I have a master's degree in applied mathematics so it goes without saying practice is far more important than just reading. That said, for better or worse, sof

I have a master's degree in applied mathematics so it goes without saying practice is far more important than just reading. That said, for better or worse, software engineering is not as strict and formal as mathematics. There are a lot of opinions backed by somebody else's experience or, just, reputation (say, books like Clean Code or Clean Architecture). Recently, I have been reading mostly not about programming languages or algorithms. It's easier to understand these by practicing, writing code yourself, etc. When it comes to more abstract subjects, however, it's more challenging. For example, clean architecture, domain-driven design, different solution approaches in distributed systems. It's not that one has to memorize, but rather internalize the principles. It doesn't help that there is plenty of opinionated advice on the Internet with mutually exclusive approaches and recommendations.