Thinking Through Harmful Situations

December 30, 2017

Possible solutions to a harmful situation you are in can usually be categorized into just four types. You can: Exit, Alter, React, or Reframe. To elaborate, if a situation is causing you harm, you can: (1) EXIT the situation so that it can’t harm you anymore. For instance, if you’re in a burning building, you can try to leave the building. (2) ALTER the nature or characteristics of the situation so that it harms you less, while still remaining in the situation, and otherwise behavi...

Thoughts on Common Political Perspectives

December 20, 2017

Personal freedom (often part of liberal and libertarian perspectives): (1) People seem better at understanding what is good for them, as individuals, than regulators are at figuring out what those same people need, so I think personal freedom to do what you like should be the default position unless there is a good reason to deviate from it. (2) I think it makes our society better, on average, when any person who is critical of government or authority can publicly state their criticism wi...

Rules That Add Up to 100

December 19, 2017

100/0 rule - you should be 100% certain 0% of the time. 80/20 rule - 80% of output is caused by 20% of effort (not literally true, but true in spirit most of the time). 77/23 rule - the poorest 77% of the world’s population accounts for approximately 23% of the world’s income (GDP figures 2010) [1] 75/25 rule - not more than 25 percent of the total unlicensed seaman on board a documented vessel shall be aliens lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence [2] 70/30 ...

Psychological Gulfs

December 3, 2017

Here's my list common differences between people that are so large that those at the extreme opposite ends of the trait (say, the 5th percentile vs. 95th percentile) have a very hard time understanding and relating to each other. What would you add to the list, and what am I getting wrong? Note: each of these examples is supposed to illustrate a somewhat extreme form of each trait for clarity purposes. Most people who have or lack each trait don’t have a form that is as extreme as is shown i...

20 Super-Helpful Life Hacks

November 27, 2017

Part 1: LEARNING HACKS 1. Crowdsource improvements to ideas: when you come up with a new idea or are mulling over a complex idea and still find yourself uncertain or confused about it, post to Facebook explaining the idea, and explain that you're curious to hear what other people think about it, or whether they agree or disagree and why, or what their own theories about it are. Crowdsourcing the perspectives of others can be a fantastic way to improve your own understanding and to ge...

Subtle Introspection

November 14, 2017

Here are ten subtle things it's easy to miss about yourself that you may find it valuable to pay mindful attention to: Your natural posture when sitting at your computer → this may affect how your body feels in 20 yearsWhere emotions manifest in your body (e.g., I feel anxiety in my chest and annoyance as a twinge in my face) → greater awareness here may help you more quickly and accurately identify your emotions.The clothing you feel your best and worst in → this may lead you to dress in a ...

16 Potentially-Dystopian Utopias

November 7, 2017

Suppose that humans one day (whether 20 or 200 years from now) create far more advanced technology, with power sufficient to reshape what the world is like, and even to determine what humanity becomes. If that comes to pass, we’re going to be in trouble unless we also reach a better understanding of our own values and resolve the inconsistencies in them. We don’t have sufficient clarity on our values to say what the ideal world looks like. So if we ever have the power to truly redesign the w...

Cool Reboot for More Energy

November 5, 2017

Do you tend to feel tired or 'out of it' midday? Do you not want to waste the rest of the day feeling like garbage? Try a Cool Reboot! It layers together six different techniques for feeling awake and only takes 30 minutes. Ingredients (all optional, skip any that you can't do now or don't like): - a very caffeinated beverage - a timer with an alarm (e.g., on your phone or alarm clock) - earplugs and/or eye mask - a bed or couch - a bright source of light (e.g., a S.A.D....

Ten Useful Reframings

November 1, 2017

1. I just made a huge mistake; what on earth is wrong with me? How the hell could I be so stupid? Reframe: I'll learn so much from this mistake that I'm never going to make one like it again. 2. This bag is too heavy, I have to walk way too far Reframe: Exercise is healthy, and people pay trainers to get them to lift heavy stuff or go on the treadmill, this is just exercise with the world as my trainer! 3. This train/bus/line is taking forever, what a pain! Reframe:...

13 Ways Some Companies Make Money While Causing Harm

October 17, 2017

I’ve often heard it said that if people buy the product a company or startup is selling, then the company must be creating value in the world. After all, why would someone buy a product if it were not creating value? It would be really nice if this were a valid argument (since then more units sold means more societal benefit). Unfortunately, it’s not. I like entrepreneurship a great deal and think on net it has added huge amounts of benefit to the world. In fact, I'm an entrepreneur myself. But...