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We looked inside some of the posts by anthropologistlearningtocod-blog and here's what we found interesting.
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Tumblr was created by web developers David Karp and Marco Arment.
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#overheardinSF
So, I’ve let this little project idle a bit. I wish I could say that I did everything on my “tech & fun resolutions” list - I didn’t, but I did go on a sola bike tour & a few other adventures. I’ve also moved a bit away from tech for a variety of reasons including feeling like a failure, but still dabble in data. And by dabble, I mean that I think about it all the time and apply it to ethical and social issues that I am mulling all the day, instead of working directly in tech. Then, at a friend’s party a few weeks ago, I had a mini-conversation with another guest that stuck with me. And I didn’t know where to put it, so here it is:
White tech man: "My company is trying to hire women."
Me: "Let me give you my card...”
White tech man: "We are looking for specific qualifications."
My dude friend: "She's great at data..."
White tech man: "Hey, dude, are you looking for a job? We are hiring."
So, yeah, I’m feeling compelled to go undercover again, as an anthropologist in the tech world, looking at language and other weird little things. There will be more #overheardinSF coming soon.
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Dear Data-Dear Self
It’s 2017! An arbitrary beginning point to try new things! I’m not a resolutions person, but I do like the idea of checking in on oneself on a regular basis. Am I doing things that make me happy & satisfied? Am I pursuing some fun activities? Is my career doing ok? How are my little anxieties doing?
After spending the past several months independently teaching myself new skills and seeking new opportunities, I’ve realized that I have learned more about how I motivate and learn and understand and feel happy than I have learned about coding. (more on this in another post about internal vs external motivation) So, I’ve devised a questionnaire for myself, not to “check-off” so much as to observe and respond to my daily and weekly habits when pursuing a new a career and achieving some goals outside of my career.
Generally, I’ve divided the questionnaire into these categories: career, self-care, community, bikepacking adventure goal, & joy.
Inspired by The Dear Data Project , I’ve put these questions into a spreadsheet followed by some “notes” columns - to do some textual analysis, of course! I’m more curious about trends and motivations than achieving EVERY SINGLE THING on the list EVERY DAMN DAY. Still, I think the more that I work towards a joyful relationship with goals and projects and activities and habits, the more satisfied I’ll be.
The questions are unpolished and mostly just for me, but if they help as a template for anyone else, then great!
*A friend pointed out that I don’t have a “romantic life” section on there. I added one privately that is only text-based field just for me.
Daily
Did you…? (career/learning: weekdays)
1) Code: Git commit/add today (currently: project euler, dreams, numpy exercises)
2) Learn one new thing related to code
3) Add to the dream report
Did you..? (personal self-care: every day)
4)make your personal space more beautiful or better organized
5)go outside for a break/walk
6)eat fruits & vegetables
7)drink water & stretch out
7a) for Olivia: wake up and poop (take yourself less seriously)
Did you…? (community)
8)reach out to another person in a meaningful way (gratitude, appreciation, how are you, etc)
9)make sure to have a scheduled gathering within the next week (eg. Shabbat dinner, hiking/biking/yoga with friend(s), coffee, climbing, dancing, playing music together)
Did you…? (bike packing goal** at least one below)
10)learn something new about bike mechanics
11)ride your bike
12)research/write/visualize part of the adventure plan
Did you find joy in…?
13) music or dance or movement
14) your work
15) a picture or moment captured during the day
Weekly
Did you…? (career/learning)
1) review something and post to Anthropologist Learning to code
2) think/plan/visualize some part of achieving future goals
3) connect with someone outside of your job: a tech meet-up, 1-1 meeting, or Double Union member
3a) work on a DataKind or @data4democracy project with community members
Did you…?(personal self-care)
4)go to a yoga or pilates class (check in: did you have time? Why or why not?)
5)run 2x for bone health/mental clearing
6)have some alone time
6a)read a book :)
Did you…? (community)
7) attend a fun event with a friend or two (dinner, yoga, climbing, etc..)
8) see Noah
Did you…? (bike packing goal)
9) ride your bike on dirt **weather permitting
exception: Tahoe & cross training thru XC skiing
Did you find joy in…?
10)working towards your goal(s)
11)connecting with community
12)music or dance or movement
Weekly: UNPREDICT!!!
Chose one day a week (tentatively Wednesday out of tradition) to do something out of the ordinary. It can take 30 minutes or 5 hours. Consider: biking in a new place, a urban hike, a camping micro-adventure, a new recipe, making or modifying clothing for fashion, a play or jazz show, salsa dancing, a snow sport, whatever. The goal of this is to bring a sense of adventure to the ordinary.
Monthly
Did you…? (career/learning)
1) achieve something and feel proud of it
2) assess progress and plan for the future
3) maintain a new/existing professional contact
Did you…? (personal self-care)
4) feel stronger and more confident in your body and ability to handle joyful and stressful situations
5) make your living space more beautiful and organized
6) have time to reflect and maintain good mental health (check in: anxiety attacks, feeling low
Did you…?(community)
7) build community and share moments with people that you love
8) meet new people/maintain relationships and expand community and connection
Did you…? (bike packing goal)
9)improve bike mechanic skills
10)feel more confident going longer distances
11) build community (e.g other women adventurers and/or rogue journeymen)
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updating to python 3ish
This is a dry post. Technology, much like culture, changes. Sometimes, it's an intuitive change - everyone "got" touch screens, whether you were 2 years old, 80 years old, 30 years old. Sometimes, it's nonintuitive - I surprise myself at how resistant I can be when something changes on my phone or computer due to a so-called "update." Eg. What the heck did that button I always click go? Why are my photos organized differently? Etc..
In any case, I started learning python using the 2ish version because that was the most accessible and what most of my friends who are computer scientists were using and recommended. This past weekend, I finally decided I should go ahead and update to python 3 with many many many feelings of apprehension: Will the packages I use work? What will I no longer actually know how to do? Here is a resource that outlines some of the differences and whether or not to update: https://wiki.python.org/moin/Python2orPython3 I
In summary, Python 3 is the future, but --this is important for me -- a lot of the learning material I have been and will continue to use is written in Python 2. One important thing to realize is that this type of abrupt change/update usually doesn’t happen.
So, I searched the internet for documentation about both. I decided to install Python 3 so that I could start playing with it, but kept a Python 2 environment for those times when I needed to learn some coding principle. To be able to run both on my computer, I searched for information and found this: http://conda.pydata.org/docs/py2or3.html#update-or-upgrade-python which walks you through updating python and shows you how to keep two different environments on your computer. The next section in this documentation shows how to manage packages -- I'm sure I'll be reading more.
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How to think like a computer scientist - recommendation from a friend
After I mentioned my algorithms and design class to a friend, she recommended I check out this neat resource: It’s an interactive online book!
Each section is a computer science concept. You read it and then you answer a question. I really like how it is broken down into pieces. Learn Python the Hard Way has been a great do-learn approach, but this is more of an explain-learn-interact approach that complements it nicely!
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Algorithmic thinking
One of the reasons that I loved studying anthropology was that it is a subject matter that is also widely applicable. Anthropology literally means the "study of humans." In the US, anthropology has historically been applied to linguistics, biology, sociocultural studies, and archaeology -- and researchers are using anthropological methods to explore cross-disciplinary concepts.
Studying anthropology provided me with a framework for approaching and asking questions about the world around me. It helped me live outside my comfort zone -- beyond my own "normal" -- it helped me become both more open-minded and observant, and more critically inquisitive.
Many people also describe that learning to code is also learning to think (differently). It's a new way to approach and understand the world. An experienced coder-friend recommended that I achieve a good foundation in algorithmic thought and logic. Together we searched for an educational resource and found this course:
Algorithms: Design and Analysis
So far in the introductory lecture, the professor has said that algorithms:
are "important for all other branches of computer science"
"play a key role in modern technology"
"provide novel 'lens' on processes outside of computer science and technology"
are "challenging and good for the brain"
Sounds great, so far. Will try to observe how learning algorithms affects the way that I approach problems and solutions in code.
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Code prep
I need some basic tools and knowledge to begin my journey into tech. As a field anthropologist and archaeologist, I often prepped for a project by reading available* literature, speaking with peers and experts, and assessing my own skills. I’ve also learned and applied (spoken) language for interviews for qualitative research - language learning will be my first step.
The language of the tech world is code -- and there are many free resources to learn to code. After speaking with friends in tech, I’ve decided to learn Python using the free, online book Learn Python the Hard Way.
I’ve coded a bit before in R and performed data analysis with SPSS, SAS and Matlab, so I’m hoping that these skills will translate well to Python!
*I’ll write more about availability of knowledge and data later. A friend recommended that I read The Cathedral and the Bazaar to familiarize myself with the concept of open-source projects.
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day 0
This is an experiment - part observational, part experiential, part analytical and definitely personal. As an anthropologist immersing myself with the Tech Tribe of the Bay Area, I will take a participatory approach by coding as they do, eating as they do and socializing as they do.
Luckily, my strong math and analytical research background will support my adaptation to local tech habits, modes of thinking and other cultural cues. I suspect that my previous experiential research at breweries and my love of cycling will help me assimilate -- though other challenges are coming.
This blog is the beginning. As you are reading this you are now part of the experiment, too. You may chose to be an observer or a participant. If the latter, write me at [email protected] or tweet @moridesamoped
happy coding,
mo
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