I have reposted my plan from last week with my review for each listed task written in green or red. The color indicates whether I believe the task was more of a success or more of a failure.
- My primary task for the week is to review the python version of keccak v.
- First I need to read all of the material reference posts. The root node for this seems to be on ben_vulpe’s page.
-
After doing the background reading, I plan to write my own version of topological sort. I know enough about V to know this is a necessary component. I read Stan’s algorithm a while ago, but I do not remember it, and I think I would benefit by trying to come up with it again before reading the source. I recall Stan had mentioned it was a good exercise.
Completed. This ate a chunk of time, but I learned about the complexities involved with finding edges in a V tree. -
After doing the background reading and solving the topological sort problem, I will create a post explaining the what/why/how of V that includes the annotated source code.
Failed for lack of time.
Failed. I grossly underestimated how long this would take. The readings are short but dense.
-
Tokyo travel post
Completed. The travel posts take way more time than I anticipate. Even after the time I spend on them, I feel that they are lacking content and could use a lot of improvement. -
Twenty hours of saltmine work
I failed to even do the 12 hours, the goal I adjusted to in my progress report. I did only 8 hours, which results in a considerable opportunity cost to the fiat bank account. -
Finish reading the Odyssey
Completed. I started from Book X, which is page 117 out of my 307 page book. I learned that I overstated my reading ability to a laughable degree. I struggle tremendously with concentration; I have to fight wandering thoughts the entire time I read. -
Daily Spanish study
Completed. After two days I stopped doing my Anki cards and started instead watching El Chapo w/ subtitles. This is way more enjoyable. I also had a few real interactions, such as speaking with my cab driver for the duration of our ride. -
Pack for CR Flight on Saturday Oct 19th
– Get new guitar. - Setup apartment upon arrival
All good here.
Failed. I left myself no time to go shopping for my apartment.
—
What I learned:
1. The time it takes me to read and write is, respectively, about double and triple what I previously imagined.
2. Per diana_coman’s comment on writing, I need to (1) blurt out what I need to say, unconcerned with wording/grammar (2) proofread it, fixing obvious grammar/spelling issues (3) wait minimum 1 hr until written text clears from brain-ram, then proofread again.
3. I have issues focusing on the task at hand that are beyond the “this-is-meaningless” issue of saltmines work.
4. I need to prioritize doing _exactly_ what master diana_coman says. I should ((I originally wrote “I feel I should…” and thus am concerned about this sentence.)) have done the review of the writings on the significance of V instead of zooming in on the technical details of topological sort and the vdiff command.
Questions:
1. Do you have advice for note taking while reading?
2. For writing, do you repeat the “wait 1+ hrs then proofread” strategy until you find no errors with your work?
3. Are there techniques you recommend for being able to read for longer stretches while minimizing wandering thoughts?
Regarding footnote (1) I reread your Feelings are helpful, but not for idiots post. The problem with the “I feel I should” was that it was flattery. “Hey diana_coman, look how I have an internal state of guilt for not having done what you (in your greatness!) told me to do down to the letter.”
I’m not sure if it’s doable, but I don’t want this comment to be doubling down on my flattery. (Hey diana_coman, in your greatness you caught my flattery!) The only way I see this possible is by
(1) Acknowledging I see this problem, I choose to comment in part because if I don’t make this comment then my sneaky flattery just sits there.
(2) Trying to turn the shady flattery into a sincere thank you for the mentorship you’ve given me thus far. One specific example of how you helped me tremendously: by pushing me to keep looking for an apartment after having the easy option of living near my ‘friends’, you have saved me from sure-fire derealization. Also, the view from the apartment is beautiful! I will post pics to the blog soon.
Comment by Will Haack — October 21, 2019 @ 5:02 am
The *whole point* of numbering things is to make it possible to reference each of them afterwards! So having in the same post and on the same level 3 sets of numbered items that all start at 1 is nonsense. Anyway, trying to do as best as your inept numbering allows here, let’s see:
For the tasks:
1. I gather you have therefore more reading to do too, besides the actual code. Hopefully I find this in the plan for next week too.
2. Heh, time spent by itself is not necessarily going to do much there. They lack depth rather than “content” I would say, but that is something to build yourself up to, not just a matter of “spend more time on this post”. For one thing, what and how much you see in a place comes from what and how much you bring within yourself at that time. And then layered on top of this, what and how much you say when describing the place you saw comes from what and how much meaning you have accumulated and are able to express in words at that time.
What is lacking there in practical terms re improving the actual writing is having some clear idea as to *how* are you going to spend that more time in a productive way (as spending time is very easy and indeed a given; it’s the productive part that hurts).
3. This seems the seed to a big problem. Is it even sustainable in the long-term to live on 8 hours saltmine work? You really need to find better saltmine work, so that a. those X hours are not an entire waste and/or even worse, the negative sort b. you actually do it rather than wasting even more time in spinning about not doing it and so on.
4. Jot down those thoughts when it happens and then see what it is about. Without any idea as to what is going on there exactly, there isn’t much I can say to help you there. For that matter, saying you finished it doesn’t really do much. What did you get from it? Where’s your write-up on it?
5 & 6. Good.
7. Lolz, setting up a flat is normally way more than just buying groceries! Anyways, while it’s unlikely you’ll die of hunger for failing to do the shopping, I would hope you have at least some basic idea of housekeeping and don’t end up eating canned shit out of laziness/cluelessness/lack of planning/whatever other excuse you can find there.
For your “what I learned”:
1. Ok but ..what are you going to do differently now you’ve learnt this?
2. So do it and otherwise here this should have read along the lines “from now on I will do draft+proofread+review as instructed (link) to get out of the trap of spinning without getting the stuff up and/or feeding my readers word-salad instead of text”
3. Right. WHAT issues? “I have issues” is for the AA meeting and I’m not running one of those. So you get to say specific stuff, either “I have issues and I can’t even figure out what they are, please help” or “I have issues: x, y, z, t and possibly others that I can’t even see yet, please help”
4. It would help you a lot to ground yourself and *stop spinning*, yes. So use it already and do exactly as asked!
For your questions:
1. Myeah but I have yet to see how you read something. So do a summary of that http://ossasepia.com/2017/01/25/feelings-are-helpful-but-not-for-idiots/ since it’s one of the more straightforward texts and you read it already, supposedly.
2. No, just once. You’ll get beaten over publishing shit until you review it correctly in one single go after the original proofreading. That doesn’t mean the result is perfect but it does mean that the result is well-structured, with good flow, clear arguments, proper grammar and NO major errors. You don’t have time in this life to take 1001 passes for the simple task of expressing thoughts in writing.
3. Well, someone with a whip right next to you always works wonders. But since I really doubt you have such a chance, you’ll have to first give more concrete information as to what happens there exactly.
For your comment:
You are tying yourself in knots quite a lot and mainly because of a. spinning rather than thinking b. still aiming for purpose rather than acting from causes. So start *thinking* already and forget the useless spinning. And start looking for causes each and every time. As a simple rule: if/when you “worry”, you are already spinning and towards a purpose too so slap yourself out of it.
Specifically for the instance at hand there: yes, you correctly know you should have but then instead of doing some actual thinking and so identifying and exposing *why* should you have, you took the easy way out and even dressed it up with a bit of humbleness because well, generally that tends to reduce the beating, yes. Note that there’s a limit to this reducing though and I wouldn’t rely on it as a strategy if I were you.
Re flattery: the part that is usually never said is that flattery is always very, very transparent pretty much to everyone (to the one doing it, to the one receiving it, to anyone else looking too and they will hate you for it in the best case). And as such, you are doing yourself a huge disservice there really. Take this to heart: the only *real* and *useful* flattery (yes, there is such a thing and it will get you anywhere) is …copying the person you admire. As always and everywhere else, words are cheap but actions matter. So by all means, say thank you but more importantly focus and do the right thing and it will get you further than anything else while *also* being the best way to express gratitude too.
Comment by Diana Coman — October 21, 2019 @ 10:01 am
The discussion on the above is in the logs.
Comment by Diana Coman — October 24, 2019 @ 7:50 pm