Utility Maximizer's guide to replicators, networks, game theory, and civilization
Next up: Why Now? A Quest in Metaphysics: https://youtu.be/29AgSo6KOtI?t=86 Jaan Tallinn is someone I respect because he created Skype, something once deemed the realm of science fiction, and also because he created the term "Steelmanning". I like this speech because it is a good introduction to large number of topics in philosophy. The speech may be … Continue reading Speech: Jaan Tallinn explains the singularity
I want to spread the ideas of others, but I don’t want to plagiarize them. So, for the next few weeks, I will run a series called “Speech Highlights” wherein I’ll link to some fascinating speeches and discuss them. First up: Biologist Richard Dawkins demonstrates the evolution of the eye: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X1iwLqM2t0 The eye is often … Continue reading Speech: Richard Dawkins explains the adaptive valley
Previous posts: Part 1 - Part 2 Ancient history is a long list of civilizations that were once world leaders, region superpowers, and centers of innovation, that have since fallen from prominence. The British Empire, the Mongol Empire, the Roman Empire, various Caliphates, and too many to list. These were all at one point the … Continue reading Adaptive Valley: Late Culture Change Aversion
I have long been an enemy of bullshit language. The type employed by politicians, new-age mystics like Deepak Chopra, Postmodernists, and CEOs. I want language to be precise, or at least to MEAN something. For now, I'll call language “bullshitspeak” if it’s just vague nonsense that contains little actual meaning. This video is a great example … Continue reading Platitude Conspiracies and Recreational Outrage
Pick a game you can win. Again, pick a game you can win. You may think work = success, like a linear equation. The more work, or investment of any sort, the more success. ___ @tferriss @cgpgrey The Adaptive Valley How to innovate like now other can
A couple months ago, and in succession, two public intellectuals, Jonathan Haidt and Charles Murray, put out uncharacteristically poorly thought out comments. They denounced online anonymity, specifically, with respect to their preferred social platform, Twitter, although their comments were meant to be generalizable to the Internet. This is an example of what one could call … Continue reading The Case for Anonymity Online
Why do males exist? It doesn't make any sense. Introduction: Convergent Structures Convergent Structures are where two species develop the same characteristics, separately. They acquired like traits because they worked, not because of any shared ancestor. This should be familiar from high school bio. Birds evolved wings - but so did many and mammals (with the bats). … Continue reading Adaptive Valley: Why Do Males Exist?
Technological innovation is as old as humanity. Technology can be a physical creation or a process, anything that increases the scope of possibility or improves efficiency. First and foremost, I am unabashedly pro-technology, and despite the side this paper takes, I wish for its progress to continue or accelerate. I will explain why the extreme … Continue reading Welfare and Automation
Make your failures temporary and your successes permanent. Right there is how to become successful. Make your failures temporary and your successes permanent. That, simply put, means to engage in activities where the potential upside is compounding, whereas the potential downside is temporary. Take, for example, submitting a book to a publisher. A potential failure … Continue reading How to Become Successful
Cities are becoming uniform. You can go from capital to capital, and, despite the distinct culture of surrounding areas, never feel like you’ve gone anywhere, because it’s all the same: skyscrapers on a skyline. Those aren’t the cities we like to visit. Beautiful cities are distinct; they display culture (something I define here). In a … Continue reading The Problem with Empathy
Epiphany a Week 