30 Days To X

The days keep changing, will you?

Is Estonia the next Silicon Valley?

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“While being a former socialist country, Estonia is usually clustered together with wealthiest countries in Europe and the world.”

– Meelis Kitsing

A few days ago, while browsing a programming forum, I saw the following video:

Until watching this, I had known nothing about Estonia. I’d always imagined the tiny country as being rural and somewhat folksy, like a medieval village with lots of accordion music. The video perked my interest, and I decided to further research Estonia’s technological innovations.

What I discovered was truly amazing.

The entire Estonian public school system is teaching children how to program. According to Forbes:

“[Estonia] has launched a nationwide scheme to teach school kids from the age of seven to 19, how to write code…

… For the youngest students, the new courses won’t be strictly focused on learning programming languages like Java, Perl and C++. Rather they’ll ease kids into the necessary skills for coding like logic, which has the benefit of some overlap with subjects like math and potentially, robotics.”

At my old high school all the students are given iPads and laptops, yet there are no programming courses. My school isn’t alone, a survey from the College Board revealed that computer programming classes are only offered in 10% of American public schools.

Aside from the fact that every Estonian programmer will automatically have 12 years experience over their American counterparts, Estonia’s focus on computer science has another benefit: anyone who wants to create will be able to.

Keep your eyes on Estonia. I have a feeling that, within the next decade, we’ll see some major innovations come out of there.

40 Alternatives To College

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“Some people graduate, but we still stupid.”

– Kayne West, “Good Morning”

My first college experience was one of the most disappointing events of my entire life. I was 16 and went to spend Halloween weekend at a major university. Having grown up on Tucker Max stories, I was expecting something akin to Van Wilder. Instead, I spent the weekend sitting around my friend’s dorm room and listening to people complain about their classes.

Animal House lied to me.

Since then I’ve never liked academia. While I don’t doubt the importance of a good degree, I am skeptical as to how many people really need to go to college and how much is actually “learned” at school. I’ve always felt that most subjects could be self-taught, and done so inexpensively.

I consider my formal education secondary to my actual learning. Don’t get me wrong, I take school very seriously and get all A’s; but I also believe that independent learning teaches more than any professor or lecture hall ever could. Because of my viewpoints, I was incredibly excited to discover 40 Alternatives To College, by James Altucher.

40 Alternatives To College is a great book for anyone who wants to learn more than what a standard education has to offer. Altucher makes a great argument as to why college isn’t for everyone, and re-enforces the importance of hands-on learning:

“Computer programming is best learned on the job. English literature is best learned by reading books you are passionate about. Writing is best learned by having real experiences, writing everyday, and reading the great writers that inspire you.”

Altucher’s philosophy struck especially close to home with me. As I’ve learned more from independently reading and trying new things, than I have from my past two years of school.

Aside from just building a case against the necessity of higher education, Altucher also offers actual alternatives to attending college. Even if you’re in school, most of the options are still doable; and many of them would make good side businesses.

Unlike most “forge your own path” type books, this one is pretty blunt about the fact that not everyone will succeed at being independent:

“Failure is a part of life. Better to learn it at 18 than at 23 or older when you’ve been coddled by the ivory tower blankets and hypnotized into thinking success was yours for the taking. Get baptized in the river of failure as a youth so you can blossom in entrepreneurial blessings as an adult.”

While I enjoyed this book, I did notice that it was poorly edited. Spelling errors were pretty frequent and there were a few broken hyperlinks. Other than these issues, 40 Alternatives To College was a great read.

Why program?

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“Jack of all trades, master of none is an artificial pairing.”

– Tim Ferriss

I’m sure that some of my readership might find the transition from bodybuilding to computer programing… A little abrupt. Because of this drastic shift in content, I’ve decided to further clarify why I’m making the change. Before I do so, I want to remind everyone that this blog has never been about just fitness, it’s about trying new things and learning. With that said, let’s move on to the actual post.

  • Working out and writing code are the same thing.

Both lifting weights and programing are fueled by the same element: creation. When you work with the iron you build with your hands, when you work with the computer you build with your mind. If you can do one, you can do the other. Just look at a man like Dolph Lundgren, who holds a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to MIT.

There’s a genius under that flat top.
  • The mind and body must stay balanced.

Building the mind compliments building the body, and vice versa. Some of my best post ideas have been formed while in the gym. Likewise, sitting behind a desk provides me with immense motivation to go work out. If you ignore either the mental or physical aspects of your life, trouble will ensue. While I read a lot of books, I’d also like to develop a practical intellectual skill set. Which leads me to my next point…

  • You can make serious money off computers.

Mark Zuckerberg, John Romero, Will Wright, and Steve Wozniak (just to name a few) have all done quite well for themselves. Even though I’m not going to be doing anything half as impressive as what any of them have done, I still think that I could turn programing into a decent income stream. Most people (myself included) have almost no idea how to: write code, beef up online security, or design a website. Being able to do these things would be highly profitable and make for a good location independent business.

  • Technology is an adventure.

I like exploration. To me writing codes and finding all the hidden functions in software is almost as thrilling as adventuring around the world. Earlier today I learned a ton of (legally questionable) secret functions for Mozilla Firefox (all of which can be accessed by typing about:config into the address bar)

About_config

From there you can do all kinds of manual configurations to your browser, a quick Google search will reveal all of the functions (although for legal purposes I’m not linking any of them here). To me the world of programing is like a secret universe just waiting to be uncovered.

If you enjoyed the first challenge, I think you’ll enjoy the second.

What I’m reading today

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I was planning on dropping an awesome post about contrast showering, but I got a bit sidetracked writing my eBook and watching Dredd (awesome action film, I highly recommend it). So, instead of posting something half-finished, I’m going to share a brief list of articles and books that I suggest reading.

Enjoy:

On Saturday I picked up Losing My Virginity, by Richard Branson. While I’m only halfway through the book, I highly recommend checking it out. It’s an amazing story of what a man with drive came overcome and achieve.

While eating breakfast, I read a great blog post called: “Be The Casino.” Those interested in finance and emotional mastery should read it.

Being a history buff, I’m always checking in on Reddit’s Ask Historians thread. Which (thankfully) still discusses actual history, instead of  alien conspiracies. Ask Historians covers everything from European Explorers who weren’t hellbent on conquering indigenous people, to languages spoken by multinational pirate crews. If learning about the past is your thing, Ask Historians is definitely worth a visit.

Have a great Monday, and I promise to write a real post tomorrow.