- Programming
- This one should really come as no surprise. The world is fueled by code at this point. Without our computers and their preloaded software, most people would be completely lost. Learn to make computers do what you want them to do. Become proficient at coding and realize the productivity enhancement that you can really get out of your devices.
- Cybersecurity best practices
- With more and more devices being connected to the internet, we need to be increasingly more aware of the inherent dangers associated with this.
- Basic electronics repair / Soldering
- While companies are purposefully choosing to create products that only last for a finite number of years in order to force consumers into buying the newest, “better”, “cooler” product from them, you should be able to combat this. Take it upon yourself to learn to simply fix (or even upgrade) what seems broken. It is astronomically cheaper and keeps these disgusting corporations from getting more than they should from such dirty practices.
- Staying in shape – physically and mentally
- It is far too easy to now spend a whole day (or week for that matter) just sitting at your desk, completely plugged into your computer browsing the web, playing games, and chatting with friends online. Sounds nice but you are sheltering your mind and your body. As human-beings we are not intended to sit all day long. We are not intended to be secluded from other real (not online) human interaction. Get outside and be active. Join a gym, go hiking, go swimming, or pickup some kettlebells and get an efficient workout in at home. Meetup with people in reality (not online) to stay mentally healthy.
- Multilingualism – especially Russian and Mandarin
- Alongside English, these will probably be the most worthwhile languages to learn for the future. Increasing the number of languages you understand increases the number of sources you can obtain new information from. Increasing the number of languages you can speak increases the number of people you can reach with the information you know.
Tag: programming
Learn Your First Programming Language
No I am not going to teach you to program. I will however point you in the right direction.
Python is the programming language I recommend that you learn first. It is a higher level language and is a little easier to understand than languages such as c/c++. It is also well rounded in its possible applications. JavaScript, another popular language that beginners are often told to learn, is very limited. JavaScript is great if you want to be a web developer but outside of the web, there is no use for JavaScript. Python can handle almost anything, including web development and applications.
Start off by learning the syntax over at codecademy.com with their free course on Python 3. After doing this you will know how to speak Python but you still will not know how to program. Learning a language and learning how to develop and create your own programs are two very different things.
After learning the syntax, pickup the book Automate the Boring Stuff with Python (or find the pdf for free online). This book will teach you to actually use that new language you learned in some very neat applications.
If you have made it through Automate the Boring Stuff, next check out the books Impractical Python Projects and then after that Fluent Python.
All of this said, none of these books will do as great of a job teaching you to code as simply coming up with your own projects and tackling them head-on will. You will learn a lot from them but programming takes a lot of practice. It is very similar to math. You don’t learn it or get good at it by watching an instructor do it or reading a book about it, you get good by practicing it yourself – over and over again.
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