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# Shifting Load to Explicit Reasoning
**Related to**: [Which Parts Are "Me"?](/lw/v4/which_parts_are_me/), [Making your explicit reasoning trustworthy](/lw/2yp/making_your_explicit_reasoning_trustworthy/), [The 5-Second Level](/lw/5kz/the_5second_level/).
What's damaging about [moralizing](/lw/5kz/the_5second_level) ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/oqkPRa3EL9mC72hNC/shifting-load-to-explicit-reasoning |
# [Altruist Support] Fix the SIAI's website (EDIT: or not. I'll do it)
EDIT: This post no longer reflects my current attitude. I'm now signed up as a volunteer for SIAI and will help them with the website and/or whatever else needs doing. Add a comment or contact me if you're curious as to what my attitude was or why ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Tqhm6jsFqs7ZDwX5H/altruist-support-fix-the-siai-s-website-edit-or-not-i-ll-do |
# Book Review: Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
I'm ambivalent about recommending this book to LW readers. On the one hand, it's well-written and has lots of interesting anecdotes about Ariely's experiments. He also includes a full reference list at the end of all the papers published based on the studies he descr... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fo5rNAQAJjnDQ5GAk/book-review-predictably-irrational-by-dan-ariely |
# Death Note, Anonymity, and Information Theory
I don't know if this is a little too afar field for even a Discussion post, but people seemed to enjoy my previous articles ([Girl Scouts financial filings](/lw/5el/are_girl_scout_cookies_deliciously_evil_a_case/), [video game console insurance](/lw/4or/case_study_consol... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zumnfc7jctgocfoe9/death-note-anonymity-and-information-theory |
# But Butter Goes Rancid In The Freezer
I broached the subject of cryonics with a family member today. He offered almost none of the normal objections and I've been happy all day about the way the conversation went. One interesting issue that he raised that I'd like to find an answer for is the question in the title... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sphhEmp9qHMCqkvkR/but-butter-goes-rancid-in-the-freezer |
# Building rationalist communities: lessons from the Latter-day Saints
_Or: How I Learned Everything I Know About Group Organization By Spending Two Years on a Mormon Mission in India._
The official name is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You may know us as ‘Mormons.’ We like to call ourselves ‘Latte... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/su7bXsXYpY55vwphc/building-rationalist-communities-lessons-from-the-latter-day |
# Building rationalist communities: a series overview
Related to: [How to build rationalist communities](/lw/5lm/how_to_build_rationalist_communities/)
_"Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em,"_ as it is written:
- Holy Books Don’t Implement Themselves
o Marx needed a Lenin. Fermi, Hahn and Meitner needed a Manhat... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Zasc7RXAEosWLYf8E/building-rationalist-communities-a-series-overview |
# When Intuitions Are Useful
Part of the sequence: [Rationality and Philosophy](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Rationality_and_Philosophy)
In this series, I have examined how intuitions work so that I can clarify how rationalists^1^ _should_ and _shouldn't_ use their intuitions^2^ when solving philosophical problems.... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/myLSqHNgi6BumABvE/when-intuitions-are-useful |
# Scholarship: How to Do It Efficiently
Scholarship is [an important virtue of rationality](/lw/3m3/the_neglected_virtue_of_scholarship/), but it can be [costly](/lw/4sn/costs_and_benefits_of_scholarship/). Its major costs are _time_ and _effort_. Thus, if you can reduce the time and effort required for scholarship - ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/37sHjeisS9uJufi4u/scholarship-how-to-do-it-efficiently |
# How should I help us achieve immortality?
I was immensely glad to find this community, because while I knew intellectually that I was not the only person who felt that rationality was important, death was bad, and technology was our savior, I had never _met_ anyone else who did. I thus determined my career without m... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ktXyc2pGoHxpoaQwH/how-should-i-help-us-achieve-immortality |
# Holy Books (Or Rationalist Sequences) Don’t Implement Themselves
Related to: [Lessons from Latter-day Saints](/lw/5lm/building_rationalist_communities_lessons_from_the/), [Building Rationalist Communities overview](/lw/5ln/building_rationalist_communities_a_series_overview/)
**This is my basic thesis:**
> Marx nee... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4CW68uEwgWuLfBenZ/holy-books-or-rationalist-sequences-don-t-implement |
# Optimizing Sleep
I have an atypical sleep schedule. I tend to drift in the hours that I keep (that is, going to sleep later and later each day until a 'reset' is required). I also am willing to sacrifice sleep if something sufficiently interesting or urgent (problem sets, a Neal Stephenson book, a new Less Wrong a... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/p7CrByygeAqomsJqy/optimizing-sleep |
# SL4 META: list closure 2 month followup
This is probably of interest only to the old-timers here. (Ironically, as a cross-post, this is almost by definition spam for LW, since anyone really interested in the topic would already be subscribed to SL4 and would have seen the emails.)
In 13 March, I finally got around ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7mCusQu7ZXprbYfYc/sl4-meta-list-closure-2-month-followup |
# "I know I'm biased, but..."
**Inspired by:** [The 5-Second Level](/lw/5kz/the_5second_level/), [Knowing About Biases Can Hurt People](/lw/he/knowing_about_biases_can_hurt_people/)
"I know I'm biased, but..." and its equivalents seem to be relatively common in casual conversation--I've encountered the phrase in clas... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Wo7EKqAmrNZwkSDXe/i-know-i-m-biased-but |
# Econ/Game theory question
This puzzled me. I'm pretty sure it's one of those unsolvable questions, but I'd want to know if it's not.
Two members of the species Homo Economus, A and B, live next to each other. A wants to buy an easement (a right to cross B's property, without which he cannot bring anything onto his ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6C24wYYZgQjLrpnMu/econ-game-theory-question |
# Designing Rationalist Projects
Related to: [Lessons from Latter-day Saints](/lw/5lm/building_rationalist_communities_lessons_from_the/), [Building Rationalist Communities overview](/lw/5ln/building_rationalist_communities_a_series_overview/), [Holy Books (Or Rationalist Sequences) Don't Implement Themselves](/lw/5mv... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/m38tS7dq8znk5rNjG/designing-rationalist-projects |
# You'll die if you do that
> "They told me that if I ever turned this flashlight on, I would _die!_ They told me that about _everything!_ I mean, I don't even know why they bothered giving me this stuff if they didn't want me to use it."
>
> \-\- Wheatley, _Portal 2_
Today I received some shoes in the post, which i... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2PPdPrC7dQDp5oz3T/you-ll-die-if-you-do-that |
# The elephant in the room, AMA
Hello fellow Less Wrongians!
Given your comments on [my](/lw/5lm/how_to_build_rationalist_communities/) [organizing](/lw/5ln/building_rationalist_communities_a_series_overview/) [communities](/lw/5mv/holy_books_or_rationalist_sequences_dont/) [series](/lw/5o1/designing_rationalist_proj... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/E9QGXnFKcNQy4ZiNz/the-elephant-in-the-room-ama |
# Rationality Exercise: My Little Pony
Recently I started watching My Little Pony: Friendship as Magic on the recommendation of numerous friends. It has been entertaining for the most part, but in episode 15, I hit a problem.
The main character, Twilight Sparkle, is an avid intellectual, who is constantly reading an... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9MuxP9bpCR3GJAPDu/rationality-exercise-my-little-pony |
# Ask LessWrong: Design a degree in Rationality.
You are a tenured professor at a medium-sized public university. The Interdisciplinary Gods have smiled upon you, and you have been handed an operating grant, office space, and broad design powers to create an advanced interdisciplinary degree^1^ in "Rationality" (you s... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qMZLkQn2PqNHEuXZh/ask-lesswrong-design-a-degree-in-rationality |
# Upcoming meet-ups: Buenos Aires, Minneapolis, Ottawa, Edinburgh, Cambridge, London, DC
There are upcoming Less Wrong meetups in:
* [**Buenos Aires**: Saturday May 14th, 3pm](/lw/5n4/buenos_aires_meetup_saturday_may_14th_3pm/);
* [**Minneapolis**: Saturday May 14th, 3pm](/lw/5nr/minneapolis_meetup_saturday_may_1... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zYjtSZC6spEmEeb4u/upcoming-meet-ups-buenos-aires-minneapolis-ottawa-edinburgh |
# What we're losing
More and more, LessWrong's posts are meta-rationality posts, about how to be rational, how to avoid akrasia, in general, without any specific application. This is probably the intended purpose of the site. But they're starting to bore me.
What drew me to LessWrong is that it's a place where I ca... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jCSLbQvWz8j4Mwcar/what-we-re-losing |
# Rationalists don't care about the future
Related to [Exterminating life is rational](/lw/108/exterminating_life_is_rational/).
ADDED: Standard assumptions about utility maximization and time-discounting imply that we shouldn't care about the future. I will lay out the problem in the hopes that someone can find a c... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/d5q6vKrLopC36zttS/rationalists-don-t-care-about-the-future |
# [SEQ RERUN] Archimedes's Chronophone
Today's post, [Archimedes's Chronophone](/lw/h5/archimedess_chronophone/) was originally published on March 23, 2007. A summary (taken from the [LW wiki](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong/2007_Articles/Summaries)):
> Imagine that Archimedes of Syracuse invented a device ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pAFpKFjwWhjt4rPhT/seq-rerun-archimedes-s-chronophone |
# Conceptual Analysis and Moral Theory
Part of the sequence: [No-Nonsense Metaethics](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/No-Nonsense_Metaethics). Also see: [A Human's Guide to Words](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/A_Human's_Guide_to_Words).
If a tree falls in the forest, and no one hears it, does it make a sound?
> Albe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2YPbdHgcjt7g5ZaFN/conceptual-analysis-and-moral-theory |
# Life Extension through Diet Modification
Life extension is a relevant topic here, and I was wondering if people are aware of the apparently life-extending effects of calorie restriction (CR) and intermittent fasting (IF). To the extent of my knowledge, this is the best method using currently realized technology that... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2bZ9ANSjcNPvzmGNN/life-extension-through-diet-modification |
# Colonization models: a programming tutorial (Part 1/2)
**Introduction**
Are we alone in the universe? How likely is our species to survive the transition from a [Type 0 to a Type II civilization](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kardashev_scale)? The answers to these questions would be of immense interest to our race... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LKQNdsgqgWX4SYTqw/colonization-models-a-programming-tutorial-part-1-2 |
# Colonization models: a tutorial on computational Bayesian inference (part 2/2)
**Recap**
[Part 1](/lw/5q1/colonization_models_a_programming_tutorial_part_12/) was a tutorial for programming a simulation for the emergence and development of intelligent species in a universe 'similar to ours.' In part 2, we will use... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/k4p6AQnP4kiSW56KB/colonization-models-a-tutorial-on-computational-bayesian |
# Beyond Smart and Stupid
I've often wondered about people who appear to be very smart, and do very stupid things. One theory is that people are smart and stupid independently in different domains. Another theory is that "smart" and "stupid" are oversimplifications. In line with the second theory, here is an ad-hoc... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2G5qvTA33ALJzbHAj/beyond-smart-and-stupid |
# How some algorithms feel from inside
So I decided to list the known applications of this popular LW phrase:
* Believing in essences is how a [classifier](/lw/no/how_an_algorithm_feels_from_inside/) feels from inside
* Free will is how an [action-chooser](/lw/2l2/what_a_reduction_of_could_could_look_like/) feels... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2WBF6R3ZY2DCZQK2a/how-some-algorithms-feel-from-inside |
# How and Why to Granularize
Say you want to learn to play piano. What do you do? Do you grab some sheet music for '[Flight of the Bumblebee](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6A-JYbu1Os#t=11s)' and start playing? No. First you learn how to read music, and where to put your fingers, and how to play chords, and how to us... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jTk9m75y2bpujwRfb/how-and-why-to-granularize |
# Living Forever is Hard, or, The Gompertz Curve
I recently recalled, apropos of the [intermittent fasting/caloric restriction](/r/discussion/lw/5q5/life_extension_through_diet_modification/) discussion, a [very good blog post on mortality curves and models of aging](http://gravityandlevity.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/yo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GytPrQ9cT46k9etoz/living-forever-is-hard-or-the-gompertz-curve |
# [Links] The structure of exploration and exploitation
[Inefficiencies are necessary for resilience](http://iris.lib.neu.edu/comp_info_sci_fac_pubs/1/):
> Results suggest that when agents are dealing with a complex problem, the more efficient the network at disseminating information, the better the short-run but the... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/N6A7kM6JwYhzDcDDW/links-the-structure-of-exploration-and-exploitation |
# Suffering as attention-allocational conflict
I [previously characterized](http://xuenay.livejournal.com/332853.html) Michael Vassar's theory on suffering as follows: "Pain is not suffering. Pain is just an attention signal. Suffering is when one neural system tells you to pay attention, and another says it doesn't w... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9XBhs3dS4XnBwZRan/suffering-as-attention-allocational-conflict |
# A Gameplay Exploration of Yudkowsky's "Twelve Virtues"
Hello Less Wrong, this is my first post (kind of). I belong to a small game development company called [Shiny Ogre Games](http://shinyogre.com). We have a vested interest in making games that, as Johnathan Blow puts it, "speak to the human condition." I am he... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cFuc3v2iXfb7dJrDm/a-gameplay-exploration-of-yudkowsky-s-twelve-virtues |
# Rationalist Horoscopes: Low-hanging utility generator?
(5:29:23 PM) Adelene: ...horoscopes are for people who, like \[mutual friend\], prefer to have an authority tell them what to do. \*blink\*
(5:30:18 PM) Alicorn: \*blink\*
(5:30:50 PM) Adelene: This is an observation that my brain made just now, but it seems... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KRBbe3vPybMzrwWow/rationalist-horoscopes-low-hanging-utility-generator |
# [LINK] Pixar works to make the future better
An analysis of how Pixar is promoting transhumanist ideals.
[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/sciencenotfiction/2011/05/14/the-hidden-message-in-pixars-films/](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/sciencenotfiction/2011/05/14/the-hidden-message-in-pixars-films/)
>Pixar fi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/omdMjwh5JBqwg8woo/link-pixar-works-to-make-the-future-better |
# Should I be afraid of GMOs?
I was raised to believe that genetically-modified foods are unhealthy to eat and bad for the environment, and given a variety of reasons for this, some of which I now recognize as blatantly false (e.g., human genetic code is isomorphic to fundamental physical law), and a few of which stil... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BfuJA3GpFKG9XBkWv/should-i-be-afraid-of-gmos |
# What bothers you about Less Wrong?
Or, what do you want to see more or less of from Less Wrong?
I'm thinking about community norms, content and topics discussed, karma voting patterns, et cetera. There are already posts and comment sections filled with long lists of proposed technical software changes/additions, le... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NLibKMPZvyhuDJrsR/what-bothers-you-about-less-wrong |
# Greg Egan and the Incomprehensible
_In this post I question one disagreement between Eliezer Yudkowsky and science fiction author [Greg Egan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Egan)._
In his post [Complex Novelty](/lw/wx/complex_novelty/), Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote in 2008:
> Note that **Greg Egan seems to explicitl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XKbEAH3yZBHdRhFiX/greg-egan-and-the-incomprehensible |
# Example decision theory problem: "Agent simulates predictor"
Some people on LW have [expressed interest](/lw/5pf/what_were_losing/46mm) in what's happening on the [decision-theory-workshop](https://groups.google.com/group/decision-theory-workshop/) mailing list. Here's an example of the kind of work we're trying to ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/q9DbfYfFzkotno9hG/example-decision-theory-problem-agent-simulates-predictor |
# On the Anthropic Trilemma
Eliezer’s [Anthropic Trilemma](http://lesswrong.com/lw/19d/the_anthropic_trilemma/):
> So here’s a simple algorithm for winning the lottery: Buy a ticket. Suspend your computer program just before the lottery drawing – which should of course be a quantum lottery, so that every ticket wins... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/AwEgBpWGBzNgfZZyw/on-the-anthropic-trilemma |
# How to (un)become a crank
Ahhh, a human interest post. Well, sort of. At least it has something _besides_ math-talk.
In the extreme programming community they have a saying, ["three strikes and you refactor"](http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?ThreeStrikesAndYouRefactor). The rationalist counterpart would be this: once you... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/8rQX6tJmGZE6DdGNf/how-to-un-become-a-crank |
# The Aliens have Landed!
"General Thud! General Thud! Wake up! The aliens have landed. We must surrender!" General Thud's assistant Fred turned on the lights and opened the curtains to help Thud wake up and confront the situation. Thud was groggy because he had stayed up late supervising an ultimately successful miss... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Hz5dFKTnyC7HqibSQ/the-aliens-have-landed |
# The Advantages of Being Technical
> Someone told me that each equation I included in the book would halve the sales. I therefore resolved not to have any equations at all.
— Stephen Hawking, in his book _A Brief History of Time_
Whoever gave this advice to Mr. Hawking is probably partly responsible for the success... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Lc7c5yn6Xp2Zf3cy8/the-advantages-of-being-technical |
# Lesswrongers from the German-speaking world, unite!
As far as I can tell, there never has been a LW-meetup in a german-speaking country. This is crazy!
There should be enough Lesswrongers from Germany, Austria or Switzerland to achieve a reasonable group size!
To be a bit more specific, how about meeting in Munic... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2FjjM2H4ueWf2fvEC/lesswrongers-from-the-german-speaking-world-unite |
# Official Less Wrong Redesign: Special pages
Following along from [Louie](/user/louie)'s [post](/lw/5by/official_less_wrong_redesign_call_for_suggestions/) and the discussion around it…
[User:orthonormal](/user/orthonormal/) [suggested (and many seconded)](/lw/5by/official_less_wrong_redesign_call_for_suggestions/3z... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/8JFCZyF3xo8YtQMcy/official-less-wrong-redesign-special-pages |
# I want to save myself
Related to: [People who want to save the world](/r/discussion/lw/5p2/people_who_want_to_save_the_world/)
I have recently been diagnosed with cancer, for which I am currently being treated with good prognosis. I've been reevaluating my life plans and priorities in response. To be clear, I esti... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LMiELzzme6WWKCqwR/i-want-to-save-myself |
# Seeking suggestions: Less Wrong Biology 101
I’ve been a reader and occasional commenter here for a while now, but previously have not had a solid idea of what I could or wanted to contribute to the community in posting. In light of recent [comments](/r/discussion/lw/5ro/what_bothers_you_about_less_wrong/47iv) stati... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/g2CNSsjW4rEqY3yBp/seeking-suggestions-less-wrong-biology-101 |
# Ontological Crises in Artificial Agents' Value Systems by Peter de Blanc
I saw [this](http://arxiv.org/pdf/1105.3821v1) go by on arXiv, and thought it deserved a discussion here.
> Decision-theoretic agents predict and evaluate the results of their actions using a model, or ontology, of their environment. An agent'... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uerghMGoGM9RQW8Zr/ontological-crises-in-artificial-agents-value-systems-by |
# The Joys of Conjugate Priors
(Warning: this post is a bit technical.)
Suppose you are a Bayesian reasoning agent. While going about your daily activities, you observe an event of type . Because you're a good Bayesian, you have some internal parameter  called "Cognitive Biases and Related Terms," which is an upgrade of another shared deck. The deck is composed of most [cognitive biases listed on Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cogniti... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BH9ysqhTmsF2WaftT/anki-flashcard-deck-cognitive-biases-and-related-terms |
# Rationalist horoscopes: A low-hanging utility generator.
The other day, I had an idea. It occurred to me that daily horoscopes - the traditional kind - might not be as useless as they seem at first glance: They usually give, or at least hint at, suggestions for specific things to do on a given day, which can be a us... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/TmwJ25bkce5KASCYN/rationalist-horoscopes-a-low-hanging-utility-generator |
# A summary of Savage's foundations for probability and utility.
**Edit:** I think the P2c I wrote originally may have been a bit too weak; fixed that. Nevermind, rechecking, that wasn't needed.
**More edits (now consolidated):** Edited nontriviality note. Edited totality note. Added in the definition of numerical pr... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5J34FAKyEmqKaT7jt/a-summary-of-savage-s-foundations-for-probability-and |
# How To Be More Confident... That You're Wrong
One of the main Eliezer Sequences, consisting of dozens of posts, is [How To Actually Change Your Mind](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/How_To_Actually_Change_Your_Mind). Looking at all those posts, one gets the feeling that changing one’s mind must be Really Hard. But ma... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HqDGZpNqQJDGKi4Pz/how-to-be-more-confident-that-you-re-wrong |
# What makes Less Wrong awesome?
Recently I asked ["What bothers you about Less Wrong?"](/r/discussion/lw/5ro/what_bothers_you_about_less_wrong/). It might be worth going back and checking out what people had to say, to see if there's something you can do to make Less Wrong more fun for everyone. (A few people made co... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fffNr3nhmKq7CmbCu/what-makes-less-wrong-awesome |
# Ace Attorney: pioneer Rationalism-didactic game?
This article aims to prove that Ace Attorney is [possibly](/lw/55z/a_gameplay_exploration_of_yudkowskys_twelve/) the first rationalist game in the lesswrongian sense, or at least a remarkable proto-example, and that it subliminally works to [raise the sanity waterline... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jYTA6c6qNM4Fkqf48/ace-attorney-pioneer-rationalism-didactic-game |
# [REVIEW] Foundations of Neuroeconomic Analysis
Neuroeconomics is the application of advances in neuroscience to the fundamentals of economics: choice and valuation. _[Foundations of Neuroeconomic Analyis](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0199744254/?tag=vglnk-c319-20)_ by Paul Glimcher, an active researcher in this area, pr... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NebwNmKv3t7G3PHY8/review-foundations-of-neuroeconomic-analysis |
# Inferring Our Desires
Related: [Cached Selves](/lw/4e/cached_selves/), [The Neuroscience of Desire](/lw/4z7/the_neuroscience_of_desire/)
> You don't know your own mind.
> \- Jonathan Swift, _[Polite Conversation](http://www.amazon.com/conversation-dialogues-Jonathan-introduction-Saintsbury/dp/1176297252/)_
R... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2G7AH92pHyj3nC32T/inferring-our-desires |
# Official Less Wrong Redesign: Nearly there
Design sketches
---------------
1\. Notes on differences between these images and what we're planning on implementing:
2\. Meetup widget in sidebar, listing the 5 nearest meetups occurring i... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FXMQWrkNKcZNagZRS/official-less-wrong-redesign-nearly-there |
# Dissolution of free will as a call to action
Accepting determinism and the insuing dissolution of free will is often feared as something that would lead to loss of will and fatalism. [Gary Drescher](http://www.amazon.com/Good-Real-Demystifying-Paradoxes-Bradford/dp/0262042339) and [Eliezer](http://wiki.lesswrong.com... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/m4z9z8hGp5GQrTzf5/dissolution-of-free-will-as-a-call-to-action |
# LessWrong Power Reader (Greasemonkey script, updated)
I posted [this script](http://www.ibiblio.org/weidai/lesswrong_comments_reade.user.js) previously to Open Thread, but it got broken by the discussion/main split-up and also didn't work in Firefox 4. It's now updated and fixed for Firefox 4. The original descripti... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KFCHH2ZtuRvXo7EZZ/lesswrong-power-reader-greasemonkey-script-updated |
# Free Stats Textbook: Principles of Uncertainty
Joseph Kadane, emeritus at Carnegie Mellon, released his new statistics textbook _Principles of Uncertainty_ as a [free pdf](http://uncertainty.stat.cmu.edu/). The book is written from a Bayesian perspective, covering basic probability, decision theory, conjugate distri... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sxQ2ELCDbKrSdTaW5/free-stats-textbook-principles-of-uncertainty |
# Self-programming through spaced repetition
Spaced repetition software is a flashcard memorization technology based on the [spacing effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacing_effect). Personally, I think of it as a way of engineering dispositions, a form of self-programming. More concretely, I find that spaced repe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/iocMeRcSKf3gAxsTh/self-programming-through-spaced-repetition |
# LW Biology 101 Introduction: Constraining Anticipation
_Since the responses to [my recent inquiry](/r/discussion/lw/5sg/seeking_suggestions_less_wrong_biology_101/) were positive, I've rolled up my sleeves and gotten started. Special thanks to badger for eir [comment](/r/discussion/lw/5sg/seeking_suggestions_less_w... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WJckvR7zgyx36396P/lw-biology-101-introduction-constraining-anticipation |
# Wiki: Standard Reference or Original Research?
My understanding of the purpose of the [lesswrong wiki](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/LessWrong_Wiki) has been that it is a collection of well established concepts and local jargon that we can use as a reference and an easy way to communicate across [inferential distan... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/k2jxH5KhcJkiKuBw6/wiki-standard-reference-or-original-research |
# Link: If you don't already read Bad Science
So there's this blog called Bad Science, consisting mostly of the articles that medical doctor Ben Goldacre writes for the Guardian. It's about pseudoscience, medicine and medical research. And also _awesome_.
The recent article was a wonderful bit of emotional whiplash... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ENNsP2Bu3cX7F2swi/link-if-you-don-t-already-read-bad-science |
# Dominus' Razor
You are probably familiar with [Hanlon’s Razor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon's_razor), the adage that you should never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity. In Bayesian terms, stupidity is sufficiently abundant that even fairly strong evidence of harmful intent can’... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/okXN8kZSDQwb6ywSu/dominus-razor |
# The cost of universal cryonics
**INTRODUCTION**
I recently got sparked by both Eliezer's post on Cryonics(http://lesswrong.com/lw/qx/timeless\_identity/) and lsparrish's post on the economies of scale(http://lesswrong.com/lw/2f5/cryonics\_wants\_to\_be_big/) that go in to cryonics, to do some actual research. U... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zJfDgGkWN4unGSrix/the-cost-of-universal-cryonics |
# Seeing Red: Dissolving Mary's Room and Qualia
**Essential Background:** [Dissolving the Question](/lw/of/dissolving_the_question/)[
](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Zombies_%28sequence%29)
How could we fully explain the difference between red and green to a colorblind person?
Well, we could of course draw the an... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3wYjyQ839MDsZ6E3L/seeing-red-dissolving-mary-s-room-and-qualia |
# Bias in capital project decision making
This is a story about an odd fact about capital project decision making in engineering I noticed and how it might be related to cognitive biases
Background
==========
Although I don't work in the field, I was trained as a [chemical engineer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chem... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xWCiPNkzMvkdWNgb2/bias-in-capital-project-decision-making |
# Measuring aversion and habit strength
 tl;dr: _Strong aversions don't always originate from strong feelings (see [Ugh fields](/lw/21b/ugh_fields/)). It's useful to measure the strength of an aversion by **how effectively** it averts your thoughts/behavior instead of **how... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Fxv4o3LGEkgR2Qsz7/measuring-aversion-and-habit-strength |
# A Study of Scarlet: The Conscious Mental Graph
**Sequel to:** [Seeing Red: Dissolving Mary's Room and Qualia](/lw/5n9/qualia_a_new_hope/)
**Seriously, you should read first:** [Dissolving the Question](/lw/of/dissolving_the_question/), [How an Algorithm Feels From Inside](/lw/no/how_an_algorithm_feels_from_inside/)... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pi5DAEZWJK3c9NAhW/a-study-of-scarlet-the-conscious-mental-graph |
# Teachable Rationality Skills
Recent brainstorming sessions at SIAI (with participants including Anna, Carl, Jasen, Divia, Will, Amy Willey, and Andrew Critch) have started to produce lists of rationality skills that we could potentially try to teach (at Rationality Boot Camp, at Less Wrong meetups, or similar venues... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/f4CZNEHirweN3XEjs/teachable-rationality-skills |
# Epistemology and the Psychology of Human Judgment
Strategic Reliabilism is an epistemological framework that, unlike other contemporary academic theories, is grounded in psychology and seeks to give genuine advice on how to form b... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dKtetFsoY3f85vtJi/epistemology-and-the-psychology-of-human-judgment |
# Sequence translations: Seeking feedback/collaboration
(...and also _permission_ from Eliezer, who has the right to veto this whole idea should he so desire.)
In the hope of launching a collaborative project, I've set up Wordpress sites for translations of the [Sequences](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences) i... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/o8vCJ86ExLaWjFAZf/sequence-translations-seeking-feedback-collaboration |
# Overcoming suffering: Emotional acceptance
**Follow-up to:** [Suffering as attention-allocational conflict](/lw/5r9/suffering_as_attentionallocational_conflict/).
In many cases, it may be possible to end an attention-allocational conflict by looking at the content of the conflict and resolving it. However, there ar... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tNnhxNYcXYdJYtQRh/overcoming-suffering-emotional-acceptance |
# Nature: Red, in Truth and Qualia
**Previously:** [Seeing Red: Dissolving Mary's Room and Qualia](/lw/5n9/qualia_a_new_hope/), [A Study of Scarlet: The Conscious Mental Graph
](/lw/5op/qualia_strike_back/)
When we left off, we'd introduced a hypothetical organism called Martha whose actions are directed by a mobil... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/gyz2MsHM9GKxX62hj/nature-red-in-truth-and-qualia |
# Existing Absurd Technologies
When attempting to introduce non-rationalists to the ideas of cryonics or Strong AI, it appears that their primary objections tend to be rooted in the absurdity heuristic. They don't believe they inhabit a universe where such _weird_ technologies could actually work. To deal with this, I... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WeDr3cpp8PY2P5qaz/existing-absurd-technologies |
# Defeating Mundane Holocausts With Robots
Causes of death such as malaria and hunger are certainly worth allocating resources towards preventing, for today's results-oriented philanthropist. It's almost ridiculous to realize we can put $1000 towards mosquito netting and save a human life. However, these kinds of thin... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Q7mC4k9wDwcGNYRnP/defeating-mundane-holocausts-with-robots |
# Making projects happen
Judging by the number of upvotes, Brandon Reinhart's [analysis of SIAI's financial filings](/lw/5il/siai_an_examination/) is valuable to quite a few people. Similar analysis' of Alcor and the Cryonics Institute would be quite valuable. There has been talk of more work on condensing LW content ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xdNQEXagwMTCbwwK4/making-projects-happen |
# Pluralistic Moral Reductionism
Part of the sequence: [No-Nonsense Metaethics](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/No-Nonsense_Metaethics)
> Disputes over the definition of morality... are disputes over words which raise no really significant issues. \[Of course,\] lack of clarity about the meaning of words is an importa... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3zDX3f3QTepNeZHGc/pluralistic-moral-reductionism |
# Heuristics for Deciding What to Work On
If you're like me, you have way more ideas for things to do than time, energy, and willpower to do them with. (And if you're not like me, you might very well become like me if you just kept track of all the times you or someone else said "Hey, that might be a worthwhile proje... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/youHg69dvzzWDvTuL/heuristics-for-deciding-what-to-work-on |
# The Landmark Forum — a rationalist's first impression
Last week I attended an introductory seminar to the Landmark Forum. Landmark is the modern form of [est](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhard_Seminars_Training), a seminar series started by Werner Erhard in the 1970s. Like the Less Wrong community, this is an orga... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/s4JE7cNqxqwxFmFe2/the-landmark-forum-a-rationalist-s-first-impression |
# (Philosophical) Disagreements are not Rational
This is a combination news-announcement and begging for someone with academic subscriptions to maybe jailbreak a PDF for us.
["Persistent bias in expert judgments about free will and moral responsibility: A test of the expertise defense"](http://www.sciencedirect.com/s... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nnAZBLfKBnF276cqe/philosophical-disagreements-are-not-rational |
# Brief question about Conway's Game of LIfe and AI
Conway’s Game of Life is Turing-complete. Therefore, it is possible to create an AI in it. If you created a 3^^3 by 3^^3 Life board, setting the initial state at random, presumably somewhere an AI would be created. Would this AI somehow take over the whole game board... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dg8gfsiCNWanFRDm9/brief-question-about-conway-s-game-of-life-and-ai |
# Action and habit
I remember a poster that hung on the wall of my seventh grade classroom. It went like this:
> Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
> Watch your words, for they become actions.
> Watch your actions, for they become habits.
> Watch your habits, for they become your character.
> Watch y... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XNhfw5Bqsi4SGNNBk/action-and-habit |
# Should a rationalist be concerned about habitat loss/biodiversity loss?
It's an interesting question that I'm pondering.
Now, while I do question the intellectual honesty of this blog, I'll link to it anyways, since the evidence does seem interesting, at the very least: [http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/01/04/where-... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fbwGJ789eZtLifc84/should-a-rationalist-be-concerned-about-habitat-loss |
# Meanings of Mathematical Truths
_Related Sequence posts:_ _[Math is Subjunctively Objective](/lw/si/math_is_subjunctively_objective/)_, _[How to Convince Me That 2+2=3](/lw/jr/how_to_convince_me_that_2_2_3/)_
Discussions whether mathematical theorems can be possibly disproved by observations have been relatively fr... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2pNMrzcGyW7Hgk4QC/meanings-of-mathematical-truths |
# [prize] Spaced Repetition literature review
**EDIT:** I am canceling this contest because I feel that the structure of the incentives were poorly thought out (see gwern's comments). I will be posting a new better structured contest in the near future (now [posted](/r/discussion/lw/69p/prize_new_spaced_repetition_lit... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5rp6TaLYWqJKjXcMG/prize-spaced-repetition-literature-review |
# St. Petersburg Mugging Implies You Have Bounded Utility
This post describes an infinite gamble that, under some reasonable assumptions, will motivate people who act to maximize an unbounded utility function to send me all their money. In other words, if you understand this post and it doesn't motivate you to send me... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qv2PZGJ5c5smgi563/st-petersburg-mugging-implies-you-have-bounded-utility |
# The Four-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss - any LWers tried it?
I've just read the Four-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss. It seems on the face of it like _ridiculously_ valuable material, if true - like what the completed version of Michael Vassar's proposed reboot of dietary science would look like at the finish point if ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5JwjSvfKspRRAi5n7/the-four-hour-body-by-timothy-ferriss-any-lwers-tried-it |
# Safety Culture and the Marginal Effect of a Dollar
We spent an evening at last week's Rationality Minicamp brainstorming strategies for reducing existential risk from Unfriendly AI, and for estimating their marginal benefit-per-dollar. To summarize the issue briefly, there is a lot of research into artificial genera... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/oJx2Qguf8EasLSet2/safety-culture-and-the-marginal-effect-of-a-dollar |
# Memory, Spaced Repetition and Life
I have made the case that with the advent of the internet went the need to memorize anything. Why worry about memorizing when I'll never be tested for a grade and can access knowledge nearly instantaneously? As well, I reasoned, I have probably already memorized everything I need t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3r4GETDPMf335HfpA/memory-spaced-repetition-and-life |
# Help: Writing Marvin Minsky
I want to raise awareness of risks from AI and the challenges to mitigate those risks by writing experts and asking them questions. The e-Mail below is a template. Please help me improve it and to **devise more or better questions**.
* * *
Dear Mr Minsky,
I am currently trying to learn... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sEFNQf52L87PdpQNG/help-writing-marvin-minsky |
# Scientific misconduct misdiagnosed because of scientific misconduct
Please remember to have [no heroes or villains](/lw/31i/have_no_heroes_and_no_villains/), but this just looks plain bad to be honest. I'm lowering my estimation of the quality of Stephen J. Gould's work in this area.
[USA today:](http://content.usa... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/iMaL9hXWPGxtAxBSm/scientific-misconduct-misdiagnosed-because-of-scientific |
# A Philosophical Treatise of Universal Induction (Link)
> **Abstract:** Understanding inductive reasoning is a problem that has engaged mankind for thousands of years. This problem is relevant to a wide range of fields and is integral to the philosophy of science. It has been tackled by many great minds ranging from ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HXZ2gJHCYWERTLWWS/a-philosophical-treatise-of-universal-induction-link |
# Q&A with Stan Franklin on risks from AI
**\[[Click here to see a list of all interviews](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Interview_series_on_risks_from_AI)\]**
I am emailing experts in order to raise and estimate the academic awareness and perception of risks from AI.
[Stan Franklin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jq9YjfZ7oq8ZzDy9i/q-and-a-with-stan-franklin-on-risks-from-ai |
# Unconditionally Convergent Expected Utility
Expected utility can be expressed as the sum ΣP(X~n~)U(X~n~). Suppose P(X~n~) = 2^-n^, and U(X~n~) = (-2)^n^/n. Then expected utility = Σ2^-n^(-2)^n^/n = Σ(-1)^n^/n = -1+1/2-1/3+1/4-... = -ln(2). Except there's no obvious order to add it. You could just as well say it's -1... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/i5N5Pi5y9srv9D7wG/unconditionally-convergent-expected-utility |
# Not for the Sake of Pleasure Alone
Related: [Not for the Sake of Happiness (Alone)](/lw/lb/not_for_the_sake_of_happiness_alone/), [Value is Fragile](/lw/y3/value_is_fragile/), [Fake Fake Utility Functions](/lw/lp/fake_fake_utility_functions/), [You cannot be mistaken about (not) wanting to wirehead](/lw/1oc/you_cann... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/87mdaCvCyo5bkk8hE/not-for-the-sake-of-pleasure-alone |
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