Hello everyone,
My name is Mathias. I’ve been thinking about coming here for quite some while and I finally made the jump. I’ve been introduced to this website/community through Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality and I’ve been quite active on it’s subreddit (under the alias of Yxoque).
For a while now, I’ve been self-identifying as “aspiring rationalist” and I want to level up even further. One way I learn quickly is through conversation, so that’s why I finally decided to come here. Also because I wanted to attend a meet-up, but if felt wrong to join one of a community I’m not a member of.
As for info on myself, I’m not sure how interesting that is. I’ve recently graduated as a Bachelor in Criminology at the University of Brussels and I’m currently looking for a suitable job. I still need to figure out my comparative advantage.
I’m also reading through a pdf of all the blog posts, currently I’m on the Meta-ethics sequence. In my free time I’m (slowly) working on annotating HPMOR and convincing people to write Rational!Animorphs fanfiction.
1) Go through the process slowly. Dramatically take out your key. Slowly let it sink into the lock. Turn it as dramatic as you can. After locking it, try to open the door. Finish with a “quest completed” sound in your head.
Alternatively, take a picture of your lock with your key in it.
2) Tell my friend: “Antifragile, eh. Sounds like an interesting book. Remind me to look it up later. Could you maybe send me an email about it later?”
3) Make a “ding” sound in my head every time I do give the door an extra push.
4) I’m generally good at getting somewhere based on vague information, but I’d try and remember at least the first set of directions and ask later on. Also, I’d repeat the direction the person has given me, in order to check my shorter-term memory.
5) Make one small card with only the key points on them. Practice the talk with this card in hand, so that you’ll have them in the same order every time. If at any time during the talk you think you’re forgetting something, take a quick look at the card to reassure yourself.
6) I’d just give up and put the student ID somewhere accessible. It took me over a year to memorize 89201, so there’s no way I’ll be remembering a 12-digit one.
7) A pencil and paper next to my bed so I can scribble on it without turning on the lights. Even a short barely readable “Meeting with Christoph” should be enough to jog my memory in the morning.
9) Summarize, summarize, summarize. Make schematic representations of everything. A 700-page textbook can be reduced to 100 or even 75 pages of schematics and summaries. Apart from that, find a friend that’s also studying and explain things to them. You memorize things a lot quicker if you actually use that knowledge.