Hi y’all. I’m a senior in high school in the Silicon Valley who’s been lurking for a couple of months. I’ve been working my way through the Sequences since then. I don’t know how much I have to contribute to the discussion, since I’m a bit of a newcomer to rationalism, but I enjoy reading everyone else’s discussions.
I was introduced to this site through my philosophy class- a research project on transhumanism led me to Eliezer Yudkowsky’s site, which led me to here. I came here for the Sequences, stayed here for the intelligent discussion (just like almost everyone else on this page). I’m really interested in computer science and economics and how they intersect with rationality.
1) I’m a senior in high school in the USA; I’m 17.
2) Outside of school, I’ve done summer programs, the most recent one was studying creative writing at the California State Summer School of the Arts (also known as CSSSA)- we board down in Valencia for four weeks and work with professional writers. If anyone’s interested in writing, it’s an amazing program. There’s a math and science equivalent- COSMOS, which is supposed to be pretty good. I’d probably be going to that next summer if I hadn’t got a job. At school, I’ve been taking as many APs as are allowed by my family. My school’s pretty academically challenging, with high level courses if you’re willing to put the effort into getting them.
3) Erm… I don’t know any other rationalists, but I am taking a Philosophy class, and it’s pretty popular. My dad’s pretty philosophical. My friends aren’t rationalists, but we have debates about cryonics all the time since I introduced them to the topic. I linked them to this site, so they might show up eventually, hopefully.
4) I’m hoping to major in Computer Science with a minor in either Economics, Film or Writing. Though that might be subject to change, but right now it seems pretty set. I applied to a wide range of schools, most on the East Coast or in California. MIT would probably be my top choice.
5) Not old enough, not sure if I want to.
6) Here you go