Filled out the survey; the calibration questions really forced me to explore my reasoning behind some of my immediate intuitions.
Oh and by the way, second post ever!
(back to lurking)
Filled out the survey; the calibration questions really forced me to explore my reasoning behind some of my immediate intuitions.
Oh and by the way, second post ever!
(back to lurking)
Perhaps this is true only for me, but the title led me to believe that this post was literally going to be about drawing Less Wrong (as in metaphorically drawing the community Less Wrong) not about drawing as it applies to Less Wrong-ian concepts and interests.
Anyways, this sequence sounds interesting. I’ve always—maybe inaccurately—identified myself as a person who could not draw well, and I’m sure I have various wrong assumptions about drawing that will be corrected.
As a current college student, this post (and comments) is particularly relevant to me, so thank you.
However, what is the general consensus regarding studying (as far as undergrad. majoring in a field) government or political science as far as improving rationality? Recommended? Or not? And why?
So wait, what exactly is this? I’m guessing some form of online education, presumably a level above Khan Academy’s videos (not implying anything negative about Khan Academy)?
Is there personal interaction with the professor? Are there assignments and or grades? How much time would an average class on XFrequentist’s list take compared to an in-person class at a relatively good American university?
And finally, the most important question, at least for me: Do they accept anyone who signs up?
Thank you for an extremely informative response!
I have essentially the same query.
How exactly do I go about acquiring a cryonics insurance policy, especially when I am still in school (undergrad American university)? What if I live with my parents and they do not support cryonics?
Actually, how does one go about acquiring any specific form of insurance policy?
I am currently in an undergrad American university. After lurking on LW for many months, I have been persuaded that the best way for me to contribute towards a positive Singularity is to utilize my comparative advantage (critical reading/writing) to pursue a high-paying career; a significant percentage of the money I earn from this undecided lucrative career will hopefully go towards SIAI or some other organization that is helping to advance the same goals.
The problem is finding the right career that is simultaneously well-paying and achievable, with hopefully some time for my own interests/hobbies.
I was first considering becoming a lawyer, but apparently, only the very top law school graduates actually go on to earn jobs with high salaries. In addition, it seems that the first few years being a lawyer are extremely stressful.
Another option is graduate school. The main academic fields I am interested in are government, economics, and philosophy. However, I’m just not sure that graduate school will lead to other careers besides being a professor, and I don’t know if academia is frankly well-paying enough to justify the costs.
Any advice is appreciated, particularly if you have a similar dilemma, have encountered something like this in the past, are in a field that I mentioned, or just if you have any specific information that might help me. Thanks!
Thanks for the information!
I was already leaning away from academia for those very reasons.
Do you go to law school in the U.S.?
I ask because I have been considering that route.
Thank you for a well thought-out reply.
I have had misgivings about the law path for essentially the reasons you mention, and especially after much research. I know that being an attorney is not as glamorous as television shows make it out to be and I realize that the high income figures often reported for lawyers are skewed (as in the top law firms pay the most to the top law school grads, and the rest are stuck with little to nothing). I also understand that with the American economy the way it is and the large surplus of aspiring lawyers, the field is even more competitive today. I appreciate you confirming this first-hand.
The only problem is that at this point in my life, I feel like I have no other choice. I am currently a sophomore in college at a relatively good private liberal arts college. I have little aptitude (at least, little in terms of a comparative advantage) in the traditional hard sciences—biology, chemistry, physics—so medical school or grad school in those fields is not an option. I also am not especially talented at math and have never taken a computer science class, so computer programming (I mention it because it is frequently lauded here on LW as a lucrative career choice) is not an option either. Grad school in the fields I am interested in—political science, economics, and philosophy—is not particularly appealing due to the glut of grad school graduates in the social sciences and the large time investment.
My comparative advantages lie in being able to read quickly with high comprehension, write analytically, and think logically. I want to make enough money to live well and to be able to donate to the cause(s) I am/will be interested in.
What do I have left besides law school? (not purely a rhetorical question, by the way)
One other question: In your personal, but informed, opinion, would graduating from a top-14 or top-20 law school in the top 25-50% of my class ‘guarantee’ me a job? In this economic climate and in the near future?
ETA: Are there any specific situations where you would recommend law school? Such as receiving a scholarship or getting into a top law school.
Speaking as someone who is currently taking a university class on philosophy and who has used LW to better formulate and convey ideas in class, I would be very interested in this.
One of the most interesting personal stories I’ve ever heard, both in real life and on here; I often wish I had enough time to develop more unique hobbies. If it’s not too personal, where did you find the time? Do you think your relatively eclectic talents helped or hindered your overall rationality?
Thanks for sharing!
ETA: I love that you’re trying to add a more personal touch to Lesswrong; your personality—as conveyed through your writing style—seems especially suited to this by the way.
Your comment and this post have really clarified a lot of the thoughts I’ve had about status—especially as someone who is largely motivated by how others perceive me—thanks!
Any thoughts on how to best consciously optimize for prestige?
I live less than an hour away, but don’t own a car and attend an out of state university.
One response (unnamed): What can be done is that you can become involved yourself. I am aware of a major open source project that will be announced shortly that will have a major ethical component (I don’t use the term “Friendly AI” because SIAI’s proposal is shortsighted, unwise, and unethical). Contact me via my blog at http://becominggaia.wordpress.com/papers/ I (it) can point you to a number of conferences and resources as well.
Shortsighted, unwise, and unethical?
Anyone heard of this blog before?
Interesting, I’ll experiment with that technique.
Actually, perhaps one could combine those two: make an “X” in the air with your index finger whenever you’re feeling averse to doing something that you know you should do.
I don’t have anything clever or insightful to say, just that I had not heard of this talk before so thank you for both bringing it back up and for transcribing it!
But an important part Solstice Festivals IS the fun, the joviality.
I can’t parse this, is there a missing word or words?
In hindsight, that seems obvious. Thanks.
Hello!
I’m 18 years old, American, and a sophomore in college.
I discovered this site through HPMoR in December of last year, but did not seriously start reading the Sequences and other posts until the past half year or so. This site played an instrumental role in de-converting me; I had grown up in the Midwest in a very fundamentalist Christian household. After becoming firm in my atheism (untheism + antitheism), I sadly stopped lurking on here, until I became interested in philosophy and the rationality as espoused on LW.
I have always been considered “smart” in school, or to put it more specifically, I was well-optimized for succeeding in the United States’ public educational system. Similar to probably a non-trivial number of posters on here, the U.S.’s approach to (public) education almost completely failed me—not necessarily saying the system is broken, but it is/was broken for me individually. My high school taught to the lower denominator, and even after both skipping a grade and deciding to graduate a year early, I was never challenged in school. I never discovered my academic interests, never was intellectually stimulated, and in fact, was socially pressured into downplaying my intelligence whenever possible. This is not to say that I was blameless. I have always fallen prey to akrasia, and this combined with low standards in school contributed to me not exploring my intellectual boundaries and accepting the worldview I was brought up in.
Thankfully, because of a life-changing event (in summary: went halfway across the country to a top 15-ranked private college, accepted an Army ROTC full scholarship, partied too hard, realized I abhorred the military, decided not to contract with the Army, realized after almost failing first semester that my work ethic from high school was not enough, and transferred to my state’s flagship college for the second semester) I was forced to re-evaluate my worldview, confront any hidden assumptions, make my personal philosophy as coherent as possible, and really discover what I wanted to do with my time on this pale blue dot.
Currently I’m at my third educational institution (small, private liberal arts college) in two years and finally feeling simultaneously happy and intellectually stimulated. I’m looking forward to reading more insights on this blog and applying them to my life whenever possible. Perhaps I may even chime in if I’m feeling particularly courageous, but I’m a lurker by nature.
Just wanted to finally introduce myself and say thanks to all of you here for helping me turn my life around for the better!