Simon Berens

Something I notice when I tackle problems of medium+ complexity (top of mind for me is large codebase refactors) my brain tries to explore every possibility in the solution space — every thought generates many more trains of thought to explore, leaving me with decision paralysis. One solution I’ve been...

With AI risk getting significant media attention lately (FLI open letter, Eliezer's letter), I think it's plausible that the Overton window has expanded enough where a presidential candidate talking about it won't get immediately laughed off stage. In addition, there seems to be increased positive sentiment around a global treaty...

> I haven’t found near infrared radiation referenced in the article - I‘m using near infrared as a brain hack, by shining a cheap 850nm LED light on my forehead. This has, over the last 2 years, enabled me to code for weeks on end, for 12+ hours a day,...

Note: this post was intended for a less AI-risk informed audience than LessWrong, but I think the concrete example of a fork bomb is still interesting. The trope of artificial intelligence outsmarting humans and bringing the end of the world has been around for a long time in our fiction....

Gum Sometimes I need to ensure the quality of my breath, so I reach for a stick of gum. However, I don't always have my gum on me. Often, I forget it at home, or at work, or in a jacket. So I bought 5 packs of gum that I...

Warning: this is not in typical LessWrong "style", but nevertheless I think it is of interest to people here. Most people approach productivity from the bottom up. They notice something about a process that feels inefficient, so they set out to fix that specific problem. They use a website blocker...

Like most tech bros, I’m a little too interested in productivity and optimizing my life. I’ve even made a few of my own tools to help me stay focused and efficient. In the process of trying to find and build the best productivity tools possible, I discovered common elements among...