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Ask HN: Do you think my math website is a waste of time?

5 pointsby nobody271over 6 years ago
Quick tangent: I&#x27;m trying to avoid this guy&#x27;s fate https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=UCgoxQCf5Jg<p>My math website, which I haven&#x27;t touched in several months and I think will take about 4 years of my free time, is https:&#x2F;&#x2F;regressionbuddy.com.<p>There are only three posts so far (with one in review) but each post takes about two weeks to do.<p>The main idea of the site is that you can do a few problems on it a few times a week so that you don&#x27;t forget the math you spent years learning. But also, the non-wordy appendix is the kind of quick reference that I like to use (don&#x27;t have to reread through paragraphs just to get to the point).<p>So imagine you were to spend four years of ALL your free time on a project. Also, you are not rich or particularly intelligent. If it were a math website that thousands of people used and actually found helpful ...that wouldn&#x27;t be too bad (imo). But if you spend all that time and no one finds it useful then I&#x27;m afraid that&#x27;s a little bigger than just a failed project. That&#x27;s more like a failed interpretation of the world around you. That&#x27;s more like, well, going down the rabbit hole. No one wants to be the fool who spent 4 years on a math website that never caught on.<p>Whenever I google a math topic I expect to get a mix of pdf worksheets (with or without answers), 10 minute youtube videos (with or without answers), and horrendously formatted math websites. Yes, there is brilliant.org but they seem to be a typical business (social media, popup login screen, click-bait questions) and less focused on providing an easy and open reference. Plus their appendix isn&#x27;t responsive and is too wordy.<p>So I think the site can still fill a niche. But while I am working on the site I am getting worse at math and drifting hopelessly away from my goal of learning machine learning (which I would have achieved by now if I never got distracted). I still want to learn so many things that could get put off for years if I stick with this site.

2 comments

p-ranavover 6 years ago
Start slowly. Don&#x27;t think about spending four years of ALL your free time on this project. Think short term. 3-6 months and see where you get. Plan what you want to finish in 3-6 months and see if you are able to find the passion to finish what you planned. If you have the passion and it&#x27;s coming along nicely, you may want to keep going. If, on the other hand, you&#x27;re finding this work to be tedious and taking up time you could be doing something else with, then you have your answer.<p>Remember... if this becomes successful, your work won&#x27;t stop at 4 years. It&#x27;ll go on for quite a bit longer. Ask yourself if that&#x27;s something you&#x27;re up for. If not, keep this as a hobby project and draw your boundaries.<p>Good luck!
provlemover 6 years ago
Oh! The first look to website - I love it.<p>I don&#x27;t think at all, this is waste of time. It&#x27;s wonderful initiative and I feel this can go long way!<p>All the best! Let me know, what help are you seeking for? Will share to people on my network. Also sharing this website on our blog.<p>Cheers