Top all-time · #3411
Josh Kaufman
Personal blog · joshkaufman.net · on HN as joshkaufmanproductivitycareer
Josh Kaufman writes JoshKaufman.net, a personal blog at joshkaufman.net about productivity and career. Since 2007, 23 different Hacker News readers have linked it 34 times, most often “Explore / Exploit”. The last post was in 2024, but the archive is still widely read.
Too few sampled comments (7) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers link Josh Kaufman's blog for ideas on decision-making and learning, such as explore vs exploit and life as a bandit problem, plus career and fear-of-failure essays.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 7 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
The official website of Josh Kaufman
Most-linked posts?
- Explore / Exploit5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2016-08-17
- Strength Training for Non-Athletes4 people · 7 mentions · first linked 2017-02-17
- How to Ask Useful Questions3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2021-05-30
- Explore / Exploit – Life Is a Bandit Problem2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2015-05-04
What Hacker News says?
Here's my personal experience with these sorts of issues: http://joshkaufman.net/working-in-public-is-weird/
Comment linking /working-in-public-is-weird/
on “I am very real”Submitted Creating a Personal Masterplan as a story · 20 points
HN discussionNo, but my buddy Josh Kaufman, author of the great “Personal MBA” book, is doing a new project (and book) about exactly that! He's using speed-learning techniques to learn 6 different skills fast, and one of them is learning a new instrument. Contact him here - http://joshkaufman.net/about/ - to see if he could give you some starter points for now, until his book comes out much later.
Comment linking /about/
on “There's no speed limit (2009)”Submitted How to Ask Useful Questions as a story · 20 points
HN discussionAlong those lines, here's a quick read about how "life is a bandit problem." "When you have more information about what works and what doesn’t, you shift to spending the majority of your time pulling the best lever (exploitation), but you keep exploring the other options in case your current best option isn’t the very best that exists. Here’s the thing: the exploration phase never stops." https://joshkaufman.net/exp…
Comment linking /explore-exploit/
on “Ask HN: Non-technical readers of HN, why are you here?”Submitted Keeping a Research Database as a story · 13 points
HN discussionPatrick's advice about taking dates off is spot-on for optimizing conversion rates on key pages. I've taken dates off of my most important evergreen resources. There's sometimes a happy medium - you can deemphasize the date with CSS or by putting it at the bottom of the post. Here's an example of a blog-style post on my site: http://joshkaufman.net/malinvestment/ People who want to find the date can find the date. P…
Comment linking /malinvestment/
on “Making Your Writing Work Harder For You”Submitted Strength Training for Non-Athletes as a story · 4 points
HN discussionThis reminds me of the explore vs exploit dilemma: https://joshkaufman.net/explore-exploit/ I'm still working on understanding this trade-off better... It seems to be a pretty good lens for looking at things, though.
Comment linking /explore-exploit/
on “Ask HN: How do you manage to go through so much of good content posted on HN?”Submitted Strength Training for Non-Athletes as a story · 3 points
HN discussion+1 for kettlebells. I've always hated strength training, but kettlebells just make me feel awesome---with only minimal soreness the next day, unlike what I get from squats. It's been about a year since I started doing kettlebell swings and get-ups 2-3 times a week, and both my wife and I have noticed serious changes in my physique. If you're not sure what kettlebell training even is, I recommend "Strength Training f…
Comment linking /strength-training-for-non-athletes/
on “Ask HN: What do you do for physical exercise?”Submitted Strength Training for Non-Athletes as a story · 3 points
HN discussionMy 2¢: 1. Life is about the continuous cycle of our human species development and where we fit in that as individuals. 2. A religion as a system of beliefs is not so much to be true as to fulfill a purpose. The purpose (and the religion) can and should be revised from time to time. (Religions can be replaced.) 3. Agreed. 4. Justice is grounded on power. It should be on reason. 5. We need adequate regulation. If what…
Comment linking /absence-blindness/
on “20 Things I Believe That Many Do Not”Submitted Do It the Hard Way as a story · 3 points
HN discussion> What certifications should I avoid and what might be good to consider? Who exactly certifies the certifiers? Best to be known by doing good work. Here's a great read by Josh Kaufman> http://joshkaufman.net/alan-weiss-on-certifications-and-cons...
Comment linking /alan-weiss-on-certifications-and-consulting/
on “Ask HN: Coaching as my next career at 63?”Submitted Status Malfunction as a story · 3 points
HN discussionOne of my favorite English words is: kakorrhaphiophobia Abnormal fear of failure Kakorrhaphiophobia is an abnormal, persistent, irrational fear of failure. In clinical cases, it's debilitating: the fear of even the most subtle failure or defeat is so intense that it restricts a person from doing anything at all. https://joshkaufman.net/fear-of-failure/
Comment linking /fear-of-failure/
on “I don't like making the best things”Submitted Strength Training for Non-Athletes as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Strength Training for Non-Athletes as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Strength Training for Non-Athletes as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Josh Kaufman's Annual Review as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Explore / Exploit as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Explore / Exploit – Life Is a Bandit Problem as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted The Practice of Wisdom as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted The Braindead List as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted How to Ask Useful Questions as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted Explore / Exploit as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted How to Ask Useful Questions as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted How to Ask Useful Questions as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted Debugging Dysthymia: Overcoming Chronic Fatigue as a story · 1 points
HN discussion
