Mahatma Gandhi famously said:
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever
You see that learning bit?
Yeah, that’s was this is all about.
Fair warning: I am no arrogant brat spurring trash over the internet.
So, as you read this, make sure you don’t think I’m cocky or graciously drowning in the dunning-kruger syndrome. I am not.
I am well aware that these skills are hard, and I’m likely to fail at this. Haha, so what? Its more fun to attempt these skills. Fail graciously, eh?
Introduction
I had a great previous year, 2017. There were a few interesting things I did. And so this year I have chosen to push myself a little more.
Over the remaining months of the year, I will attempt to learn ( to a great extent, or perhaps master) 12 incredibly hard skills, one every month.
Mastery is a hard thing, but just maybe I can get good enough at these skills. I will share my merits for been successful at any of the skills.
Wondering what the skills are?
Here they are!
Memorize the Order of a Shuffled Deck of Cards in 120 seconds or Less
This is the skill to be learned in the month of February. Image Source: Wiki Commons
This is a common memory stunt performed by memory masters. Let’s see how well I can do too. Memorizing the order of the cards in 120 seconds is crazy — IMHO. It scares the shit out of me. However, I’m willing to give this a try.
Why learn this?
Memory stunts such as this, to the ‘ordinary’, are seen as some sort of impossible skill. Yeah, just wanna see how ‘impossible’ this is 😎
How much do I already know?
To be completely honest, I have memorized a shuffled deck of cards before. There were no time constraints. I just did it for fun. This was over 5 years ago, when I was fascinated by memory stunts.
Right now, I remember the technique I used, but I am very rusty and couldn’t remember a shuffled deck even if I was given an hour.
Build a Recommendation System Using Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Ever wondered how Youtube recommended videos to you? Or how Amazon came up with well suited items based on your previous purchases?
Yeah, that’s what this is all about.
Why learn this?
The obvious reason is, I’m a techie!
When I hear my colleagues talk about ML and AI, I understand a bit of it, but not so much to contribute meaningfully to the discussion. At least, not at the level I want.
This is a good time to learn how this works.
How much do I already know?
Apart from general software engineering skills, I don’t have any decent experience with neither Machine Learning nor Artificial Intelligence.
Draw a Realistic Portrait of my Girlfriend
This is NOT her…LOL
Why Learn this?
I’ve always loved the arts. I consider myself pretty good at still life drawing. But, I’m terrible at drawing faces, understanding shading and lightening etc. Essentially, I’m bad at the ‘pro’ stuff.
How much do I already know?
Like I said above, I’m not a ‘zero’ at drawing. I was never taught how to draw, nor did I ever take a course on it. I just seem to know how to draw still life quite well.
Learn to be a Ventriloquist
Oh my! This one is crazy. I watched Darcy Lynne win the America’s got talent, Season 12, and I said to myself, wouldn’t it be cool if I could do that? Learn to throw my voice?
I really look forward to how well I do this. I hope I don’t end up making a fool of myself 🤣
Why learn this?
First off, it feels unreachable to me. It’s one of those “impossible” to learn sort of thing — at least to me. This makes it a fun learning challenge.
By the way, isn’t it fun? What’s more interensting than having fun while learning something? Also, I wanna play pranks on people too. I’ll make sure to have fun doing that as well.
How much do I already know?
I know nothing about this.
Solve a Rubik’s Cube in under 90 seconds
When I first set this goal, I had set it to 20s. Then I thought about that. ‘Wait, 20 seconds..,’ who am I kidding?
Why learn this?
I don’t know. It just feels cool. Plus, I want to know what it feels like to solve a Rubik’s cube too.
How much do I already know?
I have never solved a Rubik’s cube before. Sad, huh?
Sustain a 30 minutes conversation in Spanish
It seems these days that everyone has a language goal.
Why learn this?
Apart from Spanish being such a sexy language, I have always loved the challenge of learning new languages. I have failed at learning both French and Spanish.
How much do I already know?
Truth be told, I haven’t failed completely at learning both French and Spanish. I can speak a bit of each language. Elementary stuff though.
Become an Hacker (Ethical Hacker)
The day I started watching the series, Mr. Robot, was the day I got hooked. Such a nice movie. Right then I knew I had to mess with hacking for a bit.
I want to have fun, and see how this turns out.
Why learn this?
Obviously, there’s the “hey, ain’t that cool” vibe that comes with hacking. I’m just trying to have fun while learning something.
I’ve got an idea for what hacking experiment to pursue. I’ll write an update when the time for this experiment is near.
How much do I already know?
Apart from general Software Engineering skills, I know nothing about hacking.
Learn to Animate a Character Walk Cycle
Motion graphics and animations in general are so adorable. I love them!
Wait, who doesn’t?
GIF by Jona Dinges
Why learn this?
I love animations, and want to be able to create something amazing. Walk cycles seem like a great challenge!
How much do I already know?
At the end of last year, I picked up After Effects. It seemed difficult at first, but I now know the basics of animating motion graphics. This should give me a good head start.
Model a 3d Character
God bless the lovely people at pixabay for this gorgeous image
This is awesome!
Honestly, I don’t think I can model a character with so much detail. I doubt that a month will allow for that. However, I’ll get a decent character modelled. Pretty sure about that.
Why learn this?
I love creative arts. The 3d space seems interesting too. Why not check it out?
How much do I already know?
Nothing.
I have lots of 3dartist magazines though. 2 years ago was the first time I stumbled on a 3dartist magazine. There was so much inspiration and many gorgeous 3d creatures in there. I got hooked.
Build a Game using C++
Why learn this?
I write Software for a living. However, I don’t have experience with lower level languages such as C++.
How much do I already know?
Never written C++ in my life :(
Learn to Rap — by doing the Broken People (Logic & Rag’n’bone) Rap
I am no rapper.
I sing quite well, but I am batshit terrible at rapping. I have never attempted it. With this challenge I’ll attempt to sing a rap cover of the beautiful Broken people song.
I heard the song when I watched The Bright movie. Loved it.
Why learn this?
A singer should be versatile. A developer can sing 🤣
How much do I already know?
I can sing. I can’t rap — not yet!
Draw and Color a Digital 2d Character
Here it comes again, visual arts!
This time I want to draw and paint the sweet super mario.
Why learn this?
Same as the other visual art learning challenges :)
How much do I already know?
I am a decent Adobe Illustrator user, but I am terrible at drawing and coloring illustrations.
The Rules of this Exercise
I happen to have a full time job, plus I have a crazy writing schedule. This means I don’t have all the time in the world to work on this.
So, guess what?
For this skills, I plan to ONLY practice for 2 hours a day.
Yeah, you heard right.
I will spend just 2 hours a day on focused deliberate practice and (or) deep work. That’s all.
Will two hours be enough? I don’t know. That’s all I’ve got for now. If I find some more time, maybe I’ll use them.
By the way, you’ll be surprised how much the mind can learn with intense focus and deliberate practice.
Why do this?
I was largely inspired by Max Deutsch. But apart from that, I also believe the beauty of living is in pushing one’s mind past what they think is possible.
I have always been fascinated by the idea of accelerated learning. Now is the time to put all my research into good work!
I’m curious how much I can achieve in a month.
Can I really learn to a great depth, or perhaps master these skills?
Am I starting from Scratch?
Please refer to the skills above. I discuss how much I know about them. For some of the skills, I don’t know jack!
NB: the skills I don’t know much about is what terrifies me. 🤣
Am I Going to be Successful at These?
Well, it is better to fail because I set a high goal, than to chicken out and succeed at some tiny easy stuff.
My bet is on 9 out of 12. I may be lucky and hit a jackpot.
I am willing to see how this turns out.
Do I have a free Schedule?
No, far from it.
I do have a job. I also have various writing commitments for Educative, freeCodeCamp and Highbrow. Plus, I’m working on publishing a new book before the end of February.
My book. ETA is February.
Will I be writing about this experiment?
At the end of every week, I will publish a post on my daily strategy and progress. Sure you want to see them.
Maybe you should consider following me too. You won’t miss the posts if you do.
Follow me to keep an eye on the next article.
This is a common memory stunt performed by memory masters. Let’s see how well I can do too. Memorizing the order of the cards in 120 seconds is crazy — IMHO. It scares the shit out of me. However, I’m willing to give this a try.
Why learn this?
Memory stunts such as this, to the ‘ordinary’, are seen as some sort of impossible skill. Yeah, just wanna see how ‘impossible’ this is 😎
How much do I already know?
To be completely honest, I have memorized a shuffled deck of cards before. There were no time constraints. I just did it for fun. This was over 5 years ago, when I was fascinated by memory stunts.
Right now, I remember the technique I used, but I am very rusty and couldn’t remember a shuffled deck even if I was given an hour.
Build a Recommendation System Using Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Ever wondered how Youtube recommended videos to you? Or how Amazon came up with well suited items based on your previous purchases?
Yeah, that’s what this is all about.
Why learn this?
The obvious reason is, I’m a techie!
When I hear my colleagues talk about ML and AI, I understand a bit of it, but not so much to contribute meaningfully to the discussion. At least, not at the level I want.
This is a good time to learn how this works.
How much do I already know?
Apart from general software engineering skills, I don’t have any decent experience with neither Machine Learning nor Artificial Intelligence.
Draw a Realistic Portrait of my Girlfriend
This is NOT her…LOL
Why Learn this?
I’ve always loved the arts. I consider myself pretty good at still life drawing. But, I’m terrible at drawing faces, understanding shading and lightening etc. Essentially, I’m bad at the ‘pro’ stuff.
How much do I already know?
Like I said above, I’m not a ‘zero’ at drawing. I was never taught how to draw, nor did I ever take a course on it. I just seem to know how to draw still life quite well.
Learn to be a Ventriloquist
Oh my! This one is crazy. I watched Darcy Lynne win the America’s got talent, Season 12, and I said to myself, wouldn’t it be cool if I could do that? Learn to throw my voice?
I really look forward to how well I do this. I hope I don’t end up making a fool of myself 🤣
Why learn this?
First off, it feels unreachable to me. It’s one of those “impossible” to learn sort of thing — at least to me. This makes it a fun learning challenge.
By the way, isn’t it fun? What’s more interensting than having fun while learning something? Also, I wanna play pranks on people too. I’ll make sure to have fun doing that as well.
How much do I already know?
I know nothing about this.
Solve a Rubik’s Cube in under 90 seconds
When I first set this goal, I had set it to 20s. Then I thought about that. ‘Wait, 20 seconds..,’ who am I kidding?
Why learn this?
I don’t know. It just feels cool. Plus, I want to know what it feels like to solve a Rubik’s cube too.
How much do I already know?
I have never solved a Rubik’s cube before. Sad, huh?
Sustain a 30 minutes conversation in Spanish
It seems these days that everyone has a language goal.
Why learn this?
Apart from Spanish being such a sexy language, I have always loved the challenge of learning new languages. I have failed at learning both French and Spanish.
How much do I already know?
Truth be told, I haven’t failed completely at learning both French and Spanish. I can speak a bit of each language. Elementary stuff though.
Become an Hacker (Ethical Hacker)
The day I started watching the series, Mr. Robot, was the day I got hooked. Such a nice movie. Right then I knew I had to mess with hacking for a bit.
I want to have fun, and see how this turns out.
Why learn this?
Obviously, there’s the “hey, ain’t that cool” vibe that comes with hacking. I’m just trying to have fun while learning something.
I’ve got an idea for what hacking experiment to pursue. I’ll write an update when the time for this experiment is near.
How much do I already know?
Apart from general Software Engineering skills, I know nothing about hacking.
Learn to Animate a Character Walk Cycle
Motion graphics and animations in general are so adorable. I love them!
Wait, who doesn’t?
GIF by Jona Dinges
Why learn this?
I love animations, and want to be able to create something amazing. Walk cycles seem like a great challenge!
How much do I already know?
At the end of last year, I picked up After Effects. It seemed difficult at first, but I now know the basics of animating motion graphics. This should give me a good head start.
Model a 3d Character
God bless the lovely people at pixabay for this gorgeous image
This is awesome!
Honestly, I don’t think I can model a character with so much detail. I doubt that a month will allow for that. However, I’ll get a decent character modelled. Pretty sure about that.
Why learn this?
I love creative arts. The 3d space seems interesting too. Why not check it out?
How much do I already know?
Nothing.
I have lots of 3dartist magazines though. 2 years ago was the first time I stumbled on a 3dartist magazine. There was so much inspiration and many gorgeous 3d creatures in there. I got hooked.
Build a Game using C++
Why learn this?
I write Software for a living. However, I don’t have experience with lower level languages such as C++.
How much do I already know?
Never written C++ in my life :(
Learn to Rap — by doing the Broken People (Logic & Rag’n’bone) Rap
I am no rapper.
I sing quite well, but I am batshit terrible at rapping. I have never attempted it. With this challenge I’ll attempt to sing a rap cover of the beautiful Broken people song.
I heard the song when I watched The Bright movie. Loved it.
Why learn this?
A singer should be versatile. A developer can sing 🤣
How much do I already know?
I can sing. I can’t rap — not yet!
Draw and Color a Digital 2d Character
Here it comes again, visual arts!
This time I want to draw and paint the sweet super mario.
Why learn this?
Same as the other visual art learning challenges :)
How much do I already know?
I am a decent Adobe Illustrator user, but I am terrible at drawing and coloring illustrations.
The Rules of this Exercise
I happen to have a full time job, plus I have a crazy writing schedule. This means I don’t have all the time in the world to work on this.
So, guess what?
For this skills, I plan to ONLY practice for 2 hours a day.
Yeah, you heard right.
I will spend just 2 hours a day on focused deliberate practice and (or) deep work. That’s all.
Will two hours be enough? I don’t know. That’s all I’ve got for now. If I find some more time, maybe I’ll use them.
By the way, you’ll be surprised how much the mind can learn with intense focus and deliberate practice.
Why do this?
I was largely inspired by Max Deutsch. But apart from that, I also believe the beauty of living is in pushing one’s mind past what they think is possible.
I have always been fascinated by the idea of accelerated learning. Now is the time to put all my research into good work!
I’m curious how much I can achieve in a month.
Can I really learn to a great depth, or perhaps master these skills?
Am I starting from Scratch?
Please refer to the skills above. I discuss how much I know about them. For some of the skills, I don’t know jack!
NB: the skills I don’t know much about is what terrifies me. 🤣
Am I Going to be Successful at These?
Well, it is better to fail because I set a high goal, than to chicken out and succeed at some tiny easy stuff.
My bet is on 9 out of 12. I may be lucky and hit a jackpot.
I am willing to see how this turns out.
Do I have a free Schedule?
No, far from it.
I do have a job. I also have various writing commitments for Educative, freeCodeCamp and Highbrow. Plus, I’m working on publishing a new book before the end of February.
My book. ETA is February.
Will I be writing about this experiment?
At the end of every week, I will publish a post on my daily strategy and progress. Sure you want to see them.
Maybe you should consider following me too. You won’t miss the posts if you do.
Follow me to keep an eye on the next article.
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