Before we dive in, here are some of the most surprising findings: * Alcohol makes me happier and doesn’t affect my sleep, happiness, or productivity the next day. * Ramen and chips ~3×'d my irritability intensity. Ovulating ~3×'d my grumpiness frequency. * Polyamory doesn’t hurt my emotional well-being (surprising to...
Here’s a mystery for you: why the hell isn’t homelessness solved yet? I grew up on the West Coast and I thought everybody had this problem, but the more I’ve traveled, the more I’ve seen something puzzling - it’s just us. Other places have homeless people, but it’s just not...
This is crossposted from my Substack TL;DR: -Most people cannot reduce jealousy much or at all - It fundamentally causes way more drama because of strong emotions, jealousy, no default norms to fall back to, and there being exponentially more surface area for conflict - For a small minority of...
I often see people who stopped exercising because they felt like it didn’t matter compared to x-risks. Especially if they have short timelines. This is like saying that the best way to drive from New York to San Francisco is speeding and ignoring all the flashing warning lights in your...
Cross-posted from my Substack Burnout and depression in AI safety usually don’t happen because of overwork. From what I've seen, it usually comes from a lack of hope. Working on something you don’t think will work and if it doesn’t work, you’ll die? That's a recipe for misery. How do...
Sometimes I hear people say they’re worried about discussing s-risks from threats because it might “give an ASI ideas” or otherwise increase the chance that some future system tries to extort us by threatening astronomical suffering. While this concern is rooted in a commendable commitment to reducing s-risks, I argue...
Cross-posted from my Substack To start off with, I’ve been vegan/vegetarian for the majority of my life. I think that factory farming has caused more suffering than anything humans have ever done. Yet, according to my best estimates, I think most animal-lovers should eat meat. Here’s why: 1. It is...