robot-dreams

I like this model.

I'm not a researcher, but I would guess the generating process is quite iterative. Someone writes down the first crappy definition that comes to mind, they slog through some attempts to formulate theorems and prove them, gain some insights that help them refine the definition a bit, then repeat the process. I would also guess this kind of iteration makes the process more tractable than coming up with the "right" definition on the first try.

Replying toGlass Puppet

robot-dreams4y

Glass Puppet

See also the visual novel Eliza, which explores a similar idea: https://www.zachtronics.com/eliza/

Replying toProbabilistic Negotiation

robot-dreams4y

Probabilistic Negotiation

Big fan of this idea, but I need to be careful where/how I apply it. Otherwise:

"Why did you break up with your significant other?"

"Well, you see, their snoring bothered me but I didn't want to use a deterministic strategy that destroys all the expected value, so I decided to roll a d20, and I got a 2."

Replying toAccelerated [Honors] Calculus

robot-dreams4y

Accelerated [Honors] Calculus

The "step-by-step what I did before each physics exam" sounds interesting and useful, would you be open to sharing it here?

Replying toCovid 12/30: Infinity War

robot-dreams4y

Covid 12/30: Infinity War

Alas, people often don’t let you use them, such as this account where someone who was immunocompromised wasn’t allowed to use one on a flight, and thinks that’s how they got Covid-19.

Nit: Does the linked tweet say the person was in contact with an immunocompromised person, rather than immunocompromised himself?

I agree that 4 is a concern.

I disagree about 2. After having (a) participated in the weekend experiment and (b) done some "back-channel" references on Duncan, my impression is that he hates the fact that leadership will isolate him from the group he really wants to be a part of. I expect that if the experiment is successful, Duncan will eagerly set aside leadership and integrate himself with the group.

Going to class was not voluntary for me either. The consequences of not going to class included: parents screaming at me, parents kicking my ass (tiger parent style; we didn't do "grounding" in my household), truancies going onto my "permanent record", a full day of detention on a Saturday, etc. Things that people call "voluntary" don't usually result in physical and emotional damage if you don't do them.

Nonetheless, I skipped class a few times in middle school, and I suffered the consequences as a result. Were the consequences worth the glorious days of freedom that I spent skateboarding near the beach, sitting in a local comic book store marathoning manga, etc.? Maybe; maybe not.

But whether I go to class is a choice that I alone have the freedom to make. My parents and the school can set the consequences, and they can apply a lot of pressure to make particular options more or less appealing, but they can never take away my ability to choose.

Replying toOpen Thread, Jun. 22 - Jun. 28, 2015

robot-dreams11y

Open Thread, Jun. 22 - Jun. 28, 2015

What do you all think of "General Semantics"? Is it worth e.g. trying to read "Science and Sanity"? Are there insights / benefits there that can't be found in "Rationality: AI to Zombies"?

Replying toLifehack Ideas January 2015

robot-dreams11y

Lifehack Ideas January 2015

For Linux users (or Mac OS X users that use the Terminal) who want to pick up a journaling habit:

I set up the following aliases to DRAMATICALLY reduce the "activation energy" for writing a journal entry:

alias jcd='cd <journal directory>'
alias today='jcd; vi `date +%Y-%m-%d`; cd -'
alias yesterday='jcd; vi `date -r \`expr \\\`date +%s\\\` - 86400\` +%Y-%m-%d`; cd -'

So if I want to write a journal entry, I just type 'today' and get started. Note that this also has the secondary benefit of keeping journal entries nicely organized by date.

BTW, I am no writer, but this technique has gotten me to write a decent amount over the years:

$ jcd; cat * | wc -w
    92804

Replying toLifehack Ideas January 2015

robot-dreams11y

Lifehack Ideas January 2015

Here's how I calculate 15% tips in my head. After getting used to this approach, I could consistently beat friends who were fumbling with their smartphones.

BTW, math majors have a reputation for NOT being able to do mental arithmetic, so being a math major who could do this was a fun and ironic way to defy stereotypes.

Preparation. Memorize the product of each digit with 1.5

1 x 1.5 = 1.5
2 x 1.5 = 3.0
3 x 1.5 = 4.5
4 x 1.5 = 6.0
5 x 1.5 = 7.5
6 x 1.5 = 9.0
7 x 1.5 = 10.5
8 x 1.5 = 12.0
9 x 1.5 = 13.5

Step 1. Round your bill to two significant digits (35.76 ->... (read more)

Programming-like activities?

robot-dreams

11y

Programming is quite a remarkable activity:

It has an extremely low barrier to entry
- You don't need expensive equipment
- You don't need to be in a particular location
- You don't need special credentials
- You can finding information / resources just by opening the internet
- You can learn it / do it independently
It gives you rapid feedback (which can lead to rapid growth)
It gives you frequent rewards (which gives a huge boost in motivation)
It's objective and unforgiving (this is a good thing, because it teaches you how to confront reality)
It's intellectually stimulating
It's useful in the real world
- Corollary: you can make money or even build a career out of it
It's badass (or are you telling me that Hackers WASN'T your favorite movie

... (read more)

Exams and Overfitting

robot-dreams

11y

When I hear something like "What's going to be on the exam?", part of me gets indignant. WHAT?!?! You're defeating the whole point of the exam! You're committing the Deadly Sin of Overfitting!

Let me step back and explain my view of exams.

When I take a class, my goal is to learn the material. Exams are a way to answer the question, "How well did I learn the material?"[1]. But exams are only a few hours long, so it's unfeasible to have questions on all of the material. To deal with this time constraint, an exam takes a random sample of the material and gives me a "statistical" rather than "perfect" answer to... (read 347 more words →)

Non-obvious skills with highly measurable progress?

robot-dreams

11y

A lot of my significant personal improvement happened as a result of highly measurable progress and tight feedback loops. For example:

Project Euler
Go (the game has a very accurate ranking system)
Strength training

However, these are somewhat obvious examples, and I feel like it would be a waste not to push such a useful improvement mechanism as far as possible.

What are some non-obvious examples of skills with highly measurable progress and tight feedback loops?

Identity crafting

robot-dreams

11y

I spend a LOT of time on what I'll call "identity crafting". It's probably my most insidious procrastination tactic--far worse than, say, Facebook or Reddit.

What do I mean by "identity crafting"? Here are some examples:

Brainstorming areas of my life where I want to improve (e.g. social skills, sleep habits)
Searching for new hobbies to start (e.g. snowboarding, guitar)
Making a "character sheet" for myself, complete with a huge list of "badass skills" that I'd want to learn (e.g. martial arts, lock picking)
Creating and revising my "four-year plan", i.e. schedule of university courses (at my university I had a lot of flexibility in which courses to take each term)
Finding books that I "ought to read"

... (read 152 more words →)

LESSWRONG
LW

LESSWRONG
LW

Non-obvious skills with highly measurable progress?

Exams and Overfitting

Identity crafting

Programming-like activities?

robot-dreams

Programming-like activities?

Exams and Overfitting

Non-obvious skills with highly measurable progress?

Identity crafting

robot-dreams

Non-obvious skills with highly measurable progress?

Exams and Overfitting

Identity crafting

Programming-like activities?

robot-dreams

Programming-like activities?

Exams and Overfitting

Non-obvious skills with highly measurable progress?

Identity crafting