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# Cryonics on Castle [Spoilers]
Check out the latest episode of Castle ([Headcase](http://www.sidereel.com/Castle/season-4/episode-3)) to see Cryonics covered in mainstream fiction in a not entirely terrible manner. The details are not exactly accurate but probably not more inaccurate than similar fictionalised covera... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rFKsmJEwfhsgAHg7P/cryonics-on-castle-spoilers |
# Another "Oops" moment [link]
[http://www.thebigquestions.com/2011/10/04/big-news/](http://www.thebigquestions.com/2011/10/04/big-news/)
Steven Landsburg notes that mathematician Edward Nelson has retracted his claim that the axioms of Peano Arithmetic are inconsistent.
The bit Landsburg cites indicates that the re... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qzLws7xqjHHMEnSfy/another-oops-moment-link |
# Peter Thiel warns of upcoming (and current) stagnation
SIAI benefactor and VC Peter Thiel has an [excellent article](http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/print/278758) at National Review about the stagnating progress of science and technology, which he attributes to poorly-grounded political opposition, widespread... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/GKqBQDMsAFdgHfd49/peter-thiel-warns-of-upcoming-and-current-stagnation |
# Prize for the best introduction to the LessWrong source ($250)
Now that it's [easy to host lesswrong and hack on the code](/lw/7fv/hacking_on_lesswrong_just_got_easier/), you may have gotten excited about adding a feature (facebook likes for articles! or expanded user pages!). So, you take a look at the code and … ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JDMtDBmaycM3SmDBk/prize-for-the-best-introduction-to-the-lesswrong-source |
# Not By Empathy Alone
* [1 Introduction](#introduction)
* [2 Is Empathy Necessary for Moral Judgment?](#is-empathy-necessary-for-moral-judgment)
* [3 Is Empathy Necessary for Moral Development?](#is-empathy-necessary-for-moral-development)
* [4 Is Empathy Necessary for Moral Conduct?](#is-empathy-necessary-fo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vAsQNjW3gbiskP9Wf/not-by-empathy-alone |
# [LINK] Robin Hanson on Carl Shulman's recent paper on Whole Brain Emulation
[Shulman on Superorgs](http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/10/shulman-on-superorgs.html)
Best to read the link first and my comments later.
I have very little to comment on the topic itself, but I do find it odd that Robin takes such a conf... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nS2gCL5xcTi8vu42e/link-robin-hanson-on-carl-shulman-s-recent-paper-on-whole |
# On self-deception
(Meta-note: First post on this site)
I have read the sequence on self-deception/doublethink and I have some comments for which I'd like to solicit feedback. This post is going to focus on the idea that it's impossible to deceive oneself, or to make oneself believe something which one knows apriori... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6mtoy9gh32rQzfT4r/on-self-deception |
# Should I play World of Warcraft?
I've avoided playing World of Warcraft because many people enjoy it so much that they neglect other things in their life.
Does that make sense?
How about cocaine?
How about sex? I hear that's pretty good too.
ADDED: Lots of interesting discussion, but no one is getting at some ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BeEq49qkKCwd2nC4a/should-i-play-world-of-warcraft |
# Marsh et al. "Serotonin Transporter Genotype (5-HTTLPR) Predicts Utilitarian Moral Judgments"
The whole paper is [here.](http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0025148#s2) In short, they found a genotype that predicts people's response to the original [trolley problem](http://en.wikipedi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/WihBTuaqNWiZxKYry/marsh-et-al-serotonin-transporter-genotype-5-httlpr-predicts |
# Neural Correlates of Conscious Access
**Summary:** Neuroimaging scans and EEG readings comparing nonconscious and conscious stimuli are compared, showing particular patterns in conscious processes. These findings are in line with predictions made by the Global Workspace Theory of consciousness, in which consciousnes... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9BRuYmSbyCfNyB6JR/neural-correlates-of-conscious-access |
# Morality is not about willpower
Most people believe the way to lose weight is through willpower. My successful experience losing weight is that this is not the case. You will lose weight if you want to, meaning you _effectively_ believe^0^ that the utility you will gain from losing weight, even time-discounted, wi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SBM5r93HSX2YDNERk/morality-is-not-about-willpower |
# Applying Bayesian Analysis to History (post idea)
I am an aspiring historian and I'm very interested in ways to apply Bayesian reasoning to history. When I say "history" I mean the study of history -- as a historian, allowing my map of what has happened _in the past_ to match the territory, and being able to represe... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QYYAo98W7vN9MSkWc/applying-bayesian-analysis-to-history-post-idea |
# Mike Darwin on Steve Jobs's hypocritical stance towards death
First, Darwin [describes](http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/New_Cryonet/message/1038) Jobs's (far mode) stance towards death:
> As Aschwin points out Jobs is on record (his Stanford Commencement Speech) as saying that death is the best thing that ever ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/38bhCn3sqoLYNzwQB/mike-darwin-on-steve-jobs-s-hypocritical-stance-towards |
# Guardian article highlights observational biases in Knox investigators
[Amanda Knox: What's in a face?](http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/08/amanda-knox-facial-expressions)
Some choice quotes:
> The eyes are not windows to the soul. They are organs for converting light into electro-magnetic impulses.
> "We... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DncviP9itgm8EFfbR/guardian-article-highlights-observational-biases-in-knox |
# Mike Darwin on Kurzweil, Techno-Optimism, and Delusional Stances on Cryonics
In a comment on his skeptical [post](http://chronopause.com/index.php/2011/08/11/the-kurzwild-man-in-the-night/) about Ray Kurzweil, he [writes](http://chronopause.com/index.php/2011/08/11/the-kurzwild-man-in-the-night/#comment-3637),
> Un... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/P4LakhT54cLwtonnn/mike-darwin-on-kurzweil-techno-optimism-and-delusional |
# 1001 PredictionBook Nights
> I explain what I've learned from creating and judging thousands of predictions on personal and real-world matters: the challenges of maintenance, the limitations of prediction markets, the interesting applications to my other essays, skepticism about pundits and unreflective persons' opi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/yE4Fdx4kYmQchBCek/1001-predictionbook-nights |
# The Outside View Of Human Complexity
One common question: how complex is some aspect of the human body? In addition to _directly_ evaluating the available evidence for that aspect, one fruitful tactic in making this kind of prediction is to analyze past predictions about similar phenomena and assume that the outcome... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5FmQiv6skygRCDZEW/the-outside-view-of-human-complexity |
# [SEQ RERUN] Why Are Individual IQ Differences OK?
Today's post, [Why Are Individual IQ Differences OK?](/lw/kk/why_are_individual_iq_differences_ok/) was originally published on 26 October 2007. A summary (taken from the [LW wiki](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong/2007_Articles/Summaries#Why_Are_Individual_I... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4QNZbLT68BE4GBQLS/seq-rerun-why-are-individual-iq-differences-ok |
# A few analogies to illustrate key rationality points
Introduction
---------------
Due to [long inferential distances](/lw/kg/expecting_short_inferential_distances) it's often very difficult to use knowledge or understanding given by rationality in a discussion with someone who isn't versed in the Art (like, a po... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/senPehgyNk2DCYPKM/a-few-analogies-to-illustrate-key-rationality-points |
# First, they must be convinced to play the game
I recall seeing, in one of the AI-boxing discussion threads, a comment to the effect that the first step for EY to get out was to convince the other party to even play the game at all.
It has since then occurred to me that this applies to a lot of my interactions. Many... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mjeuzYq8Kn56rDeX4/first-they-must-be-convinced-to-play-the-game |
# Motivated skepticism: it's harder to avoid than I'd think
(I am relatively new here. Allow me to introduce myself with this anecdote, which could not have happened to me before I started reading LW.)
Yesterday I caught myself on rationalizing. It's the first time I caught myself on rationalizing _before_ I finished... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/aTYWYCxKCfLEovmTA/motivated-skepticism-it-s-harder-to-avoid-than-i-d-think |
# Calibrate your self-assessments
When I moved to Ireland, I knew that their school system, and in particular their examinations, would be different from the ones I was used to. I educated myself on them and by the time I took my first exam I thought I was reasonably prepared.
I walked out of my first examination... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/aPrCzeFfbBmRsvzby/calibrate-your-self-assessments |
# Anti-akrasia tool: like stickK.com for data nerds
In 2009 I first described here on LessWrong a tool that [Bethany Soule](http://bethaknee.com) and I made to force ourselves to do things that otherwise fell victim to akrasia ("[How a pathological procrastinator can lose weight](/lw/am/how_a_pathological_procrastinor... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6oYETaG248zGF45aD/anti-akrasia-tool-like-stickk-com-for-data-nerds |
# [link] Relative angels and absolute demons
I wanted to bring attention to two posts from Razib Khan's Discover magazine [gene expression](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/) blog (some of you may have been readers of the still active original [gnxp](http://www.gnxp.com/)) on the polemic surrounding Pinker's [Th... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LKxdghoBKP86vkr8u/link-relative-angels-and-absolute-demons |
# A Rational Approach to Fashion
Related to: [Humans are not automatically strategic](/lw/2p5/humans_are_not_automatically_strategic/), [Rationalists should win](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Rationalists_should_win)
Fashion isn't prioritized in many hyper-analytical circles. Many in these communities write it off a... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dmh4XnguCtp7BEa5s/a-rational-approach-to-fashion |
# Just a reminder, for everyone that signed up for the intro to AI class, it's started.
Here you go: [http://www.ai-class.com/](http://www.ai-class.com/)
They're still working out kinks in the site, and no homework is up yet, but the initial set of lectures (really really basic "what is AI/welcome to the first day of... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hAyXBBkjriBqJuZna/just-a-reminder-for-everyone-that-signed-up-for-the-intro-to |
# The self-fooling problem.
I formulated a little problem. Care to solve it?
You are given the following information:
_Your task is to hide a coin in your house (or any familiar finite environment).__
After you've hidden the coin your memory will be erased and restored to a state just before you receiving this inf... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cieFX73v7J27qTTBZ/the-self-fooling-problem |
# The self-unfooling problem
Inspired by [PuyaSharif's conundrum](/r/discussion/lw/817/the_selffooling_problem/), I find myself continually faced with the opposite problem, which is identical to the original except in the bold-faced sentences:
You are given the following information:
_Your task is to hide a coin in ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PckAX7BwMsGgjBPmG/the-self-unfooling-problem |
# [Link] Awesome interactive visualization article
["Up and Down the Ladder of Abstraction"](http://worrydream.com/LadderOfAbstraction/)
Have you seen something similar to explain Bayesian updating? If not, how would one go about doing that?
The rest of the site and in particular the ["Kill Math Project"](http://wor... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wJbTM5rNgqBTQrgsr/link-awesome-interactive-visualization-article |
# On the Openness personality trait & 'rationality'
Evolutionary psychologist [Geoffrey Miller](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Geoffrey_Miller_%28psychologist%29) recently published [_Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior_](http://libgen.info/view.php?id=399108), a book on signaling, psychology,... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CXZK4cixfnKJF5Ycy/on-the-openness-personality-trait-and-rationality |
# How to understand people better
I’ve been taking notes on how I empathize, considering I seem to be more successful at it than others. I broke down my thought-patterns, implied beliefs, and techniques, hoping to unveil the mechanism behind the magic. I shared my findings with a few friends and noticed something int... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/qy4DMkqNFakaZWYkR/how-to-understand-people-better |
# Don't call yourself a rationalist.
I often seem to run into problems when I use the de facto label for this group. For example, when I say, "I've been hanging out with rationalists lately," I notice that many people immediately go on the defensive. They might ask why you need a group in order to be rational, or they... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/MsDv5tEeBQRhNcdYx/don-t-call-yourself-a-rationalist |
# Mental Rebooting: "Your Brain on Porn"...
... or "How to Operate Your Limbic System", or "A Practical Guide to Superstimulus". That's how I see it, anyway.
[Your Brain on Porn](http://yourbrainonporn.com/) is a website mainly dedicated to [exposing the addictive aspects of pornography](http://yourbrainonporn.com/w... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/myAvQcAGG7YBu5spt/mental-rebooting-your-brain-on-porn |
# A signaling theory of class x politics interaction
The media, most recently [The Economist](http://www.economist.com/node/21525851) and [Scientific American](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=occupy-wall-street-psychology), have been publicizing a surprising statistical finding: in the current economi... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Zh9AiXNjQaYXjmNaC/a-signaling-theory-of-class-x-politics-interaction |
# Is quantum physics (easily?) computable?
So I've been trying to read the Quantum Physics sequence. I think I've understood about half of it- I've been rushed, and haven't really sat down and worked through the math. And so I apologize in advance for any mistakes I make here.
It seems like classical mechanics with q... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j3iHHD7JZ8QRGw82M/is-quantum-physics-easily-computable |
# Overcoming the Curse of Knowledge
\[crossposted at [Measure of Doubt](http://measureofdoubt.com/2011/10/18/the-curse-of-knowledge/)\]
What is the Curse of Knowledge, and how does it apply to science education, persuasion, and communication? No... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5BzjCGucq84YHZ23v/overcoming-the-curse-of-knowledge |
# Resetting my perception of something
The guy who taught me how to eat sushi a couple months ago explained that I should get a slice of ginger before trying a different kind of sushi in order to "reset my taste buds" (probably broscience) and feel the taste anew (it works). That's also the exact problem that programm... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ibX2HEjupHGP8uD64/resetting-my-perception-of-something |
# Rational toy buying
I have an 8-year-old sister who is very interested in science. The school she attends (in rural Indiana) takes the mantra of "teaching to the test" to a whole new level; my sister has already come home from school many days crying and stressed over fear that she won't pass her state's proficiency... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/yAAveoJeBiWZiST29/rational-toy-buying |
# Social status & testosterone
We’ve discussed signaling and status endlessly on LW; I think this is right up our vein: a 2011 review of research on the connections between famous male hormone testosterone and various forms of social interaction and especially social status, Eisenegger et al’s [“The role of testostero... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uRg5Q2vAteDem5b5S/social-status-and-testosterone |
# Amanda Knox: post mortem
Continuing my interest in tracking [real-world predictions](/lw/7z9/1001_predictionbook_nights/), I notice that the [recent acquittal of Knox & Sollecito](/r/discussion/lw/7x3/knox_and_sollecito_freed/) offers an interesting opportunity - specifically, many LessWrongers gave probabilities fo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Jx4gGbPi7GuydwvzB/amanda-knox-post-mortem |
# Link: 50% effective malaria vaccine developed
A study on over 15000 children in 7 African countries shows GlaxoSmithKline's anti-malaria vaccine halves the risk of contracting malaria. The trials were run on children between 6 and 12 weeks old, and between 5 and 17 months old.
Guardian article: http://www.guardian.... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jpyDDrsTd74GHwyKa/link-50-effective-malaria-vaccine-developed |
# Satisficers want to become maximisers
_(with thanks to Daniel Dewey, Owain Evans, Nick Bostrom, Toby Ord and BruceyB)_
In theory, a [satisficing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satisficing) agent has a lot to recommend it. Unlike a maximiser, that will attempt to squeeze the universe to every drop of utility that it ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2qCxguXuZERZNKcNi/satisficers-want-to-become-maximisers |
# In favour of a selective CEV initial dynamic
Note: I appreciate that at this point CEV is just a sketch. However, it’s an interesting topic and I don’t see that there’s any harm in discussing certain details of the concept as it stands.
**1\. Summary of CEV**
Eliezer Yudkowsky describes CEV - Coherent Extrapolated... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/u8isNgN7rRYBZ35rQ/in-favour-of-a-selective-cev-initial-dynamic |
# Things you are supposed to like
I'm trying to like [Beethoven's Great Fugue](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s0Mp7LFI-k).
"This piece alone completely changed my life and how I perceive and appreciate music."
"Those that claim to love Beethoven but not this are fakers, frauds, wannabees, but most of all are peopl... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4tzEAgdbNTwB6nKyL/things-you-are-supposed-to-like |
# [LINK] Loss of local knowledge affecting intellectual trends
A recent entry from the [West Hunters blog](http://westhunt.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/local-knowledge/) (written by [Gregory Cochran](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Cochran) and [Henry Harpending](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Harpending) with wh... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hf9ZP2wnPwZ5pcujv/link-loss-of-local-knowledge-affecting-intellectual-trends |
# 11 Less Wrong Articles I Probably Will Never Have Time to Write
There are many Less Wrong posts I'd like to write, but I'm starting to admit there are some of them I'll probably never get around to. I need to be doing other things. If anybody wants to write up the post ideas below, go for it! You may also want to an... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Qs96DvwTCCdyRvM5E/11-less-wrong-articles-i-probably-will-never-have-time-to |
# The Protagonist Problem
Followup to: [Neural Correlates of Conscious Access](/lw/7yr/neural_correlates_of_conscious_access/); Related to: [How an Algorithm Feels From the Inside](/lw/no/how_an_algorithm_feels_from_inside/), [Dissolving the Question](/lw/of/dissolving_the_question/)
Global Workspace Theory and ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KXsWN8i4W26qGCmRR/the-protagonist-problem |
# Best Nonfiction Writing on Less Wrong
However useful the content, what are some examples of the best nonfiction _writing_ on Less Wrong? Are there pieces you think are as good as recent classics of essay form like [I Think You're Fat](http://www.esquire.com/features/honesty0707) or [Lies We Tell Kids](http://www.pau... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cijurJhuz22ACCQgX/best-nonfiction-writing-on-less-wrong |
# HPMoR: What do you think you know?
_(And somewhere in the back of his mind was a small, small note of confusion, a sense of something wrong about that story; and it should have been a part of Harry's art to notice that tiny note, but he was distracted. For it is a sad rule that whenever you are most in need of your ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xj7RiiSvi4CAsnHLu/hpmor-what-do-you-think-you-know |
# Let Your Workers Gather Food
[Crocker's rules](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Crocker's_rules) apply to this post, and to everything I post.
Also, after writing this post and googling LW for links I came up with [this](/lw/4e4/recursively_selfimproving_human_intelligence/) post, which presents the same ideas. #!@$%... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j2v6yymMvzwczYXmg/let-your-workers-gather-food |
# Better Disagreement
> Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.
\- Gandhi
Now that most communication is remote rather than face-to-face, people are comfortable disagreeing more often. How, then, can we disagree _well_? If the goal is intellectual progress, those who disagree should aim not for name-ca... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/FhH8m5n8qGSSHsAgG/better-disagreement |
# How Much Rent
Make beliefs [pay rent](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Making_beliefs_pay_rent). How much rent? Is it enough that they have some theoretical use in designing a GPS or predicting the cosmos? How much rent can actually be extracted from a belief?
In a certain fantasy series, there is a special knowledge... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/jCAQ2yyMaFwKMvtnk/how-much-rent |
# [FICTION] Hamlet and the Philosopher's Stone
[So I did actually write it.](http://www.makefoil.com)
Its first title was _Rationalist Hamlet_, back when it was a short fan contribution to the _[Alternate Parallels](http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/64/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality) _section of _Harry... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mWb2cCqjvjng7Pzcp/fiction-hamlet-and-the-philosopher-s-stone |
# How to Build Your Post
LWers often [wonder](/r/discussion/lw/81l/improving_my_writing_style/) how to write a good post. [Many](/lw/86a/rhetoric_for_the_good/) [great](/r/discussion/lw/81l/improving_my_writing_style/50lr ) tips and resources have been suggested already, mostly on the style and substance, not on the p... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3FQZ84AJMqP8hLRnh/how-to-build-your-post |
# Review of Lakoff & Johnson, 'Philosophy in the Flesh'
Lakoff & Johnson's _[Philosophy in the Flesh](http://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Flesh-Embodied-Challenge-Western/dp/0465056741/)_ (1999) is an ambitious 550-page attempt to rewrite philosophy from scratch given what we now know from the cognitive sciences about ho... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/iwEDctfACQ6sQQk9j/review-of-lakoff-and-johnson-philosophy-in-the-flesh |
# Rhetoric for the Good
The topics of rationality and existential risk reduction need their own Richard Dawkins. Their own Darwin. Their own Voltaire.
Rhetoric moves minds.
Students and masochists aside, people read only what is exciting. So: Want to make an impact? Be exciting. You must be heard before you can turn... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/SiGY7aah56HvGXxBJ/rhetoric-for-the-good |
# Vasili Arkhipov Day
[Stanislav Petrov](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov) is a rather [famous](/lw/jq/926_is_petrov_day/) [person](/lw/7t7/stanislav_petrov_day/) (of course only on Lesswrong, not in the real world).
But there is another Russian who saved the world: [Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov](http:... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/BDf2aPaWSfH2gWWAc/vasili-arkhipov-day |
# Conversation as social grooming – a rationality problem?
Summary: the evolved social communication style of humans is not optimised for problem-solving. People of average intelligence generally fail to notice this, therefore they habitually fail to make full use of their faculties of precise thinking, and privilege ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9meQRSnRbNic3PoSR/conversation-as-social-grooming-a-rationality-problem |
# 5 Second Level: Substituting the Question
I picked this up in the new Kahneman book, [Thinking, Fast and Slow](http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374275637). He describes a common characteristic of reasoning heuristics: rather than answer a difficult question, they substitute a simpler ques... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/x4DNd9xXEHEW7zJko/5-second-level-substituting-the-question |
# Gerald Jay Sussman talk on new ideas about modeling computation
This is a bit-over-an-hour-long talk with slides that I found extremely interesting from this year's Strange Loop conference, and I thought I would share it with any programmers in the audience here that hadn't seen it.
It's about Sussman's ideas about... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fk5nqMrpvcTz9eLET/gerald-jay-sussman-talk-on-new-ideas-about-modeling |
# Review of Kahneman, 'Thinking, Fast and Slow' (2011)
_[Thinking, Fast and Slow](http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374275637/)_ is Kahneman's first book for a general audience, and a summary of his far-reaching and important work. Over the course of about 400 pages (this does not include th... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PipGvHwA9ZxYNgTyW/review-of-kahneman-thinking-fast-and-slow-2011 |
# The Pleasures of Rationality
There are many pleasant benefits of improved [rationality](/lw/31/what_do_we_mean_by_rationality/):
* [Winning](/lw/7i/rationality_is_systematized_winning/) more often.
* Better [affective forecasting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affective_forecasting).
* Better [self-help skills... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/vbrtiub8HCmH286hx/the-pleasures-of-rationality |
# Disability Culture Meets the Transhumanist Condition
With apologies to Ed Regis.
Modern science has caused humankind to develop better cures and patches for once-debilitating conditions; people often survive maladies which would have killed them not long ago. In the wake of this and of a recently changing attitude ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/yzMbHLNdzzmsS8EB4/disability-culture-meets-the-transhumanist-condition |
# Help needed: German translation of the Singularity FAQ
At [lukeprog's suggestion](/lw/7s7/useful_things_volunteers_can_do_right_now/), I translated the [Singularity FAQ](http://intelligence.org/singularityfaq) into German. Unfortunately, Tripitaka, who volunteered to proofread, doesn't seem to have read my messages.... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HseHQzpSPyc5Ar87H/help-needed-german-translation-of-the-singularity-faq |
# Whole Brain Emulation: Looking At Progress On C. elgans
Being able to treat the pattern of someone's brain as software to be run on a computer, perhaps in parallel or at a large speedup, would have a huge impact, both socially and economically. Robin Hanson thinks it is the [most likely route to artificial intellig... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/XhHetxjWxZ6b85HK9/whole-brain-emulation-looking-at-progress-on-c-elgans |
# [LINK] Being proven wrong is like winning the lottery
Phil Birnbaum at _Sabermetric Research_ [writes](http://sabermetricresearch.blogspot.com/2011/10/being-proven-wrong-is-like-winning.html) about how people have things backwards; it's great to find out that you're wrong:
> Let's suppose you open a restaurant, an... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/wTrkshWNdDxjGjNvM/link-being-proven-wrong-is-like-winning-the-lottery |
# Why would we think artists perform better on drugs ?
Introduction
------------
It is common knowledge that many artists have used drugs (alcohol, opiates, cannabis, LSD, ...) and that this account for part of their creativity. This common knowledge is usually opposed to people advocating rationality in sentences li... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/x2AgpCvmEaNbvMvfz/why-would-we-think-artists-perform-better-on-drugs |
# Less Wrong Couchsurfing Network
One of my favorite aspects of Less Wrong is that every time I go to a new city (Oxford, Boston, Philadelphia and New York soon!), I know there’s a group of people who will be happy to discuss rationality and welcome me into their community.
It would be really cool if more Less Wronge... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DBeTqcPgS54Pr3Dan/less-wrong-couchsurfing-network |
# Great Explanations
> Explaining is a difficult art. You can explain something so that your reader understands the words; \[I try to\] explain something so that the reader feels it in the marrow of his bones.
Richard Dawkins
My private school taught biology from the infamous creationist textbook _[Biology for Chris... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/6t4EjTfNzC6jN69ad/great-explanations |
# Anthropic decision theory I: Sleeping beauty and selflessness
A near-final version of my Anthropic Decision Theory [paper](http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.6437) is available on the arXiv. Since anthropics problems have been discussed quite a bit on this list, I'll be presenting its arguments and results in this and subseq... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/svhbnSdxW3XmFXXTK/anthropic-decision-theory-i-sleeping-beauty-and-selflessness |
# 2011 Less Wrong Census / Survey
The final straw was noticing [a comment](/r/discussion/lw/88v/less_wrong_couchsurfing_network/54rg) referring to "the most recent survey I know of" and realizing [it was from May 2009](/lw/fk/survey_results/). I think it is _well_ past time for another survey, so here is one now.
**[... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/miHttwTgajY2sjY3L/2011-less-wrong-census-survey |
# Do we have it too easy?
I am worried that I have it too easy. I recently discovered LessWrong for myself, and it feels very exciting and very important and I am learning a lot, but how do I know that I am really on a right way? I have some achievements to show, but there are some worrisome signs too.
I need some ba... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2C2nGLDSygZXYTw6P/do-we-have-it-too-easy |
# Anthropic Decision Theory II: Self-Indication, Self-Sampling and decisions
A near-final version of my Anthropic Decision Theory [paper](http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.6437) is available on the arXiv. Since anthropics problems have been discussed quite a bit on this list, I'll be presenting its arguments and results in th... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/G9scbpNrCxfJZQmYu/anthropic-decision-theory-ii-self-indication-self-sampling |
# [link]s Recent developments in life-extension
Progeria is a very rare disease which causes children to undergo symptoms extremely similar to rapid aging, and generally dying before the age of 20. Recent results suggest that a fairly cheap drug may help reduce the aging systems, and it is possible it may have similar... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/EBgxWap8FBJ57DEe2/link-s-recent-developments-in-life-extension |
# What are the best ways of absorbing, and maintaining, knowledge?
Recently, I've collapsed (ascended?) down/up a meta-learning death spiral -- doing a lot less of _reading_ actual informative content, than figuring out how to _manage_ and acquire such content ([as well as completely ignoring the antidote](/lw/5a5/no_... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/fX9cye9fdhpcK25Gm/what-are-the-best-ways-of-absorbing-and-maintaining |
# AI Challenge: Ants
Aichallenge.org has started their third AI contest this year: [Ants](http://aichallenge.org/index.php).
> The AI Challenge is all about creating artificial intelligence, whether you are a beginning programmer or an expert. ... \[Y\]ou will create a computer program (in any language) that controls... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rrX37rZkf2o4XEfuT/ai-challenge-ants |
# [LINK] Fraud Case Seen as a Red Flag for Psychology Research
An article in the [NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/health/research/noted-dutch-psychologist-stapel-accused-of-research-fraud.html?_r=1&hp)'s about everyone's favourite messy science, you know the one we sometimes rely on to provide a throwaway line ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/YNGEHggJfHdxTC3G4/link-fraud-case-seen-as-a-red-flag-for-psychology-research |
# Selection Effects in estimates of Global Catastrophic Risk
Here's a poser that occurred to us over the summer, and one that we couldn't really come up with any satisfactory solution to. The people who work at the Singularity Institute have a high estimate of the probability that an Unfriendly AI will destroy the wor... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/oFgTAYLncbmvRvRrA/selection-effects-in-estimates-of-global-catastrophic-risk |
# [link] Back to the trees
So we say we know evolution is an [alien god](/lw/kr/an_alien_god/), which can do absolutely horrifying things to creatures. And surely we are aware that includes _us_, but how exactly does one internalize something like that? Something so at odds with default cultural intuitions. It may be ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xNqeGssARAYwbNCgH/link-back-to-the-trees |
# Tell me what you think of me
Time and time again, honest feedback has improved my life. I have sought it out on many specific occasions, but now I have a static, anonymous way for people to give me feedback — for any reason, at any time.
You can give me feedback on my personality, my conduct, or the organization fo... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/zFj67rtrQ7HEaZ45F/tell-me-what-you-think-of-me |
# Rational Romantic Relationships, Part 1: Relationship Styles and Attraction Basics
Part of the Sequence: [The Science of Winning at Life](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/The_Science_of_Winning_at_Life). Co-authored with [Minda Myers](http://spirituality.mindamyers.com/) and[Hugh Ristik](/user/HughRistik/). Also see: ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/JYckkCqhZPrdScjBx/rational-romantic-relationships-part-1-relationship-styles |
# Less Wrong and non-native English speakers
Hello Less Wrongers.
I'm still relatively new to the LW community, but I would like to share with you a few comments and ideas for making LW a better place for non-native English speakers.
There are two classes of people among non-native English speakers (of course, those... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/2RJRZtnbCafK2r4cb/less-wrong-and-non-native-english-speakers |
# Q&A with new Executive Director of Singularity Institute
Today I was appointed the new Executive Director of Singularity Institute.
Because I care about transparency, one of my first projects as an intern was to begin work on the organization's first [Strategic Plan](http://intelligence.org/blog/2011/08/26/singular... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/G65tLdGma8Xgh3p7L/q-and-a-with-new-executive-director-of-singularity-institute |
# Singularity Institute mentioned on Franco-German TV
The following is a clipping of a [documentary about transhumanism](http://www.arte.tv/de/suche/4135792.html) that I recorded when it aired on [Arte](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arte), September 22 2011.
At the beginning and end of the video Luke Muehlhauser and M... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5toz9mT5aDBPXpsTT/singularity-institute-mentioned-on-franco-german-tv |
# Query the LessWrong Hivemind
Often, there are questions you want to know the answers to. You want other people's opinions, because knowing the answer isn't worth the time you'd have to spend to find it, or you're unsure whether your answer is right.
LW seems like a good place to ask these questions because the peop... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ky5mhm5KMPRT3wyNn/query-the-lesswrong-hivemind |
# Low legibility of Cognitive Reflection Test dramatically improves performance?
I'm reading Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow and I've stopped on this:
> 90% of the students who saw the CRT in normal font made at least one mistake in the test, but the proportion dropped to 35% when the font was barely legible. You ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/9HkCYH4XbkMZWKu7Y/low-legibility-of-cognitive-reflection-test-dramatically |
# Why would an AI try to figure out its goals?
> "So how can it ensure that future self-modifications will accomplish its current objectives? For one thing, it has to make those objectives clear to itself. If its objectives are only implicit in the structure of a complex circuit or program, then future modifications are... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/n5Kqe527prQoJDEB6/why-would-an-ai-try-to-figure-out-its-goals |
# [link] I Was Wrong, and So Are You
A article in [the Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/12/i-was-wrong-and-so-are-you/8713/), linked to by someone on the unofficial LW [IRC channel](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong_IRC_Chatroom) caught my eye. Nothing all that new for LessWrong read... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uL6fiWsG8J4DymAYf/link-i-was-wrong-and-so-are-you |
# PredictionBook: A Short Note
**New Updates**
[PredictionBook](http://predictionbook.com/) has been updated and the speed improvements are massive. I was considering abandoning it because navigating the site was so slow (especially on my [Android](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Android_%28operating_s... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KMF9dmiTfdBDfHAhC/predictionbook-a-short-note |
# [Draft] Poker With Lennier
In J. Michael Straczynski's science fiction TV show _Babylon 5_, there's a character named Lennier. He's pretty Spock-like: he's a long-lived alien who avoids displaying emotion and feels superior to humans in intellect and wisdom. He's sworn to always speak the truth. In one episode, he a... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/N3KmoJXav4wx3JHNG/draft-poker-with-lennier |
# Maximizing Cost-effectiveness via Critical Inquiry
_I am cross-posting this [GiveWell Blog](http://blog.givewell.org) post, a followup to an [earlier cross-post I made](/lw/745/why_we_cant_take_expected_value_estimates/). Here I provide a slightly more fleshed-out model that helps clarify the implications of Bayesia... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/QQo9N3WhZpL3ewii6/maximizing-cost-effectiveness-via-critical-inquiry |
# Which fields of learning have clarified your thinking? How and why?
Did computer programming make you a clearer, more precise thinker? How about mathematics? If so, what kind? Set theory? Probability theory?
Microeconomics? Poker? English? Civil Engineering? Underwater Basket Weaving? (For adding... _depth._)
Anyt... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Jjf98bkdefG8yuvxc/which-fields-of-learning-have-clarified-your-thinking-how |
# Transhumanism and Gender Relations
Upon reading Eliezer's possible gender dystopias (\[catgirls\]([http://lesswrong.com/lw/xt/interpersonal_entanglement/](/lw/xt/interpersonal_entanglement/)), and \[verthandi\]([http://lesswrong.com/lw/xu/failed\_utopia\_42/](/lw/xu/failed_utopia_42/)) and the other LW comments and ... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/porPWLbSbqvySCkea/transhumanism-and-gender-relations |
# Sometimes, talking the issue through *works*
Michael Nielsen's new book _[Reinventing Discovery](http://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Discovery-New-Networked-Science/dp/0691148902/)_ is invigorating. Here's one passage on how a small group talked an issue through and had a large impact on scientific progress:
> Why is... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bGFvsvohynEp9oaZC/sometimes-talking-the-issue-through-works |
# The promise of connected science
Sometimes, scientific discovery is just a matter of sitting down and _using_ the tools of "connected science" already available to us. Stories like this one underscore the need for generalists:
> Don Swanson seems an unlikely person to make medical discoveries. A retired but still a... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/xyNP4B5CHfAM3K4Sz/the-promise-of-connected-science |
# List of potential cognitive enhancement methods
Participants in the Singularity Summit 2011 workshops held on October 17-18 brainstormed a list of cognitive enhancement methods they would like to see tested — some of them for the first time, many of them more thoroughly than has been done so far. Here is that list:
... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/cvQ6rPZPDbriw5W9n/list-of-potential-cognitive-enhancement-methods |
# Modularity, signaling, and belief in belief
_This is the fourth 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/069114674... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/o6CuZk2oPtDXqeY5A/modularity-signaling-and-belief-in-belief |
# Drawing Less Wrong: An Introduction
> _You have not found a way to connect your hobby to rationalism yet. It itches. You are not whole. It is forbidden to post an article entitled Rationalist Hobby on Less Wrong. You lie awake at three in the morning, trying to create puns._
> _\-\- Alicorn, [Rationality Gothic \[2... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NwDRdJpZ7n76yQS8u/drawing-less-wrong-an-introduction |
# Drawing Less Wrong: Should You Learn to Draw?
_This is the second post of the Drawing Less Wrong mini sequence, in which I discuss how to draw, how learning to draw *_effectively* _relates to rationality, and what the initial results were when I started running a drawing workshop, teaching people with essentially no... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bhTCSdxF4gCuzzTRa/drawing-less-wrong-should-you-learn-to-draw |
# Is an Intelligence Explosion a Disjunctive or Conjunctive Event?
_(The following is a summary of some of my previous submissions that I originally created for my personal blog.)_
> ...an intelligence explosion may have fair probability, not because it occurs in one particular detailed scenario, but because, like th... | https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/j52uErqofDiJZCo76/is-an-intelligence-explosion-a-disjunctive-or-conjunctive |
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