This is a special post for quick takes by ashtree. Only they can create top-level comments. Comments here also appear on the Quick Takes page and All Posts page.
I am reading Planecrash (https://www.projectlawful.com/boards/215), and it seems surprising that Keltham would not think of his mind being read after being informed of gods that purportedly can do so. This appears to be his biggest flaw so far that I can truly blame him for (lacking cultural understanding in many ways is easily excused by being an alien).
Second thought: what should someone going into the second semester of their second year of college for CS, math, and EE be doing? I have personally elected to continue to do college (it is paid for for me). Still, it is very possible this is not the action that increases EV the most (and almost certainly is not, although by being something that many people do, it is also probably not that bad). I am very willing to listen if anyone has some advice on that front.
Third thought: I could donate $1000 to Lightcone without much difficulty. It would be a very significant expenditure for me, but should I do it? (My useful net worth is ~$10000).
I would be surprised if it were ethically important for you to donate that much. LW has made a pretty big difference to my life (e.g. my career, marriage, and a big chunk of my bank account are causally downstream of LW existing) and I estimated that there are probably something like $100m dollars worth of people for whom it was similarly impactful as me, and then a long tail of more people for whom it was somewhat less impactful, so I owed on the order of 1% of my net worth, such that if everyone like me who saw this fundraiser did the same then it would have enough money to thrive.
So unless LW was really important to you or unless you are sure that you will be a millionaire in the future and you are just donating in advance, I don't think you owe $1000. But if you want to donate it, then do.
Thank you for your advice, I donated $500. I expect to be a millionaire with high confidence (most situations where I am not are awful for humanity). "Owe" isn't how I would describe what I am doing; it's like any other donation to me. I want the best outcome for humanity.