5 ms·

I will turn 45 this year. One of my principles for healthy aging is to make sure I'm learning something new and challenging every year or two. I live in a fish

by japhyr 9y ago

I will turn 45 this year. One of my principles for healthy aging is to make sure I'm learning something new and challenging every year or two. I live in a fishing town in southeast Alaska, and I bought my first boat about three years ago. I bought a 16-foot boat with an open cabin, and it was an absolutely humbling experience. It feels like everyone here knows how to drive a boat, and sputtering through a harbor trying not to take out a row of motors was a really interesting learning experience. It forced me to be open to any and all feedback from all kinds of people. It forced me to seek out advice and assistance from people outside of my everyday circle of friends and co-workers. It made me pay attention to tides and weather in ways I hadn't needed to before. In short, it made me feel like I was looking at the world with new eyes again. That experience made me look for experiences every few years that are new enough that I have to see the world as a kid does again. Not in the wide-eyed wonder way, but in a way where I have to learn a whole new skill set. This year it's been learning how to drive a truck with a boat trailer. I thought I knew it intellectually, and I knew what I needed to make the trailer do, but I couldn't figure out how to make the back of the truck go where I needed it to. My neighbor was cracking up as he was helping me, and I think it was bringing him back into the mindset of looking at this kind of task from a beginner's perspective as well. I have a 6 year old son, and I love sharing these learning experiences with him. I want him to know that adults don't know everything, and that you really can spend your whole life learning new skills.

rothbardrand 9y ago
Oh, man, boats will humble anyone. I managed to go overboard from mine the first day I had it... had to get fished out by some nearby fisherman, who thought it was hilarious.
- hodgesrm 9y ago
  No kidding. The basic principles at the place where I sail are: * Keep the water out of the boat * Keep the people in the boat * Don't hit anything * If possible look good while doing the previous three It's harder than it looks.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
sliverstorm 9y ago
Photography also teaches you to look at the world differently, in a very literal sense.
- forthelove 9y ago
  Here's my vote for skateboarding. You'll never look at boring old stairs, ledges, and curbs the same.
  - PoachedSausage 9y ago
    I'm learning to inline roller skate, in my late thirties. I fell over again today, also humbling.
  - danielharrison 9y ago
    Same goes for surfing. Your life will start revolving around weather patterns and swell forecasts.
    - matwood 9y ago
      Sadly, I do not surf as much anymore because I can no longer have my life revolve around tides and weather.
    - jventura 9y ago
      Same for free flying, in my case paragliding. You'll start to better understand the weather, clouds, which side of the mountain is on the sunlight (because of thermals), and every small hill is an opportunity for flying, however short..
  - Raffers 9y ago
    I stopped skating about 12 years ago now, still look at surfaces grain/height & think that would be a nice grind spot lol This thinking has certainly resurfaced more, since there has been a bit of a resurgence of skating within my city, at least in the last couple of years.
- 9y ago
sgpl 9y ago
This is off-topic but I'm learning python and just ordered your book earlier this morning (after reading through glowing reviews on amazon). I remember reading your bio and thought that it was pretty interesting that the author was a school teacher in Alaska! Very serendipitous reading a comment from you here just now! What are some other new/similar skills you've dabbled in over the years (if you don't mind me asking)?
- japhyr 9y ago
  That is funny. In no particular order, since college I moved to NYC after living all my life in NH. I circled North America on a bicycle, living outside for 13 months at a time. I moved to Alaska and joined a mountain rescue team, and now I help lead our technical rescue team. I got married and have a kid, and I continue to work with at risk students. Writing a book was a deeply humbling experience as well. I hope to cross the US by bicycle again when I'm 50 or 60. I want to see how much has changed and how much has stayed the same. My guess is more will have stayed the same than changed, once you're out on the road.
  - joosebox 9y ago
    Did you blog your bicycle experience? I'd love to hear what kind of preparation goes into that. It's all idea that's become appealing lately.
    - themodelplumber 9y ago
      Not OP but just in the spirit of contribution, here is one of my favorite long-distance cycling journals by a (very thrifty) science & engineering geek. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1mr&page_id=139046&v=aa https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1mr&page_id=1390...
    - japhyr 9y ago
      I wrote a book about it: https://www.amazon.com/Road-Alaska-Eric-Matthes/dp/1544175965/ https://www.amazon.com/Road-Alaska-Eric-Matthes/dp/154417596... Bicycle travel is great. You go slow enough to see everything and meet people you wouldn't through motorized travel, but you go fast enough to cover long distances over a period of weeks or months.
WhoBeI 9y ago
Yeah, there seems to be a serious translation problem converting ideas into mechanical action but it's damn satisfying when you finally nail it. I guess the process in itself requires a kind of creativity because how else could we learn something new. So it makes sense it would strengthen the ability as well.
matwood 9y ago
That's awesome! I grew up with boats, and have been around them my whole life (boaters ed was taught along with drivers ed in HS in my town). Keep practicing with the trailer, you'll get it. Just take your time :) One thing with smaller boats and their trailers is that they can be harder to back up. Larger boat trailers have longer tongues so you can back up with more angle before the trailer starts to lift up. For example, on my current boat I can back the trailer up to a near 90 degrees to the truck.
jcims 9y ago
Awesome. I'm 44 and work in technology. Just started tinkering with hydroponics with my kids (kale and catnip lol). It's completely disorienting, I'm beyond clueless and I love it. One thing I didn't foresee is that my kids never really get to see me learn something from the ground floor. We're basically peers in this and they can see (for better or worse) how I attack the unknown. It's been fun, our plants are so dead.
IAmGraydon 9y ago
You should learn to sail.

by japhyr 9y ago

rothbardrand 9y ago

Oh, man, boats will humble anyone. I managed to go overboard from mine the first day I had it... had to get fished out by some nearby fisherman, who thought it was hilarious.

hodgesrm 9y ago
No kidding. The basic principles at the place where I sail are: * Keep the water out of the boat * Keep the people in the boat * Don't hit anything * If possible look good while doing the previous three It's harder than it looks.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

sliverstorm 9y ago

Photography also teaches you to look at the world differently, in a very literal sense.

forthelove 9y ago
Here's my vote for skateboarding. You'll never look at boring old stairs, ledges, and curbs the same.
- PoachedSausage 9y ago
  I'm learning to inline roller skate, in my late thirties. I fell over again today, also humbling.
- danielharrison 9y ago
  Same goes for surfing. Your life will start revolving around weather patterns and swell forecasts.
  - matwood 9y ago
    Sadly, I do not surf as much anymore because I can no longer have my life revolve around tides and weather.
  - jventura 9y ago
    Same for free flying, in my case paragliding. You'll start to better understand the weather, clouds, which side of the mountain is on the sunlight (because of thermals), and every small hill is an opportunity for flying, however short..
- Raffers 9y ago
  I stopped skating about 12 years ago now, still look at surfaces grain/height & think that would be a nice grind spot lol This thinking has certainly resurfaced more, since there has been a bit of a resurgence of skating within my city, at least in the last couple of years.
9y ago

sgpl 9y ago

This is off-topic but I'm learning python and just ordered your book earlier this morning (after reading through glowing reviews on amazon). I remember reading your bio and thought that it was pretty interesting that the author was a school teacher in Alaska! Very serendipitous reading a comment from you here just now! What are some other new/similar skills you've dabbled in over the years (if you don't mind me asking)?

japhyr 9y ago
That is funny. In no particular order, since college I moved to NYC after living all my life in NH. I circled North America on a bicycle, living outside for 13 months at a time. I moved to Alaska and joined a mountain rescue team, and now I help lead our technical rescue team. I got married and have a kid, and I continue to work with at risk students. Writing a book was a deeply humbling experience as well. I hope to cross the US by bicycle again when I'm 50 or 60. I want to see how much has changed and how much has stayed the same. My guess is more will have stayed the same than changed, once you're out on the road.
- joosebox 9y ago
  Did you blog your bicycle experience? I'd love to hear what kind of preparation goes into that. It's all idea that's become appealing lately.
  - themodelplumber 9y ago
    Not OP but just in the spirit of contribution, here is one of my favorite long-distance cycling journals by a (very thrifty) science & engineering geek. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1mr&page_id=139046&v=aa https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1mr&page_id=1390...
  - japhyr 9y ago
    I wrote a book about it: https://www.amazon.com/Road-Alaska-Eric-Matthes/dp/1544175965/ https://www.amazon.com/Road-Alaska-Eric-Matthes/dp/154417596... Bicycle travel is great. You go slow enough to see everything and meet people you wouldn't through motorized travel, but you go fast enough to cover long distances over a period of weeks or months.

WhoBeI 9y ago

Yeah, there seems to be a serious translation problem converting ideas into mechanical action but it's damn satisfying when you finally nail it. I guess the process in itself requires a kind of creativity because how else could we learn something new. So it makes sense it would strengthen the ability as well.

matwood 9y ago

That's awesome! I grew up with boats, and have been around them my whole life (boaters ed was taught along with drivers ed in HS in my town). Keep practicing with the trailer, you'll get it. Just take your time :) One thing with smaller boats and their trailers is that they can be harder to back up. Larger boat trailers have longer tongues so you can back up with more angle before the trailer starts to lift up. For example, on my current boat I can back the trailer up to a near 90 degrees to the truck.

jcims 9y ago

Awesome. I'm 44 and work in technology. Just started tinkering with hydroponics with my kids (kale and catnip lol). It's completely disorienting, I'm beyond clueless and I love it. One thing I didn't foresee is that my kids never really get to see me learn something from the ground floor. We're basically peers in this and they can see (for better or worse) how I attack the unknown. It's been fun, our plants are so dead.

IAmGraydon 9y ago

You should learn to sail.