What's the process that generated that data?
  * What are the things that could have happened that might have led them to not measure something?
  * What's the data that's not present?
* The [Hamming](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/P5k3PGzebd5yYrYqd/the-hamming-question) [Question](http://www.paulgraham.com/hamming.html): What are the most important problems in your field, and why aren't you working on them?

The question you most often ask yourself (or others ask you) can either guide or control you:

> "If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." ―Thomas Pynchon

Seeking the right questions beats seeking answers. Answers are fragile. Questions forge a path. Answers can lead you astray.

> "The right question at the right time can change the course of a life, can still a turbulent mind, or heal an angry heart." ―Ryan Holiday

## Links

* [The Six Types of Socratic Questions](http://www.umich.edu/~elements/5e/probsolv/strategy/cthinking.htm)
* [Relearning the Art of Asking Questions](https://hbr.org/2015/03/relearning-the-art-of-asking-questions)
* [This One Question Will Make Every Decision In Your Life Easier](https://medium.com/@benjaminhardy/this-1-powerful-strategy-made-the-british-rowing-team-to-go-from-average-to-winning-olympic-gold-b859b7f6cda1)
* [Patrick Collison's questions](https://patrickcollison.com/questions)
* [Gwern's Open Questions](https://www.gwern.net/Questions)
* [Alexey Guzey Research Ideas](https://guzey.com/personal/research-ideas/)
* [12 Questions That Will Change Your Life](https://thoughtcatalog.com/ryan-holiday/2017/09/12-questions-that-will-change-your-life/) by Ryan Holiday
* [11 questions that changed my life](https://tim.blog/tag/11-questions-that-changed-my-life/) by Tim Ferriss
* [Skip the small talk](https://lamaalrajih.com/2019/07/24/skip-the-small-talk-part-one/) questions by Lama Al Rajih
* [10X Your Business](http://blog.eladgil.com/2010/10/10x-your-business.html) with just two questions by Elad Gil
* [The State of (Business) Play](https://breakingsmart.substack.com/p/the-state-of-business-play) in 20 questions by Venkatesh Rao
* [How to get useful answers to your questions](https://jvns.ca/blog/2021/10/21/how-to-get-useful-answers-to-your-questions/) by Julia Evans


# Poems

## Favourite poems

* [Invictus](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51642/invictus) by William Ernest Henley ([zenpencils comic](https://zenpencils.com/comic/140-invictus-a-comic-tribute-to-nelson-mandela/))
* [If](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if---) by Rudyard Kipling ([zenpencils comic](https://zenpencils.com/comic/21-rudyard-kipling-if/))
* [Die Slowly](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1192640-die-slowly-he-who-becomes-the-slave-of-habit-who) by Pablo Neruda
* [The Guest House](https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/guest-house/), [Do you know what you are](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/420780-do-you-know-what-you-are-you-are-a-manuscript) by Rumi

## Links

* [Some Ancient Stoic Poems](https://donaldrobertson.name/2012/11/09/some-ancient-stoic-poems/)


# YouTube

### YouTube Tips

* Use youtube without falling into recommended videos sinkhole: DF YouTube (Distraction Free) for [Firefox](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/df-youtube/) and [Chrome](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/df-tube-distraction-free/mjdepdfccjgcndkmemponafgioodelna?hl=en)
* Watch videos in 2x/3x speed (it takes some time to get used to).
  * `Shift + >` increase playback speed (`Shift + <` to decrease); max 2x speed.
  * or Video Speed Controller for [Firefox](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/videospeed/) and [Chrome](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/video-speed-controller/nffaoalbilbmmfgbnbgppjihopabppdk?hl=en)
* Don't rely on youtube's algorithm.
  * When searching for a certain topic, find an online community and see what they recommend.
* Don't turn youtube into TV (have a purpose on being on the site).
* Other useful shortcuts
  * `k` to pause/play
  * `f` for full screen
  * `l` go forward 10 seconds (`Right arrow` for 5s)
  * `j` go back 10 seconds (`Left arrow` for 5s)
  * `Up/Down arrow` for volume control

### Business

* [a16z](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9cn0TuPq4dnbTY-CBsm8XA)
* [Business Casual](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_E4px0RST-qFwXLJWBav8Q)
* [Cold Fusion](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4QZ_LsYcvcq7qOsOhpAX4A)
* [Elon Musk Viral Videos](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2U_ApECr-ifnTu9GIHcAEg)
* [Every Peter Thiel Video](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3ObfUE2qbhzkC11v0WQtQg)
* [How to Start a Startup](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxIJaCMEptJjxmmQgGFsnCg)
* [Neil Patel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl-Zrl0QhF66lu1aGXaTbfw)
* [Noah Kagan](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF2v8v8te3_u4xhIQ8tGy1g)
* [Y Combinator](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcefcZRL2oaA_uBNeo5UOWg)

### Computer Science

* [Art of the Problem](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCotwjyJnb-4KW7bmsOoLfkg)
* [Computerphile](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9-y-6csu5WGm29I7JiwpnA)
* [freeCodeCamp](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8butISFwT-Wl7EV0hUK0BQ)
* [mycodeschool](https://www.youtube.com/user/mycodeschool/featured)
* [Robert Miles](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLB7AzTwc6VFZrBsO2ucBMg)
* [Siraj Raval](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWN3xxRkmTPmbKwht9FuE5A)
* [Two Minute Papers](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbfYPyITQ-7l4upoX8nvctg)

### Crypto

* [Andreas Antonopoulos](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWCJCWOxBYSi5DhCieLOLQ)
* [Crypto Cast Network](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHFL9uTsDbOuBtkhfabU38w/videos)
* [Jackson Palmer](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTOzxu_HvuJfZtTJ6AZ7rkA)
* [Magical Crypto Friends](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVVDsIYJBQ_C7Bh_aI3ZMxQ)
* [Paul Sztorc](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOSc1fEk1Sgo_dApZL6-cMQ)
* [Simply Explained](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnxrdFPXJMeHru_b4Q_vTPQ)
* [We Are All Satoshi](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8aCt-P8D9mU3CMjeKUWQwg)

### General

* [Bret Weinstein](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi5N_uAqApEUIlg32QzkPlg/videos)
* [CGP Grey](https://www.youtube.com/user/CGPGrey/featured)
* [Coffee Break](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9WQRw8jgJhag-vkDNTDMRg)
* [Eric Weinstein](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR85PW_B_7_Aisx5vNS7Gjw)
* [Freedom in Thought](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd6Za0CXVldhY8fK8eYoIuw)
* [kaptainkristian](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuPgdqQKpq4T4zeqmTelnFg)
* [Nerdwriter1](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJkMlOu7faDgqh4PfzbpLdg)
* [PolyMatter](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgNg3vwj3xt7QOrcIDaHdFg)
* [Second Thought](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJm2TgUqtK1_NLBrjNQ1P-w)
* [Wendover Productions](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9RM-iSvTu1uPJb8X5yp3EQ)
* [Will Schoder](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcRdUHUuBqU9uCsEuG39Nmg)

### Health

* [FoundMyFitness](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWF8SqJVNlx-ctXbLswcTcA)
* [PictureFit](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCadiU6WTKl65HUwEih1XLYg)

### History

* [Biographics](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClnDI2sdehVm1zm_LmUHsjQ)
* [The Great War](https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar/featured)

### Learning

* [AsapSCIENCE](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC552Sd-3nyi_tk2BudLUzA)
* [BrainCraft](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt_t6FwNsqr3WWoL6dFqG9w)
* [Crash Course](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6b17PVsYBQ0ip5gyeme-Q)
* [It's Okay To Be Smart](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH4BNI0-FOK2dMXoFtViWHw)
* [KnowledgeHub](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_KC8lshtCyiLApy27raYw)
* [Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsXVk37bltHxD1rDPwtNM8Q)
* [PBS Eons](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzR-rom72PHN9Zg7RML9EbA)
* [Practical Engineering](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMOqf8ab-42UUQIdVoKwjlQ)
* [Real Engineering](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR1IuLEqb6UEA_zQ81kwXfg)
* [SciShow](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZYTClx2T1of7BRZ86-8fow)
* [SciShow Psych](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUdettijNYvLAm4AixZv4RA)
* [TED-Ed](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUUnT6oDeKwE6v1NGQxug)
* [The Art Assignment](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmQThz1OLYt8mb2PU540LOA)
* [Vsauce](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6nSFpj9HTCZ5t-N3Rm3-HA)
* [What I've Learned](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqYPhGiB9tkShZorfgcL2lA)

### Math

* [3Blue1Brown](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYO_jab_esuFRV4b17AJtAw)
* [Numberphile](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoxcjq-8xIDTYp3uz647V5A)
* [PBS Infinite Series](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs4aHmggTfFrpkPcWSaBN9g/featured)
* [Vihart](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOGeU-1Fig3rrDjhm9Zs_wg)

### Movies

* [Criswell](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5kBJmBUVFLYBDiSiK1VDw)
* [Every Frame a Painting](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjFqcJQXGZ6T6sxyFB-5i6A)
* [History Buffs](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggHoXaj8BQHIiPmOxezeWA)
* [Lessons from the Screenplay](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErSSa3CaP_GJxmFpdjG9Jw)
* [Now You See It](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWTFGPpNQ0Ms6afXhaWDiRw)
* [The Film Theorists](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3sznuotAs2ohg_U__Jzj_Q)
* [The Take by ScreenPrism](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjsbqKtxkLt7bal4NWRjJQ)
* [Patrick (H) Willems](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF1fG3gT44nGTPU2sVLoFWg)

### Other

* [Simone Giertz](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3KEoMzNz8eYnwBC34RaKCQ/featured)
* [Tom Scott](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBa659QWEk1AI4Tg--mrJ2A)

### Philosophy

* [Academy of Ideas](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiRiQGCHGjDLT9FQXFW0I3A)
* [Shots of Awe](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClYb9NpXnRemxYoWbcYANsA)
* [Wireless Philosophy](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpvhlSLzg2LT89FNUuN-Sig)
* [Wisecrack](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-ymYjG0SU0jUWnWh9ZzEQ)

### Physics

* [MinuteEarth](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeiYXex_fwgYDonaTcSIk6w)
* [MinutePhysics](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHW94eEFW7hkUMVaZz4eDg)
* [PBS Space Time](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7_gcs09iThXybpVgjHZ_7g)
* [SciShow Space](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrMePiHCWG4Vwqv3t7W9EFg)
* [Sixty Symbols](https://www.youtube.com/user/sixtysymbols/featured)
* [Veritasium](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHnyfMqiRRG1u-2MsSQLbXA)

### Politics

* [CaspianReport](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwnKziETDbHJtx78nIkfYug)
* [VisualPolitik](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT3v6vL2H5HK4loLMc8pmCw)

### Privacy

* [The Hated One](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjr2bPAyPV7t35MvcgT3W8Q)

## Links

* [The Best Maker YouTube Channels](https://kk.org/cooltools/the-best-maker-youtube-channels/) by Kevin Kelly