Another interesting one (and perhaps a bit squicky to some): if there are cells in an apple, are they typically alive when you eat the apple? How about cells in meat? How do you know?
I think that this is a minor point, yes, not the main point. It’s a subtlety that many miss, not the key reading.
But likewise, I’ve found a prod in Omelas that goads me personally more than the main theme does. It’s the unspoken “and if you’re that unsatisfied with that perfect city, with one single justifiedly suffering child, what in god’s name are you doing about this world, with so much less good, and so much more suffering, so much less justified?”
Specifically the folinic acid hypothesis is that this is an atypical autoimmune-instigated form of CFD, not the genetic type which typically manifests very rapidly. Look up Folate Receptor Alpha Autoantibodies. My strongest claim is that something environmental may be causing an uptick in autism, even accounting for its strong heritability; with a subset of that claim being "maybe vaccines". I don't believe this strongly enough to write more than a shortform pondering it.
The putative method by which leucovorin (folinic acid) might be a cure for some subtype of autism is that folate receptor autoantibodies (FRAAs) block normal sources of folate reaching the brain, causing a form of Cerebral Folate Deficiency (CFD). It's claimed that folinic acid is an atypical source of folate which can still reach the brain in someone with those antibodies. On this theory, that subtype of autism is an autoimmune disease.
No conclusive evidence links vaccinations to autoimmune diseases, but conditional on folinic acid working, we should maybe look more closely at what would cause the autoimmune disorder, and update positively on some version of the vaccine theory?
I have been experiencing something similar recently on semaglutide, although my hypothesis was simply calorie deficit homeostasis. I’d previously dieted and lost 18 lbs without, and the main difference was the willpower required to do it, the fatigue and associated anhedonia was the same. This might be different if you’re not at all tired?
Would “explain this concept to a younger child” be a better classroom assignment?
What was the point about the carpet rods? You seemed like you were going somewhere interesting with that!
FYI, Mox will also be open to LessOnline ticketholders in the week between LessOnline and Manifest. This is more for people who are flying in a few days early and just need a place to get work done, for socializing highly recommend buying a ticket to Arbor summer camp!
FYI, Mox will also be open to LessOnline ticketholders in the week between LessOnline and Manifest. This is more for people who've got a flight out a few days late and just need a place to get work done, for socializing highly recommend buying a ticket to Arbor summer camp!
On Dwarkesh’s podcast, Nick Lane says that “(the reason for) Large genomes. To have a multicellular organism where effectively you’re deriving from a single cell, that restricts the chances of effectively all the cells having a fight. … So you start with a single cell and you develop, so there’s less genetic fighting going on between the cells than there would be if they come together.”
Has anyone made the formal connection between this and acausal trade? For all I know this is exactly where the insight comes from, but if not, someone should fill in the gap.