Took me awhile to find anything on this. Here is an article from 2005.
CharlesR
I second this book.
Moore’s law still holds. But you need to be able to write highly parallelizable code.
“This extinction would result from a “technological singularity” in which an artificial intelligence (AI) . . . ”
By this point, you’ve talked about airplanes, Apollo, science good, philosophy bad. Then you introduce the concepts of existential risk, claim we are at the cusp of an extinction level event, and the end of the world is going to come from . . . Skynet.
And we’re only to paragraph four.
These are complex ideas. Your readers need time to digest them. Slow down.
You may also want to think about coming at this from another direction. If the goal is to convince your readers AI is dangerous, maybe you should introduce the concept of AI first. Then explain why their dangerous. Use an example that everyone knows about and build on that. You need to establish rapport with your readers before you try to get them to accept strange ideas. (For example, it is common knowledge computers are better at chess than humans.)
Finally, is your goal to get published? Nonfiction is usually written on spec. Some (many, all?) publishers are wary of buying anything that has already appeared on the internet. Just a few things to keep in mind.
Clearly, I and others thought you were writing a popular book. No need to “school” us on the difference.
Your clarification wasn’t in the original version of the preamble that I read. Or are you claiming that you haven’t edited it? Because I clearly remember a different sentence structure.
However, I am willing to admit my memory is faulty on this.
And people wonder how wars get started . . .
I have been thinking about this a lot. I know what I care about. I just don’t know how to do it and support a family at the same time. Perhaps you have ideas. Let’s start with what I want.
I want to write.
I was doing my thesis when I got sucked into a game called Neverwinter Nights. I played a character in a persistent world for over a year. The bio was ten pages long. When I turned it in, the DM said,
“You could write a book.”
And yeah, I know. Perhaps it was his way of saying the bio was too long, but perhaps he was being sincere. Maybe I could write a book. Maybe . . .
Later I found myself in a bad spot while writing the dissertation. There was a chapter I didn’t know how to do. So I stuck the whole thing in a drawer and began to write The Novel.
I bought a copy of No Plot, No Problem and held my own private NaNoWriMo.
50,000 words. 30 days. 1666 words per day.
Sounds easy. It isn’t. Getting that many damn words on the page day after day after day—words you actually like—words you wouldn’t mind other people reading—it’s hard.
When you’re trying to write a novel, the Internet is Death. I camped out at Barnes & Noble. On those rare days where I made my word count (or the many other times when I didn’t), I would go down to the writing section and find something to read. I found Writing Down the Bones this way. On the Amazon scale, I give it 10 stars.
At the end of the month, I wanted to keep going so I added two more weeks. When I was done, I didn’t have a novel. I didn’t even have 50,000 words. I had 22,000. Part of a novel. But I also came away with something else. I knew this was something that I could do, and I loved every minute of it.
Fast forward to now. I’ve got log lines for three novels. The first is a stand-alone (sci-fi). The others could work either as stand-alones or parts of a series (one fantasy, one sci-fi). The main reason I hang around here is research. (If a little rationality rubs off, so be it.)
From what I’ve read, it takes about 10 years (or 5 books) before you are self-sufficient as a writer, and that’s if everything goes well. I would like to know how to support a family doing something that doesn’t sap my creative energies that leaves at least four hours a day to write. (Preferably the first four because I have found these to be the most productive.)
Ideas?
- 5 Apr 2011 17:54 UTC; 5 points) 's comment on Recent de-convert saturated by religious community; advice? by (
I know the owner of babynames.com. She said it took 15 years before she made enough to support herself on income from the site. I have no idea what her budget runs.
I plan to get published and quit when royalties are enough. But that wasn’t my question. I want to know what to do for the day job.
Good point about advertising. I’ll look into that.
Vague and general is never a good idea.
My objection was about the writing. See Williams.
(1) The subject “a program written in 1956” is vague. What program? Does it have a name? Who wrote it? Later you write “one of them” when referring to the proof. Which one?
(2) The next three sentences start the same way. Try to avoid that.
(3) Omit needless words.
(4) Avoid the passive voice.
(5) This section needs a rewrite.
(6) The adverb is not your friend.
(7) What is a “technological singularity”? You haven’t defined this term.
Great start. I look forward to more.
- 25 Apr 2011 0:23 UTC; 0 points) 's comment on Official Less Wrong Redesign: Call for Suggestions by (
Don’t forget to consider the weather.
Whole body is more in line with “cryonics as medical procedure”. In this view, cryonics and organ donation are mutually exclusive.
What sorts of “new things” are we talking about? Can you use this to (for instance) teach yourself how to do hard things? Examples of things I consider hard. Second quantization. Programming. Writing novels people want to buy.
I think Sam Harris gets it mostly right.
I think that “atheist” is a term that we do not need, in the same way that we don’t need a word for someone who rejects astrology. We simply do not call people “non-astrologers.” All we need are words like “reason” and “evidence” and “common sense” and “bullshit” to put astrologers in their place, and so it could be with religion.
Isaac Newton wrote, “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
I’m not a giant, but you like, you can stand on my head. :p
I was an evangelical Christian for 33 years. You could say, I was born that way. I had John memorized by six. Was baptized by seven. Spoke in tongues by eight. In college, I began to question certain doctrines, but I wouldn’t experience the crisis for another 15 years.
I say all that to say this: I’ve been there. I know where you are. It’s lonely. I would not presume to tell you what you ought to do. However, I can share what I think worked for me.
Much of what I tried at first, you’ve already done. I talked to other Christians. I read some books. I discovered there are atheists on the internet.
Then I came across a blog entry that was a turning point. It was for a retreat called “Release and Reclaim” run by licensed clinical psychologist. I went.
The retreat did two things for me. It helped me let go of my irrational fear of Hell, and it gave me an opportunity to talk to a group of people completely uncensored. When I got home, I came out to my mom, grandmother, sister, and dad. I did this with each person individually on a single day and let them ask me whatever questions they wanted. Then I called my sister-in-law and her husband and told them. I didn’t bother with anyone else. By that point, I already wasn’t going to church.
Something I’ve noticed. Christians who knew you before don’t quite know what to do with you. But Christians who meet you after don’t have that problem. I don’t know what it is.
But getting back . . .
I saw a therapist. I think it was helpful. I also attended a group conference call of former religionists from all over the country. We spent a lot of time talking about the relationship aspects.
I tried to make new friends, people who didn’t know me in the context of church. I joined the Ventura Atheists and started my own Meetup where mom’s and dad’s could go to a park and talk uncensored. Most came once or twice, the group never thrived, except for one dad who came every week because he really wanted us to succeed. In a way, he was like a prayer partner (without the prayer).
We moved to a different city.
Then there came a time when I decided. Enough with the books. I was done.
I was comfortable with my atheism.
I found a new passion. I joined a writing group. I stopped tying myself into knots about what I should and shouldn’t think. I still struggle with the issues surrounding my marriage. We are seeing a therapist. I think it’s helping. I’m not sure.
I hope some of this has helped you. If you decide to try out the support group, message me. I am happy to go with you on a few conference calls. Or you can contact her directly.
The writer seems unaware of the right-hand turn.