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# Friendship
This is part 20 of 30 of Hammertime. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
There’s a serious and scary phenomenon which Valentine’s [recent](https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/AqbWna2S85pFTsHH4/the-intelligent-social-web) [posts](https://www.l... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WrAioC5NEp59GsDSF/friendship |
# Ms. Blue, meet Mr. Green
Blue and Green are references to the [MTG Color Wheel personalities](https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/KbaJsfBtdpGv7EKbC/the-mtg-color-wheel). (Very fun reading, but not required to understand this post.)
Ms. Blue: Hi, Mr. Green! Heard you’ve been traveling recently. Where have you been?
M... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nbw2NfjiBmuGx7mim/ms-blue-meet-mr-green |
# Hammertime Intermission #2
The final cycle of Hammertime will return on 3/12.
This is an open thread for feedback about Hammertime.
Other Resources
---------------
Owen Shen has been writing about instrumental rationality for a long time at [MindLevelUp](https://mindlevelup.wordpress.com/). This material is much ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j9u7aujNxdGBaSWYb/hammertime-intermission-2 |
# Quick Nate/Eliezer comments on discontinuity
This isn't a proper response to [Paul Christiano](https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/AfGmsjGPXN97kNp57/arguments-about-fast-takeoff) or [Katja Grace](https://aiimpacts.org/likelihood-of-discontinuous-progress-around-the-development-of-agi/)'s recent writings about takeoff ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/X5zmEvFQunxiEcxHn/quick-nate-eliezer-comments-on-discontinuity |
# Social Technology
_This is an excerpt from the draft of_ _[my upcoming book](http://samoburja.com/gft)_ _on great founder theory. It was originally published on SamoBurja.com. You can_ _[access the original here.](http://samoburja.c... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ME95JyQaBN3by3GyK/social-technology |
# Monthly Meta: Common Knowledge
One of my favourite aspects of Less Wrong is that we've created a community where it is easier for us to communicate with each other because we have a shared understanding of certain concepts. A large amount of highly quality content has been posted to the site since it started, so I t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pwPNHzEC6EesY4tN9/monthly-meta-common-knowledge |
# Interactive Bayes Theorem Visualization
This visualization was inspired by the Julia Galef [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrK7X_XlGB8) that I linked to in the opening paragraph. One thing I liked about that video is that it represents probability space as a box which, for understanding Bayes' rule, I think ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/K9CkPLFxmfpYAg3x2/interactive-bayes-theorem-visualization |
# Sacred Cash
Previously: Categories of Sacredness, [Eternal, and Hearthstone Economy versus Magic Economy,](https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/eternal-and-hearthstone-economy-versus-magic-economy/) [Slack](https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2017/09/30/slack/)
Related (Compass Rose): [Kidneys, Trade, Sacredness and Sp... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/S9PbycbiN7h8qWYD6/sacred-cash |
# The Jordan Peterson Mask
[This is a cross-post from Putanumonit.com](https://putanumonit.com/2018/03/03/jordan-peterson/)
* * *
It seems that most people haven’t had much trouble making up their minds about Jordan Peterson.
The psycho-philosophizing YouTube prophet rose to prominence for [refusing to acquiesce to... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tLYKdGBgRXcrzEatb/the-jordan-peterson-mask |
# Funding for AI alignment research
If you are interested in working on AI alignment, and might do full or part time work given funding, consider submitting a short application to funding@ai-alignment.com.
Submitting an application is intended to be very cheap. In order to keep the evaluations cheap as well, my proce... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DbPJGNS79qQfZcDm7/funding-for-ai-alignment-research |
# Is there a Connection Between Greatness in Math and Philosophy?
I have nothing that looks like an answer, but I wanted to put the question out to start a discussion. I especially hope that this leads to someone here researching the question well. I also have almost nothing to back up the claims below.
I became curi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KWJTn4bB5uzdxdNSZ/is-there-a-connection-between-greatness-in-math-and |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 2: Empiricism
How did the cunning Dark Warlock Emperor Murphy solve the Thousand Kobold Challenge?
I ask my bunkmate in the morning to camp a spawn point together. My thinking: if we can both hit the Kobold before he gets a chance to attack, we won’t take damage. That way we can grind all day.
Of... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hS4z2v9hmuWtvjHi4/murphy-s-quest-ch-2-empiricism |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 1: Exposure Therapy
_\[Author’s note: I noticed I’ve been trying to be too original in my fiction writing. This story is trash and so am I.\]_
My name is Murphy. I’ve been preparing for this day since I was born.
I just woke up in a new world.
I’m standing in line while a mean-looking dwarf ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9HEHHFBWJWy7h2JW9/murphy-s-quest-ch-1-exposure-therapy |
# Beta-Beta – Recent Discussion
Over on our [beta-beta (I guess the technical term is "alpha") sit](https://www.lessestwrong.com/)e, we're experimenting with a new system for Recent Comment, renaming it to "Recent Discussion" and tweaking some features.
The recent comments are organized by post, sorted in the order o... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PyFpg58NSQk3aP7Ac/beta-beta-recent-discussion |
# On Defense Mechanisms
There is much talk about cognitive heuristics and biases in the Rationality community, whereas psychodynamic/psychoanalytic perspectives of psychology tend to be dismissed as "bad science". Now, I will agree that some Freudian ideas like penis envy and Oedipus complex are silly -- but [that doe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/re8fcdb3q5CLJKMMB/on-defense-mechanisms |
# Argument, intuition, and recursion
Mathematicians answer clean questions that can be settled with formal argument. Scientists answer empirical questions that can be settled with experimentation.
Collective epistemology is hard in domains where it's hard to settle disputes with either formal argument _or_ experiment... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XHMCvvhb7zTZcQAgA/argument-intuition-and-recursion |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 3: Murphyjitsu
Having learned the secret to Sleep Refresh, the rest of Training progresses smoothly. Throughout the day, we stream in and out of the barracks to get a minute of shut-eye between Kobold spawns.
12 ears an hour, 10 hours a day, it only takes 8 more mind-numbing days to finish this fe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pv5g2PJ6RTdgY9skd/murphy-s-quest-ch-3-murphyjitsu |
# God Help Us, Let’s Try To Understand Friston On Free Energy
I’ve been trying to delve deeper into [predictive processing theories of the brain](http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/09/05/book-review-surfing-uncertainty/), and I keep coming across Karl Friston’s work on “free energy”.
At first I felt bad for not understan... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wpZJvgQ4HvJE2bysy/god-help-us-let-s-try-to-understand-friston-on-free-energy |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 4: Noticing Confusion
Two muscle heads stand in the doorway, clubs out. Let’s call them Crabbe and Goyle. Were those really their names? Might as well have been.
“Hand ‘em over,” Crabbe smacks his Wood Club against his other hand like a police baton.
Now it came to me: these two had been missing ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jSTus7okunuyTuEbr/murphy-s-quest-ch-4-noticing-confusion |
# Takeoff Speed: Simple Asymptotics in a Toy Model.
I've been having fun recently reading about "AI Risk". There is lots of eloquent writing out there about this topic: I especially recommend [Scott Alexander's Superintelligence FAQ](http://slatestarcodex.com/superintelligence-faq/) for those looking for a fun read. T... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7MK6HSn2pbAJrbfiG/takeoff-speed-simple-asymptotics-in-a-toy-model |
# Book Review: Consciousness Explained
> The trouble with brains, it seems, is that when you look in them, you discover that there’s nobody home.
**I.**
This is a book I've long been aware of, but never got that itch to read. Maybe I trusted the field of philosophy too little, assuming that a book called "Consci... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/yex7E6oHXYL93Evq6/book-review-consciousness-explained |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 5: Fail Gracefully
“I need healing!”
“Murph, over here! I’m wounded!”
“Heal me!”
“I need healing!”
I aim my Initiate Chimes at Plun and cast Heal. The spell sends a circular golden orb crawling through the air. It misses my party by a wide margin and vanishes into the dungeon wall.
“I need hea... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6yYQk2YNF9J6Yq68G/murphy-s-quest-ch-5-fail-gracefully |
# [defunct] Moderation Action List (warnings and bans)
**Update: This hasn't been updated since 2021, and we're no longer updating it.**
This post is a (continually updated) list of moderation bans and warnings of LWers, with a link to the comment thread where they happened.
(Added: Note that the vast majority of ba... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vWEgN376HazKn6vGC/defunct-moderation-action-list-warnings-and-bans |
# Person-moment affecting views
_\[Epistemic status: sloppy thoughts not informed by the literature. Hoping actual population ethicists might show up and correct me or point me to whoever has already thought about something like this better.\]_
_[Person-affecting views](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person-affecting_... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LpnMyeNvgvsbSLAwB/person-moment-affecting-views |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 6: Perverse Incentives
How did I end up in this position?
Let’s review the facts.
First.
From Class Choice to ROT13, from Harry Potter villains to this chastity cult, from XP sharing to judgy old men, this world is out to get me.
Second.
I have despaired of living the Good Life and decided to ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/f2cAQM8woDXrJBN3h/murphy-s-quest-ch-6-perverse-incentives |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 7: Outside the Box
“I need to pee.”
…
“I need to pee.”
…
“I really need to pee!”
Father Penitence prays louder to drown out my requests, “Goddess above, lead this forsaken soul back to the fold.”
“Father, I really need to pee!”
He replies through gritted teeth, “You went ten minutes ago.”
“... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3NQRpFNTqidp54gTc/murphy-s-quest-ch-7-outside-the-box |
# How to Dissolve It
In the last month and a half, I've had more (of what I believe to be) profound, creative insights to technical problems than in the five years prior. For example, I independently came up with the core insight behind [DenseNets](https://arxiv.org/abs/1608.06993) during the second lecture on convolu... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/argvWNNHZAz2MeM8C/how-to-dissolve-it |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 8: False Pentachotomy
There’s a powerful spell employed by the leaders of my old world called the Dichotomy. It goes something like this:
1. Pick two unfortunate phenomena.
2. Make an Either/Or statement as if the two phenomena are mutually exclusive.
Famous examples include:
“*Either* the One... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/isKdendizkFzxxwfa/murphy-s-quest-ch-8-false-pentachotomy |
# My attempt to explain Looking, insight meditation, and enlightenment in non-mysterious terms
_Epistemic status: pretty confident. Based on several years of meditation experience combined with various pieces of Buddhist theory as popularized in various sources, including but not limited to books like The Mind Illumin... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mELQFMi9egPn5EAjK/my-attempt-to-explain-looking-insight-meditation-and |
# The Steampunk Aesthetic
_Epistemic Status: Poetry. More confident about Linux than I have a right to be._
Last year, some friends wanted to buy a boat to live on, because the Bay Area is hella expensive. They acquired a tugboat, in Alaska. I was among a few people who helped them pilot it south.
I currently do not... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fwvr3fXdAFTdfszMB/the-steampunk-aesthetic |
# Making yourself small
_Disclaimers:_
* _Epistemic status: trying to share a simplified model of a thing to make it easier to talk about; confident there’s something there, but not confident that my read of it or this attempt at simplification is good._
* _This post is a rewrite of a talk I gave at a CFAR event ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zMxrkFrB6ka4Lb7fM/making-yourself-small |
# Prize for probable problems
Summary: I’m going to give a $10k prize to the best evidence that my preferred approach to AI safety is doomed. Submit by commenting on this post with a link by April 20.
I have a particular vision for how AI might be aligned with human interests, reflected in posts at [ai-alignment.com]... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SqcPWvvJJwwgZb6aH/prize-for-probable-problems |
# On the Loss and Preservation of Knowledge
_This is an excerpt from the draft of_ _[my upcoming book](http://samoburja.com/gft)_ _on great founder theory. It was originally published on SamoBurja.com. You can_ _[access the original h... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nnNdz7XQrd5bWTgoP/on-the-loss-and-preservation-of-knowledge |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 9: Double Crux
“Level Up!”
“Level Up!”
“Level Up!”
Could I have predicted this?
Did I expect the Heal orb to grow massive and deal damage on extreme negative FTH?
“Level Up!”
“Level Up!”
Father Penitence. Father Temperance. Father Generosity.
All gone. Forever.
*Because of me.*
And I feel... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fdukyHuvXHF7ffJsL/murphy-s-quest-ch-9-double-crux |
# Is this what FAI outreach success looks like?
Highlights (spoilers):
Two hours of more or less reasonable discussion of AI safety.
Specifically, even though people disagree, they tend to keep arguments on the object level, rather than getting bogged down in how things sound or what people are allowed to talk about... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FQ9TA34ckCdeEjbyP/is-this-what-fai-outreach-success-looks-like |
# Brains and backprop: a key timeline crux
\[Crossposted from [my blog](https://jacoblagerros.wordpress.com/2018/03/09/brains-and-backprop-a-key-timeline-crux/)\]
The Secret Sauce Question
=========================
Human brains still outperform deep learning algorithms in a wide variety of tasks, such as playing soc... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QWyYcjrXASQuRHqC5/brains-and-backprop-a-key-timeline-crux |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 10: Gears-Like Models
“Show me my friends.”
“Ask nicely.”
I swallow what little remains of my pride. “Show me my friends please?”
Nyra draws out the enchanted mirror.
Tess and Vant sleep around what remains of a campfire. Perched precariously in a nearby tree, Plun keeps watch.
“You have loyal... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5b6EcTfi9X3FEdYTH/murphy-s-quest-ch-10-gears-like-models |
# Unconscious Competence and Counter-Incentives
_\[Some things are better done when you don’t think about them. This has an interesting extension when you consider situations where the default response does very little to actually solve things. Maybe we’ve been Goodharted by social incentives.\]_
Cue the [four stages... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PWGvxu6ZCXdSayRWk/unconscious-competence-and-counter-incentives |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 11: Resolve
As far as the eye can see, the ground is lit up by white-gold runes, tongues of blue flame and roving God Rays. The mountains ahead look like someone applied a “Heaven” filter to a demonic hellscape.
“Consecrated Ground. I’ve never seen a patch this large.”
“I’m guessing it’s not Unde... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/awK3Pm9kuLGNjRjbz/murphy-s-quest-ch-11-resolve |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 12: Meta-Contrarianism
*\[**Any resemblance to actual persons, intentional or otherwise, is entirely coincidental.\]*
“Where’s Mencius?”
“In the old fort.”
Nyra leads me through the bedraggled Undead camp. Skeletons and embalmed dead make way respectfully, but they shoot me glares that send shiv... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tWyWjnzudQeGx9pQC/murphy-s-quest-ch-12-meta-contrarianism |
# Misery Pits
This is an attempt at a description, more intensional than extensional, of a phenomenon that can adversely affect communities. I'm trying to avoid having anyone specific (especially specific-and-local) in mind while I write it; I just mean to define the phenomenon as a reference point and wave tentativel... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WX6kWkAKsESoD4yrf/misery-pits |
# Kegan and Cultivating Compassion
_\[An overview of Kegan’s subject-object theory in terms of differing expectations. Worldview differences play a key role in disagreements. Using Kegan’s stages to model social relationships and expanding compassion.\]_
As far as fads go in the rationalist community, Robert Kegan’s ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bd7gxiEchvwEoZ6i7/kegan-and-cultivating-compassion |
# Murphy’s Quest Ch 13: Existential Risk
FTH: -23335
The first battle is a rout.
Surrounded by a dedicated defensive squad, I pummel the enemy with gigantic balls of death. Negative FTH Heal deals an entirely new category of damage, completely bypassing Damage Reduction. I call it my Bubble of Doom.
After the battl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Bcngsc5mFofWMGnLJ/murphy-s-quest-ch-13-existential-risk |
# Types of Confusion Experiences
The past week I've been using a [tally counter](https://www.amazon.com/Counter-Handheld-Horsky-Mechanical-Clicker/dp/B071W3QTBX/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=sports-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1520778580&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=tally+counter&psc=1) alongside my [TAP](https://www.lesserwrong.com/post... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xjh3GnH36JrXyMKDq/types-of-confusion-experiences |
# Murphy’s Quest Postmorterm
Kudos to lifelonglearner for amazing cover art that is also an example of Murphy’s Law.
The full text of Murphy’s Quest (with many corrections) is now available in [PDF](https://radimentary.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/mur... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pyGZDrBBJA4gyo6pm/murphy-s-quest-postmorterm |
# Editor Mini-Guide
_Here is a brief overview of what you can do in the editor on LessWrong. This will change a great deal over time, so I’ll keep a note here of when the latest update was: Friday 5th July, 2019._
Three things you need to know
=============================
* **Highlight text** in the editor to get... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xWrihbjp2a46KBTDe/editor-mini-guide |
# Leaving beta: Voting on moving to LessWrong.com
It took longer than we hoped, but LessWrong 2.0 is finally ready to come out of beta. As [discussed in the original announcement](http://lesswrong.com/lw/pfl/lw_20_open_beta_live/), we’re going to have a vote on whether or not to migrate the new site to the lesswrong.c... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Nws6ivJigxLm3gGEY/leaving-beta-voting-on-moving-to-lesswrong-com |
# Multiplicity of "enlightenment" states and contemplative practices
It seems that there are multiple different mental states that people have historically called "enlightenment", as well as many different types of contemplative practices with different underlying cognitive mechanisms. I link to and quote from a coupl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/yxvp9LErWao5kJ3bC/multiplicity-of-enlightenment-states-and-contemplative |
# AI Alignment Prize: Round 2 due March 31, 2018
There are still several weeks left to enter the second round of the AI Alignment Prize. The official announcement of the second round, along with the first round’s winners, [is here](https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/4WbNGQMvuFtY3So7s/announcement-ai-alignment-prize-win... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rgWLPuQAxwoikpRu5/ai-alignment-prize-round-2-due-march-31-2018 |
# Appropriateness of Discussing Rationalist Discourse of a Political Nature on LW?
There was recently a back-and-forth between Slate Star Codex and Nathan Robinson of _Current Affairs_, a major national news magazine on the political left in the United States. It didn't end well. I think it would serve as a good examp... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/MKKekbSkSsJESZ9eD/appropriateness-of-discussing-rationalist-discourse-of-a |
# Bug Hunt 3
This is part 21 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
I took a long break from Hammertime to check the fundamental question: _am I actually better at achieving my values now?_
The answer is a solid yes. Prob... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/b6p684c9A5QfsaQEC/bug-hunt-3 |
# A Developmental Framework for Rationality
_\[A way of looking at rationality as a set of transitioning worldviews that operate under different assumptions. The short summary of progression looks like techniques → habits → introspection → feelings → multiple ontologies. Skills which appear to be at odds with one anot... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5zpBBHWTYAnEo4LcG/a-developmental-framework-for-rationality |
# Yoda Timers 3: Speed
This is part 22 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
At some point around the end of high school, being _fast_ became unfashionable. When did this happen?
Why do we channel so much more energy int... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ovmykzXAyG4RXKkKc/yoda-timers-3-speed |
# Looking and the no-self
_(This post is a reply to Kaj's ["My attempt to explain Looking"](https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/mELQFMi9egPn5EAjK/my-attempt-to-explain-looking-insight-meditation-and) and Valentine's [Kenshō](https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/tMhEv28KJYWsu6Wdo/kensh). The target audience is people who fe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BEw7E7Jgppgecoavo/looking-and-the-no-self |
# Caring less
Why don't more attempts at persuasion take the form "care less about ABC", rather than the popular "care more about XYZ"?
People, in general, can only do so much caring. We can only spend so many resources and so much effort and brainpower on the things we value.
For instance: Avery spends 40 hours a w... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dPLSxceMtnQN2mCxL/caring-less |
# Request for "Tests" for the MIRI Research Guide
Lately I've been looking into learning the material in the MIRI research guide. After some time, I noticed that my biggest trepidation about diving in was the nagging question of, "But how will I know if I actually learned the stuff?"
Once I realized that was the thin... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/igQMtrGtLZm6XRq7X/request-for-tests-for-the-miri-research-guide |
# Strengthening the foundations under the Overton Window without moving it
As I understand them, the social rules for interacting with people you disagree with are like this:
* You should argue with people who are a bit wrong
* You should refuse to argue with people who are very wrong, because it makes them seem ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ZdsKfFD6AeLeopJLg/strengthening-the-foundations-under-the-overton-window |
# Expertise Exchange
There are multiple fields of knowledge that are very hard to learn about and where it's hard to find a rational person to give you good answers about the field of knowledge.
I want to start this thread to give people the opportunity to request expertise in certain domains that they want to know ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fuc2eSCiY5r69usp7/expertise-exchange |
# LW Update 3/14 – Community, Markdown and More
We've been working on a lot of changes as we gear up for the final vote to migrate to lesswrong.com. Many of these changes are still in progress, but it seemed like a good point to stop and take stock of them.
Community Page
--------------
We now have a functioning [co... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bBYbrMSzGdqT7Y3ex/lw-update-3-14-community-markdown-and-more |
# A Concrete Multi-Step Variant of Double Crux I Have Used Successfully
=== Intro
Raymond Arnold has written about the failure of many discussions to result in clear progress recognizable by both sides. In general, the ideas around double crux are useful but the technique can be under-specified (especially for peopl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/isDnrPdRaXj5Ce3dN/a-concrete-multi-step-variant-of-double-crux-i-have-used |
# TAPs 3: Reductionism
This is part 23 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
In school, we spend thousands of hours learning about the building blocks of the universe. We learn that reality reduces into little pieces: org... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tHPfmgrimAkR7TTz9/taps-3-reductionism |
# Values determined by "stopping" properties
The [lotus-eaters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus-eaters) are examples of humans who have followed hedonism all the way through to its logical conclusion. In contrast, the "[mindless outsourcers](https://nickbostrom.com/fut/evolution.html)" are a possible consequence o... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WeAt5TeS8aYc4Cpms/values-determined-by-stopping-properties |
# Upcoming stability of values
What would you say to someone old who hadn't changed their values since they were five years old?
What would you say to anyone old who hadn't changed their values since they were eighteen years old?
You'd probably have cause to pity the second and seriously worry about the first. The p... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4H8N3fEfXQmzxSaRo/upcoming-stability-of-values |
# Using lying to detect human values
In my current research, I've often re-discovering things that are trivial and obvious, but that suddenly become mysterious. For instance, it's blindingly obvious that the [anchoring bias](http://facweb.plattsburgh.edu/wendy.braje/students/psy205/JKarticle.pdf) is a bias, and almost... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pQz97SLCRMwHs6BzF/using-lying-to-detect-human-values |
# The Costly Coordination Mechanism of Common Knowledge
*Recently someone pointed out to me that there was no good canonical post that explained the use of common knowledge in society. Since I wanted to be able to link to such a post, I decided to try to write it.*
*The epistemic status of this post is that I hoped t... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9QxnfMYccz9QRgZ5z/the-costly-coordination-mechanism-of-common-knowledge |
# Design 3: Intentionality
This is part 24 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
_Intentions are momentary, but problems last forever._
A human being’s attention flits around like the Roman God Mercury, root of the word ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tMdWzeKRABohwGk2y/design-3-intentionality |
# AI Summer Fellows Program
CFAR and MIRI are running a free AI Summer Fellows Program (AISFP) in the San Francisco Bay Area from June 27 to July 14. Aimed at increasing participants' abilities to do technical research in AI alignment, the program includes CFAR's applied rationality content as well as practice in doin... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LiCewWzJKiXc4HwAh/ai-summer-fellows-program |
# The Epsilon Fallacy
Program Optimization
--------------------
One of the earlier lessons in every programmer’s education is how to speed up slow code. Here’s an example. (If this is all greek to you, just note that there are three different steps and then skip to the next paragraph.)
// Step 1: importImport fo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PmaBozEroBg73a5Di/the-epsilon-fallacy |
# Raising funds to establish a new AI Safety charity
9 months ago, LessWrong Netherlands sat down to brainstorm on Actually Trying to make a difference in AI Safety.
Knowing AIS is talent-constrained, we felt that academia wasn’t fit to give the field the attention it deserves.
So we decided to take matters in our o... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ATQ23FREp9S4hpiHc/raising-funds-to-establish-a-new-ai-safety-charity |
# CoZE 3: Empiricism
This is part 25 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
> _The boy on the right has gone places. The boy on the left has a map. Whom do you marry?_
> ~ [Whom](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2017/03/... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/X49iDt7tBd9mQopBZ/coze-3-empiricism |
# You can now log in with your LW1 credentials on LW2
I just finished an update that ported over the old passwords from LW1 while still preserving security (see my previous meta post). We only ported passwords over from sometime in last May, and will run the same import on the new database if the vote completes and we... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3PrBvTzLgreuj57Gu/you-can-now-log-in-with-your-lw1-credentials-on-lw2 |
# AI Alignment Prize: Super-Boxing
In this post I propose an (allegedly...) secure AI boxing method. For reasons elaborated at the end of the post, this proposal is probably unsafe, and is certainly not practical. Still, I've elected to share my thoughts on this in the hope of receiving valuable feedback, as well... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DTv3jpro99KwdkHRE/ai-alignment-prize-super-boxing |
# Deciphering China's AI Dream
> This report examines the intersection of two subjects, China and artificial intelligence, both of which are already difficult enough to comprehend on their own. It provides context for China’s AI strategy with respect to past science and technology plans, and it also connects the consi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/D52m6f3F76jp8scYA/deciphering-china-s-ai-dream |
# The Salmon of Knowledge
[http://pages.citebite.com/h5t3v8t1a5wnw](http://pages.citebite.com/h5t3v8t1a5wnw)
All desires save one are fleeting, but that one lasts for ever. Fionn, with all desires, had the lasting one, for he would go anywhere and forsake anything for wisdom; and it was in search of this that he ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SBr6BmKEGawEpxauZ/the-salmon-of-knowledge |
# Silence
This is part 26 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
> 满罐子水不响，半罐子水响叮当
> The full can is silent, but the half-empty can makes a loud noise.
> ~ Chinese proverb.
Take a bottle or soda can and fill it halfw... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uQTXikjByTtvAR3r9/silence |
# Distributed Cooperation
Reflective oracles can be approximated by computing Nash equilibria. But is there some procedure that produces a Pareto-optimal equilibrium in a game, aka, a point produced by a [Cooperative oracle](https://agentfoundations.org/item?id=1468)? It turns out there is. There are some interesting ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5bd75cc58225bf067037554e/distributed-cooperation |
# Is the Star Trek Federation really incapable of building AI?
In the Star Trek universe, we are told that it’s really hard to make genuine artificial intelligence, and that Data is so special because he’s a rare example of someone having managed to create one.
But this doesn’t seem to be the best hypothesis for expl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7N7JGyTmX5Gnjhfrk/is-the-star-trek-federation-really-incapable-of-building-ai |
# The advantage of not being open-ended
5\. The advantage of not being open-ended
=========================================
**Summary of entire Series:** An alternative approach to designing Friendly Artificial Intelligence computer systems.
**Summary of this Article:** When setting a computer a task, there are adv... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sfBwJiTxuKxxciZP4/the-advantage-of-not-being-open-ended |
# Musings on LessWrong Peer Review
In the context of:
* [On The Importance of LessWrong, or Another Conversational Locus](https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/8rYxw9xZfwy86jkpG/on-the-importance-of-less-wrong-or-another-single) (Anna Salamon)
* [Meta-tations on Moderation](https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/5Ym7DN6h8... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rCzXcyM9Gt2pxmhcE/musings-on-lesswrong-peer-review |
# A Motorcycle (and Calibration?) Accident
Last week I saw a motorcycle accident.
My dad, known to be the most careful driver in my family, was attempting to pull out of the mall parking lot. Suddenly, a motorcyclist came into view, and as he saw our car, he stomped on the brakes. My dad saw him and stopped, but the ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JbrNQcBJfRyKBxMC8/a-motorcycle-and-calibration-accident |
# Internal Double Crux
This is part 27 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
[Focusing](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/02/25/focusing/) is a tool for accessing the messages the many sub-personalities in your subco... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mQmx4kQQtHeBip9ZC/internal-double-crux |
# An Untrollable Mathematician Illustrated
The following was a presentation I made for Sören Elverlin's [AI Safety Reading Group](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql4Y0-jEKhw). I decided to draw everything by hand because powerpoint is boring. Thanks to Ben Pace for formatting it for LW! See also [the IAF post](https:/... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CvKnhXTu9BPcdKE4W/an-untrollable-mathematician-illustrated |
# Reductionism Revisited
This is part 28 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
The last three days of Hammertime, I’ll wrap up with some scattered thoughts to reinforce important principles.
Today, I’ll return to applica... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GuEXcEcsaK9NYHq4F/reductionism-revisited |
# Inference & Empiricism
Speaking very roughly our best tools for figuring out the truth are inference and empiricism. By inference I mean using things like Math, Logic, and theory in general to conclude new facts from things we assume to be true. By empiricism I mean looking at the world, doing experiments, etc.
Inf... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6abqgBgeS2qmwg7TK/inference-and-empiricism |
# The Strategic Level
This is part 29 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
I find myself dragging my feet on the last couple days of each Hammertime cycle. From this and several other data points, I think current my writ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SYT8E7YThLHWr6JEm/the-strategic-level |
# Lightness and Unease
Light
=====
Month 1
-------
January < refresh to render LaTeX > is the day I finished reading _Superintelligence_, and that’s the day my life felt like it entered protagonist mode. I tore through ten books over the next week and a half, from _The Art of Strategy_ to _Thinking: Fast and Slow_. ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/EvKWNRkJgLosgRDSa/lightness-and-unease |
# Explicit and Implicit Communication
I write an essay every Thursday. Every so often, one seems to really resonate with people.
The piece I just wrote on *the nature of explicit and implicit communication* both got an enthusiastic reader response and seems directly relevant to a number of the projects and exploratio... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PqbDgCtyRPYkYwHsm/explicit-and-implicit-communication |
# Rationality Feed: Last Month's Best Posts
I write a daily rational feed. I write up summaries/teasers for the previous day's article that I found interesting and/or enjoyable. I follow most rationalist blogs as well as LW2.0 and the EA Forum on RSS. The daily feed is posted in the [SSC Discord](https://discord.gg/nJ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/o8LMHmX6m2MzzXnuP/rationality-feed-last-month-s-best-posts |
# AI Summer Fellows Program
CFAR and MIRI are running a free AI Summer Fellows Program (AISFP) in the San Francisco Bay Area from June 27 to July 14. Aimed at increasing participants' abilities to do technical research in AI alignment, the program includes CFAR's applied rationality content and practice in doing techn... | https://www.lesswrong.com/events/88nY7yTrhB2t4GChr/ai-summer-fellows-program |
# The Math Learning Experiment
Last Sunday I and a small group of volunteers ran an experiment. We got a bunch of CFAR alumni together and asked half of them to tutor the other half in math (in a broad sense, so including computer science) while paying close attention to what was happening in the minds of the tutees, ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JdvsMc2yvBzXgCrX7/the-math-learning-experiment |
# Naming the Nameless
_Epistemic status: political, opinionated, personal, all the typical caveats for controversial posts._
I was talking with a libertarian friend of mine the other day about my growing discomfort with the political culture in the Bay Area, and he asked why I didn't just move.
It's a good question.... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4ZwGqkMTyAvANYEDw/naming-the-nameless |
# Hammertime Final Exam
This is part 30 of 30 in the Hammertime Sequence. Click [here](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/) for the intro.
One of the overarching themes from CFAR, related to [The Strategic Level](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/the-strategic-level/), i... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Q7MsMshzbzhEs729s/hammertime-final-exam |
# LW Migration Announcement
The votes are in, and of the eligible 376 voters, 102 voted to Migrate and 15 voted to archive. With 87% in favor, we’re going ahead with the transition, which will begin tomorrow (3/22) at 6pm Pacific time. Trike will take a snapshot of the database, transfer it to us, and we’ll begin the ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qGyeouB9qwJtdLQ9J/lw-migration-announcement |
# LessWrong Diaspora Jargon Survey
Introduction
------------
Jargon is underrated in its importance to the framework of science. Luis Reyes-Galindo points out that jargon [quite often ends up literally determining the boundaries of a field](https://backreaction.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-holy-grail-of-crackpot-filterin... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/no5Fc7Br8G2vCu24h/lesswrong-diaspora-jargon-survey |
# Taking the Hammertime Final Exam
_\[alkjash just finished his [superb Hammertime sequence](https://www.lesserwrong.com/sequences/qRxTKm7DAftSuTGvj). I'm taking him up on his Hammertime Final Exam to come up with:_
* _an instrumental rationality technique_
* _a concept / framework_
* _a cognitive bias_
_with ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/aeb3h7wvxTrsuSkPT/taking-the-hammertime-final-exam |
# Hammertime Postmortem
[Intro](https://radimentary.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/hammertime-day-1-bug-hunt/).
A bit less than two months ago, I set out to write about instrumental rationality every day for thirty days. In this post, I will quickly evaluate how well I felt I did along each of my four stated objectives. I ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/i9fuScXBm7Zi3P5Db/hammertime-postmortem |
# My Hammertime Final Exam
I, too, will take the [Hammertime Final Exam](https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/Q7MsMshzbzhEs729s/hammertime-final-exam).
### Prompts
1. **Design an instrumental rationality technique.**
2. **Introduce a rationality principle or framework.**
3. **Describe a cognitive defect, bias, or bl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Qr2hJJx3p2ZnmnMAe/my-hammertime-final-exam |
# LessWrong.com URL transfer complete, data import will run for the next few hours
As you can easily see when you visit LessWrong.com, the site transfer is complete, and we are now on the new URL. The data import will run for the next few hours, and by tomorrow morning everything should be complete.
Let us know if yo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LprtvLte4K6wzsoZ3/lesswrong-com-url-transfer-complete-data-import-will-run-for |
# Systemizing and Hacking
Let's call two broad clusters of problem-solving "systemizing" and "hacking." Systemizing roughly refers to building general, robust solutions. Hacking refers to quickly building one-offs. You would expect to accrue technical debt while hacking and pay it down while systemizing.
Both are use... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bBB9htezdFyqwAjYB/systemizing-and-hacking |
# Idea: Open Access AI Safety Journal
This is short because I'm mainly trying to gather feedback on how much the idea might be worth pursuing, but how much value does it seem the existence of an open access AI safety journal would provide? Some reasons I can think of in favor:
* Have a journal focused on AI safety,... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/a65sFvymnoLkBnE8n/idea-open-access-ai-safety-journal |
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