grin that was fun, and incidentally how I first found out about you (Eliezer). I don’t remember actually formally writing said document though, so much as just reasoning out the pro/cons of various approaches.
I’m glad it worked out though! :)
Jolly
Karma: 231
Similar to Cord, when I notice an action or thought that brings me closer to my goals, I smile. Before, I would usually groan or feel bad for realizing that I had not taken an action, which I now realize was creating the opposite impact than what I wanted!
Ok, Photos from 2012 Rationality Minicamp, the 2011 and 2012 NYC meetups, and a random Cambridge meetup are here—Photos They should be up for at least a few months, at which point I’ll probably pull them down to save me space.
Yep. Look at “filter bubbles” http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html
Also, you can turn off the tailoring of search results based on your past history on google. - http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=guide.cs&guide=1186810&answer=106230&rd=1
I now have a custom bracelet that says “Tsuyoku Naritai” on one side, and “Kaizen” on the other. I’m using it in place of a Sikh Kara, or a WWJD bracelet.
Hearos Ultimate Softness foam earplugs Great protection (32NRR), super comfortable. Use these for sleeping.
Keeping a gratitude journal has been one of the most useful improvements to my own happiness levels. (Have been keeping it for four months now!)
This mirrors my own experience—the way I’ve found to have the most influence, and get the most done is often not being the one completing the tasks, but rather the one creating and documenting the process/procedures, and teaching and training other people to do the work.
It’s also far more lucrative from a career standpoint! :D
I’m a hacker/computer security expert. I use DropBox for low sensitivity files (it sync’s far faster, and has better integration) and SpiderOak for more sensitive data.
I do this all the time, with fantastic results!
A current example is my temporary move to Boston/Cambridge. I’ve walked around asking random strangers questions such as “If you could live anywhere in Boston, where would you live?”
I’ve received great advice, and made a few friendships and event invites from doing so!
Shannon is a connector and will help introduce you to other interesting people! I’d advocate that people stay at her place even if they already have other crash space in Berkeley—as this way you are likely to meet new people that you otherwise would not have met.
I recently (June 10-18th) stayed at Shannon’s place in Berkeley—additional advantages include it being within walking distance of public transportation! :)
I will help find/sell plane tickets to friends (and those in my extended friend network, such as LW) at a discount :)
Oops. That reminds me, I was supposed to send more pictures… O:-)
Glad to hear it’s helping!
I note fair levels of overlap between less wrong and those in the transhumanist, H+, singularity, & cryonics communities.
I have an entire travel set dedicated to BP coffee. Make sure you blend, and don’t forget the MCT oil.
1) Hario MSS-1B Mini Mill Slim Coffee Grinder
2) MSR MugMate Coffee/Tea Filter
3) Cuisinart Smart Stick Blender
Slight Tangent: One thing I’ve found that helps me in my relationships, is when I see a friend of mine, I mentally recall all the feelings of happiness and shared bonds and good times with that person, and try and put that into my face and smile, and send that at them.
I’ve also tried to explicitly compliment people (before, I had a bad habit of thinking positive things, but never actually sharing it with the people who I was thinking about!)
I started off daily, and now make entries when I have particularly awesome entries to write.
This ranges from the serious—“Skydiving was amazing, I loved the rush of wind against my skin, gazing down at the water and beaches”
to more me just being silly “some days, my mind is boggled by the very fact that we are alive. existence is cool!”
It provides an incredible happiness boost when I read old entries!
Etymotic ER-20 earplugs Use these so you can listen to music, go to clubs, ect, and still preserve your hearing. I’ve probably bought 15+ by now, and keep one in every bag/jacket I own.
I was faced with a similar competition at Toorcon. I thought of three possible avenues:
1) Determine volume of the jar, calculate the number of potential pieces of candy corn in the jar. The downside is I expected everyone else to use the same method.
2) Find the same type jar and fill it with candy corn, and then count the number of pieces.
3) Execute option 2....and then swap it their jar, causing me to know the number of pieces in both the original and the replaced jar.
Rationality is powerful...rationality + being devious (or thinking orthogonally) is even better. P.S—Toorcon is a hacker con, so such behavior is considered acceptable O:-)
Edit: Option 3 was the one I executed :)