I’m a computer scientist currently living in Seattle. I used to work for Google, but I’ve since left to work on a game-creation-software startup. I came to Less Wrong to see Eliezer’s posts about Friendly AI and stayed because a lot of interesting philosophical discussion happens here. It’s refreshing to see people engaging earnestly with important issues, and the community is supportive rather than combative; nice work!
I’m interested in thinking clearly about my values and helping other people think about theirs. I was surprised to see that there hasn’t been much discussion here about moral, animal-suffering-based vegetarianism or veganism. It seems to me that this is a simple, but high-impact, step towards reflective equilibrium. Has there been a conclusive argument against it here, or is everyone on LW already vegetarian (I wish)?
I’d be very happy to talk with anyone about moral vegetarianism in a PM or in a public setting. Even if you don’t want to discuss it, I encourage you to think about it; my relationship with animals was a big inconsistency in my value system, and in retrospect it was pretty painless to patch, since the arguments are unusually straightforward and the causal chain is short.
I’ve since left to work on a game-creation-software startup
Does this startup have a website or anything? I working for a gaming tech startup ATM in a different area, but I’m quite interested in game-creation-software.
No, no website—it’s just me right now, and work started about a week ago, so it’ll be a while yet. Calling it a “startup” is just a way to reassure my parents that I’m doing something with my time :)
The basic premises behind my approach to game-creation software are:
The game must always be runnable
The game must be easily shareable to OSX and Windows users
The user cannot program program (variables, threading, even loops and math should be as scarce as possible)
Limitations must be strict (don’t let users try to create blockbuster-level games, or they’ll become discouraged and stop trying)
I’d like to get a working prototype up, send it around to a few testers, and iterate before getting sidetracked into web design. I’ve found that I can sink a distressing amount of time into getting my CSS “just right”. I’ll definitely put you on my list for v.0.5 if you PM me an email address.
I see you did a game startup for some years; any tips for someone just starting out? And does your current venture have a website?
Hi Less Wrong,
I’m a computer scientist currently living in Seattle. I used to work for Google, but I’ve since left to work on a game-creation-software startup. I came to Less Wrong to see Eliezer’s posts about Friendly AI and stayed because a lot of interesting philosophical discussion happens here. It’s refreshing to see people engaging earnestly with important issues, and the community is supportive rather than combative; nice work!
I’m interested in thinking clearly about my values and helping other people think about theirs. I was surprised to see that there hasn’t been much discussion here about moral, animal-suffering-based vegetarianism or veganism. It seems to me that this is a simple, but high-impact, step towards reflective equilibrium. Has there been a conclusive argument against it here, or is everyone on LW already vegetarian (I wish)?
I’d be very happy to talk with anyone about moral vegetarianism in a PM or in a public setting. Even if you don’t want to discuss it, I encourage you to think about it; my relationship with animals was a big inconsistency in my value system, and in retrospect it was pretty painless to patch, since the arguments are unusually straightforward and the causal chain is short.
See this thread for a prior discussion.
I must’ve missed it in my search. I’ll post over there, thanks.
Does this startup have a website or anything? I working for a gaming tech startup ATM in a different area, but I’m quite interested in game-creation-software.
No, no website—it’s just me right now, and work started about a week ago, so it’ll be a while yet. Calling it a “startup” is just a way to reassure my parents that I’m doing something with my time :)
The basic premises behind my approach to game-creation software are:
The game must always be runnable
The game must be easily shareable to OSX and Windows users
The user cannot program program (variables, threading, even loops and math should be as scarce as possible)
Limitations must be strict (don’t let users try to create blockbuster-level games, or they’ll become discouraged and stop trying)
I’d like to get a working prototype up, send it around to a few testers, and iterate before getting sidetracked into web design. I’ve found that I can sink a distressing amount of time into getting my CSS “just right”. I’ll definitely put you on my list for v.0.5 if you PM me an email address.
I see you did a game startup for some years; any tips for someone just starting out? And does your current venture have a website?
There is a rather high incidence of vegetarians around here, but certainly not universal.