See the reading list on topics of interest in the podcast "In our time." Thumb nail sketches of powerful people is a work by a Greek tutor transmitted somewhere in there.
Learn what capability based security is. Computer security is a solved problem, has been since the 1980s, but the solution hasn't been widely adopted yet.
Know that this is a time of immense abundance, we have access to things that even the King of France couldn't afford, like antibiotics and modern medicine, but don't try to keep up with the Joneses, that way lies ruin.
I'll tell you what I would tell myself if given the chance: Learn to take (calculated) risks and to be free of the weight of the judgement of others. Learn to do the baseline things that keep you healthy in body and mind and maintain them.
As for reading, I don't think any one book will affect everyone the same way or have the same impact, but do read. Don't be afraid to read things that make you uncomfortable. In fact, embrace discomfort in reading and in all aspects of life.
If I could tell myself something at 16 it would be: Do what you want. Not what others want of you. Go after what you want, regardless of whether you think it will work out, or make you rich, or make your parents happy, or make your friends happy, or what religion says you "should" do, or what anyone says you "should" do.
Disclaimer: I'm probably not in the position of educating teenagers as my life has not been a success.
But my 2 cents anyway: I think you need to figure out your life first. You are 16 so you are going to college (or do other things) soon. You should at least figure out the general direction you want to pursue and then make plans. You don't have to stick to one direction, though.
Another advice -- restrict the resources you have access to when you are learning anything seriously. Remove as much of AI, Internet, mobile from your learning process as possible. I know this is controversial, but I believe that constraint is the father of creativity.
best books I could recommend are fiction, they teach you much more than non-fiction, lessons learned in stories are better tha unordered lists of advice you'll forget in a few days.
Some of my favorites include: a moveable feast, watership down, 11.22.63
I remember how lost when I was 16, truly it was just a massive wave of depression and fear and loss. I encourage you to do what I did and explore as many facets as you can possibly imagine (coding, guitar practice, drawing, 3D modeling, pixel art, car tuning, botany, gardening, astronomy...) and if you find something you love and you find yourself doing it for months almost like second nature, you should follow that in whichever career direction it leads you or wherever it takes you with school and opportunities.
There's no one set path, and I did struggle with that as a 16 year old as some paths appear better than others. In my time, html, css, and js bootcamps were literally everywhere and now, look at the development space. you never know and you can never predict the future, but you can follow what you love and opportunity will present itself for you to shine and feel comfortable.
Three Kingdoms from the East.
See the reading list on topics of interest in the podcast "In our time." Thumb nail sketches of powerful people is a work by a Greek tutor transmitted somewhere in there.
It's important to understand mappers and packers, and figure out where you are on that continuum. https://wiki.c2.com/?MappersVsPackers
Learn what capability based security is. Computer security is a solved problem, has been since the 1980s, but the solution hasn't been widely adopted yet.
Know that this is a time of immense abundance, we have access to things that even the King of France couldn't afford, like antibiotics and modern medicine, but don't try to keep up with the Joneses, that way lies ruin.
As for reading, I don't think any one book will affect everyone the same way or have the same impact, but do read. Don't be afraid to read things that make you uncomfortable. In fact, embrace discomfort in reading and in all aspects of life.
If I could tell myself something at 16 it would be: Do what you want. Not what others want of you. Go after what you want, regardless of whether you think it will work out, or make you rich, or make your parents happy, or make your friends happy, or what religion says you "should" do, or what anyone says you "should" do.
But my 2 cents anyway: I think you need to figure out your life first. You are 16 so you are going to college (or do other things) soon. You should at least figure out the general direction you want to pursue and then make plans. You don't have to stick to one direction, though.
Another advice -- restrict the resources you have access to when you are learning anything seriously. Remove as much of AI, Internet, mobile from your learning process as possible. I know this is controversial, but I believe that constraint is the father of creativity.
Some of my favorites include: a moveable feast, watership down, 11.22.63
I remember how lost when I was 16, truly it was just a massive wave of depression and fear and loss. I encourage you to do what I did and explore as many facets as you can possibly imagine (coding, guitar practice, drawing, 3D modeling, pixel art, car tuning, botany, gardening, astronomy...) and if you find something you love and you find yourself doing it for months almost like second nature, you should follow that in whichever career direction it leads you or wherever it takes you with school and opportunities.
There's no one set path, and I did struggle with that as a 16 year old as some paths appear better than others. In my time, html, css, and js bootcamps were literally everywhere and now, look at the development space. you never know and you can never predict the future, but you can follow what you love and opportunity will present itself for you to shine and feel comfortable.