text stringlengths 300 320k | source stringlengths 52 154 |
|---|---|
# Preference For (Many) Future Worlds
Followup to: [Quantum Russian Roulette](/lw/188/quantum_russian_roulette); [The Domain of Your Utility Function](/lw/116/the_domain_of_your_utility_function)
_The only way to win is cheat_
_And lay it down before I'm beat_
_and to another give my seat_
_for that's the only ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/THqKvrCiBAMyjukSx/preference-for-many-future-worlds |
# The limits of introspection
**Related to:** [Inferring Our Desires](/lw/5sk/inferring_our_desires/)
The last post in this series suggested that we make up goals and preference for other people as we go along, but ended with the suggestion that we do the same for ourselves. This deserves some evidence.
One of t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/K2JBqDeETX2yEgyyZ/the-limits-of-introspection |
# Experiment: Psychoanalyze Me
From Yvain's [latest post](/lw/6p6/the_limits_of_introspection/):
> These studies suggest that people do not have introspective awareness to the processes that generate their behavior. They guess their preferences, justifications, and beliefs by inferring the most plausible rationale fo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JrRDfoNffW6QqFnac/experiment-psychoanalyze-me |
# Ego syntonic thoughts and values
**Related to:** [Will your real preferences please stand up?](/lw/15c/would_your_real_preferences_please_stand_up)
Last week I read a book in which two friends - let's call them John and Lisa so I don't spoil the book for anyone who wanders into it - got poisoned. They only had enou... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ibk7q8msSYxZXmfCf/ego-syntonic-thoughts-and-values |
# Approving reinforces low-effort behaviors
In addition to "liking" to describe pleasure and "wanting" to describe motivation, we add "approving" to describe thoughts that are ego syntonic.
A heroin addict likes heroin. He certainly wants more heroin. But he may not approve of taking heroin. In fact, there are en... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/yDRX2fdkm3HqfTpav/approving-reinforces-low-effort-behaviors |
# Recent Less Wrong downtime
Many users may have noticed that Less Wrong experienced about 6 hours of downtime on 16/7/2011.
**CAUSE:** The server was put under an unusual amount of load and started up a new instance to load-balance the traffic. Unfortunately, there was a bug in the script that starts the new instan... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/huwn5ojaHDJ2t8fFz/recent-less-wrong-downtime |
# Illustrator needed: Intuitive Bayes 2.0
A huge revision of _The Intuitive Explanation of Bayesian Reasoning_ is in progress, aimed at being considerably more accessible and hence with a lot more graphics. I need someone who can turn out versions of the illustrations that are technically accurate enough to try on be... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QQwZYxCoNWAs9GiQW/illustrator-needed-intuitive-bayes-2-0 |
# Connectionism: Modeling the mind with neural networks
For about a century, people have known that the brain is made up of neurons which connect to each another and perform computations through electrochemical transmission. For about half a century, people have known enough about computers to realize that the brain d... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dymK5c7BkpgXH4acw/connectionism-modeling-the-mind-with-neural-networks |
# GiveWell interview with major SIAI donor Jaan Tallinn
GiveWell recently release notes from their interview with Jaan Tallinn, Skype co-founder and a major SIAI donor, about SIAI ([link](http://groups.yahoo.com/group/givewell/message/287)). Holden Karnofsky says
> \[M\]y key high-level takeaways are that
>
> 1. I... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GfTMxwd9L2mkahmq2/givewell-interview-with-major-siai-donor-jaan-tallinn |
# LW systemic bias: US centrism
Recently, I have noticed a cultural bias for the United States running through LW threads. It is perhaps to be expected of an English-language website, but for one that is about, among other things, overcoming bias, it is important to recognize one's own.
Aspects of the bias I have ob... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nAGXkXrNYHEcP3BAT/lw-systemic-bias-us-centrism |
# [SEQ RERUN] Update Yourself Incrementally
Title: \[SEQ RERUN\] Update Yourself Incrementally Tags: sequence_reruns Today's post, [Update Yourself Incrementally](/lw/ij/update_yourself_incrementally/) was originally published on 14 August 2007. A summary (taken from the [LW wiki](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_W... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rYJ2QAypoQohxoXuA/seq-rerun-update-yourself-incrementally |
# Secrets of the eliminati
Anyone who does not believe mental states are ontologically fundamental - ie anyone who denies the reality of something like a soul - has two choices about where to go next. They can try reducing mental states to smaller components, or they can stop talking about them entirely.
In a uti... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WQWhXzALcrzrJtqRh/secrets-of-the-eliminati |
# Tendencies in reflective equilibrium
Consider a case, not too different from what has been shown to happen in reality, where we ask Bob what sounds like a fair punishment for a homeless man who steals $1,000, and he answers ten years. Suppose we wait until Bob has forgotten that we ever asked the first question, and... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3wBj8BPquskZAbXu9/tendencies-in-reflective-equilibrium |
# Dungeons and Discourse implementation
I've been working on an unauthorized implementation of Dresden Codak's [Dungeons and Discourse](http://dresdencodak.com/2006/12/03/dungeons-and-discourse/), a fictional role-playing game that combines philosophy and high fantasy. You can find a very error-ridden, but possibly us... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3Jqz6JE8K6vyQ9hJ5/dungeons-and-discourse-implementation |
# What if sympathy depends on anthropomorphizing?
steven0461 ([comment](/lw/6op/preference_for_many_future_worlds/4iv2) under "Preference For (Many) Future Worlds"):
> In what sense would I want to _translate_ these preferences? Why wouldn't I just discard the preferences, and use the mind that came up with them to g... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/w9RiY8uQNXScf3fuL/what-if-sympathy-depends-on-anthropomorphizing |
# Developing Empathy
Empathy is a huge life skill, useful in almost every interaction with other people. But, many people aren't able to empathize with others as effectively as they might want to. The standard technique is "put yourself in their shoes," which works for me. However, this doesn't always work with peo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/R6mJejvcCLjBjXCKb/developing-empathy |
# Help me transition to human society!
I have really appreciated my interaction with the users of this internet website. I think I have now accumulated, by various means, enough knowledge of human society and enough human financial assets so that I can stop interacting mainly via an internet connection, and rather im... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NnXmXGJ8PkschhnHg/help-me-transition-to-human-society |
# Optimal Philanthropy for Human Beings
Summary: _The psychology of charitable giving offers three pieces of advice to those who want to give charity and those who want to receive it: Enjoy the happiness that giving brings, commit future income, and realize that requesting time increases the odds of getting money._
O... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hEqsWLm5zQtsPevd3/optimal-philanthropy-for-human-beings |
# Bayesian justice
["The mathematical mistakes that could be undermining justice"](http://www.allbusiness.com/print/13289931-1-9a0bs.html)
> They failed, though, to convince the jury of the value of the Bayesian approach, and Adams was convicted. He appealed twice unsuccessfully, with an appeal judge eventually rulin... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xx7TeDmBQDFnx8GY7/bayesian-justice |
# SIAI Logo In SVG Format?
(Motivated by [this comment](/lw/6py/optimal_philanthropy_for_human_beings/4jqh).)
The Singularity Institute's [new logo](http://99designs.com/designs/6825812-original), chosen from [a competition](/lw/422/295_bounty_for_new_singularity_institute_logo/), doesn't seem to be publicly availabl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GWXrfv2MYSzXwnABC/siai-logo-in-svg-format |
# What's wrong with simplicity of value?
In the Wiki article on [complexity of value](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Complexity_of_value), Eliezer wrote:
> The thesis that human values have high [Kolmogorov complexity](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Kolmogorov_complexity "Kolmogorov complexity") ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4xWz3wW2JNfup6By6/what-s-wrong-with-simplicity-of-value |
# How to enjoy being wrong
Related to: [Reasoning Isn't About Logic, It's About Arguing](/lw/1wu/reasoning_isnt_about_logic_its_about_arguing); [It is OK to Publicly Make a Mistake and Change Your Mind](/lw/57c/it_is_ok_to_publicly_make_a_mistake_and_change).
**Examples of being wrong**
A year ago, in arguments or i... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mypWLfu2degMzCBTe/how-to-enjoy-being-wrong |
# If your Cryonicism would be Movie Topic, would you go with it? (Real Issue)
Today this girl I met comes to my place, allegedly to get some books about her new interests, singularity, immortalism, cryonics.
Actually, she wanted to ask me a question, a question about which I could use some rational opinion.
She says... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SHCaqiq9yWPc7x4GL/if-your-cryonicism-would-be-movie-topic-would-you-go-with-it |
# New Post version 1 (please read this ONLY if your last name beings with a–k)
**Note**: I am testing two versions of my new post on rationality and romance.
Please upvote, downvote, or non-vote the below post as you normally would if you saw it on the front page (not the discussion section), but _do not_ vote on the... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CMSaT7sv96C4jWN2J/new-post-version-1-please-read-this-only-if-your-last-name |
# New Post version 2 (please read this ONLY if your last name beings with l–z)
**Note**: I am testing two versions of my new post on rationality and romance.
Please upvote, downvote, or non-vote the below post as you normally would if you saw it on the front page (not the discussion section), but _do not_ vote on the... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/aYfjK9oHuTcYqwBvp/new-post-version-2-please-read-this-only-if-your-last-name |
# The $125,000 Summer Singularity Challenge
_From the [SingInst blog](http://intelligence.org/blog/):_
Thanks to the generosity of several major donors^†^, every donation to the Singularity Institute made now **until August 31, 2011** will be [matched dollar-for-dollar](http://intelligence.org/donate), up to a total ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dd9WCa6sAstKBym6f/the-usd125-000-summer-singularity-challenge |
# On the unpopularity of cryonics: life sucks, but at least then you die
From Mike Darwn's Chronopause, an essay titled ["Would You Like Another Plate of This?"](http://chronopause.com/chronopause.com/index.php/2011/07/27/would-you-like-another-plate-of-this/index.html), discussing people's attitudes to life:
> The m... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mkrvsNi8cYGSjGqkh/on-the-unpopularity-of-cryonics-life-sucks-but-at-least-then |
# Polarized gamma rays and manifest infinity
Most people (not all, but most) are reasonably comfortable with infinity as an ultimate (lack of) limit. For example, cosmological theories that suggest the universe is infinitely large and/or infinitely old, are not strongly disbelieved a priori.
By contrast, most people ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qzx6zQdWGdp9QXtY8/polarized-gamma-rays-and-manifest-infinity |
# MSF Theory: Another Explanation of Subjectively Objective Probability
Before I read [Probability is in the Mind](/lw/oj/probability_is_in_the_mind/) and [Probability is Subjectively Objective](/lw/s6/probability_is_subjectively_objective/) I was a realist about probabilities; I was a frequentest. After I read them, ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/X9Hey3jJiPZCnJfhM/msf-theory-another-explanation-of-subjectively-objective |
# Requesting low cost/high payoff projects ideas
There are many projects that would benefit people interested in living rationally but that no individuals are motivated enough to do ([more](/lw/6h5/volunteers_needed_to_work_on_lesswrongs_public/)). The Public Goods Team is trying to encourage and facilitate systematic... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/S6dfEC4xPjrjPgonx/requesting-low-cost-high-payoff-projects-ideas |
# When programs have to work-- lessons from NASA
[They Write the Right Stuff](http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/06/writestuff.html) is about software which "never crashes. It never needs to be re-booted. This software is bug-free. It is perfect, as perfect as human beings have achieved. Consider these stats : the la... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/TYDqF4EbH3hDDvPaB/when-programs-have-to-work-lessons-from-nasa |
# Teaching Introspection
As Yvain pointed out in his recent post [The Limits of Introspection](/lw/6p6/the_limits_of_introspection/), humans are not naturally good at inferring our cognitive processes. We resort to guessing with plausible-sounding stories about ourselves, and we aren’t very accurate.
I was reminded o... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rdraFxx2jysvLqRuh/teaching-introspection |
# Ethical dilemmas for paperclip maximizers
(Why? [Because it's fun](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ItAmusedMe).)
1) Do paperclip maximizers care about paperclip _mass_, paperclip _count_, or both? More concretely, if you have a large, finite amount of metal, you can make it into N paperclips or N+1 small... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cHPX35oNY63r7XxiB/ethical-dilemmas-for-paperclip-maximizers |
# Years saved: Cryonics vs VillageReach
I've run in to the argument that cryonics beats VillageReach on a simple "shut up and multiply" level, by assuming an infinity vs finite tradeoff. Having read the Fun Theory sequences, it struck me that this wasn't a reasonable assumption, so I sat down, re-read a few relevant p... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/EEofqZQsMKJfNTDKJ/years-saved-cryonics-vs-villagereach |
# A WordCloud Visual of LW Main
I created this word cloud based on [http://lesswrong.com/promoted/.rss](/promoted/.rss).
The words "Rational" and "Rationality" [might trigger negative stereotypes](/lw/6nm/rationality_market_research/ "A Discussion on Rationalit... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CZjrouFRMRMuvTTQM/a-wordcloud-visual-of-lw-main |
# [LINK] Get paid to train your rationality
A tournament is currently being initiated by the Intelligence Advanced Research Project Activity (IARPA) with the goal of improving forecasting methods for global events of national (US) interest. One of the teams (The Good Judgement Team) is recruiting volunteers to have th... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PyuRcbHvxXNdCHoG3/link-get-paid-to-train-your-rationality |
# Charitable Cryonics
Tl;dr: Cryonics companies have a pre-written [bottom line](/lw/js/the_bottom_line/). If people believe cryonics has a reasonable chance of success, they are significantly [morally obligated](/lw/n3/circular_altruism/) to form a charity that would give cryonics away, as such a charity would be far... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/8pqYzEYhzGSgfWdW5/charitable-cryonics |
# Do Humans Want Things?
Summary: _Recent posts like [The Neuroscience of Desire](/lw/4z7/the_neuroscience_of_desire/) and [To what degree do we have goals?](/lw/6oo/to_what_degree_do_we_have_goals/) have explored the question of whether humans have desires (or 'goals'). If we don't have desires, how can we tell an AI... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nBdaTGoDAYxHePSDa/do-humans-want-things |
# Martinenaite and Tavenier on cryonics
Luke Parrish points me to what is clearly _by far_ the most serious critique of cryonics ever written: a 57-page treatment by Evelina Martinenaite and Juliette Tavenier, presented as a 3rd semester project at Roskilde University in Denmark supervised by Ole Andersen.
> Cryonics... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ckS7PuisZ4cCnh2Qf/martinenaite-and-tavenier-on-cryonics |
# Modularity and Buzzy
_This is the second part in a [mini-sequence](/tag/whyeveryonehypocrite/) presenting material from Robert Kurzban's excellent book_ _[Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind](http://www.amazon.com/Why-Everyone-Else-Hypocrite-Evolution/dp/0691146748)__._
**Chapter 2: E... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jgkWqbNph57rAfPsi/modularity-and-buzzy |
# Consistently Inconsistent
Robert Kurzban's [Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind](http://www.amazon.com/Why-Everyone-Else-Hypocrite-Evolution/dp/0691146748) is a book about how our brains are composed of a variety of different, interacting systems. While that premise is hardly new, many... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WnjGhcRb2c6CabK5d/consistently-inconsistent |
# Unknown unknowns
Sorry if this seems incomplete - thought I'd fire this off as a discussion post now and hope to return to it with a more well-rounded post later.
Less Wrongers are used to thinking of uncertainty as best represented as a probability - or perhaps as a [log odds ratio, stretching from minus infinity ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zDCoc7F3Li9rSEeg3/unknown-unknowns |
# Teenage Rationalists and Changing Your Mind
I remember the moment when I became an atheist.
I was reading [Religion's Claim to Be Non-Disprovable](/lw/i8/religions_claim_to_be_nondisprovable)), an uneasy feeling growing in my head, and then I reached the bottom of the article, stared at the screen for a couple of s... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9jRdkXLnFD2DuEeJg/teenage-rationalists-and-changing-your-mind |
# Leveling IRL
I just got this random idea that people who want to become better at life could benefit from a common scale of "leveling". No, I don't mean vague Lesswrongey things like "changing your mind". I mean a set of concrete criteria like "you qualify for level 2 if you can do 5 pull-ups, have solved 30 Project... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xhuaFuHc5rinDjkZo/leveling-irl |
# Attempt to explain Bayes without much maths, please review
My current favourite waste of time is the concept of Bayesian postmodernism. Just putting those two words together invokes a world of delightful wrangling, as approximately anyone who understands one won't understand or will have contempt for the other. (Tho... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JspYyx3WjmWn3nP9h/attempt-to-explain-bayes-without-much-maths-please-review |
# Why are certain trends so precisely exponential?
I was reading a [post on the economy](http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/double-dip-or-not-economy-is-falling-farther-behind/) from the political statistics blog [FiveThirtyEight](http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/), and the following graph sho... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cBa9cDhFNq9CQmu2v/why-are-certain-trends-so-precisely-exponential |
# Tip: Reading LW on the Kindle
I just discovered an easy way of reading Less Wrong (and other web content) on the Kindle, and I thought others might also find this useful. I am sharing this as a discussion post rather than as a comment in an open thread in order to reach a larger audience, because this answers a need... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vE63j8YexgzuyXzR4/tip-reading-lw-on-the-kindle |
# Counting upvotes/downvotes
I've recently posted several articles in my "Building Rationalist Communities" series. Some, like ["Holy Books (Or Rationalist Sequences) Don't Implement Themselves"](/lw/5mv/holy_books_or_rationalist_sequences_dont/) have been fairly popular, as measured by upvotes; others, like [Communit... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NvkSrXArLFnY6PJ56/counting-upvotes-downvotes |
# Paper draft: Relative advantages of uploads, artificial general intelligences, and other digital minds
[http://www.xuenay.net/Papers/DigitalAdvantages.pdf](http://www.xuenay.net/Papers/DigitalAdvantages.pdf)
_Abstract: I survey four categories of factors that might give a digital mind, such as an upload or an artif... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SAWjWqPY8vCPR3TwM/paper-draft-relative-advantages-of-uploads-artificial |
# IntelligenceExplosion.com
I put together a 'landing page' for the intelligence explosion concept similar to Nick Bostrom's landing pages for [anthropics](http://www.anthropic-principle.com/), the [simulation argument](http://www.simulation-argument.com/), and [existential risk](http://www.existentialrisk.com/). The ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XQkFe4fNmgwQAiYia/intelligenceexplosion-com |
# Career choice for a utilitarian giver
I’m a utilitarian contemplating a career change. I currently give all my income to international development (which is possible because my husband supports us both financially). I don’t have any special gift for science, etc. that would help save the world, so I think donations ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hFR59Wc9NwWWppJ7R/career-choice-for-a-utilitarian-giver |
# Rationality and Relationships
Recently I asked for feedback on two versions of a new post, 'Rationality Lessons from Romance'. '[Version 2](/lw/6v5/new_post_version_2_please_read_this_only_if_your/)' was my original draft. '[Version 1](/lw/6pf/new_post_version_1_please_read_this_only_if_your/)' was a more recent dra... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vejHgqSafKoKX6SD2/rationality-and-relationships |
# 'Complex Value Systems are Required to Realize Valuable Futures' (Yudkowsky, 2011)
Most of the papers from the AGI-11 conference are now [available online](http://agi-conf.org/2011/call-for-papers/), including Yudkowsky's new paper: '[Complex Value Systems are Required to Realize Valuable Futures](http://intelligenc... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CZY3A8FzvnXWWvkNh/complex-value-systems-are-required-to-realize-valuable |
# [Website usability] Scroll to new comments (v0.3)
I wrote a short userscript^1^ that allows for jumping to the next (or previous) new comment in a page (those marked with green). I have tested it on Firefox nightly with the [Greasemonkey addon](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/greasemonkey/) and Chromi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/W8scMdJp7bPLTM7gD/website-usability-scroll-to-new-comments-v0-3 |
# Spaced repetition review (my entry)
As people have likely forgotten, jsalvatier had generously [set up a contest](/lw/69p/prize_new_contest_for_spaced_repetition/) to look through the literature on the spacing effect. [Duke submitted his entry](/lw/64k/memory_spaced_repetition_and_life/) a while ago, and I turned mi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZCRtnwGbcbpYP8t6h/spaced-repetition-review-my-entry |
# Individual Deniability, Statistical Honesty
If you have a lot of people to question about something, and they have a motivation to lie, consider [this clever use of a six-sided die](http://io9.com/5826021/how-to-use-dice-to-prevent-people-from-lying-on-surveys).
> If the farmer tossed the die and got a one, they ha... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hFuowzw63dr7Tkxcs/individual-deniability-statistical-honesty |
# Leveling IRL - level 1
_"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manur... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/kxLunCWypW6XqrS52/leveling-irl-level-1 |
# Theory of Knowledge (rationality outreach)
Public schools (and arguably private schools as well; I wouldn't know) teach students what to think, not how to think.
On LessWrong, this insight is so trivial not to bear repeating. Unfortunately, I think many people have adopted it as an immutable fact about the world th... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LNrdcvD5qhY4d2Syb/theory-of-knowledge-rationality-outreach |
# Strategic ignorance and plausible deniability
_This is the third part in a [mini-sequence](/tag/whyeveryonehypocrite) presenting material from Robert Kurzban's excellent book_ _[Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind](http://www.amazon.com/Why-Everyone-Else-Hypocrite-Evolution/dp/06911467... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fxgkYCbG5Hgy58TyC/strategic-ignorance-and-plausible-deniability |
# Why epidemiology will not correct itself
We're generally familiar here with the appalling state of medical and dietary research, where most correlations turn out to be bogus. (And if we're not, I have collected a number of links on the topic in my DNB FAQ that one can read, see [http://www.gwern.net/DNB%20FAQ#flaws-... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/n7E2FC63MZGnvZAdr/why-epidemiology-will-not-correct-itself |
# Recent popular books on human irrationality to recommend to your friends
* Shore, _[Blunder](http://www.amazon.com/Blunder-Smart-People-Make-Decisions/dp/B002VPE7TW/)_
* Kahneman, _[Thinking, Fast and Slow](http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374275637/)_
* Ariely, _[Predictably Irrati... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mMK3A3ohEDjejr4yj/recent-popular-books-on-human-irrationality-to-recommend-to |
# An EPub of Eliezer's blog posts
Update 2015-03-21: I would now strongly recommend reading [Rationality: From AI to Zombies](https://intelligence.org/rationality-ai-zombies/) over this. Though the blog posts I collected here are the starting point for that book, considerable work has gone into selecting and arranging... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZYtwnKwXmEAWhm8dT/an-epub-of-eliezer-s-blog-posts |
# Overcoming bias in others
Say that you are observing someone in a position of power. You have good reason to believe that this person is falling prey to a known cognitive bias, and that this will tend to affect you negatively. You also can tell that the person is more than intelligent enough to understand their mist... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SfmW48GLkSAJHYQhp/overcoming-bias-in-others |
# "Meetup" proposal: Google+
Not all of us live near big cities. I know of only one Less Wronger in the Grand Rapids, MI area apart from myself, and the nearest existing meetup is in Madison, WI, across Lake Michigan. I'd like to go to a Less Wrong meetup with more than just a couple of people, but I don't want to hav... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KL6KHM2jzZsz7GzPx/meetup-proposal-google |
# Magic Tricks Revealed: Test Your Rationality
In [Fake Explanations](/lw/ip/fake_explanations/), Yudkowsky offered a story that has stuck in my mind:
> Once upon a time, there was an instructor who taught physics students. One day she called them into her class, and showed them a wide, square plate of metal, next t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ib3oL2kmev6x9jrw7/magic-tricks-revealed-test-your-rationality |
# Take heed, for it is a trap
If you have worked your way through most of the sequences you are likely to agree with the majority of these statements:
* When people die we should cut off their heads so we can preserve those heads and make the person come back to life in the (far far) future.
* It is possible to r... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/TRpnMz8xr7gwCyZKS/take-heed-for-it-is-a-trap |
# The Doomsday Argument and Self-Sampling Assumption are wrong, but induction is alive and well.
Since the Doomsday Argument still is discussed often on _Less Wrong_, I would like to call attention to my new, short, self-published e-book, _The Longevity Argument_, which is a much-revised and much-expanded work that be... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4cNEcvnLaxegeBucG/the-doomsday-argument-and-self-sampling-assumption-are-wrong |
# Judgment Under Uncertainty summaries, Part 1: Representativeness
_Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases_ is one of the foundational works on the flaws of human reasoning, and as such gets cited a lot on Less Wrong — but it's also rather long and esoteric, which makes it inaccessible to most Less Wrong us... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZfAqkomEFE9NGfwxG/judgment-under-uncertainty-summaries-part-1 |
# Remind Physicalists They're Physicalists
[Weisberg et al. (2008)](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2778755/pdf/nihms91893.pdf) presented subjects with two explanations for psychological phenomena (e.g. [attentional blink](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attentional_blink)). Some subjects got the regular expl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tWrTR8JGT9CRShtW2/remind-physicalists-they-re-physicalists |
# [Link] Study on Group Intelligence
Full disclosure: This has already been discussed [here](/lw/3mh/link_collective_intelligence/), but I see utility in bringing it up again. Mostly because I only heard about it offline.
**The Paper:**
Some researchers were interested if, in the same way that there's a general inte... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7SmF2D8bXoPg7hgPo/link-study-on-group-intelligence |
# [Link] Scott Aaronson on Why Philosophers Should Care About Computational Complexity
Scott Aaronson has published a preliminary version of his long essay titled ['Why Philosophers Should Care About Computational Complexity'](http://eccc.hpi-web.de/report/2011/108/). His [announcement blog post](http://www.scottaaron... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/oiGxSKGizJZFpSiig/link-scott-aaronson-on-why-philosophers-should-care-about |
# Humans: Not Carved from Marble
Michael Vassar has been known to say that humans are not 'corrupted' by heuristics and biases and other elements of modern psychology. Humans just _are_ psychology.
Robert Kurzban puts this rather eloquently in [his new book](http://www.amazon.com/Why-Everyone-Else-Hypocrite-Evolution... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/asouGMXvc4A7dSkN2/humans-not-carved-from-marble |
# Are Deontological Moral Judgments Rationalizations?
In 2007, Chris Matthews of _[Hardball](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardball_with_Chris_Matthews)_ interviewed David O'steen, executive director of a pro-life organization. Matthews asked:
> I have always wondered something about the pro-life movement. If you beli... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/62p74DvwNHgQXCXcH/are-deontological-moral-judgments-rationalizations |
# [Link] TED Talk on Perceived Value
Rory Sutherland, an ad man (who missed his calling as a comedian), gives [this talk on perceived value](http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_life_lessons_from_an_ad_man.html) versus "real" value, and comes down in favor of more of the first. He also dabbles in history, status,... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ksLPro6bpuRfBSxKy/link-ted-talk-on-perceived-value |
# Needing Better PR
I've been having a bit of a back-and-forth with a friend about what appears to be a charisma problem with the SIAI, and was hoping you lovely folks had thoughts on the matter. My friend was going through the [Eliezer Q&A videos](/lw/1lq/less_wrong_qa_with_eliezer_yudkowsky_video_answers/ "Less Wron... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9y99tafqTGtofonvj/needing-better-pr |
# [LINK] NYTimes essay on willpower, based on an upcoming Baumeister book
A surprisingly good New York Times essay on willpower / ego depletion:
[**Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?**](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all)
As it turns out, the es... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/efBhs3X3YLjggB8FY/link-nytimes-essay-on-willpower-based-on-an-upcoming |
# Why We Can't Take Expected Value Estimates Literally (Even When They're Unbiased)
_Note: I am cross-posting this [GiveWell Blog](http://blog.givewell.org/) post, after consulting a couple of community members, because it is relevant to many topics discussed on Less Wrong, particularly [efficient charity](/lw/3gj/eff... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/RdpqsQ6xbHzyckW9m/why-we-can-t-take-expected-value-estimates-literally-even |
# Spaced Repetition literature review prize: And the winner is...
The [Spaced Repetition literature review prize](/lw/69p/prize_new_contest_for_spaced_repetition/) for the best new review of the evidence on [Spaced Repetition](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition) has ended and the judging panel has made its... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/eD6TZm2r25HzYzZzY/spaced-repetition-literature-review-prize-and-the-winner-is |
# A Crash Course in the Neuroscience of Human Motivation
\[[PDF](http://commonsenseatheism.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Muehlhauser-A-Crash-Course-in-the-Neuroscience-of-Human-Motivation-08-20-2011.pdf) of this article updated Aug. 23, 2011\]
\[[skip to preface](#preface)\]
Whenever I write a new article for Less ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hN2aRnu798yas5b2k/a-crash-course-in-the-neuroscience-of-human-motivation |
# Table of biases, the normative models they violate, and their explanations
The title says it all: [PDF](http://commonsenseatheism.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Table-of-biases.pdf). From Baron's _[Thinking and Deciding, 4th edition](http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Deciding-Jonathan-Baron/dp/0521680433/)_. | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mPbrjPKv28s7y6ZzS/table-of-biases-the-normative-models-they-violate-and-their |
# Please do not downvote every comment or post someone has ever made as a retaliation tactic.
People who go back and downvote every post or comment a Less Wrong user has ever made, please, stop doing that. It's a clever way to pull information cascades in your direction but it is clearly an abuse of the content filter... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JrsbFTp5fHXFJXFdQ/please-do-not-downvote-every-comment-or-post-someone-has |
# The basic questions of rationality
I've been on Less Wrong since its inception, around March 2009. I've read a lot and contributed a lot, and so now I'm more familiar with our jargon, I know of a few more scientific studies, and I might know a couple of useful tricks. Despite all my reading, however, I feel like I'm... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FdHMGBwoHCJ9i6xsy/the-basic-questions-of-rationality |
# A Sketch of an Anti-Realist Metaethics
Below is a sketch of a moral anti-realist position based on the map-territory distinction, Hume and studies of psychopaths. Hopefully it is productive.
#### The Map is Not the Territory Reviewed
Consider the founding metaphor of Less Wrong: [the map-territory distinction](h... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4bNpEBW4dwBuzf4TS/a-sketch-of-an-anti-realist-metaethics |
# Do we want more publicity, and if so how?
Recently reporters from two major national magazines contacted me in preparation for doing stories on [Bitcoin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin). This reminded me that Wired magazine did a cover story on the [Cypherpunks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypherpunks) in its... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/idD96QGD9Pr8QvFwH/do-we-want-more-publicity-and-if-so-how |
# Antisocial personality traits predict utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas
So says the title of [an interesting recent paper I stumbled on yesterday](http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/mcgrawp/PDF/BartelsPizarro.2011.pdf) (ungated link; h/t [Chris Bertram](http://crookedtimber.org/2011/08/22/utilitarian-psychopath... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9cCT6DYYL4PWXi65n/antisocial-personality-traits-predict-utilitarian-responses |
# Help Fund Lukeprog at SIAI
Singularity Institute desperately needs someone who is not me who can write cognitive-science-based material. Someone smart, energetic, able to speak to popular audiences, and with an excellent command of the science. If you’ve been reading Less Wrong for the last few months, you probably ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WqDGJNtxNMT8fHe37/help-fund-lukeprog-at-siai |
# Existential Risk Reduction Career Network
Interested in donating to existential risk reduction efforts? Would you like to exchange career information with like-minded others? Then you should consider the Existential Risk Reduction Career Network! ("X Risk Network" for those short on time.) From the front page of the... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/np5Pe6a33rw6JQq2t/existential-risk-reduction-career-network-0 |
# How to be Deader than Dead
For your consideration, a psychology study as summarized by _The Economist_ in ["How dead is dead? Sometimes, those who have died seem more alive than those who have not"](https://www.economist.com/node/21526321):
> "They first asked 201 people stopped in public in New York and New Englan... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xM4MLzaTnMA7AQbSM/how-to-be-deader-than-dead |
# [Link] Simon Cowell plans to sign up for cryonics
From a [GQ interview](http://www.gq.com/entertainment/celebrities/201109/simon-cowell-interview-september-2011?printable=true¤tPage=1):
> A while ago, a piece of gossip appeared in a British newspaper, alleging that Cowell had declared—while dining with the Br... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/W6M3RfqQGogGntSed/link-simon-cowell-plans-to-sign-up-for-cryonics |
# Prisoner's Dilemma as a Game Theory Laboratory
Last year Yvain had [organised](/lw/32u/diplomacy_as_a_game_theory_laboratory/) a [Diplomacy game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomacy_game) between LessWrong users to test how well we perform in practical application of game theory. At least [two](/lw/32z/spring_191... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vJAFXz6DWYnKq4Mue/prisoner-s-dilemma-as-a-game-theory-laboratory |
# Why no archive of refuted research?
From _The Atlantic_'s [Lies, Damned Lies and Medical Science](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/lies-damned-lies-and-medical-science/8269/1/):
> Still, Ioannidis anticipated that the community might shrug off his findings: sure, a lot of dubious research makes i... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/kSgQmZ49fLrkfRndu/why-no-archive-of-refuted-research |
# General textbook comparison thread
We've already had a lengthy (and still active) [thread](/lw/3gu/the_best_textbooks_on_every_subject/ ""The best textbooks on every subject", started by lukeprog") attempting to address the question "What are the best textbooks, and why are they better than their rivals?". That's ex... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mzsPs7TudmSuTowRz/general-textbook-comparison-thread |
# Singularity Institute Strategic Plan 2011
Thanks to the hard work and cooperation of Singularity Institute staff and volunteers, especially Louie Helm and Luke Muehlhauser (lukeprog), we now have a Strategic Plan, which outlines the near-term goals and vision of the Institute, and concrete actions we can take to ful... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xDfgrmhzf3uF42dKn/singularity-institute-strategic-plan-2011 |
# Rational Home Buying
My parents are considering moving house. I've had a front-seat window to their decision process as they compare alternatives, and sometimes it isn't pretty.
A new house is one of the most important purchases most people will make. Because of the sums involved, the usual pitfalls of decision... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/YSWa8rYeD3aDaofSP/rational-home-buying |
# Decision Theory Paradox: PD with Three Implies Chaos?
**Prerequisites:** Familiarity with decision theories (in particular, [Eliezer's Timeless Decision Theory](/lw/15z/ingredients_of_timeless_decision_theory/)) and of course the [Prisoner's Dilemma](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma).
_**Summary:... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HT8jwNJ6vH7p9gaTT/decision-theory-paradox-pd-with-three-implies-chaos |
# Polyhacking
This is a post about applied [luminosity](/lw/1xh/living_luminously/) in action: how I hacked myself to become polyamorous over (admittedly weak) [natural monogamous inclinations](/lw/2ee/unknown_knowns_why_did_you_choose_to_be_monogamous/274l). It is a case history about me and, given the specific topi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/kLR5H4pbaBjzZxLv6/polyhacking |
# Book trades with open-minded theists - recommendations?
In an Open Thread [comment](/lw/6y9/open_thread_august_2011/4nro) beriukay mentioned that he's reading C.S. Lewis' [Mere Christianity](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity). I've been reading it too, for interesting reasons.
In my case it so happened... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/X2cbdCpskSAAGF5h3/book-trades-with-open-minded-theists-recommendations |
# [LINK] How Hard is Artificial Intelligence? The Evolutionary Argument and Observation Selection Effects
If you're interested in evolution, anthropics, and AI timelines -- or in what the Singularity Institute has been producing lately -- you might want to check out this new paper, by SingInst research fellow Carl Sh... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZakKKbuqfcSoGvma9/link-how-hard-is-artificial-intelligence-the-evolutionary |
# A History of Bayes' Theorem
> Sometime during the 1740s, the Reverend Thomas Bayes made the ingenious discovery that bears his name but then mysteriously abandoned it. It was rediscovered independently... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/RTt59BtFLqQbsSiqd/a-history-of-bayes-theorem |
# Call for Personal Volunteers
Those who wish to volunteer some of their time toward reducing existential risk and increasing our chances of a positive singularity can follow the directions on [SingularityVolunteers.org](http://www.singularityvolunteers.org/).
And as a [freshly hired](/lw/78s/help_fund_lukeprog_at_si... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wYuNQyZ2kX4xB9kpG/call-for-personal-volunteers |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.