I struggled with this as well. The way out is reading papers which are accessible and then widen the scope a bit. Some content is advanced, theoretical to start

I struggled with this as well. The way out is reading papers which are accessible and then widen the scope a bit. Some content is advanced, theoretical to start with. But we can know that only when we attempt. Also, reading papers is advanced in the sense that it generally comes after reading long form content, books (which I think you meant when you said 'adding more to my reading list'). At least that has been the case with me. After a while, I found that, for me, some papers are simple and accessible compared to others and once I read them the knowledge they present looks obvious in hindsight like Rich Hickey's Are We There Yet talk. Again the point is keep at it. Only then we can we know and get comfortable. Some recommendations to start with: 1. PhD thesis of Joe Armstrong, Erlang’s co-inventor: https://github.com/papers-we-love/papers-we-love/tree/master/languages/erlang https://github.com/papers-we-love/papers-we-love/tree/master... 2. Out of the tar pit and No Silver Bullet under https://github.com/papers-we-love/papers-we-love/tree/master/design https://github.com/papers-we-love/papers-we-love/tree/master...