I have submitted the survey, AND for the first time realized I’m not sure the example lifespan in the anti-agathics question should be understood as continuous. And I learned about natural law!
therufs
Karma: 968
I have taken the survey. Whoot!
It’s to Quirrell’s advantage that you believe that, of course.
About a year and a half ago, I lost my fun-but-low-skill receptionist job. Deciding I was tired of being poor and having no marketable skills, I began to teach myself to program, which involved a bunch of Coursera courses, an internship, and a TAship at an intensive code school. Tomorrow will mark a month at my first Real Job as a programmer (indeed, the first Real Job of my life.)
The process has involved the acquisition of non-computer skills, too. In particular, I’ve gotten better at estimating my own competence, accounting for the planning fallacy, asking for help, doing distasteful tasks, and calmly articulating differences of opinion (and corrections of fact).
How do I know when I shouldn’t feel sad?
My personal metric has been that it’s reasonable to feel sad when there’s a specific event (as opposed to a circumstance) to be sad about (death of someone close to me, breakup of a relationship, loss of a job.)
But whether or not you “should” feel sad, professionals can help.
Also, it’s scary.
The voice that is telling you that awful things are loitering just outside the edge of your awareness, I call The Jerkbrain.
I can self-report that directly and emphatically addressing it as such (usually “shut up, Jerkbrain!”) has had helpful effects including:
increased aptitude for dealing with problems in the physical world
much less energy wasted dealing with problems that exist only in distant possibility (and maybe not even there.)
I am not my jerkbrain, and you are not yours, either.
Talk to a stranger
Don’t use a GPS
Try a new food/restaurant
If you usually drive, try getting somewhere on public transit
Sign up for a Coursera class (that’s actually happening, so you have the option to be graded.) (Note: this will be a small risk on a daily basis for many consecutive days)
Go to a meetup at a library or game store
DONE, sweet fancy moses. No flash on tablet=no IQ test for me :/
Taskify your challenges. To continue the metaphor: Protagonists often have lots of adventures/problems/riddles to solve on their way to the end of the book.
You asked Protagonist Brent what he would do and he told you how he would get a job. That’s a good start, but don’t let him take all the credit while foisting the legwork off onto you! How does Protagonist Brent find somewhere to live? How does he address his financial concerns?
I might also add there’s a lot of scope for dramatic imagery if Protagonist Brent rests up for a day or two and then rises from his bed as if from the grave. :)
As I was finishing my run today, I noticed that I felt a lot less grumpy and worn out and “whew I’ll be glad when this is over” than I often do, which I attribute to finishing my mileage on a gentle decline, rather than at the top of a hill. Then I remembered Kahnemann’s colonoscopy study and realized I might be able to harness the peak-end rule to lessen my aversion to running!
This is the first time (that I remember) that I feel like I’ve gotten my hands on a cheat code and known how to use it. Still trying to decide whether to start by trying to optimize every aversive task or cackling maniacally!
I saw this site on evand’s computer one day, so of course then had to look it up for myself. In my free time, I pester him with LW-y questions.
By way of background, I graduated from a trying-to-be-progressive-but-sort-of-hung-up-on-orthodoxy quasi-Protestant seminary in spring 2010. Primary discernible effects of this schooling (i.e., I would assign these a high probability of relevance on LW) include:
deeply suspicious of pretty much everything
a predisposition to enter a Hulk-smash rage at the faintest whiff of systematic injustice or oppression
high value on beauty, imagination*, and inclusivity
* Part of my motivation to involve myself in rationalism is a hope that I can learn ways to imagine better (more usefully, maybe.)
I like learning more about how brains work (/don’t work). Also about communities. Also about things like why people say and do what they say and do, both in terms of conditioning/unconscious motivation and conscious decision. And and and. I will start keeping track on a wiki page perhaps.
I cherish ambitions of being able to contribute to a discussion one day! (If anyone has any ideas/relevant information about getting over not wanting to look stupid, please do share …)
Hi!
Eliezer Yudkowsky’s Patronus is Harry Potter.
Sorry if this is a noob question, but what is “the textbook” in this case?
If you are going to try to stand on a picnic table, check to see how and whether the top is attached to the base.
I discovered that deciding exactly when I am going to worry about things I need to worry about at some other time, and putting them on my calendar, is effective in getting me to quit worrying about them now. Example: “This carpet is gross; I am going to keep focusing on my project for one more hour, then vacuum.”
I have also discovered that there are a lot of things I don’t actually need to worry about at any particular time—i.e., they can be worried about when they become relevant. These don’t go on the calendar, because the event they are related to coming up will trigger solving them. Example: “Where do we want to go for dinner?”
Sometimes the trigger event never happens. Thus, worry-procrastination basically eliminates worrying about things that don’t happen, and the concomitant time wasted, attention diverted from tasks at hand, etc. Example: “What if friend is upset because I missed their call?”, and friend isn’t upset.
I still need practice at (a) identifying worry; (b) not doing it until scheduled.
My main objection to smartphone use is that by putting anything you want to pay attention to at your fingertips, it can introduce a certain distance from what is actually going on. I would not advocate, say, spending your 4 hours at the DMV observing your surroundings (that would be a waste of time). But I am concerned that time spent with portable Internet corresponds to ever thicker-walled and less-apparent echo chambers. Is this an issue you have thoughts on?
By way of example, I’m trying to think about the difference between reading a novel on the subway and reading the internets on the subway; the main distinction is that when I’m reading the novel, I’m aware that I’m not actually paying attention to my surroundings.
Group Rationality Diary, February 1-14
Meta: are you interested in identifying “any negative outcomes in any poly relationships” or “negative outcomes that were caused by the poly-ness of a relationship”? I ask because “relationship crumbled due to mental health issues” seems orthogonal to “relationship is poly”.
Here is a short list of things I do and some things I have heard suggested:
Consume media created by members of disadvantaged groups
Notice when members of disadvantaged groups are absent from a particular setting. Ask yourself or others why this might be the case, and whether this serves the desired objectives, or if there’s even clarity on what the desired objectives are. (Example: holding a meeting on a college campus that lacks public parking.)
If you attend professional conferences, ask organizers what they are doing to ensure all presentation proposals get fair consideration. (If you’re so inclined, ask what they are doing to support diversity among presenters.)
Update towards the belief that, regardless of your good intentions, members of disadvantaged groups may interpret certain things you say uncharitably. Avoid saying such things, or take pains to avoid offloading your discomfort onto them. For examples of things to watch out for, you may find it helpful to read Derailing for Dummies.
Some addenda:
If you have experiences that you feel make you better able to empathize with members of a disadvantaged group, great! When you are with members of the disadvantaged group, do not bring up these experiences unless you are specifically asked.
Do not claim to share an identity with members of the disadvantaged group unless explicitly and enthusiastically invited to do so. Even so, this dispensation is good only when you’re among the people who extended it to you. (Example: a campus LGBTQA group whose members are persistently and vocally excited about the “and allies!” bit.)
If you feel someone is stereotyping you unfairly, consider whether you are the target audience for this piece of media. Do not reply, with a possible exception being for when you are being named specifically (and not referred to by group identity.)
Carefully consider the relative magnitude of a wrong you have suffered before airing righteous indignation, even as a group bonding activity.
Other than human immortality, do you remember specific cringeworthy quirks?
If you are looking for employment, tell everyone you know. I have gotten 100% of my jobs from friends saying “hey, did you hear about this one”.