byerley
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byerley has not written any posts yet.
There is perhaps no better man to alert the mainstream of the possibilities and/or dangers of AI. His comments have no doubt encouraged many people to look into this area. Some of these people may be capable of helping create Friendly AI in the future. In my opinion Steven Hawking believed making these comments were for the greater good of society and I tend to agree with him.
Firstly I must pass on my best wishes to Efim. I am assuming you may have some form of depression and as a long term sufferer I can assure you that things do get better in time! Often the first episode is worse than the following relapses, you will learn to deal with this and it will make you stronger. With proper treatment you may look at this disorder as something which has actually enhanced your life. Depression has taught me a lot about humility and to cherish the good things in life; it has taught me to take care of my body and mind, ultimately making me a happier person overall.
In... (read more)
"My own statistics prof said..."
I am sure we sure we are more than capable of looking beyond the scope of what your statistics professor had time to teach you at university. I have some knowledge and education of statistics myself, not that it makes me particularly more entitled to comment about it.
"Thats not the skill that's taught in a statistics degree."
I commend you for apparently having a statistics degree of some form. To suggest that analysing and comprehending large amounts of data isnt taught in a statistics degree makes me question your statistics degree. I'm not saying your degree is any better worse, perhaps just unique. Of course, comprehending large amounts statistical data would lead to the use of algorithms to accurately explain the data. We rely on algorithms and mathematics for statistical analysis. Understanding the 'complicated' maths or Bayes theorem wouldnt seem like that great a stretch given the OP's education which is my initial point.
"A M.S. in statistics. Sadly, the non-Bayesian kind for the most part"
I'd hardly be ashamed of having a 'non-Bayesian' statistics degree. Bayes is referenced a lot in LW, and for good reason but Bayes theorem is not all that difficult to understand particularly for someone with your education. The most useful skill a knowledge of statistics can give you, arguably, is being able to objectively analyse and comprehend extremely large amounts of data.
Have you looked into the possibility of acquiring a research partner? It may be a more effective use of your time to predominantly take care of the statistical analysis and the biological experimentation while your partner (endowed with skills you don't have time to learn yourself) can present fresh ideas for new research. This method would be prone to less bias and if it's a race against time, you may not have enough to acquire an entirely new skill set.
Before an area of interest becomes a passion it must be rewarding. Enjoyment may come intrinsically, e.g. just doing the research is the reward in itself. By the sound of it this new method of analysis you speak of does not provide the amount of intrinsic enjoyment required to pursue it without extrinsic reward. Enjoyment may also come extrinsically; by this I mean fame, glory, money and acclaim. It's the difference between a cyclist dedicating his life to the sport because he "loves riding his bike", or a cyclist dedicating his life to the sport because he believes pursuing his/her significant talent would be the best way to acquire money and thus... (read more)
You are correct Michael. Antidepressants don't seem to work better than placebo and yes it is immoral for psychiatrists to be prescribing antidepressants without enrolling the client in CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). The medical model DOES NOT fit very well with mental disorders. A mental disorder is a bit like a peg leg, you can pretend you don't have a peg leg and take a bunch of valium to ignore the fact you have a peg leg but ultimately the best treatment for having a peg leg or a mental disorder is education and fancy this, teaching the client rationality techniques... Another big quam I have is how heavily valium is prescribed... (read more)