On the topic of not dying: Let’s not forget that many cancers today are manageable if caught early. I have seen several people suffer and sometimes die of colon, prostate, breast cancer that could potentially have been caught early. I am not a medical doctor, so I will write non-technically. Maybe others can improve the list.
If you are over 40 and have a prostate, get it checked. Today you can do that radiologically. If a urologist ten needs to check it by hand, s/he will.
If you are over 45, colonoscopy. Not fun, but can alert and deal with one of the most preventable cancers. I am supposed to have one in the coming months. Not looking forward to it, but I am also not looking forward to cancer.
Cervical Pap/HP for those with a cervix (over 30, apparently)
Breast exam (self exam + mammogram)
Another item I see often among people my age (50 and over) is heart related issues. A general practitioner can do one of those treadmill/bicycle exam, where they measure ECG and blood pressure. Easy and quick and can detect something fatal. More than once I have heard things like “oh, he was always very fit and then one day he collapsed while playing tennis”
These items may seem obvious to some of you. But I do now and then talk to smart and health-conscious people that postpone these tests.
Any percent point that you can shave off the probability of dying of cancer or heart attack is worth considering, particularly for those 45 and older.
This list can lead to suboptimal outcomes on its own. I understand that it was never meant to be a complete guide, but I would add a couple of ideas related to “dealing with others”. I was a child who could be described as following the advice on the list: doing things my own way, a bit stubborn, skeptical of the stories I was told, failing to respect norms, contrarian even. But I wish someone had persuaded me early on about the importance of learning from others and building more relationships than I did. So I would add two ideas:
a. Learning from people that are different from you. Some of the kids in my school were not into learning stuff and I had some disdain for them. These not-high-IQ kids went on to have interesting lives because the intelligence that helps you deal with abstractions and learning is not so important in other areas. Those kids did well in commercial settings, in design, politics. They did not understand physics like the “smarter” kids, but they had qualities that I failed to see and that are important for individual success and for mattering in the world.
b. Learn to build coalitions and understand group politics. Many important goals require a group of people acting together. No matter how smart or capable someone is, a group will be able to achieve more. Many smart kids that like to think on their own and have their own views, struggle persuading others because they cannot compromise their worldview with kids who think differently. Non-conformist smart kids want to be right and that leads to confrontation and disagreement. I know that this might go against the foundational ideas of rationality that many of you hold, but I would advice that sometimes it is better to give in and have “less right” opinions in order to forge alliances that help you achieve a higher goal. I learnt this lesson a bit too late.