If you have some of the LessWrong books, I would recommend those. They are small little books that you can easily lend out. That’s what I’ve thought of doing before.
Really, starting is the hard part. Once I saw the value I was getting out of the sequences and other essays, I wanted to read more. So share a single essay, or lend a small book. Start small, and then if you are getting value out of it, continue.
You don’t have to commit to reading the whole Sequences before you start. Just start with one essay from the highlights, when you feel like it. They’re not super long. The enduring, net positive change that you are looking for cannot be shortcut. After all, Wisdom Cannot Be Unzipped.
Think of the sequences as a full course on rationality. You don’t introduce your friend who doesn’t know calculus into math by showing them the whole textbook and telling them they should read it. You show them a little problem. And demonstrate that the tools you learned in calculus help you solve that problem. Do the same with rationality.
I know I set myself up for this by sounding like the classic “I’m not asking for me, I’m asking for a friend” thing, but I actually am asking for a friend. Specifically, I want to make and print my own compilation of high-impact material, which I personally curate such that it optimizes to makes people butterfly effect/diverge from their former self.
I’m asking for help because I need it to be net-positive, and because people here are more familiar with good stuff in all sorts of places.
If the Highlights are too long, then print off a single post from each section. If that’s too long, print off your top three. If that’s too long, print off one post.
Summarizing the post usually doesn’t help, as you’ve discovered. So I’m not really sure what else to tell you. You have a lot of curated options to choose from to start. The Highlights, the Best of LessWrong, the Curated Sequences, Codex. Find stuff you like, and print it off for your friend.
Or, alternatively, tell them about HPMOR. That’s how I introduced myself to the concepts in a fashion where the protagonist had need of them. So the techniques stuck with me.
If you have some of the LessWrong books, I would recommend those. They are small little books that you can easily lend out. That’s what I’ve thought of doing before.
Really, starting is the hard part. Once I saw the value I was getting out of the sequences and other essays, I wanted to read more. So share a single essay, or lend a small book. Start small, and then if you are getting value out of it, continue.
You don’t have to commit to reading the whole Sequences before you start. Just start with one essay from the highlights, when you feel like it. They’re not super long. The enduring, net positive change that you are looking for cannot be shortcut. After all, Wisdom Cannot Be Unzipped.
Think of the sequences as a full course on rationality. You don’t introduce your friend who doesn’t know calculus into math by showing them the whole textbook and telling them they should read it. You show them a little problem. And demonstrate that the tools you learned in calculus help you solve that problem. Do the same with rationality.
The art must have an end other than itself or it collapses into infinite recursion. Have a problem in mind when you read the sequences, try and see what will help you solve it. Having a problem gives you a reason to apply it, and can motivate you into learning more. Have some fun while you’re at it! This stuff is cool!
I know I set myself up for this by sounding like the classic “I’m not asking for me, I’m asking for a friend” thing, but I actually am asking for a friend. Specifically, I want to make and print my own compilation of high-impact material, which I personally curate such that it optimizes to makes people butterfly effect/diverge from their former self.
I’m asking for help because I need it to be net-positive, and because people here are more familiar with good stuff in all sorts of places.
If the Highlights are too long, then print off a single post from each section. If that’s too long, print off your top three. If that’s too long, print off one post.
Summarizing the post usually doesn’t help, as you’ve discovered. So I’m not really sure what else to tell you. You have a lot of curated options to choose from to start. The Highlights, the Best of LessWrong, the Curated Sequences, Codex. Find stuff you like, and print it off for your friend.
Or, alternatively, tell them about HPMOR. That’s how I introduced myself to the concepts in a fashion where the protagonist had need of them. So the techniques stuck with me.