A list capturing all background knowledge you might ever need for LW.
Updated: 2010-10-10
F = Free
E = Easy (adequate for a low educational background)
This list has two purposes. One is to enable people that lack a basic formal education to read and understand the LessWrong Sequences. Secondly, it is meant as a list of useful resources for all people to help to better understand what is being discussed on LessWrong and to enable you to actively participate.
Do not flinch, most of LessWrong can be read and understood by people with a previous level of education less than secondary school. And even if you lack the most basic education, if you start with Khan Academy followed by BetterExplained then with the help of Google and Wikipedia you should be able to reach a level of education that allows you to start reading the LessWrong Sequences.
Nevertheless, before you start off you might read the Twelve Virtues of RationalityFE. Not only is scholarship just one virtue but you’ll also be given a list of important fields of knowledge that anyone who takes LessWrong seriously should study:
Math is fundamental, not just for LessWrong. But especially Bayes’ Theorem is essential to understand the reasoning underlying most of the writings on LW.
Metamath (Constructs mathematics from scratch, starting from ZFC set theory axioms.) F
Decision theory:
It is precisely the notion that Nature does not care about our algorithm, which frees us up to pursue the winning Way—without attachment to any particular ritual of cognition, apart from our belief that it wins. Every rule is up for grabs, except the rule of winning. — Eliezer Yudkowsky
Remember that any heuristic is bound to certain circumstances. If you want X from agent Y and the rule is that Y only gives you X if you are a devoted irrationalist then ¬irrational. Under certain circumstances what is irrational may be rational and what is rational may be irrational. Paul K. Feyerabend said: “All methodologies have their limitations and the only ‘rule’ that survives is ‘anything goes’.”
Programming knowledge is not mandatory for LessWrong but you should however be able to interpret the most basic pseudo code as you will come across various snippets of code in discussions and top-level posts outside of the main sequences.
There is no such thing as philosophy-free science; there is only science whose philosophical baggage is taken on board without examination. — Daniel Dennett, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, 1995.
Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language. — Wittgenstein
Not essential but a good preliminary to reading LessWrong and in some cases mandatory to be able to make valuable contributions in the comments. Many of the concepts in the following works are often mentioned on LessWrong or the subject of frequent discussions.
A New Kind of Science (Cellular automaton) (Note: I was told to be careful about this book. Rather than reading it as an introduction to cellular automata you might just check out the Wikipedia page on Conway’s Game of LifeF)
Below a roundup of concepts and other fields of knowledge you should at least have a rough grasp of to be able to follow some subsequent discussions in the comments on LessWrong.
This list is a work in progress. I will try to constantly update and refine it.
Also thanks to cousin_it for the idea. I had to turn the original comment on his post into my own top-level post because I got the error that my comment was too long.
If you’ve anything to add or correct, please comment below and I’ll update the list accordingly.
How to better understand and participate on LW
Update! New URL:
!!!
http://lesswrong.com/lw/2un/references_resources_for_lesswrong/
!!!
Out-of-date:
A list capturing all background knowledge you might ever need for LW.
Updated: 2010-10-10
F = Free
E = Easy (adequate for a low educational background)
This list has two purposes. One is to enable people that lack a basic formal education to read and understand the LessWrong Sequences. Secondly, it is meant as a list of useful resources for all people to help to better understand what is being discussed on LessWrong and to enable you to actively participate.
Do not flinch, most of LessWrong can be read and understood by people with a previous level of education less than secondary school. And even if you lack the most basic education, if you start with Khan Academy followed by BetterExplained then with the help of Google and Wikipedia you should be able to reach a level of education that allows you to start reading the LessWrong Sequences.
Nevertheless, before you start off you might read the Twelve Virtues of Rationality FE. Not only is scholarship just one virtue but you’ll also be given a list of important fields of knowledge that anyone who takes LessWrong seriously should study:
Mathematics:
Basics
GeneralThe Khan Academy (World-class education for free (1800+ videos).) FE
Just Math Tutotrials (FREE math videos for the world!) F
BetterExplained (There’s always a better way to explain a topic.) FE
Steven Strogatz on the Elements of Math (A very basic introduction to mathematics.) FE
The Princeton Companion to Mathematics (Reference for anyone with a serious interest in mathematics)
Free Mathematics eBooks F
Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles F
math.stackexchange.com (Q&A for people studying math at any level) F
MathOverflow F
A Guide to Bayes’ Theorem – A few links (An extensive list of links to tutorials on Bayesian probability.) FE
E. T. Jayness, Probability Theory: The Logic of Science
Aumann’s agreement theorem (Agreeing to Disagree) F
Logic
Mr. Spock is Not Logical FE
Introduction to Mathematical Logic F
Gödel Without Tears F
Propositional calculus F
An Introduction to Non-Classical Logic
First-Order Logic
Logical Labyrinths
Stephen Cook’s lecture notes in computability and logic F
How to Prove It: A Structured Approach
The Cartoon Guide to Löb’s Theorem F
Foundations
Foundations of mathematics FE
The Mathematical Experience
What is Mathematics: Gödel’s Theorem and Around F
Metamath (Constructs mathematics from scratch, starting from ZFC set theory axioms.) F
wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_theory F
Decision Theory (Timeless Decision Theory) F
Good and Real (Rationality & Decision Theory)
Newcomb’s paradox F
Newcomb’s Problem and Regret of Rationality F
The Meta-Newcomb Problem (A self-undermining variant) F
Pascal’s Mugging (Finite version of Pascal’s Wager.) F
Game Theory
wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory F
wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_equilibrium F
Programming:
Programming knowledge is not mandatory for LessWrong but you should however be able to interpret the most basic pseudo code as you will come across various snippets of code in discussions and top-level posts outside of the main sequences.
Python
python.org F
Dive Into Python (Python from novice to pro) F
learnpythonthehardway.org F
A Byte of Python F
Python in a Nutshell, Second Edition
Python for Software Design
Python Cookbook
Learning Python, 3rd Edition
Free eBook Programming Tutorial
for Python Games! F
Haskell
haskell.org F
hackage.haskell.org/platform/ F
Learn_Haskell_in_10_minutes F
http://learnyouahaskell.com/ F
Programming in Haskell
Real World Haskell
The Haskell Road to Logic, Maths and Programming
General
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs F
How to Design Programs (An Introduction to Computing and Programming) F
projecteuler.net (Learn programming and math by solving problems) F
The FTP Site (Functional Programming) F
Computer sciences (General Introduction):
One of the fundamental premises on LessWrong is that a universal computing device can simulate every physical process and that we therefore should be able to reverse engineer the human brain as it is fundamentally computable. That is, intelligence and consciousness are substrate independent.
Marvin Minsky, Computation Finite and Infinite Machines
Michael Sipser, Introduction to the Theory of Computation
Charles Petzold, The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software E
Michael L. Scott, Programming Language Pragmatics
Thomas H. Cormen, Introduction to Algorithms
An Introduction to Kolmogorov Complexity and Its Applications
Theoretical Computer Science (Q&A site for theoretical computer scientists and researchers in related fields.) F
Machine Learning:
Not essential but an valuable addition for anyone who’s more than superficially interested in AI and machine learning.
Good Freely Available Textbooks on Machine Learning F
Learning About Statistical Learning
Learning about Machine Learning, 2nd Ed.
Bayesian Reasoning and Machine Learning F
The Quantum Physics Sequence F
And the Winner is… Many-Worlds! F
“Quantum Computing since Democritus” course notes F
Consistent Quantum Theory F
The Road to Reality
The Feynman Lectures on Physics
Learning Material on Quantum Computing F
100 Videos for Teaching and Studying Physics F
Usenet Physics FAQ F
So You’d Like to Learn Some Physics… F
Introduction to Differential Geometry and General Relativity F
Lecture Notes on General Relativity F
The General Relativity Tutorial F
Modern Physics: General Relativity F
From Eternity to Here (The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time)
Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, Daniel Dennett
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, Richard Dawkins E
Talk.origins (Discussion and debate of biological and physical origins.) FE
Genetic Algorithms and Evolutionary Computation F
Evolution of Adaptive Behaviour in Robots by Means of Darwinian Selection
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self & Soul
Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness
The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self
Good and Real (Demystifying Paradoxes from Physics to Ethics)
nickbostrom.com F
Quantum Mechanics and Philosophy: An Introduction F
Language: the Basics, R. L. Trask
The Language Instinct, Steven Pinker E
Online degrees and video courses from leading universities. F
Khan Academy FE
YouTube – EDU F
Miscellaneous:
Not essential but a good preliminary to reading LessWrong and in some cases mandatory to be able to make valuable contributions in the comments. Many of the concepts in the following works are often mentioned on LessWrong or the subject of frequent discussions.
Good and Real (Rationality & Decision Theory)
Reasons and Persons (Ethics, rationality and personal identity)
Predictably Irrational E
The Singularity Is Near E
Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind E
Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence E
A New Kind of Science (Cellular automaton) (Note: I was told to be careful about this book. Rather than reading it as an introduction to cellular automata you might just check out the Wikipedia page on Conway’s Game of Life F)
Complexity Explained: The Complete Series F
Key Concepts:
Below a roundup of concepts and other fields of knowledge you should at least have a rough grasp of to be able to follow some subsequent discussions in the comments on LessWrong.
Cognitive biases, common misconceptions, and fallacies. F
Kolmogorov complexity F
Cellular automaton F
Solomonoff induction F
Utility theory F
Utilitarianism F
Paradise-engineering F
Decision Theory (Timeless Decision Theory) F
Aumann’s agreement theorem (Agreeing to Disagree) F
Bayesian Probability Theory (Bayesian approach) vs. Frequentistt Probability Theory (Frequentist approach) F
The Coming Technological Singularity
AI Foomm Debate F
Paperclip maximizer FE
Catastrophic risks from artificial intelligence F
Recommended Reading for Friendly AI Research F
Coherent Extrapolated Volition (CEV) F
Simulation Argument F
Anthropic Principle F
Self-Indication Assumption F
Many-worlds interpretation (MWI) F
The mathematical universe (Level IV Multiversee/Ultimate Ensemble/Mathematical Universe Hypothesis) F
Permutation City (the infamous science fiction novel by Greg Egan) E
yudkowsky.net
overcomingbias.com
singinst.org (The SIAI, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence)
acceleratingfuture.com
nickbostrom.com
Meteuphoric
Transhumanist Resources
BLTC Research (Global technology project to abolish the biological substrates of suffering)
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (A LessWrong Community Project) FE
Three Worlds Collide (A story to illustrate some points on naturalistic metaethics and diverse other issues of rational conduct.) FE
The Finale of the Ultimate Meta Mega Crossover (Vernor Vinge x Greg Egan crackfic.) FE
Permutation City (the infamous science fiction novel by Greg Egan) E
Diaspora (another influential hard science fiction novel by Greg Egan) E
A Fire Upon the Deep (this novel by Vernor Vinge has set the stage for a new generation of SF)
orionsarm.com (Hard science fiction collective worldbuilding project) FE
What Is the Game of Go?
The Interactive Way To Go
Rationality Lessons in the Game of Go
An overview of online go servers
AITopics Go (If you want to understand intelligence, the game of Go is much more demanding.)
Computer Go
The Leading Go Software (PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad)
Note:
This list is a work in progress. I will try to constantly update and refine it.
Also thanks to cousin_it for the idea. I had to turn the original comment on his post into my own top-level post because I got the error that my comment was too long.
If you’ve anything to add or correct, please comment below and I’ll update the list accordingly.