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# Stupid Questions May 2015
This thread is for asking any questions that might seem obvious, tangential, silly or what-have-you. Don't be shy, everyone has holes in their knowledge, though the fewer and the smaller we can make them, the better.
Please be respectful of other people's admitting ignorance and don't mock... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nTbcxTWFr45hDYMAj/stupid-questions-may-2015 |
# The Stamp Collector
_I'm writing a series of posts about replacing guilt motivation over on [MindingOurWay](http://mindingourway.com/replacing-guilt/), and I plan to post the meatier / more substantive posts in that series to LessWrong. This one is an allegory designed to remind people that they are allowed to care ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/AxTJuFSPdfhACJCea/the-stamp-collector |
# You're allowed to fight for something
The first sort of guilt I want to address is the listless guilt, that vague feeling one gets after playing video games for twelve hours straight, a guilty feeling that you should be doing something else. Many people in my local friend group don't suffer from the listless guilt, ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/8uk5bmmpJaSAgnZfg/you-re-allowed-to-fight-for-something |
# Calling all Nigerian rationalists and effective altruists
I'm in Lagos, Nigeria till the end of May and I'd like to hold a LessWrong/EA meetup while I'm here. If you'll ever be in the country in the future (or in the subcontinent), please get in touch so we can coordinate a meetup. I'd also appreciate being put in c... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/RHRimTwaypht6BNu8/calling-all-nigerian-rationalists-and-effective-altruists |
# Is Scott Alexander bad at math?
_This post is a third installment to the sequence that I started with [The Truth About Mathematical Ability](/lw/lpf/the_truth_about_mathematical_ability/) and [Innate Mathematical Ability](/lw/lq3/innate_mathematical_ability/). I begin to discuss the role of aesthetics in math. _
_T... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7DQ2WxKLnYJ69aAZs/is-scott-alexander-bad-at-math |
# Saying "Everyone Is Biased" May Create Bias
It looks like telling people "everyone is biased" might make people [not want to change their behavior to overcome their biases](http://digest.bps.org.uk/2015/04/why-message-that-were-all-prone-to.html):
> In initial experiments, participants were simply asked to rate a p... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QHjcJhnZvwX5dgrve/saying-everyone-is-biased-may-create-bias |
# Guidelines for Upvoting and Downvoting?
I've only recently joined the LessWrong community, and I've been having a blast reading through posts and making the occasional comment. So far, I've received a few karma points, and I’m pretty sure I’m more proud of them than of all the work I did in high school put together... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xJr3Byvp4TeRp4csv/guidelines-for-upvoting-and-downvoting |
# The File Drawer Effect and Conformity Bias (Election Edition)
As many of you may be aware, the UK general election took place yesterday, resulting in a surprising victory for the Conservative Party. The pre-election [opinion polls](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election,_2015#Opinion_polling) p... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/eob6PpsNLn555WiFE/the-file-drawer-effect-and-conformity-bias-election-edition |
# Concept Safety: World-models as tools
**The AI in the quantum box**
In the [previous post](/lw/m2v/concept_safety_what_are_concepts_for_and_how_to/), I discussed the example of an AI whose concept space and goals were defined in terms of classical physics, which then learned about quantum mechanics. Let's elaborate... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7stSSmkSjWZx76Mgz/concept-safety-world-models-as-tools |
# Caring about something larger than yourself
In my [last post](http://mindingourway.com/youre-allowed-to-fight-for-something/), I said that in order to address the listless guilt, step zero is believing that you can care about something, and step one is finding something to care about. This post is about step one.
T... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Ag9yqE8WkLsCceaJS/caring-about-something-larger-than-yourself |
# Optimal and Causal Counterfactual Worlds
Let $L$ denote the language of Peano arithmetic. A (counterfactual) world $W$ is any subset of $L$. These worlds need not be consistent. Let $\mathcal{W}$ denote the set of all worlds. The actual world $W_\mathbb{N}\in\mathcal{W}$ is the world consisting of all sentences that... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5bd75cc58225bf0670374f4e/optimal-and-causal-counterfactual-worlds |
# Thoughts on minimizing designer baby drama
I previously wrote a [post](/lw/fnt/factions_inequality_and_social_justice/) hypothesizing that inter-group conflict is more common when most humans belong to readily identifiable, discrete factions.
This seems relevant to the [recent human gene editing advance](http://www... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/McNBQ2YNXYsyi7xgz/thoughts-on-minimizing-designer-baby-drama |
# Wild Moral Dilemmas
_\[CW: This post talks about personal experience of moral dilemmas. I can see how some people might be distressed by thinking about this.\]_
Have you ever had to decide between pushing a fat person onto some train tracks or letting five other people get hit by a train? Maybe you have a more exci... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LLPFRrQn5hRGdtz5p/wild-moral-dilemmas |
# [link] Bayesian inference with probabilistic population codes
[_Bayesian inference with probabilistic population codes_ by Wei Ji Ma et al 2006](http://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/~pel/papers/ppc-06.pdf)
> Recent psychophysical experiments indicate that humans perform near-optimal Bayesian inference in a wide variety of t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fL8MN3QxsmSW3f7Cc/link-bayesian-inference-with-probabilistic-population-codes |
# You don't get to know what you're fighting for
A [number](http://mindingourway.com/on-caring/) of my [recent](http://mindingourway.com/the-value-of-a-life/) [posts](http://mindingourway.com/the-stamp-collector/) may have given you the impression that I know exactly what I'm [fighting for](http://mindingourway.com/ca... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sx9pbNtBxqooiSg6A/you-don-t-get-to-know-what-you-re-fighting-for |
# Strategies and tools for getting through a break up
**Background:**
---------------
I was very recently (3 weeks now) in a relationship that lasted for 5.5 years. My partner had been fantastic through all those years and we were suffering no conflict, no fights, no strain or tension. My partner also was prone to de... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/opLKzAFQWCco8wQiH/strategies-and-tools-for-getting-through-a-break-up |
# We Should Introduce Ourselves Differently
I told an intelligent, well-educated friend about Less Wrong, so she googled, and got "Less Wrong is an online community for people who want to _apply_ the discovery of biases like [the conjunction fallacy](http://lesswrong.com/lw/ji/conjunction_fallacy/), [the affect heuris... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/aDBZmAu42LWwyPHNW/we-should-introduce-ourselves-differently |
# The Best Popular Books on Every Subject
I enjoy reading popular-level books on a wide variety of subjects, and I love getting new book recommendations. In the spirit of lukeprog's [The Best Textbooks on Every Subject](/lw/3gu/the_best_textbooks_on_every_subject/), can we put together a list of the best popular books... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hfcbqP7RQLii8GBdg/the-best-popular-books-on-every-subject |
# Log-normal Lamentations
\[Morose. Also very roughly drafted.\]
Normally, things are distributed normally. Human talents may turn out to be one of these things. Some people are lucky enough to find themselves on the right side of these distributions – smarter than average, better at school, more conscientious, whate... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jsdkxo7DwmwizdNyW/log-normal-lamentations |
# How my social skills went from horrible to mediocre
Over the past few months, I've become aware that my understanding of social reality had been distorted to an extreme degree. It took 29 years for me to figure out what was going on, but I finally now understand.
The situation is very simple: The amount of time tha... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mwQZ6qsGXqwiZ6Zvy/how-my-social-skills-went-from-horrible-to-mediocre |
# What Would You Do If You Only Had Six Months To Live?
Recently, I've been pondering situations in which a person realizes, with (let's say) around 99% confidence, that they are going to die within a set period of time.
The reason for this could be a kind of cancer without any effective treatment, an injury of some ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pvDrPdnj8Mmh9ogfv/what-would-you-do-if-you-only-had-six-months-to-live |
# Brainstorming new senses
What new senses would you like to have available to you?
Often when new technology first becomes widely available, the initial limits are in the collective imagination, not in the technology itself (case in point: the internet). New sensory channels have a huge potential because the brain c... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hQZqgfBvs5XwGdpKk/brainstorming-new-senses |
# Leaving LessWrong for a more rational life
You are unlikely to see me posting here again, after today. There is a saying here that politics is the mind-killer. My heretical realization lately is that philosophy, as generally practiced, can also be mind-killing.
As many of you know I am, or was running a twice-month... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Ld9dFLuGg7wTh4CdX/leaving-lesswrong-for-a-more-rational-life |
# AI Researchers On AI Risk
I first became interested in AI risk back around 2007. At the time, most people’s response to the topic was “Haha, come back when anyone believes this besides random Internet crackpots.”
Over the next few years, a series of extremely bright and influential figures including [Bill Gates](ht... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sm6npdgZArSn4afeZ/ai-researchers-on-ai-risk |
# [Link] Persistence of Long-Term Memory in Vitrified and Revived C. elegans worms
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/rej.2014.1636
This is a paper published in 2014 by Natasha Vita-More and Daniel Barranco, both associated with the Alcor Research Center (ARC).
The abstract:
> Can memory be retained after... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/aNqfF84Zg2kaLkZgT/link-persistence-of-long-term-memory-in-vitrified-and |
# "Should" considered harmful
My last few posts have been aimed at addressing what I call the "listless guilt," the vague sense of guilt that stems from not doing anything in particular. I said:
> *The listless guilt is a guilt about not doing anything. To remove it, we must first turn it into a guilt about not doing... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HqQ3CpMqQyaaLLKew/should-considered-harmful |
# Ideas to Improve LessWrong
This article is something that has been in my head for a while. I hadn't planned on doing a write-up so soon. I wanted to take the time to a) refine my ideas and b) figure out how to express them clearly before posting. But the recent post [Less Wrong lacks direction](/r/discussion/lw/m8r/... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WdpKYaazbnbsF3Cww/ideas-to-improve-lesswrong |
# Update on the Brain Preservation Foundation Prize
[Brain Preservation Foundation](http://www.brainpreservation.org/) President Kenneth Hayworth just [wrote a synopsis](http://blog.brainpreservation.org/2015/05/26/may-2015-bpf-prize-update/) of the recent ongoings from the major two competitors for the BPF prizes. He... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QrbS93k63pZ6ENz6D/update-on-the-brain-preservation-foundation-prize |
# Rationality is about pattern recognition, not reasoning
**Short version **([courtesy of Nanashi](/lw/m93/rationality_is_about_pattern_recognition_not/ceox?context=1#ceox))
> Our brains' pattern recognition capabilities are far stronger than our ability to reason explicitly. Most people can recognize cats across con... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nnbrLuvui6q8jKdWm/rationality-is-about-pattern-recognition-not-reasoning |
# Six Ways To Get Along With People Who Are Totally Wrong*
This is a [re-post of something](http://effective-altruism.com/ea/fh/six_ways_to_get_along_with_people_who_are_totally/) I wrote for the Effective Altruism Forum. Though most of the ideas have been raised here before, perhaps many times, I thought it might sti... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ofZBT34ANY8uLoEKw/six-ways-to-get-along-with-people-who-are-totally-wrong |
# [Link] Small-game fallacies: a Problem for Prediction Markets
[Nick Szabo writes](http://unenumerated.blogspot.com/2015/05/small-game-fallacies.html) about the dangers of taking assumptions that are valid in small, self-contained games and applying them to larger, real-world "games," a practice he calls a _small-gam... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QNZjj9JPgNRSQfkDd/link-small-game-fallacies-a-problem-for-prediction-markets |
# Request for Advice : A.I. - can I make myself useful?
I'm a PhD student wrapping up a doctorate in Genomics. I started in biology and switched to analysis because I have stupid hands. My opinion of my field is low. Working in it has, on on the bright side, taught me some statistics and programming. I'm roughly uppe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Ms8BF8rE9rcHAFvrQ/request-for-advice-a-i-can-i-make-myself-useful |
# Approximating Solomonoff Induction
[Solomonoff Induction](/lw/dhg/an_intuitive_explanation_of_solomonoff_induction/) is a sort of mathematically ideal specification of machine learning. It works by trying every possible computer program and testing how likely they are to have produced the data. Then it weights them ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/MznxnYCtHZbtDxJuh/approximating-solomonoff-induction |
# Giving What We Can needs your help!
As you probably know, [Giving What We Can](https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/) exists to move donations to the charities that can most effectively help others. Our members take a pledge to give 10% of their incomes for the rest of their life to the most impactful charities. Along wi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/EfjDAit7gw3vhNjRn/giving-what-we-can-needs-your-help |
# Not because you "should"
A few months ago, a friend of mine was describing her motivational issues to me. As an example, she explained she was having trouble making herself clean her room, despite her dissatisfaction with the constant messiness.
I asked: "Have you considered just not forcing yourself?"
She blinked... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FPQuv8TwTLPLsrJCk/not-because-you-should |
# Learning takes a long time
I recently realized that I had greatly underestimated the inferential distance between most of my readers and myself. Thinking it over, I realize that the bulk of the difference comes from a difference in perspectives on **how long it takes to learn substantive things**.
People often tell... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CiFKhZq7A6cbBbMcj/learning-takes-a-long-time |
# Realistic epistemic expectations
When I state a position and offer evidence for it, people sometimes complain that the evidence that I've given doesn't suffice to establish my position. The situation is usually that _I'm **not** **trying** to give a rigorous argument for my position, and I don't intend to claim that... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KDDnPGZqhgFRrQJPR/realistic-epistemic-expectations |
# Roadmap: Plan of Action to Prevent Human Extinction Risks
Let’s do an experiment in "reverse crowdfunding”. I will pay 50 USD to anyone who can suggest a new way of X-risk prevention that is not already mentioned in this roadmap. Post your ideas as a comment to this post.
Should more than one person have the same i... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/YW2uTczWBPqQqCWs3/roadmap-plan-of-action-to-prevent-human-extinction-risks |
# Are consequentialism and deontology not even wrong?
I was stunned to read the accounts quoted below. They're claiming that the notion of morality - in the sense of there being a special category of things that you should or should not do for the sake of the things themselves being inherently right or wrong - might ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rWWvdo5KmMyzP8Rwp/are-consequentialism-and-deontology-not-even-wrong |
# Measuring open-mindedness
Recently we have opened an [experimental website](http://www.omnilibrium.com/) for [Rational Discussion of Politics](/lw/m3s/rational_discussion_of_politics/ "Rational Discussion of Politics"). A special feature of the new website is an automated recommendation system which studies user pre... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vunSQJt2abzBFtTCc/measuring-open-mindedness |
# Confession Thread: Mistakes as an aspiring rationalist
We looked at the cloudy night sky and thought it would be interesting to share the ways in which, in the past, we made mistakes we would have been able to overcome, if only we had been stronger as rationalists. The experience felt valuable and humbling. So why n... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cfQGNDnkax7o5Mqao/confession-thread-mistakes-as-an-aspiring-rationalist |
# A Proposal for Defeating Moloch in the Prison Industrial Complex
Summary
-------
I'd like to increasing the well-being of those in the justice system while simultaneously reducing crime. I'm missing something here but I'm not sure what. I'm thinking this may be a worse idea than I originally thought based on commen... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/juxBoJWrwM7wP7qAb/a-proposal-for-defeating-moloch-in-the-prison-industrial |
# Social class amongst the intellectually gifted
Something that I've come to realize is that as a practical matter, _intellectually gifted people who haven't developed very strong ability in a quantitative subject tend to be at a major disadvantage relative to those who have_. The quantitative subjects that I have in ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZKaTiEfThPEGuKRf3/social-class-amongst-the-intellectually-gifted |
# …And I Show You How Deep The Rabbit Hole Goes
.
Seen [on Tumblr](http://chroniclesofrettek.tumblr.com/post/118057128657/wrapscallion-mitoticcephalopod-britney), along with associated discussion:
**Yellow:**
People’s minds are heartbreaking. Not because people... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wJnm5cBiZGmKn595f/and-i-show-you-how-deep-the-rabbit-hole-goes |
# FAI Research Constraints and AGI Side Effects
**Ozzie Gooen and Justin Shovelain**
Summary
-------
Friendly artificial intelligence (FAI) researchers have at least two significant challenges. First, they must produce a significant amount of FAI research in a short amount of time. Second, they must do so without pr... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BfKQGYJBwdHfik4Kd/fai-research-constraints-and-agi-side-effects |
# Perceptual Entropy and Frozen Estimates
A Preface
---------
During the 1990’s, a significant stream of research existed around how people process information, which combined very different streams in psychology and related areas with explicit predictive models about how actual cognitive processes differ from the th... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uEukcuvnW8s6Kvh4Y/perceptual-entropy-and-frozen-estimates |
# Simultaneous Overconfidence and Underconfidence
_Follow-up to [this](http://lo-tho.blogspot.com/2015/03/good-bias-bad-bias.html) and [this](http://lo-tho.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-paper-on-bias.html) on my personal blog. Prep for [this](/lw/m9u/meetup_west_la_wait_a_minute_just_what_is_bias/) meetup. Cross-posted [on m... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/J4XCfznZwmXG7dCKG/simultaneous-overconfidence-and-underconfidence |
# Taking the reins at MIRI
Hi all. In a few hours I'll be taking over as executive director at MIRI. The LessWrong community has played a key role in MIRI's history, and I hope to retain and build your support as (with more and more people joining the global conversation about long-term AI risks & benefits) MIRI moves... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KYdtcz6N8qRDzwwKN/taking-the-reins-at-miri |
# Against Tulip Subsidies
**I.**
Imagine a little kingdom with a quaint custom: when a man likes a woman, he offers her a tulip; if she accepts, they are married shortly thereafter. A couple who marries sans tulip is considered to be living in sin; no other form of proposal is appropriate or accepted.
One day, a Dut... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Fafzj3wMvoCW4WjeF/against-tulip-subsidies |
# Agency is bugs and uncertainty
(_Epistemic status: often discussed in bits in pieces, haven't seen it summarized in one place anywhere._)
Do you feel that your computer sometimes has a mind of its own? "I have no idea why it is doing that!" Do you feel that, the more you understand and predict someone's action, the... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NptifNqFw4wT4MuY8/agency-is-bugs-and-uncertainty |
# [link] Baidu cheats in an AI contest in order to gain a 0.24% advantage
Some of you may already have seen this story, since it's several days old, but MIT Technology Review seems to have the best explanation of what happened: [Why and How Baidu Cheated an Artificial Intelligence Test](http://www.technologyreview.com... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SYaYvGAM7JpDTpzp8/link-baidu-cheats-in-an-ai-contest-in-order-to-gain-a-0-24 |
# Your "shoulds" are not a duty
I have a friend who, after reading my last two posts, still struggled to give up her shoulds. She protested that, if she stopped doing things because she should, then she might do the wrong thing. I see this frequently, even among people who claim to be moral relativists: they protest t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jvByGYcBzfYB78sYL/your-shoulds-are-not-a-duty |
# Conceptual Specialization of Labor Enables Precision
[Specialization of labor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_labour) is one of the primary reasons why the modern world is as wealthy as it is. Conceptual labor is a special case of this general trend; one of the primary reasons why we seem much more knowled... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/YwXHExuziuFWGX3tQ/conceptual-specialization-of-labor-enables-precision |
# Lesswrong, Effective Altruism Forum and Slate Star Codex: Harm Reduction
_Cross Posted at the EA Forum_
At Event Horizon (a Rationalist/Effective Altruist house in Berkeley) my roommates yesterday were worried about Slate Star Codex. Their worries also apply to the Effective Altruism Forum, so I'll extend them.
*... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FjLP3Se5MPNzg2y42/lesswrong-effective-altruism-forum-and-slate-star-codex-harm |
# Optimizing the Twelve Virtues of Rationality
At the Less Wrong Meetup in Columbus, OH over the last couple of months, we discussed optimizing the [Twelve Virtues of Rationality](http://www.yudkowsky.net/rational/virtues/). In doing so, we were inspired by what Eliezer himself said in the essay:
* Perhaps your con... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/42yPu6dfTh8xaqCTT/optimizing-the-twelve-virtues-of-rationality |
# How much do we know about creativity?
A lot of Less Wrong frames becoming more rational in terms of correcting biases. When [Scott Alexander](http://www.slatestarcodex.com) is asked how he does it, he doesn't seem to actually have an answer-- if I recall correctly, he's just said that all he's got in his life is his... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FRCyjbfEE5qcKny7w/how-much-do-we-know-about-creativity |
# The Joy of Bias
What do you feel when you discover that your reasoning is flawed? when you find your recurring mistakes? when you find that you have been doing something wrong for quite a long time?
Many people feel bad. For example, here is a quote from a recent [article](/lw/mau/optimizing_the_twelve_virtues_of_r... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KTPF85QEtoSebhB2d/the-joy-of-bias |
# When does heritable low fitness need to be explained?
_Epistemic status: speculating about things I'm not familiar with; hoping to be educated in the comments. This post is a question, not an answer._
ETA: [this comment thread](/r/all/lw/mbl/when_does_heritable_low_fitness_need_to_be/cgpx) seems to be leading towar... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ijgMqLR8DYSPuFqrb/when-does-heritable-low-fitness-need-to-be-explained |
# Short Story: Quarantine
_June 2nd, 42 After Fall_
_Somewhere in the Colorado Mountains_
They first caught sight of the man walking a few miles from the compound. At least it looked like a man. Faded jeans, white t-shirt, light jacket, rucksack. White skin, light brown hair. No obvious disabilities. No logos.
The... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zmFuGL8qJ2rsT6YKY/short-story-quarantine |
# [Link] Nate Soares is answering questions about MIRI at the EA Forum
Nate Soares, MIRI's new Executive Director, is going to be [answering questions tomorrow at the EA Forum (link)](http://effective-altruism.com/ea/ju/i_am_nate_soares_ama/). You can post your questions there now; he'll start replying Thursday, 15:00... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9yK2iPYE9g6cGhsin/link-nate-soares-is-answering-questions-about-miri-at-the-ea |
# A survey of the top posters on lesswrong
In a post recently someone mentioned that there was a list of "Top 15" posters by karma. That inspired me to send all of them this note:
> Hi,
>
> I am messaging you (now) because you are one of the 15 top contributors of the past 30 days of LW.
>
> I was wondering if you... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PcJbrbbfT6XausWkm/a-survey-of-the-top-posters-on-lesswrong |
# Philosophical differences
\[Many people have been complaining about the lack of new content on LessWrong lately, so I thought I'd [cross-post](http://thepenforests.com/2015/06/12/philosophical-differences/) my latest blog post here in discussion. Feel free to critique the content as much as you like, but please do k... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/T4ufaL7bwjPHt4fQi/philosophical-differences |
# Epistemic Trust: Clarification
### _Cross-posted to [my blog](http://lo-tho.blogspot.com/2015/06/epistemic-trust-clarification.html)._
A while ago, I wrote about [epistemic trust](http://lo-tho.blogspot.com/2014/12/epistemic-trust.html). The thrust of my argument was that rational argument is often more a functi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/iCh7xpF8pcepDdXTK/epistemic-trust-clarification |
# [Link] Word-vector based DL system achieves human parity in verbal IQ tests
A research team in China has [created a system](http://arxiv.org/abs/1505.07909) for answering verbal analogy questions of the type found on the GRE and IQ tests that scores a little above the average human score, perhaps corresponding to an... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bAAJLiGDfM4K9Ecny/link-word-vector-based-dl-system-achieves-human-parity-in |
# Surprising examples of non-human optimization
I am very much interested in examples of non-human optimization processes producing working, but surprising solutions. What is most fascinating is how they show human approach is often not the only one and much more alien solutions can be found, which humans are just not... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZnNM34vqXp4HKcXfG/surprising-examples-of-non-human-optimization |
# European Community Weekend 2015 Impressions Thread
The [European Community Weekend in Berlin](/lw/l4s/european_community_weekend_2015/) is over and was plain awesome.
This is no complete report of the event but a place where you can e.g. comment on the event, link to photos or what else you want to share.
I'm not ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/T6Ya8K9kahP2SbRQz/european-community-weekend-2015-impressions-thread |
# Associated vs Relevant
_Also cross-posted to [my blog](http://lo-tho.blogspot.com/2015/06/associated-vs-relevant.html)._
The [List of Nuances](http://lesswrong.com/lw/l7w/a_list_of_nuances/) (which is actually more of a list of fine distinctions - a fine distinction which only occurred to its authors after the writ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/W9n2kyAn2YfyzPYT2/associated-vs-relevant |
# Alien neuropunk slaver civilizations
Here's some blue-sky speculation about one way alien sapients' civilizations might develop differently from our own. Alternatively, you can consider it conworlding. Content note: torture, slavery.
Looking at human history, after we developed electronics, we painstakingly con... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hAowq7YMBhFZusw4A/alien-neuropunk-slaver-civilizations |
# Accomplishing things takes a long time
At age 17, my future looked very promising. I had overcome a crippling learning disability, and discovered how to do research level math on my own. I knew that the entire K-12 infrastructure had failed to figure out how to teach the skills that I developed, and so I felt empowe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/saCaKDH3k5CRKAgyF/accomplishing-things-takes-a-long-time |
# Pattern-botching: when you forget you understand
It’s all too easy to let a false understanding of something replace your actual understanding. Sometimes this is an oversimplification, but it can also take the form of an over_complication_. I have an illuminating story:
Years ago, when I was young and foolish, I fo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3KKcvDQbcjWyoBWWY/pattern-botching-when-you-forget-you-understand |
# Autism, or early isolation?
I've often heard LWers describe themselves as having autism, or Asperger's Syndrome (which is no longer considered a valid construct, and was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders two years ago.) This is given as an explanation for various forms of social ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vvMqvH8oDq82BwPsN/autism-or-early-isolation |
# Intrinsic motivation is crucial for overcoming akrasia
**tl;dr:** If you struggle with motivational problems, it's likely that the problem is not intrinsic to you, but instead that you haven't yet found work that you find very interesting.
How I discovered how to do great work
------------------------------------... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rbXoZFWdwaP4pW9hu/intrinsic-motivation-is-crucial-for-overcoming-akrasia |
# Rationality Reading Group: Part C: Noticing Confusion
_This is part of a semi-monthly reading group on __Eliezer Yudkowsky's ebook, [Rationality: From AI to Zombies](https://intelligence.org/rationality-ai-zombies/). For more information about the group, see the [announcement post](/lw/lx0/rationality_from_ai_to_zom... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KN2N5dixGfQCKnZ9o/rationality-reading-group-part-c-noticing-confusion |
# In praise of gullibility?
I was recently re-reading a piece by Yvain/Scott Alexander called [Epistemic Learned Helplessness](http://squid314.livejournal.com/350090.html). It's a very insightful post, as is typical for Scott, and I recommend giving it a read if you haven't already. In it he writes:
> When I was youn... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mGmxLbjg2PkSEgTrZ/in-praise-of-gullibility |
# Working yourself ragged is not a virtue
Let's get back to the "replacing guilt" series. Here's a quick recap of what we've covered so far:
Part 1 was about replacing the listless guilt: if someone feels vaguely guilty for not really doing anything with their life, then the best advice I can give is to start doing s... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/grfDjRpWr2xjtLBvi/working-yourself-ragged-is-not-a-virtue |
# Seeking geeks interested in bioinformatics
I work at a small but feisty research team whose focus is biomedical informatics, i.e. mining biomedical data. Especially anonymized hospital records pooled over multiple healthcare networks. My personal interest is ultimately life-extension, and my colleagues are warming u... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DALjZfQxdakX94ZuE/seeking-geeks-interested-in-bioinformatics |
# Two Zendo-inspired games
LW [has](/lw/3lg/zendolike_induction_game_for_playing_online/) [often](/lw/ilw/games_for_rationalists/9qnq) [discussed](/lw/q9/the_failures_of_eld_science/jyf) the inductive logic game [Zendo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zendo_(game)), as a possible way of training rationality. But I could... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FKECPedSCKvtt7Tpt/two-zendo-inspired-games |
# The Brain as a Universal Learning Machine
This article presents an emerging architectural hypothesis of the brain as a biological implementation of a _Universal Learning Machine_. I present a rough but complete architectural view of how the brain works under the universal learning hypothesis. I also contrast this ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9Yc7Pp7szcjPgPsjf/the-brain-as-a-universal-learning-machine |
# [link] Choose your (preference) utilitarianism carefully – part 1
> Summary: Utilitarianism is often ill-defined by supporters and critics alike, preference utilitarianism even more so. I briefly examine some of the axes of utilitarianism common to all popular forms, then look at some axes unique but essential to pr... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FHz3p9kDzcxeRktqm/link-choose-your-preference-utilitarianism-carefully-part-1 |
# Can You Give Support or Feedback for My Program to Alleviate Poverty?
Hi LessWrong,
Two years ago, when I travelled to Belize, I came up with an idea for a self-sufficient scalable program to address poverty. I saw how many people in Belize were unemployed or getting paid very low wages, but I also saw how skilled ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9RP3ZXdqjuDXmipSR/can-you-give-support-or-feedback-for-my-program-to-alleviate |
# [link] Essay on AI Safety
I recently wrote an essay about AI risk, targeted at other academics:
[Long-Term and Short-Term Challenges to Ensuring the Safety of AI Systems](https://jsteinhardt.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/long-term-and-short-term-challenges-to-ensuring-the-safety-of-ai-systems/)
I think it might be inte... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uaWGWauciLxZKxbgK/link-essay-on-ai-safety |
# Beyond Statistics 101
Is statistics beyond introductory statistics important for general reasoning?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ideas such as [regression to the mean](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regression_toward_the_mean), that [correlation does not imply causatio... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Tpq359uaCyTgxb8ee/beyond-statistics-101 |
# Rest in motion
Many people seem to think the 'good' state of being, the 'ground' state, is a relaxed state, a state with lots of rest and very little action. Because they think the ground state is the relaxed state, they act like maintaining any other state requires effort, requires suffering.
This is a failure mod... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Kdgpm7t9gZvWncZqa/rest-in-motion |
# Two-boxing, smoking and chewing gum in Medical Newcomb problems
I am currently learning about the basics of decision theory, most of which is common knowledge on LW. I have a question, related to why EDT is said not to work.
Consider the following Newcomblike problem: A study shows that most people who two-box in N... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wWnN3y5GmqLLCJFAz/two-boxing-smoking-and-chewing-gum-in-medical-newcomb |
# Parenting Technique: Increase Your Child’s Working Memory
I continually train my [ten-year-old son’s](/user/Alex_Miller/overview/) working memory, and urge parents of other young children to do likewise. While I have succeeded in at least temporarily improving his working memory, I accept that this change might not... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Gwjd8qcuRrPzEcMyg/parenting-technique-increase-your-child-s-working-memory |
# Top 9+2 myths about AI risk
Following some somewhat misleading articles quoting me, I thought I**’**d present the top 9 myths about the AI risk thesis:
1. **That we’re certain AI will doom us**. Certainly not. It’s very hard to be certain of anything involving a technology that doesn’t exist; we’re just claiming t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wiwpmtyiKr6bPnSai/top-9-2-myths-about-ai-risk |
# The Thing and the Symbolic Representation of The Thing
Let’s assume there is a thing that all would agree is, in context, a Good Thing(tm) that someone in your situation would want.
Do you want the thing, or do you want the symbolic representation of the thing?*
This sounds like an easy question; obviously you wan... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZLB8cDM8DxwfxJSLc/the-thing-and-the-symbolic-representation-of-the-thing |
# Solving sleep: just a toe-dipping
\[For the past few months I’ve been undertaking a mostly independent study of sleep, and looking to build a coherent model of what sleep does and find ways to optimize it. I’d like to write a series of posts outlining my findings and hypotheses. I’m not sure if this is the best venu... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sCauZw5mmBhGBRe3f/solving-sleep-just-a-toe-dipping |
# [link] FLI's recommended project grants for AI safety research announced
http://futureoflife.org/misc/2015awardees
You may recognize several familiar names there, such as Paul Christiano, Benja Fallenstein, Katja Grace, Nick Bostrom, Anna Salamon, Jacob Steinhardt, Stuart Russell... and me. (the $20,000 for my proj... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ThpEr46AHgXGz2dSx/link-fli-s-recommended-project-grants-for-ai-safety-research |
# Analogical Reasoning and Creativity
This article explores analogism and creativity, starting with a detailed investigation into IQ-test style analogy problems and how both the brain and some new artificial neural networks solve them. Next we analyze concept map formation in the cortex and the role of the hippocampa... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vDD2Y6NTvDLDwrbp9/analogical-reasoning-and-creativity |
# Rationality Reading Group: Part D: Mysterious Answers
_This is part of a semi-monthly reading group on __Eliezer Yudkowsky's ebook, [Rationality: From AI to Zombies](https://intelligence.org/rationality-ai-zombies/). For more information about the group, see the [announcement post](/lw/lx0/rationality_from_ai_to_zom... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BJegK9jqe53ntAhrj/rationality-reading-group-part-d-mysterious-answers |
# Harper’s Fishing Nets: a review of Plato’s Camera by Paul Churchland
Harper’s Fishing Nets: a review of Plato’s Camera by Paul Churchland
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Eli Sennesh
July 1, 2015
### Abstract
Paul Churchland published Plato’s Camera to defend the thesis th... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rmhRPCnD6RkexGwkh/harper-s-fishing-nets-a-review-of-plato-s-camera-by-paul |
# A Roadmap: How to Survive the End of the Universe
In a sense, this plan needs to be perceived with irony because it is almost irrelevant: we have very small chances of surviving even next 1000 years and if we do, we have a lot of things to do before it becomes reality. And even afterwards, our successors will have c... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/L3dsN8Tr75exEK7Mz/a-roadmap-how-to-survive-the-end-of-the-universe |
# The Unfriendly Superintelligence next door
Markets are powerful decentralized optimization engines - it is known. Liberals see the free market as a kind of optimizer run amuck, a dangerous superintelligence with simple non-human values that must be checked and constrained by the government - the friendly SI. Conse... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/a7pjErKGYHh7E9he8/the-unfriendly-superintelligence-next-door |
# MIRI needs an Office Manager (aka Force Multiplier)
_(Cross-posted from MIRI's [blog](https://intelligence.org/2015/07/01/wanted-office-manager/).)_
MIRI's looking for a full-time office manager to support our growing [team](https://intelligence.org/team/). It’s a big job that requires organization, initiative, tec... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mR7e54dQtyncDtoNC/miri-needs-an-office-manager-aka-force-multiplier |
# A Federal Judge on Biases in the Criminal Justice System.
A well-known American federal appellate judge, Alex Kozinski, has written a [commentary](http://georgetownlawjournal.org/files/2015/06/Kozinski_Preface.pdf) on systemic biases and institutional myths in the criminal justice system.
The basic thrust of his cr... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ayojmJGzZyBKAHPic/a-federal-judge-on-biases-in-the-criminal-justice-system |
# The Pre-Historical Fallacy
One fallacy that I see frequently in works of popular science -- and also here on LessWrong -- is the belief that we have strong evidence of the way things were in pre-history, particularly when one is giving evidence that we can explain various aspects of our culture, psychology, or perso... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xPuMrMnz5EbQDKq2k/the-pre-historical-fallacy |
# A Year of Spaced Repetition Software in the Classroom
Last year, I asked LW for some advice about [spaced repetition](http://www.gwern.net/Spaced%20repetition) software (SRS) that might be useful to me as a high school teacher. With said advice came a request to write a follow-up after I had accumulated some experie... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Ww2dxwWpSfkQB4NZb/a-year-of-spaced-repetition-software-in-the-classroom |
# Shifting guilt
The posts so far have been less about confronting guilt, and more about different tools for shifting it. This is a valuable skill to generalize.
The posts in this series have developed three such tools for shifting guilt. In this post, I'll recast those three tools as members of the same family, so t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CAWHpzaZGJZMhK6pb/shifting-guilt |
# There is no such thing as strength: a parody
The concept of strength is ubiquitous in our culture. It is commonplace to hear one person described as "stronger" or "weaker" than another. And yet the notion of strength is a a pernicious myth which reinforces many our social ills and should be abandoned wholesale.
1\... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GdRzAtGpm6m36KpL3/there-is-no-such-thing-as-strength-a-parody |
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