rationalnewsletter

Issue #103

NIH has today launched a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating a vaccine candidate for COVID19. This trial is enrolling 45 healthy adult volunteers in Seattle & is the first of multiple steps for evaluating the potential benefit of the vaccine. // www.nih.gov

# Coronavirus

A Significant Portion of COVID-19 Transmission Is Presymptomatic // jimrandomh, 4 min

What I'm doing to fight Coronavirus // lsusr, 1 min

Growth rate of COVID-19 outbreaks // Bucky, 2 min

Crisis and opportunity during coronavirus // jacobjacob, 5 min

LessWrong Coronavirus Link Database // Elizabeth, habryka, Ben Pace, 1 min

# Epistemic

Puzzles for Physicalists // jessicata, 11 min

What are some articles that updated your beliefs a lot on an important topic? // Mati_Roy, 1 min

A Sketch of Answers for Physicalists // Chris_Leong, 3 min

A conversation on theory of mind, subjectivity, and objectivity // jessicata, 5 min

Analyticity is Determined by Definitions // Chris_Leong, 2 min

# Ai

Zoom In: An Introduction to Circuits // evhub, 3 min

[Article review] Artificial Intelligence, Values, and Alignment // MichaelA, 12 min

# Anthropic

Adaptive Immune System Aging // johnswentworth, 3 min Favorite

The Lens, Progerias and Polycausality // johnswentworth, 3 min

Sleepwalking Toward Armageddon // Hivewired, 1 min

Anthropic effects imply that we are more likely to live in the universe with interstellar panspermia // avturchin, 1 min

# Decision theory

Vulnerabilities in CDT and TI-unaware agents // PabloAMC, Davide_Zagami, Chris_Leong, 4 min

# Math and cs

Trace README // johnswentworth, 9 min

UML final // Rafael Harth, 19 min

Name of Problem? // johnswentworth, 1 min

# Community

I'm leaving AI alignment – you better stay // rmoehn, 5 min

Rationalists, Post-Rationalists, And Rationalist-Adjacents // orthonormal, 3 min

The Heckler's Veto Is Also Subject to the Unilateralist's Curse // Zack_M_Davis, 2 min

Thoughts on LessWrong's Infohazard Policies // Ben Pace, 9 min

# Culture war

Common Useless Objections // Robin Hanson, 2 min

Plot Economics // Venkatesh Rao, 10 min

# Misc

For, Then Against, High-Saturated-Fat Diets // Scott Alexander, 15 min Favorite

What is a School? // Zvi, 1 min

How effective are tulpas? // Raven, 2 min

Please Press "Record" // johnswentworth, 1 min

The Case for Privacy Optimism // bmgarfinkel, 38 min

# Podcasts

#191 — Early Thoughts on a Pandemic // Waking up with Sam Harris, 66 min

106 – Talking to Strangers (with COVID-19) // The Bayesian Conspiracy, 141 min

#190 — How Should We Respond to Coronavirus? // Waking up with Sam Harris, 78 min

# Videos of the week

How Singapore Farms Use Artificial Intelligence // CNA Insider, 2 min