124 lines
6.1 KiB
HTML
Executable file
124 lines
6.1 KiB
HTML
Executable file
id: ile
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title: Immersive Learning and Experimentation
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previous: dmwi
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next: lim
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date: 2021-04-16
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---
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<h2>
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Immersive Learning and Experimentation
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</h2>
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<p>
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This past week I have started learning how to use Vim and I thought that the process was interesting and wanted to talk about it.
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</p>
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<p>
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Vim is a text editor, like Notepad, Atom, Emacs, or many others.
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Mainly used for programming and simple text files.
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Vim is an older editor that runs in the command line instead of a graphical user interface and relies completely on the keyboard instead of making use of the mouse.
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It uses a lot of keyboard shortcuts instead and allows for very quick and very precise editing.
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</p>
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<p>
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This means that it has a very steep learning curve but seems to have an equally high ceiling for skill with the program and its speed of use.
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The downside is that it is going to take me a lot of time to learn and will slow me down a lot while I do.
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The temptation to go back to Atom, which was my text editor of choice in the past, in order to make more headway on my projects is very strong.
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</p>
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<p>
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Switching back and forth slows down learning so I had to decide what was more important.
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I don’t have any programming to do for school so I am only delaying my own projects.
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I decided to leave myself no other option and fully uninstalled all the other text editors on my laptop.
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</p>
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<p>
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Full immersion and necessity is the fastest way to learn a lot of things but is not always possible.
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Language learning is fastest if you are travelling and actually have to use the language day to day to get by and I see using this new tool as the same thing.
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I am trying to train my brain to incorporate the use of Vim.
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Changing back and forth would keep reinforcing the particular way I use Atom as opposed to overwriting that with using Vim.
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</p>
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<p>
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I have noticed the cost of switching back and forth when trying to learn more than one coding language at a time.
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Last semester I had one course using Java and one using C.
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Both languages I had seen before but not coded much in.
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I repeatedly made mistakes which were often using the syntax of one language in the other.
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</p>
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<p>
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I have been using Vim exclusively for almost a week and I am no longer feeling painfully slow.
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I am still not as quick with it as I was with Atom but it is catching up.
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It also feels much better on my laptop where I much prefer using exclusively the keyboard as opposed to the touchpad.
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I am not sure how it would compare to a mouse.
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</p>
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<p>
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I have not forced myself to learn anything in this way for a long time.
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So often I am trying to do a lot of related things at once that bleed over into one another.
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This was the perfect opportunity of retooling a task that I use very often but only affects a small portion of my overall life.
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It definitely is making me wonder where I can apply that level of immersion to other learning tasks in my life.
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</p>
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<p>
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This ties into something else I am exploring.
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I have recently been reading a lot of articles on Derek Sivers’ website and listening to various interviews with him on spotify.
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I find his life philosophy very appealing in general but specifically I want to talk about his approach to experimentation for life.
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</p>
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<p>
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It is quite rare that all the rules in a given philosophy, religion, or other system that one can use to structure their life or any activity in it will work for everyone.
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However having no rules often results in far too many options to properly analyze and make the best decision.
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There is a freedom that comes from restrictions.
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They help us by cutting down choices so that we can focus our attention on deciding between them.
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*Find the book that this is from* When faced with a larger number of options people are generally less happy with their choice as they wonder if another was better.
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Fewer choices results in making them faster and often being more happy with the decision.
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</p>
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<p>
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Derek suggests coming up with your own rules and testing them.
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They can be pulled from anywhere but the key is that they can be tested one by one, keeping those that work and getting rid of those that don’t.
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The length of the tests can vary and will be dependent on how long I think I will need to give the rule a good run.
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In the end I will hopefully end up with a system that is personalized and works best for me.
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Getting rid of all the other text editors was essentially setting the rule that if I have to edit text I use Vim and it is working out well.
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I think I will keep it.
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</p>
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<p>
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Other ideas I have are
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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Only speaking french with people I know can speak it.
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(get my french back.
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Used to speak it regularly but not in years)
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</li>
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<li>
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No complaining (if a conversation starts going down that route change the subject)
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</li>
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<li>
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Slow carb diet
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</li>
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<li>
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No watching video of any type
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</li>
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<li>
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Phone stays out of the bedroom
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</li>
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<li>
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No internet use for an hour after I wake up and an hour before bed
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</li>
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<li>
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Start each day with time outside
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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I feel like the default for testing will be for a week, but for things that will take longer to have an effect like the diet I could see doing it for a few weeks to a month.
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I have done the slow carb diet for a while before but have fallen off for the last year.
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I remember feeling quite good on it and would like to give it another shot.
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</p>
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<p>
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I look forward to testing some of these out and building my own structure for my life, up until this point I have been implementing practices that others have suggested without determining if they are best for me.
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They have been fantastically useful but by blindly implementing them I am cutting off the opportunity to find something that fits me better.
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If I don’t I will keep using them but it is important to leave open the option.
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</p>
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<p>
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Thanks for reading
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</p>
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<p>
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Phone time: 8h 7m
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</p>
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