I need to quench my thirst for knowledge and learn something new just for the sake of it.

I’ve already learned:

  • Equations and pivot tables in Excel

  • Vector graphics in Inkscape

  • Music mixing in rekordbox

  • Personal VPN on a raspberry pi 4 with OpenVPN

  • LAMP stack web hosting

  • Streaming & video capture with OBS

  • Manual & automatic backups with FreeFileSync

Things I’m open to:

  • FOSS (even beta) or free-as-in-beer software

  • A high or low learning curve

  • Tools for niche fields that I’d otherwise have no reason to learn

  • Rhaedas@fedia.io
    21·
    10 days ago

    My suggestion already submitted was Blender, but any of these ideas require a purpose. I don’t think you truly learn an application or language (even human languages!) if you don’t have something you’re trying to do with it. Even music (it’s a language), you can learn how to play something, how to put together notes and sounds, but you really start figuring out how to do things when you have a need to accomplish.

    I would say 90% of my coding and application knowledge comes from decades of having a need or inspiration to do something, and having to find the right tool and learn how to use it to make my idea become something (even if it doesn’t get finished). When that purpose or desire disappears (for whatever reason) I stop wanting or caring about learning more about the tool I was using to do it with.

    Your initial request seems to point to a different style of learning, wanting to do it for the journey itself. That’s cool, I just wonder if you had a reason for doing it, would it make the effort more fun and worthwhile.

    • bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works
      2·
      10 days ago

      Thats why i struggle so much learning any type of programming. What’s the point. Any software I’d want is super complex, and there’s a billion simple tiny ones that have already been made.

      • Rhaedas@fedia.io
        2·
        10 days ago

        I definitely look to see if the wheel is already invented, but I guess I started early enough when there wasn’t a lot out there and had to make it work on my own. I totally enjoy having to hack together things and google answers (god, that’s gotten a lot harder than it used it be), so that’s also part of why I jump to DIY unless I find something that’s perfect and already made.

        A recent one where I stopped myself was automating backups. I was going to try to throw together something, but then ran across restic and Backrest and wow, it’s so much better than what I could have done.

      • insomniac_lemon@lemmy.cafeEnglish
        2·
        10 days ago

        I think there’s probably still room creatively, especially as a hobby.

        I sort of see it as the opposite with software though, that popular options are bloated data-wise (and cost) and simple usage-wise, other options are small-ish data-wise but less user-friendly. It seems like the middleground (low data+easy-to-use) is less likely to exist, particularly for techniques that aren’t as shiny/new. In some cases, it really does seem like certain workflows don’t exist. (or perhaps for some things that we’ve seen before, implementations were always in-house rather than something that existed in a usable editor)

        Which isn’t to say stuff like that will be easy, maybe doable with limitation and if libraries can take you half-way there.