Why I'm asking this:

I've been using thanksgiving weekend to learn as much as I can about React&Redux, and I remembered how in 2008 I took a beginning CS class that was especially challenging because it was all on functional programming paradigms which were hard to grasp at first. I remember that a kid in the class complained about it, and the teacher's answer was basically that it was the way people would program in the future. He argued that the increasingly distributed nature of computing and the need to manage ever-larger and more complex applications would make this more and more a standard paradigm.

What really got me thinking is that, at the time, is that I didn't really think too much about that comment. It didn't announce itself as an especially deep observation that I should pat attention to. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that advice/thoughts/suggestions that I've come across have a lasting value usually don't. In fact, the ones that come with a big "PAY ATTENTION TO THIS" sign I often conclude later that it is simply garbage. Which, ultimately, makes it difficult to know a priori what is worth listening to and what isn't. I was curious as to how I could train myself to be a better listener and learner to make sure I either didn't miss out on potentially really insightful ideas I came across simply because of the context that it is delivered, and how to protect myself of the inverse scenario as well.