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61 Tabs and Picking What Not To Learn

I use search engines a bunch because I learn a bunch. Since I learn a bunch I use what I call the “Learn, not Learn” model inspired by Dave Geddes in his post. It goes like this while looking for a solution for whatever you are doing at the moment, you encounter a bunch of options. Since it is not possible to learn and know everything, you choose what you want to know, and deliberately pick what not to learn. Learn React, not Vue. Learn Figma, not Sketch. Learn about anime, not Quantum Physics.

Dave Geddes’ mind map of what not to learn. source

Then you stick to it, and in your search, you encounter things from the ‘not going to learn’ category - you close the tab and move to the next one. It is can be vividly illustrated with competing technologies in front-end development, and I’m sure this can be applied to multiple areas of knowledge.

My “Lean, not Learn” framework for Figma because I use Figma for everything.

At this very moment, I have 61 tabs open in the browser. Result of my investigation into GraphQL + Azure + Typescript data storage solution. All 3 are in my ‘to learn’ category. As a result, I’ve added Cosmos DB and Appolo Server to the ‘learn’ column and things like MongoDB, TypeGraphQL, and .Net.Core to the ‘not going to learn’ category.

As a result, out of 61 pages, probably a good 30% are not relevant for me because of the choices I’ve already made.

What if I could easily understand which tabs are relevant and which can be closed? What if the browser could know about my “Learn, not Learn” framework, and what do I have in each category?

What if I could say “This thing is nay, I do not want to read about it, please warn me if the page talks about it” before I’ve read half of the page?

What about the browser extension for that? 🤔

What about I build one.

Follow me on Twitter @ykovzel for more ✌

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