I agree with most of these, but I’m worried about 11, especially how people who are exceptionally risk-averse might interpret it.[1] There are just as many things that you might look back and regret not trying.[2]
Most people’s long-term regrets don’t come from having a drink once, or having a horrible sleep schedule for a semester, or becoming a socialist for a couple years. Sure, if you sample from alcoholics, [edit: in a majority of cases] the first attempt was pivotal. But a ruined body or or mind usually comes from persistent bad habits rather than a single try.
The thing about the regret of not trying enough things is that most people err on the other side, so it’s very rare to find people that express it. There were a couple years of my life where I valued purity very highly, and in hindsight I think it caused more harm than good. But I’m still young; who knows what I’ll think in five years.
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5 checks this somewhat, but I think this is significant enough to flag.
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It is possible to spiral into madness wondering about these counterfactuals. Maybe I’ll regret it in ten years. Maybe I’ll regret not doing it in ten years. Maybe I probably won’t regret doing it, but in reality my utility would have been higher and I’ll never know.
I don’t think any of this is useful. The point I’m trying to make is that the regret counterfactual can go either way and you shouldn’t worry about it too much.
It’s an explore/exploit problem. Many times you don’t have complete enough knowledge to make an informed rational decision, because the only truly relevant data is your own life (I cite point 5 above). I think cases like this are what the gut is for.
I generally agree, although part of my point is that “if they are harmless” might still be too high of a bar if you have a certain disposition (which is likely more common than average in this community). See Elizabeth’s comment.