How to answer questions in a helpful way
Why won't you answer my question?
I've spent more time than I would like to admit on various Q&A sites and forums related to development, where I have answered thousands of questions. Generally, the questions stay within the confines of such forums, however after waking up to my personal inbox being flooded with a
Terence Tao (@tao@mathstodon.xyz)
In basic research, such as pure mathematics, one might naively expect that the natural question to ask with regards to a given problem X in a field is "What is the answer to X?". But in many cases the more valuable question is "What can be learned from studying X?" The answer to X itself can of course be one of the things learned in this process of study; but one can learn far more useful information besides, such as * What are the main difficulties to overcome to resolve X? * What new techniques can one discover in order to solve X? * Why are existing techniques insufficient to solve the problem by itself? * How does X relate to results in prior literature? * Can one uncover new connections between X and other topics Y, Z, ...? * What are some natural related or followup questions X', X'', ... to study? Nevertheless, until recently the two questions were closely aligned, to the point where it was not really necessary to distinguish the two: the only practical route to solving a difficult problem was to first address many of the subquestions listed above. (1/3)
A complete guide to Bluesky 🦋
I've decided to write down some of the tips & tricks that I often give to friends when I send them an invite code, or the advice and answers that I sometimes give to people that I find in some feed asking about things. This of course got much longer than I planned 😅
A complete guide to Bluesky 🦋
I've decided to write down some of the tips & tricks that I often give to friends when I send them an invite code, or the advice and answers that I sometimes give to people that I find in some feed asking about things. This of course got much longer than I planned 😅
karanshukla/kodamachi
Answer anonymous questions and post the responses directly to your Bluesky followers. Similar to the NGL/CuriousCat app.
how to support people who have depression
Admit you don’t know what to say Express “I care” Remind them that they matters Check them regularly Ask how I can help, but be specific (“Could I do X?” rather than “How can I help you?“) Encourage them to see professional treatment To listen without interruptions Only claim understanding if you g...
From social skills to sleep patterns: all the self-help advice that actually works
Much advice on how to be successful is wrong, or useless cliches. Here we cover the best advice we've found in the last 5 years that's backed by evidence.
