I want to be uploaded, but the only way that’s going to happen is if I reduce existential risk
What’s the chain of causation, here?
I’m somewhat skeptical of the value of goal stability for you right now. Human lives are long.
My recommendations:
Philosophy of Life: This is an important thing worth thinking about, but not too much or too frequently. You should write a draft now, with lots of question marks. Rewrite it from scratch annually, and compare. How are your experiences changing your perception of your values? Be suspicious of convergence before, say, age 25. Keep them private so you can be honest.
College Major: It sounds like flexibility is important at this stage. I would recommend something like a compsci/physics or compsci/chem double major. It’s easier to start with the hardest and move down than start with the middle and move up.
Don’t let college define your responsibilities. It’s easy to see that you’re getting As in all of your courses and think that you’ve done enough; set measurable goals for mentors, friends, girls, and give yourself grades on those.
A note on the recommendation to study physics: physicists can do anything. Seriously. You see physicists making contributions to computer science, biology, statistics, computational finance, etc. You rarely see non-physicists making significant contributions to physics. I think the reason for this is that physicists learn lots of very useful mathematics that can be applied in a wide variety of contexts… and unlike someone who earns a mathematics degree, their emphasis is on applying math to solving problems, rather than on math for its own sake. The other factor may be that physicists are trained to think in terms of fundamental principles; they expect to find some hidden underlying pattern that will bring order out of the chaos.
What’s the chain of causation, here?
I’m somewhat skeptical of the value of goal stability for you right now. Human lives are long.
My recommendations:
Philosophy of Life: This is an important thing worth thinking about, but not too much or too frequently. You should write a draft now, with lots of question marks. Rewrite it from scratch annually, and compare. How are your experiences changing your perception of your values? Be suspicious of convergence before, say, age 25. Keep them private so you can be honest.
College Major: It sounds like flexibility is important at this stage. I would recommend something like a compsci/physics or compsci/chem double major. It’s easier to start with the hardest and move down than start with the middle and move up.
Don’t let college define your responsibilities. It’s easy to see that you’re getting As in all of your courses and think that you’ve done enough; set measurable goals for mentors, friends, girls, and give yourself grades on those.
A note on the recommendation to study physics: physicists can do anything. Seriously. You see physicists making contributions to computer science, biology, statistics, computational finance, etc. You rarely see non-physicists making significant contributions to physics. I think the reason for this is that physicists learn lots of very useful mathematics that can be applied in a wide variety of contexts… and unlike someone who earns a mathematics degree, their emphasis is on applying math to solving problems, rather than on math for its own sake. The other factor may be that physicists are trained to think in terms of fundamental principles; they expect to find some hidden underlying pattern that will bring order out of the chaos.
The other reason, of course, is that there’s nearly no work in physics itself.