rationalnewsletter

Issue #220

From stimulus to neuron to behavior: Deep neural networks models behavior of a male fruit fly. Each model unit maps to one of the channels, the unit predicts the real neuron’s activity and how that neuron drives behavior; a one-to-one mapping. // twitter.com

# Instrumental

Babysitting as Parenting Trial? // jkaufman, 3 min

Predicting Parental Emotional Changes? // jkaufman, 1 min

Tarnished Guy who Puts a Num on it // Jacobian, 5 min

Trigger-Action Planning // CFAR 2017, 15 min

I’ve become a medical mystery and I don’t know how to effectively get help // CraigMichael, 2 min

# Epistemic

ITT-passing and civility are good; "charity" is bad; steelmanning is niche // RobbBB, 7 min

A Pattern Language For Rationality // Vaniver, 18 min

Cognitive Dissonance on Cognitive Capability // niederman, 1 min

Nobody Knows How Well Homework Works // Scott Alexander, 3 min

# Ai

AI Forecasting: One Year In // jsteinhardt, 6 min

Principles for Alignment/Agency Projects // johnswentworth, 5 min

Human values & biases are inaccessible to the genome // TurnTrout, 6 min

My Most Likely Reason to Die Young is AI X-Risk // AISafetyIsNotLongtermist, 4 min

The curious case of Pretty Good human inner/outer alignment // PavleMiha, 4 min

# Meta-ethics

Some thoughts on Animals // nitinkhanna, 2 min

# Longevity

Being a donor for Fecal Microbiota Transplants (FMT): Do good & earn easy money (up to 180k/y) // anton-rodenhauser, 10 min

# Anthropic

Our Level In the Great Filter // Robin Hanson, 5 min

# Decision theory

Decision theory and dynamic inconsistency // paulfchristiano, 11 min

Understanding updatelessness in the context of EDT and CDT // Sylvester Kollin, 8 min

Imperial Russia was doing fine without the Soviets // Davis Kedrosky, 17 min

Seeking opinions on the current and forward state of cryptocurrencies. // jmh, 1 min

# Math and cs

Assorted thoughts about abstraction // adamzerner, 8 min

# Books

Book Review: The Righteous Mind // ErnestScribbler, 42 min

Your Book Review: The Outlier // Scott Alexander, 24 min

# Ea

When Giving People Money Doesn’t Help // Zvi, 12 min

# Community

Carrying the Torch: A Response to Anna Salamon by the Guild of the Rose // moridinamael, 7 min

Changes in Community Dynamics: A Follow-Up to 'The Berkeley Community & the Rest of Us' // Evan_Gaensbauer, 4 min

# Culture war

Genders Discrimination // Jacobian, 5 min

# Fun

SOMA - A story about Consciousness // johannes-c-mayer, 1 min

# Misc

Toni Kurz and the Insanity of Climbing Mountains // GeneSmith, 12 min

My vision of a good future, part I // jeff-ladish, 10 min

User research as a barometer of software design // adamzerner, 3 min

Nature abhors an immutable replicator... usually // MSRayne, 3 min

How to Become a World Historical Figure (Péladan's Dream) // rogersbacon, 36 min

# Podcasts

EP 160 Curtis Yarvin on Monarchy in the U.S.A. // The Jim Rutt Show, 109 min

EP 159 Bobby Azarian on the Romance of Reality // The Jim Rutt Show, 121 min

# Rational fiction

Report from a civilizational observer on Earth // owencb, 6 min

# Videos of the week

Lex Fridman plays chess with Demis Hassabis // Lex Fridman, 9 min