That seems quite a bit more restrictive than what currently gets posted, no? (I ask because I don’t follow the site that closely.)
tog
Karma: 691
Make a will. It’s worth it, and too easy to put off. Here’s a will-writing guide I wrote, including free ways in which you can do so (which also covers how to leave money to charity in it, but is a complete guide.)
If you give to charity, use the recommendations at GiveWell.org. (Familiar and boring to most people here I know, but new people might see this thread!)
Amusing product you could use with this—the Pavlok, which gives you electric shocks ( http://pavlok.com/ )
There was also a kickstarter device that sucked off your blood as a penalty, but they banned it.
Just under a year, and I’ve been using it for posture (a really tough habit to break, at least for me), so I have a good bit of data.
What topics are appropriate for LessWrong?
Here’s a self-improvement tip that I’ve come up with and found helpful. It works particularly well with bad habits, which are hard to fix using other self-improvement techniques as they’re often unconscious. To take one example, it’s helped improve my posture significantly.
1) List your bad habits. This is a valuable exercise in its own right! Examples might include bad posture (or, more concretely, crossing your legs), mumbling, vehicular manslaughter, or something you often forget to do.
2) Get in the habit of noticing when they occur, even if it’s after the fact. You can regularly try remembering whether they have at a convenient time for you, such as at lunch or in the evening. Ideally you should try to notice them soon after they occur however, for reasons that will become clear.
3) Come up with a punishment. The point of this is not to create an incentive not to lapse (you could experiment with that, but I’m not sure whether it will work, as bad habits are rarely consciously chosen). Instead, it’s to train yourself by Pavlovian conditioning—training “system one”, in Daniel Kahneman’s terms. Examples of punishments would be literally slapping yourself on the wrist, pinching yourself, or costing your HabitRPG character health points (see https://habitrpg.com/ ).
I’d add using keyboard shortcuts, which are available in desktop clients and GMail.
Of note, that’s pretty infrequently for most people.
What would be high on your list, out of interest?
True.
LastPass is a good password/login storer for people who want to try this out.
everything I sign up to can have a personalised email address e.g facebook@mydomain.com or massdrop@mydomain.com
You can also do this with GMail—if your address is bob@gmail.com, bob+anystring@gmail.com and bob+anystring2@gmail.com will reach you (ie you can put anything after +).
Productivity poll: how frequently do you think you *should* check email?
What are rationalist heroes supposed to do? And what can “sidekicks” do to help them?
(I ask these questions as someone who’s not that familiar with the rationalist community. I asked them on the Effective Altruism Forum and there was some discussion of them there.)
I’m looking for specific examples, particular ones which aren’t already being done and so are available for new heroes to take on.
Ryan Carey said “A hero means roughly what you’d expect—someone who takes personal responsibility for solving world problems. Kind of like an effective altruist.” He quoted this passage from HPMOR:
You could call it heroic responsibility, maybe,” Harry Potter said. “Not like the usual sort. It means that whatever happens, no matter what, it’s always your fault. Even if you tell Professor McGonagall, she’s not responsible for what happens, you are. Following the school rules isn’t an excuse, someone else being in charge isn’t an excuse, even trying your best isn’t an excuse. There just aren’t any excuses, you’ve got to get the job done no matter what.” Harry’s face tightened. “That’s why I say you’re not thinking responsibly, Hermione. Thinking that your job is done when you tell Professor McGonagall—that isn’t heroine thinking. Like Hannah being beat up is okay then, because it isn’t your fault anymore. Being a heroine means your job isn’t finished until you’ve done whatever it takes to protect the other girls, permanently.” In Harry’s voice was a touch of the steel he had acquired since the day Fawkes had been on his shoulder. “You can’t think as if just following the rules means you’ve done your duty. –HPMOR, chapter 75.
But in that case doesn’t the sort of “sidekick” that Miranda describes count as a hero, because being a sidekick is plausibly one of the best ways that they can contribute to solving the world’s problems?
Correct, Peter Hurford is working on them and will I believe finish them soon.
The link to the post on your personal blog is broken, it should be: http://swimmer963.com/?p=383
It’s interesting to compare these results to those of the 2014 Survey of Effective Altruists. These will be released soon, but here are some initial ways in which effective altruists who took this survey compare to LessWrong census takers:
Somewhat less male (75% vs 87%)
More in the UK
Equally atheist/agnostic
More consequentialist (74% vs 60%)
Much more vegan/vegetarian (34% vs 10%)
Witty, attractive, and great company at parties
To compare, are there any public stats on LessWrong readership, such as how many new and returning visitors the site gets?
I’d second the recommendation of a waterpik for flossing. Tooth problems suck, so it’s worth shelling out to avoid them.
Did you ever find the answer to this?