On the positive side—there is a sizeable cluster of alternative schools in and around Berlin—including forest schools, free/democratic schools, Montessori/Waldorf etc.
Avi
Karma: 221
That means learning the broadest applicable skills you’d apply throughout your life first.
Another example: when learning a new language focus on the list of 100 or 1000 or whatever most commonly used words—this enables you to get started understanding the gist of basic conversations quickly, which then enables a positive feedback loop of compounding as you speak more in the new language, gain confidence, pick up new words in those conversations etc.
Extending this—focus learning (especially in early life) on permanent, unchanging knowledge like math, physics etc.
Also—with compounding, optimise for things you can keep doing for a long time. The earlier and longer you can do something, the more you will gain from the force of compounding.
There are some caveats to the principle of compound interest (with money and other applications):
Not all things will continue to compound forever, or the rate will change
No one ever got rich putting $100 in the bank and letting it compound for 50 years. Lesson: You do still need significant deposits (raised through means other than compounding interest) to actually get large gains from compounding.
The best investments in knowledge are mental models that can be applied across domains (some of which were mentioned in the post) and unchanging/permanent/durable knowledge like that in the STEM fields. This provides both leverage (from the cross-disciplinary latticework of mental models) and allows compounding to work as your knowledge compounds over the years.
The nerds who saw the dangers of Covid
It’s all about the basics. If you can get the basics right, you’re highly likely to win life (within the constraints of your own personal limits).
Eat simple healthy food. Move your body substantially sometimes. Sleep. Maintain a close-knit group of family and friends.
If you do these things you will already be ahead of 99% of humanity, including many people who spend far more effort (and money) optimising some particular aspect of their lives (e.g. expensive workout gear or ‘superfoods’).
Some ideas are just naturally high on rederivability.
Something that may be interesting to pair with this post: Ribbonfarm: Against Waldenponding
Psilocybin-based psychedelics are indeed considered low-risk both in terms of addiction and overdose. This chart sums things up nicely, and is a good thing to ‘pin on your mental fridge’:
You want to stay as close as possible to the bottom left corner of that graph!
I agree, and think it’s important to ‘stay grounded’ in the ‘normal world’ if you’re involved in any sort of intense organization or endeavor.
You’ve made some great suggestions.
I would also suggest that having a spouse who preferably isn’t too involved, or involved at all, and maybe even some kids, is another commonality among people who find it easier to avoid going too far down these rabbit holes. Also, having a family is positive in countless other ways, and what I consider part of the ‘good life’ for most people.
I haven’t seen/heard anything particularly impressive from him either, but perhaps his ‘best work’ just isn’t written down anywhere?
Indeed.
Travelling by boat/ship, and transporting things by boat/ship, is ‘Lindy’, as are bicycles.
Correct—but they are low-risk for those factors (addiction and/or overdose).
In refernce to point 1, how would you define ‘illegal drugs’ (as defined by which country/state)?
My understanding is that if you applied that rule (people that have used or currently use ‘illegal drugs’ are not ‘good enough’ to be in the community) it would rule out at least ~90% of the humans I’ve ever interacted with.
Ideal Format/Frequency of Information Consumption
There’s also these 2 podcasts which cover quite a variety of topics, for anyone who’s interested:
You’ve Got Mel—With Michael Vassar
Jim Rutt Show—Michael Vassar on Passive-Aggressive Revolution
Can someone please clarify what is meant in this conext by ‘Vassar’s group’, or the term ‘Vassarites’ used by others?
My intution previously was that Michael Vassar had no formal ‘group’ or insitution of any kind, and it was just more like ‘a cluster of friends who hung out together a lot’, but this comment makes it seem like something more official.
Most of the wildly successful people that exist in the western world today display current, or displayed prior, ‘willingness to violate drug laws’.
How does someone thinking that they had a meaningful experience make them less rational?
In my personal and anecdotal experience, for the people who have a positive experience with psychedelics it really is more your ‘a’ option.
Psychedelics are less about ‘thinking random thoughts that seem meaningful’ and more about what you describe there—reflecting on their actual life and perspectives with a fresh/clear/different perspective.
a.k.a. an Investment Policy Statement