LESSWRONG
LW

Andrew Currall
390200
Message
Dialogue
Subscribe

Posts

Sorted by New

Wikitag Contributions

Comments

Sorted by
Newest
No wikitag contributions to display.
Why you should be using a retinoid
Andrew Currall10mo10

It is true that cloud cover doesn't reduce UV as much as one might think, certainly. But there is a *huge* difference in UV levels between Winter and Summer in Northern Europe. Appopriate levels of sun-cream cannot plausibly be the same regardless of time of year. Time of day also makes a huge difference; if you're not going outside within 2-3 hours either side of the zenith (in theory noon; in practice moves up to 2 hours off this depending on exactly where you live, local time zones, and daylight saving), you can mostly forget about sun-cream. 

Reply
Which skincare products are evidence-based?
Andrew Currall1y1-1

I think it is pretty conclusive that sunscreen wearing will improve your skin complexion and smoothness in the long term (presumably the effect is not worth having if you never go outside in sunshine, obv). 

Whether it has enough material effect to do anything to your risk of dying from malignant melonoma (which is pretty rare anyway), is more of an open question. It might not be a worthwhile trade-off for everyone. 

Reply
Rejecting Television
Andrew Currall1y10

Very interesting.
I have never watched much television (I've had one in my house only before I was 6 years old and then for an 8 month period once as a university student). I do have a netflix subscription and a laptop; this does not cause me an addiction problem. With very rare exceptions I typically watch about half an hour, once every 2-3 days, as an evening activity with my girlfriend. 
I do feel I would be better off spending significantly less time aimlessly browsing the internet, though. Computer games I think are generally less bad than television, and while I certainly have at some times in my life spent a lot of time playing (up to 3-4 hours a day), I don't play as much now (perhaps an hour a day?), and don't feel that this is destructive. 

Reply
One-shot strategy games?
Andrew Currall1y32

I think I disagree with this comment. StS really does have hidden information and tradeoffs, as you don't know what you will encounter later in the run. Very often the value of a card depends on what cards you are offered later, or even which bosses you face.

Reply
Balancing Games
Andrew Currall1y30

Bridge is a slightly odd choice of example in your opening section. A single hand of Bridge has very high randomness; it's quite likely the weaker partnership will "win", assuming they have at least basic competence in the game. The advantage of a stronger pair only really becomes apparent over a large number of hands. 

The same is true is Poker, even more so. In fact stronger players may not "win" very many more hands than weaker players at all; it's just that when they win they win more and when they lose they lose less. 

This isn't true at all in Chess, of course.

Reply
Do websites and apps actually generally get worse after updates, or is it just an effect of the fear of change?
Andrew Currall2y20

Largely tangential to the main comment, but I'm not sure a "lgbtq" sale is a particularly good example of over-the-top wokeness. The only thing I could reasonably see to object to about it is the name, but I fear we are probably stuck with "lgbt######??", bad as it is. And as examples go, that one is actually quite tame- only 5 letters!

Reply
I'm consistently overwhelmed by basic obligations. Are there any paradigm shifts or other rationality-based tips that would be helpful?
Andrew Currall2y20

doing the dishes and laundry, but also vigorous exercise, talking to strangers, changing baby diapers, public speaking in front of crowds, having difficult conversations, and tackling unfamiliar subject matters

Mmm. I'm with you on all the social ones (strangers, crowds, conversations etc.). I wasn't remotely stressed the first time I changed a nappy- it wasn't difficult at all. I don't remember the first time I did dishes or laundry, but I imagine I was a small child and rather charmed by it all- certainly not stressed (nor have these things ever bothered me). I don't know that I've ever engaged in vigorous exercise. 

Reply
Class-Based Addressing
Andrew Currall2y50

Our daughter went through a fairly long period of calling cats "dog", and would aggressively correct us if we tried to correct her. Possibly something of the same thing. 

Reply
R0 Is Not Counterfactual
Andrew Currall2y10

R0 is not remotely immutable. It is a function of people's behaviour and physical infrastructure as well as physical properties of the virus (which are themselves likely changing, especially early in a pandemic, as the virus evolves). 

It is not affected by levels of exposure, because R0 is defined as the infection rate in the absence of any exposure. 

Reply
Nose / throat treatments for respiratory infections
Andrew Currall2y10

Nice write-up.

I'd also be interested in discussion of treatments that are only meant to relieve symptoms rather than reduce the risk of infection, for example expectorants (e.g. guaifenesin), antihistamines, and decongestants (e.g. phenylephrine). 

Reply
Load More
No posts to display.