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# Paraconsistency and relevance: avoid logical explosions
EDIT: corrected from previous version.
If the moon is made of cheese, then Rafael Delago was elected president of Ecuador in 2005.
If you believe that Kennedy was shot in 1962, then you must believe that Santa Claus is the Egyptian god of the dead.
Both of t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/oeMYMKnALbniFaoQL/paraconsistency-and-relevance-avoid-logical-explosions |
# [LINK] Making Big Decisions about Money
Seth Godin has an article about how to translate monetary values into something intuitively commensurable with the thing you're buying:
[Making Big Decisions about Money](http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2012/03/making-big-decisions-about-money.html)
The conclusion:
... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4TPQcQwTLhQ2MreGD/link-making-big-decisions-about-money |
# Cryonics without freezers: resurrection possibilities in a Big World
> _And fear not lest Existence closing your
> Account, should lose, or know the type no more;
> The Eternal Saki from the Bowl has pour'd
> Millions of Bubbles like us, and will pour.
>
> When You and I behind the Veil are past,
> Oh, ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/MkKcnPdTZ3pQ9F5yC/cryonics-without-freezers-resurrection-possibilities-in-a |
# Bayesianism and use of Evidence in Social Deduction Games
You look around the table at four friends -- people who share your hatred for the evil empire, or so you thought. At this table, where the resistance meet to plan their missions, fully two of five the operatives are spies, infiltrating the rebels to sabotage ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xgM4FjQeBQgmNEgkb/bayesianism-and-use-of-evidence-in-social-deduction-games |
# Logic of Paradox: a (too) simple paraconsistent logic
The logic of paradox (LP) is the simplest, and one of the oldest, of the [paraconsistent logics](/r/discussion/lw/bfs/paraconsistency_and_relevance_avoid_logical/). Instead of assigning truths to statements A, it instead uses relationships binary relationships v(... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rwysnoyCxMLqQZnCY/logic-of-paradox-a-too-simple-paraconsistent-logic |
# File Under "Keep Your Identity Small"
We know politics makes us stupid, but now there's [evidence](http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/eob/files/obrienellsworth2012b.pdf%E2%80%9D.pdf) (pdf) that politics makes us less likely to consider things from another's point of view. From the abstract:
> Replicating prior research... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9STuttH45AehMx3hm/file-under-keep-your-identity-small |
# A Poisson process paradox
From Steven Pinker's latest book:
> Suppose you live in a place that has a constant chance of being struck by lightning at any time throughout the year. Suppose that the strikes are random: every day the chance of a strike is the same, and the rate works out to one strike a month. Your hou... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/is9c3r67FbfqaFCoh/a-poisson-process-paradox |
# Peter Singer and Tyler Cowen transcript
In March 2009, [Tyler Cowen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Cowen) ([blog](http://marginalrevolution.com/)) interviewed [Peter Singer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Singer) about morality, giving, and how we can most improve the world. They are both thinkers I respect... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WHJkPQ8jeCW3FaQGx/peter-singer-and-tyler-cowen-transcript |
# Decision Theories: A Semi-Formal Analysis, Part II
### Or: Causal Decision Theory and Substitution
**Previously:**
0\. [Decision Theories: A Less Wrong Primer](/lw/aq9/decision_theories_a_less_wrong_primer)
1\. [The Problem with Naive Decision Theory](/lw/axl/decision_theories_a_semiformal_analysis_part_i)
**... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/TxDcvtn2teAMobG2Z/decision-theories-a-semi-formal-analysis-part-ii |
# AI Risk & Opportunity: Strategic Analysis Via Probability Tree
Part of the series [AI Risk and Opportunity: A Strategic Analysis](/r/discussion/lw/ajm/ai_risk_and_opportunity_a_strategic_analysis/).
(You can leave anonymous feedback on posts in this series **[here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formk... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rvN6LrbtQDR2ee382/ai-risk-and-opportunity-strategic-analysis-via-probability |
# Exploring the Idea Space Efficiently
Simon is writing a calculus textbook. Since there are a lot of textbooks on the market, he wants to make his distinctive by including a lot of original examples. To do this, he decides to first check what sorts of examples are in some of the other books, and then make sure to avo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7PuMfJAAaQwaPWAZY/exploring-the-idea-space-efficiently |
# The principle of ‘altruistic arbitrage’
Cross-posted from [http://www.robertwiblin.com](http://robertwiblin.com/2012/04/06/the-principle-of-altruistic-arbitrage/)
There is a principle in finance that obvious and guaranteed ways to make a lot of money, so called ‘arbitrages’, should not exist. It has a simple ration... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dMLcYjtwjDwsDErny/the-principle-of-altruistic-arbitrage |
# Alcor vs. Cryonics Institute
I searched but did not find any discussion comparing the merits of the two major cryonics providers in the US, so I figured it might be productive to start such a discussion myself by posing the question to the community: which provider would you choose, all things being equal: Alcor or ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PdcpEih96tqrt2waM/alcor-vs-cryonics-institute |
# The Singularity Institute STILL needs remote researchers (may apply again; writing skill not required)
**Update**: As of December 2012, we are still accepting applications!
A while ago, I [announced](/r/discussion/lw/9t8/the_singularity_institute_needs_remote/) that the Singularity Institute is hiring remote resear... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/T5WjwPRPHy8mPrJcJ/the-singularity-institute-still-needs-remote-researchers-may |
# Let's create a market for cryonics
My uncle works in insurance. I recently mentioned that I'm planning to sign up for cryonics.
"That's amazing," he said. "Convincing a young person to buy life insurance? That has to be the greatest scam ever."
I took the comment lightly, not caring to argue about it. But it got m... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/L3NhoDDh4YC6BNjP4/let-s-create-a-market-for-cryonics |
# Attention control is critical for changing/increasing/altering motivation
I’ve just been reading [Luke’s](/user/lukeprog/) [“Crash Course in the Neuroscience of Human Motivation.”](/lw/71x/a_crash_course_in_the_neuroscience_of_human/) It is a useful text, although there are a few technical errors and a few bits of o... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rD57ysqawarsbry6v/attention-control-is-critical-for-changing-increasing |
# against "AI risk"
Why does SI/LW focus so much on [AI-FOOM](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/FOOM) disaster, with apparently much less concern for things like
* bio/nano-tech disaster
* Malthusian upload scenario
* highly destructive war
* bad memes/philosophies spreading among humans or posthumans and overri... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ctWGEQznumzyTRGFs/against-ai-risk |
# How does long-term use of caffeine affect productivity?
I am trying to figure out whether caffeine helps productivity in the long run. Looking back 10 years from now, how much more/less productive will I have been if I were to drink coffee every day, or every second day?
Reviewing what has been written on the topic... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Y5DLPNc5h65g2BgqA/how-does-long-term-use-of-caffeine-affect-productivity |
# Reframing the Problem of AI Progress
> "Fascinating! You should definitely look into this. Fortunately, my own research has no chance of producing a super intelligent AGI, so I'll continue. Good luck son! The government should give you more money."
Stuart Armstrong [paraphrasing](/lw/bfj/evidence_for_the_orthogonal... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nGP4soWSbFmzemM4i/reframing-the-problem-of-ai-progress |
# Exponential Economist Meets Finite Physicist [link]
A [dialogue](http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2012/04/economist-meets-physicist/) discussing how thermodynamics limits future growth in energy usage, and that in turn limits GDP growth, from the blog Do the Math.
> **Physicist:** Hi, I’m Tom. I’m a physicist.
>... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JKWPrKdkbnFPN8fDe/exponential-economist-meets-finite-physicist-link |
# Why I Moved from AI to Neuroscience, or: Uploading Worms
This post is shameless self-promotion, but I'm told that's probably okay in the Discussion section. For context, as [some of you are aware](/lw/88g/whole_brain_emulation_looking_at_progress_on_c/54l6), I'm aiming to model C. elegans based on systematic high-th... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7HXSBxnDmQNosS5ss/why-i-moved-from-ai-to-neuroscience-or-uploading-worms |
# Decision Theories: A Semi-Formal Analysis, Part III
### Or: Formalizing Timeless Decision Theory
**Previously:**
0\. [Decision Theories: A Less Wrong Primer](/lw/aq9/decision_theories_a_less_wrong_primer/)
1\. [The Problem with Naive Decision Theory](/lw/axl/decision_theories_a_semiformal_analysis_part_i)
2\... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/AMwzjjvFxEgxvL7xe/decision-theories-a-semi-formal-analysis-part-iii |
# Our Phyg Is Not Exclusive Enough
EDIT: Thanks to people not wanting certain words google-associated with LW: [Phyg](http://rot13.com)
Lesswrong has the best signal/noise ratio I know of. This is great. This is why I come here. It's nice to talk about interesting rationality-related topics without people going off t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hxGEKxaHZEKT4fpms/our-phyg-is-not-exclusive-enough |
# Should "latest insights" appear in the front page blurb?
The front page states
> We use the latest insights from [cognitive science](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_science), [social psychology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_psychology),[probability theory](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Bayesian_prob... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mjEbe6uj5sAwCXKAT/should-latest-insights-appear-in-the-front-page-blurb |
# 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' Chapter Summaries / Notes [link]
I recently read Kahneman's 'Thinking Fast and Slow' (actually listened to the audiobook) and I wanted to find a summary of the experiments he describes and I stumbled upon this: [http://sivers.org/book/ThinkingFastAndSlow](http://sivers.org/book/ThinkingFast... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HDqgr7cgMQaRnGPEA/thinking-fast-and-slow-chapter-summaries-notes-link |
# Be Happier
* * *
This started as an assignment to find out about the science of ‘buying happiness’ (using money to become happier) — hence the emphasis on money-and-happiness. I learned a great deal more than how to buy happiness, however, and the project became somewhat more generalized. It is not meant to be comp... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JHcTP4Ad8QAmRTCZm/be-happier |
# Knowledge value = knowledge quality × domain importance
Months ago, my roommate and I were discussing someone who had tried to replicate Seth Roberts' [butter mind](http://blog.sethroberts.net/2010/08/13/arithmetic-and-butter/) self-experiment. My roommate seemed to be making almost no inference from the person's se... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/E9Ch3ANCYwGKjbgTh/knowledge-value-knowledge-quality-domain-importance |
# Intelligence Explosion vs. Co-operative Explosion
Abstract: _In the FOOM debate, Eliezer emphasizes 'optimization power', something like intelligence, as the main thing that makes both evolution and humans so powerful. A different choice of [abstractions](http://www.overcomingbias.com/2008/11/abstraction-vs.html) sa... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rLzMBxew4S4TevtqB/intelligence-explosion-vs-co-operative-explosion |
# The Blue School
[The Blue School](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/nyregion/at-the-blue-school-kindergarten-curriculum-includes-neurology.html) appears to be a neuroscience driven playgroup for children to learn about their own neuroanatomy and emotional self-regulation and are given language to describe their feel... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Y4H4kdZ3RvxfkpSd4/the-blue-school |
# How accurate is the quantum physics sequence?
[Prompted by Mitchell Porter](/lw/bql/our_phyg_is_not_exclusive_enough/6cpu?context=5#6cpu), I asked on Physics StackExchange about the accuracy of the physics in the Quantum Physics sequence:
What errors would one learn from Eliezer Yudkowsky's introduction to quantum ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/x3Ckt4T2z4abt7ZKs/how-accurate-is-the-quantum-physics-sequence |
# Who's afraid of impossible worlds?
In order to clarify the semantics of [paraconsistent](/lw/bfs/paraconsistency_and_relevance_avoid_logical/) and relevance logics, we need to make a detour into impossible worlds - a fruitful detour opening up fun new vistas. Note that this is an intuitive introduction to the subjec... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/8uBdbEoYuvY3ghgBq/who-s-afraid-of-impossible-worlds |
# [META] Alternatives to rot13 and karma sinks
**rot13 is...** ([Results](http://www.makefoil.com/poll.php?poll=33))
A quaint internet tradition that I quite enjoy[](http://www.makefoil.com/poll.php?button=60)
So annoying[, and the [warm](/lw/bgx/logic_of_paradox_a_too_simple_paraconsistent_logic/)-[ups](/lw/bs2/whos_afraid_of_impossible_worlds/), and it's now time to get to the meat of this arc: [relevance log... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/oLQamyNmzsgPs8nE6/if-you-can-t-be-right-at-least-be-relevant |
# [link]Mass replication of Psychology articles planed.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/is-psychology-about-to-come-undone/29045
The plan is to replicate or fail to replicate all 2008 articles from three major Psychology journals.
ETA: http://openscienceframework.org/ is the homepage of the group behind this. ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xi23Zkptm5XNuCnKN/link-mass-replication-of-psychology-articles-planed |
# The Quick Bayes Table
This is an effort to make Bayes' Theorem available to people without heavy math skills. It is possible that this has already been invented, because it is just a direct result of expanding something I read at Yudkowsky’s [Intuitive Explanation of Bayes Theorem](http://yudkowsky.net/rational/baye... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GDLP8MjvyhK3wx6hc/the-quick-bayes-table |
# How can we get more and better LW contrarians?
I'm worried that LW doesn't have enough good contrarians and skeptics, people who disagree with us or like to find fault in every idea they see, but do so in a way that is often right and can change our minds when they are. I fear that when contrarians/skeptics join us ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HBupaMix2NZLngQuJ/how-can-we-get-more-and-better-lw-contrarians |
# Partial Transcript of the Hanson-Yudkowsky June 2011 Debate
So I'm currently trying to write an article on the nature of intelligence and the [AI FOOM](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/The_Hanson-Yudkowsky_AI-Foom_Debate) issue. I listened to the [live debate](/lw/6h8/hanson_debating_yudkowsky_jun_2011/) between Eliez... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XvmrwJsRMogXrYG3h/partial-transcript-of-the-hanson-yudkowsky-june-2011-debate |
# Adaptive Logics: the best of both worlds?
Consider the following premises from which we would like to reason:
1. Abraham Lincoln was born in Michigan.
2. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky.
3. Eliezer Yudkowsky has a beard or he has blond hair.
4. Eliezer Yudkowsky [doesn't](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ubzmSsBaKEDszeWaD/adaptive-logics-the-best-of-both-worlds |
# A question about Eliezer
I blew through all of MoR in about 48 hours, and in an attempt to learn more about the science and philosophy that Harry espouses, I've been reading the sequences and Eliezer's posts on Less Wrong. Eliezer has written extensively about AI, rationality, quantum physics, singularity research, ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HjMZpMHcaJum8tXo9/a-question-about-eliezer |
# What deserves cryocide?
So being signed up for cryonics shifts my views on life and death, as might be expected.
In particular, it focuses my views of success on the preservation of my brain (everything else too, just in case, but especially the brain). This means, obviously, not just the lump of meat but also the... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qytCWqq9cuMHAB4P2/what-deserves-cryocide |
# [LINK] Cracked provides a humorous primer on the Singularity
Cracked, [already known](/lw/89s/link_cracked_on_pitmk_fundamental_attribution/5572) for its lay-person-friendly approach to promoting rationality, now has a quick video that roughly explains the Singularity and why we should be worried about it while bein... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/a8DLmJEv7jACG97FA/link-cracked-provides-a-humorous-primer-on-the-singularity |
# Please Don't Fight the Hypothetical
It is a common part of moral reasoning to propose hypothetical scenarios. Whether it is our own Torture v. Specks or the more famous Trolley problem, asking these types of questions helps the participants formalize and understand their moral positions. Yet one common response to... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/s9hTXtAPn2ZEAWutr/please-don-t-fight-the-hypothetical |
# Stupid Questions Open Thread Round 2
From Costanza's original [thread](/r/discussion/lw/932/stupid_questions_open_thread/) (entire text):
> This is for anyone in the LessWrong community who has made at least some effort to read the sequences and follow along, but is still confused on some point, and is perhaps feel... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/s9exm8K8CHkEGtiPC/stupid-questions-open-thread-round-2 |
# Prisoner's Dilemma on game show Golden Balls
I found this to be a very interesting method of dealing with a modified Prisoner's Dilemma. In this situation, if both players cooperate they split a cash prize, but if one defects he gets the entire prize. The difference from the normal prisoner's dilemma is that if both... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/owJCtureTddLFTNkj/prisoner-s-dilemma-on-game-show-golden-balls |
# Hofstadter's Superrationality
Possibly the main and original inspiration for Yudkowsky's various musings on what advanced game theories should do (eg. cooperate in [the Prisoner's Dilemma](/lw/tn/the_true_prisoners_dilemma/)) is a set of essays penned by Douglas Hofstadter (of _Godel, Escher, Bach_) 1983\. Unfortuna... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pPXX56Htw5CLekAib/hofstadter-s-superrationality |
# Learn a foreign language to reduce bias?
Interesting [new paper](http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/04/18/0956797611432178.abstract?rss=1) (anyone have a link to an ungated version). Abstract (emphasis added):
> Would you make the same decisions in a foreign language as you would in your native tongue? It ma... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/eC3WyMspAwTfp8giv/learn-a-foreign-language-to-reduce-bias |
# Muehlhauser-Wang Dialogue
Part of the [Muehlhauser interview series on AGI](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Muehlhauser_interview_series_on_AGI).
[Luke Muehlhauser](http://lukeprog.com/) is Executive Director of the [Singularity Institute](http://intelligence.org/), a non-profit research institute studying AGI safe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/gJGjyWahWRyu9TEMC/muehlhauser-wang-dialogue |
# To like each other, sing and dance in synchrony
_For [the How to Run a Successful Less Wrong Meetup booklet](/lw/bak/draft_how_to_run_a_successful_less_wrong_meetup/), I'm looking for information about how to better build a social group and foster a feeling of community. Since this bit is probably of general interes... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GahkhPWinnAvri8Td/to-like-each-other-sing-and-dance-in-synchrony |
# Living Forever is Hard, part 3: the state of life extension research
Previous:
1. ["Living Forever is Hard, or, the Gompertz Curve"](/lw/5qm/living_forever_is_hard_or_the_gompertz_curve/)
2. ["Living Forever is Hard, part 2: Adult Longevity"](/lw/7jh/living_forever_is_hard_part_2_adult_longevity/)
From the excel... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/igLtDADspHudvNuQJ/living-forever-is-hard-part-3-the-state-of-life-extension |
# Timeless physics breaks T-Rex's mind [LINK]
[From Dinosaur Comics](http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2190), with a nice shout-out to [Eliezer's Timeless Physics post](/lw/qp/timeless_physics/)! (Look in the newspost below the comic.)
I can't wait until Ryan North gets around to [Newcomb's Problem](/lw/nc/newcom... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JXM9ML4FtCaAitmQC/timeless-physics-breaks-t-rex-s-mind-link |
# An exercise in really going through with it
I'm re-posting a small bit of writing from my [blog](http://suitdummy.blogspot.com/) that was inspired by reading some recent discussions about cryonics on LW. I'm by no means a skillful fiction writer, but I found it emotionally rewarding to write this and really try to m... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JGw75D5RZiCczdbrk/an-exercise-in-really-going-through-with-it |
# If calorie restriction works in humans, should we have observed it already?
Although there are no long-term scientific studies of calorie restriction in humans, there are religious groups, cults, and ascetics who voluntarily practice calorie restriction or intermittent fasting. Presumably there have been tens or hun... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vjFtitfWa9XRgJF4Q/if-calorie-restriction-works-in-humans-should-we-have |
# Mindfulness Meditation Thread
Hi everybody,
There's been a bit of talk of [Mindfulness](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness_(psychology)) meditation around. I am curious about this, because it looks like it might be [practical advice](/lw/d4/practical_advice_backed_by_deep_theories/) backed by a [deep theory](... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Fy8rArz7PbJ9EKmg8/mindfulness-meditation-thread |
# Crowdsourcing the availability heuristic
There are goals which can be achieved only by personal exertion and hard work – finishing a university degree, learning a language, mastering a martial art… But there is also a plethora of smaller goals, where small differences in approach and resources can make a huge differ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/izDw47NEoko6sveSJ/crowdsourcing-the-availability-heuristic |
# A Kick in the Rationals: What hurts you in your LessWrong Parts?
A month or so ago I stumbled across [this](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/biocentrism/201203/the-most-astounding-thing-in-the-universe). It's a blog piece by one Robert Lanza M.D., a legitimate, respected biologist who has made important contribu... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NbekxJavfKs8QpwzM/a-kick-in-the-rationals-what-hurts-you-in-your-lesswrong |
# Formalizing Value Extrapolation
A recent [post](http://ordinaryideas.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/indirect-normativity-write-up/) at my blog may be interesting to LW. It is a high-level discussion of what precisely defined value extrapolation might look like. I mostly wrote the essay while a visitor at FHI.
The basic ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9DWcNS2rkvd2J8mHH/formalizing-value-extrapolation |
# Optimizing your Social Network
From [Crowdsourcing The Availabiliy Hueristic](/lw/bzy/crowdsourcing_the_availability_heuristic/):
> There are people who already utilize their social network to the utmost, and who expand it strategically, adding people just to enhance the diversity of available viewpoints. But I wil... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JLqtgXx3bAdsxXmqq/optimizing-your-social-network |
# Survey of older folks as data about one's future values and preferences?
One thing that struck me in the 2011 survey was that 90% of LW respondents were under age 38. I'm 57 myself. It seems that often rationality in planning our lives depends on estimates of what values and utility functions we will hold in the fut... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/b3w68jCmCaeJTu5NG/survey-of-older-folks-as-data-about-one-s-future-values-and |
# Do people think Less Wrong rationality is parochial?
I've spent so much time in the cogsci literature that I know the LW approach to rationality is basically the mainstream cogsci approach to rationality (plus some extra stuff about, e.g., [language](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/A_Human%27s_Guide_to_Words)), but..... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wfD6EMTwm4iBCa8jE/do-people-think-less-wrong-rationality-is-parochial |
# What's wrong with psychology, anyway?
Came across this article, published in 1991 but hardly dated:
David T. Lykken, _[What's Wrong With Psychology, Anyway?](http://cogprints.org/371/3/148.pdf) _(PDF, 39 pages)
Anyone who's interested in psychology as a science might, I think, find it fascinating. Lots of stuff th... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/kepqBSR7bzDScAZJA/what-s-wrong-with-psychology-anyway |
# Stanovich on CEV
[Keith Stanovich](http://web.mac.com/kstanovich/Site/Home.html) is a leading expert on the cogsci of rationality, but he also also written on a problem related to CEV, that of the "rational integration" of our preferences. Here he is on pages 81-86 of _[Rationality and the Reflective Mind](http://ww... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GzYu2acxWL6pZyzyc/stanovich-on-cev |
# Non-orthogonality implies uncontrollable superintelligence
Just a minor thought connected with the [orthogonality](http://www.nickbostrom.com/superintelligentwill.pdf) [thesis](/lw/bfj/evidence_for_the_orthogonality_thesis/): if you claim that any superintelligence will inevitably converge to some true code of moral... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/npZMkydRMqAqMqbFb/non-orthogonality-implies-uncontrollable-superintelligence |
# Why a Human (Or Group of Humans) Might Create UnFriendly AI Halfway On Purpose
First, some quotes from Eliezer's contributions to the _Global Catastrophic Risks_ anthology. First, from [Cognitive biases potentially affecting judgement of global risks:](http://yudkowsky.net/rational/cognitive-biases)
> All else bein... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/m8sDFFKzzkqMuK68h/why-a-human-or-group-of-humans-might-create-unfriendly-ai |
# Experiment: a good researcher is hard to find
> See previously [“A good volunteer is hard to find”](/lw/6ne/a_good_volunteer_is_hard_to_find/)
Back in February 2012, [lukeprog announced](/r/discussion/lw/9t8/the_singularity_institute_needs_remote/) that SIAI was hiring more part-time remote researchers, and you cou... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/evyBmPw9ZnzmoFmP6/experiment-a-good-researcher-is-hard-to-find |
# A few questions on International Rationality
Disclaimer: I'm still fairly new here, and though I did use the search bar it's entirely possible this has been discussed before. Just point me in the right direction if this is so.
While reading about 4chan's Japanese progenitor website, it occurred to me that I know no... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dr6k5Rrdd4qHLX7yg/a-few-questions-on-international-rationality |
# Punctuality - Arriving on Time and Math
In hindsight, this post seems incredibly obvious. The meat of it already exists in sayings which we all know we ought to listen to: "_Always arrive 10 minutes earlier than you think early is_," "_If you arrive on time, then you're late_," or "_Better three hours too soon than... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/YuZXRxWSqaCoZHEXr/punctuality-arriving-on-time-and-math |
# Fiction: A Setting Justifying the Epistemic Aggressiveness Of A Religion Stand-in
I've just been thinking (a dangerous pastime, I know) and remembering my religious days, and one of the things that made me so anxious back then, and made adopting atheism so gratifying, what the sheer _drought_ of information. I had s... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dkYvBCQAr6SsTQFc5/fiction-a-setting-justifying-the-epistemic-aggressiveness-of |
# No independence of irrelevant alternatives (picture proof)
Back in the old days, when people were wise and the government was just, I did a [post](/lw/2x8/lets_split_the_cake_lengthwise_upwise_and/) on the [Nash bargaining solution](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargaining_problem#Nash_bargaining_solution) for two pl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7BJ6utqA7PbvQ45ne/no-independence-of-irrelevant-alternatives-picture-proof |
# Urgent: Subjects needed for rationality measure development
Hello everyone,
We at the Center For Applied Rationality (formerly known as the Center for Modern Rationality) need to measure the impact of our minicamps and develop rationality measures, and for this we need a group of test subjects. The interview portio... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zqdKnXGJBaYoHgnu7/urgent-subjects-needed-for-rationality-measure-development |
# Comments on Pascal's Mugging
There seems to be some continuing debate about whether or not it is rational to appease a Pascal Mugger. Some are saying that due to scope insensitivity and other biases, we really should just trust what decision theory + Solomonoff induction tells us. I have been thinking about this a l... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5y65oJGeXvCvggYoz/comments-on-pascal-s-mugging |
# Why do people ____?
The other day, someone did something I didn't expect. It was something many people have done before; something that I thought of as very normal, but that I in no way understood and had not predicted.
As I said, this had happened many time before, so I wrote it off as "me not understanding peopl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mLcAyvWJ96SJjAKN2/why-do-people-____ |
# Rationality and Winning
Someone who claims to have read "the vast majority" of the Sequences recently misinterpreted me to be saying that I "accept 'life success' as an important metric for rationality." This may be a common confusion among LessWrongers due to statements like "[rationality is systematized winning](/... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nEgXQkewAnvX6mYd7/rationality-and-winning |
# Muehlhauser-Goertzel Dialogue, Part 2
Part of the [Muehlhauser interview series on AGI](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Muehlhauser_interview_series_on_AGI).
[Luke Muehlhauser](http://lukeprog.com/) is Executive Director of the [Singularity Institute](http://intelligence.org/), a non-profit research institute studyi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qF6hvXi2ytBsyzttp/muehlhauser-goertzel-dialogue-part-2 |
# Low hanging fruit: analyzing your nutrition
Recently I decided to try an intermittent fasting diet. To do so, I had to figure out how much I could eat on my off/down days. I realized I didn't have a very good idea about how much calories my meals have, and as I was thinking about it, I started to get curious about m... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/MXwyMPM4BHQnZAReN/low-hanging-fruit-analyzing-your-nutrition |
# No Value
I am still quite new to LW, so I apologize if this is something that has been discussed before (I did try and search).
I would't normally post such a thing, as I try not to make a habit of complaining my problems to others, but a solution to this would likely benefit other rationalists (at least that's the... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/diYL9Fx9ycqb8nE8D/no-value |
# Meetup Feedback: Topic selection and precommittments
This post is part of the Cambridge LW meetup group's attempt to publish what works for us, and try to make good meetups easier.
**Breaking the ice and topic selection**
A consistent problem has been starting discussion, and more generally breaking the ice. Last ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GRPXpuR6gqqNPpdXD/meetup-feedback-topic-selection-and-precommittments |
# Lesswrong Community's How-Tos and Recommendations
The Lesswrong community is often a dependable source of recommendations, network help, and advice. When I'm looking for a book or learning material on a topic I'll often try and search here to see what residents have found useful. Similarly, social advice, anecdotes ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/eMurnmp3aZKjfEo9J/lesswrong-community-s-how-tos-and-recommendations |
# Logical fallacies poster, a LessWrong adaptation.
Following http://lesswrong.com/lw/bwo/logical\_fallacy\_poster/ some people complained about
* the sarcastic illustration
* the lack of references
* the weird categorization that should rather fit a Bayesian framework
* the simplistic or even wrong definitio... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5T9s2Cw9jAoCzPnhS/logical-fallacies-poster-a-lesswrong-adaptation |
# The ethics of breaking belief
I'm not sure if this is precisely the correct forum for this, but if there is a better place, I don't know what it would be. At any rate...
I'm a student a Catholic university, and there are (as one might surmise) quite a lot of Catholics here, along with assorted other theists (yes, e... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Qxjjct9LdADJG3Tdw/the-ethics-of-breaking-belief |
# Consequentialist Formal Systems
_This post describes a different (less agent-centric) way of looking at UDT-like decision theories that resolves some aspects of the long-standing technical problem of [spurious](/lw/2tq/notion_of_preference_in_ambient_control/) [moral](/lw/ap3/predictability_of_decisions_and_the_diag... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JGwD6zkhtXjCHjNn9/consequentialist-formal-systems |
# Thinking and Deciding: a chapter by chapter review
This is a chapter-by-chapter review of [Thinking and Deciding](http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Deciding-Jonathan-Baron/dp/0521680433/ref=nosim?tag=vglnk-c319-20) by Jonathan ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mn3WdvME7CJqSaRar/thinking-and-deciding-a-chapter-by-chapter-review |
# Two kinds of cryonics?
I've been considering lately whether it would perhaps be best to develop and promote terminology that splits cryonics into two distinct concepts for easier consumption:
1) old-style cryonics, cryopreserving people at the cost of nontrivial damage that can't yet be reversed, and
2) the tech g... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WKdEHyDki84hDr9r8/two-kinds-of-cryonics |
# Alan Carter on the Complexity of Value
It’s always good news when someone else develops an idea independently from you. It's a sign you might be onto something. Which is why I was excited to discover that [Alan Carter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Carter_%28philosopher%29), Professor Emeritus of the University ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/yRTvXPB6hmtF9y9Nn/alan-carter-on-the-complexity-of-value |
# Strong intutions. Weak arguments. What to do?
I thought Ben Goertzel made an interesting point at the end of his [dialog](/lw/c7h/muehlhausergoertzel_dialogue_part_2/) with Luke Muehlhauser, about how the strengths of both sides' arguments do not match up with the strengths of their intuitions:
> One thing I'm repe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GyDHM7fG47mkmFD4x/strong-intutions-weak-arguments-what-to-do |
# Thoughts on the Singularity Institute (SI)
_This post presents thoughts on the Singularity Institute from Holden Karnofsky, Co-Executive Director of [GiveWell](http://www.givewell.org). Note: Luke Muehlhauser, the Executive Director of the Singularity Institute, reviewed a draft of this post, and commented: "I do ge... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6SGqkCgHuNr7d4yJm/thoughts-on-the-singularity-institute-si |
# Holden Karnofsky's Singularity Institute Objection 2
The sheer length of GiveWell co-founder and co-executive director Holden Karnofsky's [excellent critique of the Singularity Institute](/lw/cbs/thoughts_on_the_singularity_institute_si/) means that it's hard to keep track of the resulting discussion. I propose to ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/TJoPCusrS4cNMgy3n/holden-karnofsky-s-singularity-institute-objection-2 |
# Holden Karnofsky's Singularity Institute critique: Is SI the kind of organization we want to bet on?
The sheer length of GiveWell co-founder and co-executive director Holden Karnofsky's [excellent critique of the Singularity Institute](/lw/cbs/thoughts_on_the_singularity_institute_si/) means that it's hard to keep t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SWEGQmqnfyXc7i2rJ/holden-karnofsky-s-singularity-institute-critique-is-si-the |
# [Requesting Advice] Applying Instrumental Rationality to College Course Selection Dilemma
I'm faced with a dilemma and need a big dose of instrumental rationality. I'll describe the situation:
This fall, I'm entering my first semester of college. I'm aiming to graduate in 3-4 years with a Mathematics B.S. In or... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tD5mRiW9Yso47Dvvk/requesting-advice-applying-instrumental-rationality-to |
# Most transferable skills?
So, transferable skills: skills that, upon improvement, increase your ability in other areas (and also improve other, higher-level skills).
A basic example would be reading/writing. Knowing how to read and write allows one to access a huge amount of other skills and resources which are oth... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uDtCu7dwmzpDnzJsc/most-transferable-skills |
# Neuroimaging as alternative/supplement to cryonics?
Paul Christiano recently [suggested](/r/discussion/lw/c0k/formalizing_value_extrapolation/) that we can use neuroimaging to form a complete mathematical characterization of a human brain, which a sufficiently powerful superintelligence would be able to reconstruct ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/iKrmihLBHTRmuWHuZ/neuroimaging-as-alternative-supplement-to-cryonics |
# Petition: Off topic area
Petition: LW should introduce a dedicated off topic area
Why?
1) I want to discuss various topics with people who are both intelligent and rationalist, and i know of no other place where to do it.
2) If find that rationality is getting boring in itself. I need to use it on something.
3)... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/MG7HzBpiorGcN4gKd/petition-off-topic-area |
# Q&A with Aubrey de Grey on May 15
EDIT2: The video has now been posted, you can watch it here: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tsI_28O3Ws](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tsI_28O3Ws)
EDIT3: I have typed up a transcript for this video, you can see it in [this google doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RKiR7r6h... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PMBj6sbKgunfuAiQw/q-and-a-with-aubrey-de-grey-on-may-15 |
# Group rationality diary, 5/14/12
_Background: I and many other attendees at the CFAR rationality minicamp last weekend learned a lot about applied rationality, and made big personal lists of things we wanted to try out in our everyday lives. I think that a regular (weekly or maybe semi-weekly) post where people me... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JA2MnwunfZnFXb3by/group-rationality-diary-5-14-12 |
# I Stand by the Sequences
_Edit, May 21, 2012_: Read [this comment](/lw/4d/youre_calling_who_a_cult_leader/36e) by Yvain.
> Forming your own opinion is no more necessary than building your own furniture.
\- [Peter de Blanc](https://twitter.com/#!/spaceandgames/status/19519835494)
There's been a lot of talk here la... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/YAL83XNZfntfKaENv/i-stand-by-the-sequences |
# General purpose intelligence: arguing the Orthogonality thesis
Note: _informally, the point of this paper is to argue against the instinctive "if the AI were so smart, it would figure out the right morality and everything will be fine." It is targeted mainly at philosophers, not at AI programmers. The paper succeeds... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nvKZchuTW8zY6wvAj/general-purpose-intelligence-arguing-the-orthogonality |
# Overview article on FAI in a popular science magazine (Hebrew)
A new article which I wrote just appeared in Hebrew in _Galileo_, Israel's top popular science magazine, in hardcopy.
It is titled "Superhuman Intelligence, Unhuman Intelligence" (_Super_\- and _un-_ are homophones in Hebrew, a bit of wordplay.)
[You ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Jnf5qe7BXHwdLtCBu/overview-article-on-fai-in-a-popular-science-magazine-hebrew |
# A thought about Internet procrastination
Perhaps this is already well known, but it occurred to me yesterday and I thought I'd share it. The Internet seems particularly virulent as a form of procrastination; indeed, if, say, chatting at watercoolers took up as much time in the average office worker's day, we wouldn'... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tzj6wpF4v7KJ9ovrm/a-thought-about-internet-procrastination |
# Covariance in your sample vs covariance in the general population
A popular-media take on a subtle problem in sampling. I found the graph quite illustrative.
[http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/when-correlation-is-not-causation-but-something-much-more-screwy/256918/](http://www.theatlantic.com/bus... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ov9gB2FjQvxJJkGWo/covariance-in-your-sample-vs-covariance-in-the-general |
# Tools versus agents
In his [critique](/lw/cbs/thoughts_on_the_singularity_institute_si/) of the Singularity Institute, [Holden Karnofsky](http://givewell.org/about/people) presented a distinction between an AI functioning as a tool versus one functioning as an agent. In his words, a tool AI would
> (1) Calculate wh... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nAwTGhgrdxE85Bjmg/tools-versus-agents |
# Off to Alice Springs
Am about to pack up computer then go to the airport to start a sequence of flights to [give this a try](/lw/43m/optimal_employment/).
I already have a room in a hostel booked for a few nights for when I get there, and will see how stuff goes.
Anyways, since there's been on and off discussion o... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/gYfaiZPMHQbifXSHi/off-to-alice-springs |
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