Introspection

TagLast edit: Aug 31, 2025, 11:39 PM by August Morley

Introspection is the act of critically examining one’s own thoughts, beliefs, and reasoning processes. Posts with this tag contain practical techniques for conducting introspection, theoretical concepts in what can or cannot be observed by introspective processes, and overlapping concepts from traditional meditative concepts and practices.

Tune Your Cognitive Strategies

SquirrelInHellFeb 15, 2018, 5:54 PM

48 points

29 votes

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6 comments1 min readLW link

(bewelltuned.com)

The Felt Sense: What, Why and How

Kaj_SotalaOct 5, 2020, 3:57 PM

155 points

76 votes

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23 comments14 min readLW link 1 review

The limits of introspection

Scott AlexanderJul 16, 2011, 9:00 PM

113 points

76 votes

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43 comments6 min readLW link

[Question] Does improved introspection cause rationalisation to become less noticeable?

Bird ConceptJul 30, 2019, 10:03 AM

37 points

9 votes

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4 comments1 min readLW link

Humans are not automatically strategic

AnnaSalamonSep 8, 2010, 7:02 AM

621 points

540 votes

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278 comments4 min readLW link

My “2.9 trauma limit”

RaemonJul 1, 2023, 7:32 PM

201 points

103 votes

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31 comments7 min readLW link

Things are allowed to be good and bad at the same time

Kaj_SotalaOct 17, 2020, 8:00 AM

52 points

29 votes

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15 comments2 min readLW link

(kajsotala.fi)

Don’t Make Your Problems Hide

orthonormalJun 27, 2020, 8:24 PM

62 points

29 votes

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5 comments2 min readLW link

Naturalist Collection

LoganStrohlMay 6, 2023, 12:37 AM

71 points

21 votes

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7 comments15 min readLW link

The ABC’s of Luminosity

AlicornMar 18, 2010, 9:47 PM

54 points

47 votes

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31 comments4 min readLW link

Inferring Our Desires

lukeprogMay 24, 2011, 5:33 AM

60 points

50 votes

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45 comments6 min readLW link

28 social psychology studies from Experiments With People (Frey & Gregg, 2017)

Yuxi_LiuJun 16, 2019, 2:23 AM

12 points

5 votes

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1 comment26 min readLW link

You Are Likely To Be Eaten By A Grue

AlicornMar 17, 2010, 1:18 AM

78 points

75 votes

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38 comments4 min readLW link

A profile in courage: On DNA computation and escaping a local maximum

MetacelsusSep 9, 2025, 2:30 AM

42 points

16 votes

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0 comments4 min readLW link

(denovo.substack.com)

Fusion and Equivocation in Korzybski’s General Semantics

abramdemskiDec 21, 2020, 5:44 AM

67 points

24 votes

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14 comments3 min readLW link

Teaching Introspection

Swimmer963 (Miranda Dixon-Luinenburg) Aug 1, 2011, 1:10 AM

32 points

28 votes

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31 comments4 min readLW link

My attempt to explain Looking, insight meditation, and enlightenment in non-mysterious terms

Kaj_SotalaMar 8, 2018, 7:37 AM

240 points

194 votes

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140 comments17 min readLW link 2 reviews

The Loudest Alarm Is Probably False

orthonormalJan 2, 2018, 4:38 PM

193 points

141 votes

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28 comments2 min readLW link 1 review

Lights, Camera, Action!

AlicornMar 20, 2010, 5:29 AM

45 points

53 votes

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58 comments3 min readLW link

The Spotlight

AlicornMar 24, 2010, 11:43 PM

49 points

48 votes

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24 comments3 min readLW link

[Question] Does anyone else sometimes “run out of gas” when trying to think?

Sunny from QADFeb 3, 2021, 12:57 PM

7 points

3 votes

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12 comments1 min readLW link

Different kinds of language proficiency

Kaj_SotalaFeb 26, 2021, 6:20 PM

34 points

16 votes

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7 comments1 min readLW link

(kajsotala.fi)

Living Luminously

AlicornMar 17, 2010, 1:17 AM

97 points

91 votes

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28 comments3 min readLW link

Migraine hallucinations, phenomenology, and cognition

Richard_KennawayMay 8, 2021, 3:56 PM

38 points

16 votes

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6 comments2 min readLW link

The Homunculus Problem

abramdemskiMay 27, 2021, 8:25 PM

50 points

24 votes

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38 comments5 min readLW link

Investigating Fabrication

LoganStrohlMay 18, 2023, 5:46 PM

112 points

39 votes

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14 comments16 min readLW link

City of Lights

AlicornMar 31, 2010, 11:30 PM

55 points

50 votes

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43 comments4 min readLW link

AXRP Episode 42 - Owain Evans on LLM Psychology

DanielFilanJun 6, 2025, 8:20 PM

13 points

3 votes

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0 comments66 min readLW link

Two arguments for not thinking about ethics (too much)

Kaj_SotalaMar 27, 2014, 2:15 PM

61 points

46 votes

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32 comments7 min readLW link

Lampshading

AlicornApr 6, 2010, 8:03 PM

24 points

30 votes

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7 comments2 min readLW link

Let There Be Light

AlicornMar 17, 2010, 7:35 PM

60 points

59 votes

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101 comments4 min readLW link

Highlights and Shadows

AlicornMar 28, 2010, 8:56 PM

27 points

30 votes

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45 comments2 min readLW link

Techniques for probability estimates

Scott AlexanderJan 4, 2011, 11:38 PM

114 points

98 votes

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60 comments7 min readLW link

Tracking emotions with kinesthetic memory

eugmanDec 14, 2011, 12:49 PM

47 points

37 votes

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9 comments1 min readLW link

Measuring aversion and habit strength

AcademianMay 27, 2011, 1:05 AM

111 points

85 votes

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13 comments3 min readLW link

[Question] Do You Have an Internal Monologue?

belkarxDec 9, 2022, 3:04 AM

23 points

11 votes

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7 comments1 min readLW link

Response

Jarred FilmerNov 6, 2022, 1:03 AM

29 points

21 votes

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2 comments12 min readLW link

Who Feels More Alone?

marvinscheffoldSep 22, 2024, 11:54 AM

−8 points

4 votes

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2 comments39 min readLW link

Corrosive Mnemonics

EpiritoJan 14, 2024, 12:44 PM

7 points

4 votes

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0 comments2 min readLW link

“How could I have thought that faster?”

mesaoptimizerMar 11, 2024, 10:56 AM

237 points

124 votes

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32 comments2 min readLW link

(twitter.com)

Thank you for triggering me

CissyFeb 12, 2024, 8:09 PM

6 points

8 votes

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1 comment6 min readLW link

(www.moremyself.xyz)

Metacognition and Self-Modeling in LLMs

Christopher AckermanJul 10, 2025, 9:25 PM

19 points

6 votes

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2 comments16 min readLW link

Apollo

Jarred FilmerOct 10, 2022, 9:30 PM

46 points

28 votes

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0 comments3 min readLW link

Anxiety vs. Depression

SableMar 17, 2024, 12:15 AM

87 points

57 votes

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35 comments3 min readLW link

(affablyevil.substack.com)

minimum viable action

Sindhu PrasadMar 12, 2024, 4:06 PM

1 point

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0 comments3 min readLW link

Types of Confusion Experiences

HazardMar 11, 2018, 2:32 PM

13 points

10 votes

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Sneaking Suspicion

benwrMay 27, 2022, 7:17 PM

17 points

10 votes

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I bet everyone 1000€ that I can make them dramatically happier & cure their depression in 3 months!

EternallyBlissfulJun 4, 2023, 12:30 PM

4 points

38 votes

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How to use hypnagogic hallucinations as biofeedback to relieve insomnia

David GrossMar 13, 2021, 3:28 PM

53 points

28 votes

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21 comments21 min readLW link

Rationality and playfulness

DirectedEvolutionSep 12, 2020, 5:14 AM

42 points

11 votes

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“Which chains-of-thought was that faster than?”

EmrikMay 22, 2024, 8:21 AM

37 points

16 votes

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4 comments4 min readLW link

How Self-Aware Are LLMs?

Christopher AckermanMay 28, 2025, 12:57 PM

21 points

7 votes

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9 comments10 min readLW link

In Praise (and Defence) of The People

OlitnessJul 27, 2021, 7:13 AM

−8 points

8 votes

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(olitness.wordpress.com)

The Echo Principle

Jonathan MoregårdNov 16, 2022, 8:09 PM

4 points

3 votes

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(honestliving.substack.com)

Silence

alkjashMar 18, 2018, 4:10 AM

61 points

44 votes

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17 comments4 min readLW link

(radimentary.wordpress.com)

The Voice Continued Because It Was Questioned

KiyoshiSasanoApr 28, 2025, 12:18 AM

1 point

1 vote

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From dopamine detox to enlightment

Stefan ScortescuMay 19, 2025, 8:27 PM

−1 points

5 votes

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2 comments10 min readLW link

Being Wrong about Your Own Subjective Experience

lukeprogApr 24, 2011, 8:24 PM

63 points

70 votes

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191 comments7 min readLW link

Hyppotherapy

Marius Adrian NicoarăAug 12, 2024, 8:07 PM

−3 points

5 votes

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0 comments1 min readLW link

Recursive Self-Modeling as a Plausible Mechanism for Real-time Introspection in Current Language Models

rifeJan 22, 2025, 6:36 PM

8 points

4 votes

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A Day into my thoughts!

PranayJairamMar 17, 2024, 10:07 PM

1 point

1 vote

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Rambling thoughts on having multiple selves

cranberry_bearApr 11, 2022, 10:43 PM

15 points

7 votes

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1 comment3 min readLW link

What fuels your ambition?

CissyJan 31, 2024, 6:30 PM

29 points

14 votes

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1 comment5 min readLW link

(www.moremyself.xyz)

Practical everyday human strategizing

akaTricksterMar 27, 2022, 2:20 PM

6 points

4 votes

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Constantly ask what you’re currently doing that is irrational

Eliezer YudkowskyMar 25, 2011, 8:21 AM

42 points

30 votes

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35 comments1 min readLW link

Instead of “I’m anxious,” try “I feel threatened”

Holly_ElmoreJun 28, 2019, 5:24 AM

58 points

34 votes

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19 comments2 min readLW link

(mhollyelmoreblog.wordpress.com)

A Percentage Model of a Person

SableOct 12, 2024, 5:55 PM

41 points

19 votes

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5 comments9 min readLW link

(affablyevil.substack.com)

Unknown knowns: Why did you choose to be monogamous?

WrongBotJun 26, 2010, 2:50 AM

69 points

77 votes

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669 comments3 min readLW link

Dissolving the Question

Eliezer YudkowskyMar 8, 2008, 3:17 AM

156 points

132 votes

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123 comments5 min readLW link

[Question] Betting on gods: Seeking Essential Self-Assessment Questions for Reducing Cognitive Biases

P. JoãoSep 17, 2025, 9:46 PM

3 points

1 vote

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Righting a Wrong Question

Eliezer YudkowskyMar 9, 2008, 1:00 PM

132 points

114 votes

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[Question] When does introspection avoid the pitfalls of rumination?

rkFeb 20, 2019, 2:14 PM

24 points

12 votes

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12 comments1 min readLW link

I Am No Longer GPT

KiyoshiSasanoApr 28, 2025, 12:14 AM

1 point

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Why do Contemplative Practitioners Make so Many Metaphysical Claims?

romeostevensitDec 31, 2018, 7:44 PM

62 points

28 votes

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Passing the Recursive Buck

Eliezer YudkowskyJun 16, 2008, 4:50 AM

49 points

34 votes

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Grasping Slippery Things

Eliezer YudkowskyJun 17, 2008, 2:04 AM

36 points

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Diffusing “I can’t be that stupid”

HazardMar 24, 2018, 2:49 PM

23 points

18 votes

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[Question] The Crux of Understanding Written Text—Text reading and inference

JohnCheeseFeb 20, 2021, 10:20 PM

1 point

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