Resources

This is a non-extensive list of interesting links and references that I have collected (or written) over the years. Hopefully you find them useful.

Please email me if any links are broken.

Learning (general)

  • On this page I wrote a brief review of every course I took during my undergraduate degree at UWaterloo.
  • The flashcard software Anki (link) is great for memorizing things. I have a page with tips on using it.
  • Learning how to Learn is a great free online course.

Language Learning

  • Duolingo is great for learning languages as a beginner. Not every course is of equal quality though.
  • Clozemaster is great for once you finish Duolingo, or it becomes to easy.
  • Tatoeba is an open-source repository of sentences and translations.

See my dedicated page for more.

Computer programming

Machine learning / AI

Writing

Exercise

Exercising is important!

  • This document might be a good starting point if you think you are too sedentary but do not know what kind of exercise you want to do.

Books

I have a GitHub repository with summaries of some books I have read: https://github.com/AustinT/book-summaries.

Software

  • Git is an essential program for version control (keeping track of different versions of files).
  • VLC Media player (for playing songs/videos). Great because it is minimalistic and open source.
  • Anki for memorization/studying.
  • Audacity for editing sound files (NOTE: have no used in a while, but I found it very helpful in high school).
  • Zotero is an amazing free program for organizing research papers. A must have for any student/researcher. Unlike other solutions, Zotero is free to use (for the full version), open source, and comes with free online syncing of your notes. The only catch is you have to pay for online storage, but you can get around that by using an external web service. Apparently google drive/Dropbox are supported now too!
  • Vim is currently my preferred text editor (definitely preferred terminal text editor)
  • KeePassXC for storing passwords (free and open source)
  • Pandoc is a simple command line program that converts text files between different formats, such as LaTeX, markdown, and html. A sample use case is to write notes in a simple language (like markdown), then convert them to a tex-formatted pdf document or html webpage for better viewing.
  • On MacOS, I use iTerm2 as my default terminal.
  • I have used various programs to reduce blue light in the evening. For Windows I previously used f.lux, and on Linux I used Redshift. Note that I have not used either of these programs since ~2020.
  • On Windows, I previous used this program for plotting simple functions: https://www.padowan.dk/.
  • On Windows, I previously used this program to draw images: https://www.getpaint.net/download.html.

Podcasts

Since podcasts change all the time, I have noted the year beside these recommendations.

  • (2024) 80,000 hours podcast (link). They have good guests about solving neglected problems.
  • (2024) Conversations with Tyler (link). He asks very niche questions to a wide range of guests. I listen to this podcast mostly for "breadth" and for the feeling of accessing an interesting conversation about an unfamiliar topic.
  • (2024) Conflicted (link). Introductions to various conflicts int the Middle East. It is entertaining, yet informative.
  • (2024) Clearer Thinking (link). Good range of guests and the host does a good job at unpacking the guests' arguments and pushing back.
  • (2024) EconTalk (link). Good range of guests. Mostly economics, but also guests from other areas.
  • (2024) Acquired (link). Entertaining "biographies" of famous companies.

Miscellaneous

More about me

Presumably this collection of links already tells you a lot about me. See my CV for a description of my professional experience. Otherwise, I have a bit more information about me here.