noahpocalypse

• noahpocalypse 2 Jul 2013 3:36 UTC

  23 points

  in reply to: gwern’s comment on: Harry Pot­ter and the Meth­ods of Ra­tion­al­ity dis­cus­sion thread, part 20, chap­ter 90

  When you said AKs, I immediately thought you meant AK-47s. That put a very amusing picture in my head.

  I might play too many videogames.

• noahpocalypse 27 Jul 2013 0:31 UTC

  20 points

  on: Wel­come to Less Wrong! (6th thread, July 2013)

  My name’s Noah Caldwell, I am a lesser being who currently resides in rationalist Hell. That is, I am a minor (17 years) and I live in Tennessee (not by choice (it’s not THAT bad here, though)).

  I was in a program called TAG (Talented and Gifted) in elementary school, and my mother once said I have genius IQ, which despite meaning little because you can’t represent intelligence numerically remains highly flattering. It may have contributed to a very, very miniscule ego (or so I like to think), but it’s made me believe I can do better in anything: Tsuyoku naritai! Whenever I have an interest, I pursue it; I’ve been like that for a long time. So the net gain was, I think, worth it, even if her statement may have been untrue.

  I am currently trying to do well in school while shoving as much coding, science, math, language, musical theory, and history in my head. I plan on getting a HAM radio license very soon. I’m also trying to cleanse myself of bias now. My dream college would be MIT, but that is one heck of a reach school, no matter who you are. I also need to figure out how to insert my little segues into my monologue without parenthesis, because wow does that look weird. Maybe I’m just being self-conscious. (But that’s a GOOD THING!)

  The traditional recreational activities I partake of include reading, piano, backpacking, and videogames (I’m digging into the original Deus Ex with delight right now). I also need to read the sequences; I’ve only sampled bits and pieces like an anorexic at a chocolate buffet.

• noahpocalypse 28 Jul 2013 18:17 UTC

  1 point

  in reply to: Ben_LandauTaylor’s comment on: Wel­come to Less Wrong! (6th thread, July 2013)

  I didn’t realize it at the time, but that’s further incentive to attend MIT: I can actually go to LW meetups!

  I don’t see myself touring the school any time soon (I’ve done plenty of research via the admissions blogs and other testimonials, and plane tickets happen to be expensive), but I would love to discuss any peculiarities you don’t learn about until being a student, or anything else I should know before applying.

• noahpocalypse 2 Aug 2013 15:48 UTC

  1 point

  in reply to: ThisSpaceAvailable’s comment on: In­fer­en­tial credit history

  I had that same thought. Perhaps “How to Build a High-level Argument”? Imagine every post on LW having “Hear Me Out” as a title. It would actually be an apt if unnecessary plea for most threads, but it would be such a pain.

• noahpocalypse 3 Aug 2013 4:07 UTC

  1 point

  in reply to: anon’s comment on: Wel­come to Less Wrong! (6th thread, July 2013)

  I also prefer bare feet, though to a lesser extent. I hate wearing just socks, but I don’t mind wearing worn tennishoes that bend easily.

• noahpocalypse 7 Aug 2013 20:00 UTC

  0 points

  in reply to: FiftyTwo’s comment on: More “Stupid” Questions

  When I’m not in the mood to talk to people- not out of anger, I’m just not feeling a desire to share my thoughts- I think in pictures and feelings with a reticent, sarcastic monologue. When I’m alone but feeling social, my monologue is wordy and sometimes witty. When I’m in a conversation, I often have to stop talking for a moment to think through what I’m going to say before I can say it.

  Bottom line, I almost always have some kind of monologue; sometimes it’s talkative, sometimes nearly silent.

• noahpocalypse 16 Aug 2013 20:14 UTC

  0 points

  in reply to: gthorneiii’s comment on: Harry Pot­ter and the Meth­ods of Ra­tion­al­ity dis­cus­sion thread, part 26, chap­ter 97

  Not to mention infeasible, what with his nigh imprisonment.

• noahpocalypse 16 Aug 2013 20:23 UTC

  0 points

  in reply to: linkhyrule5’s comment on: Harry Pot­ter and the Meth­ods of Ra­tion­al­ity dis­cus­sion thread, part 26, chap­ter 97

  Dumbledore was absent from the castle.

  And he made it sound like the wards only alert him when a student has died. It’s reasonable to expect them to warn ahead of time, after serious injury or something, but going by canon Dumbledore had no external alarm when Harry broke however many bones however many times on the Quidditch pitch.

• noahpocalypse 17 Aug 2013 1:27 UTC

  2 points

  in reply to: Gurkenglas’s comment on: Harry Pot­ter and the Meth­ods of Ra­tion­al­ity dis­cus­sion thread, part 26, chap­ter 97

  Ah, I see. I was also working on the assumption that McGonagall was correct; no reason Dumbledore couldn’t say he was leaving, head to his office, sit back, and watch.

• noahpocalypse 27 Feb 2015 21:41 UTC

  0 points

  in reply to: avichapman’s comment on: Harry Pot­ter and the Meth­ods of Ra­tion­al­ity dis­cus­sion thread, Fe­bru­ary 2015, chap­ter 112

  Such a thin chain of carbon nanotubes like that would have almost no mass, ergo no force. It’d be like if you could make a string perfectly rigid and then you hit something with it.

• noahpocalypse 28 Feb 2015 21:34 UTC

  1 point

  in reply to: Michael Wiebe’s comment on: Harry Pot­ter and the Meth­ods of Ra­tion­al­ity dis­cus­sion thread, Fe­bru­ary 2015, chap­ter 113

  If what he said back in front of the Dementor is true, Voldie can’t cast the Patronus regardless.

• noahpocalypse 1 Mar 2015 5:33 UTC

  3 points

  in reply to: Strilanc’s comment on: Harry Pot­ter and the Meth­ods of Ra­tion­al­ity dis­cus­sion thread, Fe­bru­ary 2015, chap­ter 113

  I think you forgot the 37(?) Death Eaters pointing their wands at Harry. You also forgot Voldie’s famed reflexes, and a bullet definitely goes faster than a spell.

• noahpocalypse 2 Mar 2015 14:28 UTC

  1 point

  in reply to: NancyLebovitz’s comment on: Harry Pot­ter and the Meth­ods of Ra­tion­al­ity dis­cus­sion thread, Fe­bru­ary 2015, chap­ter 113

  We’ve heard of wizards dodging spells.

• noahpocalypse 4 Mar 2015 20:07 UTC

  4 points

  in reply to: Jost’s comment on: Harry Pot­ter and the Meth­ods of Ra­tion­al­ity dis­cus­sion thread, March 2015, chap­ter 114 + chap­ter 115

  Eliezer was clearly thinking ahead.

• noahpocalypse 4 Mar 2015 20:08 UTC

  0 points

  in reply to: Epictetus’s comment on: Harry Pot­ter and the Meth­ods of Ra­tion­al­ity dis­cus­sion thread, March 2015, chap­ter 114 + chap­ter 115

  Snake detecting spells: Canon!Harry sucked at Occlumency.