How can big problems get solved?

May 5, 2024

I think that big problems in the world (like chronic homelessness, loneliness, depression, poverty, underrepresentation of groups, risks from A.I., global warming, etc.) are ridiculously complex - way more complex than the narratives about them suggest. The only approach I know of that I think has a meaningful shot to help solve such huge problems, which you might call “Scientific Entrepreneurship,” combines two methods into one: (1) Rigorous science to deeply understand the causal struct...

Disputes Over How to Use Statistics in the Real World

January 21, 2018

There is a surprising lack of consensus on how to do statistics, especially as applies to science. As the tool that underpins the scientific enterprise, you'd think we would have figured it out by now. You'd be wrong. The mathematical proofs are, of course, very rarely disputed. The use of mathematics is much more often disputed. Why do these disputes arise? I've observed five different types. Disputes in Applications of Statistics to Science (1) Disputes over philosophy: Exa...

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...

A Simple Trick for Eating Healthier

October 8, 2017

I believe healthy eating is hard because it's often in tension with the three other things we typically care about when eating: taste, price, and convenience. When we're choosing what to eat, healthy food may not be the tasty, cheap, or convenient option. How can we prevent this tension between healthiness and the other factors we care about? Another reason healthy eating is hard is that we are normally forced to choose whether to make the healthy choice (or not) over and over again eac...

Excessive Acquiescence

July 17, 2017

Unfortunately, we humans get used to problems quickly. Too often, when we get used to problems, we stop reflecting on them. When we stop reflecting on them, we stop trying to fix them. Two examples: At first, if one of the burners on your stove stops working (as I personally experienced), you notice it and are annoyed by it. Soon, you find that you've stopped trying to use that burner. You've been trained by annoyance to use a different one instead. Or, to put it another way, you've su...

What Makes a Game Fun?

July 1, 2017

I think it's interesting to consider what makes a game fun or boring. What properties make a strategy game better, all else being equal? Here's my list! (1) Variety: the game doesn't end up getting into the same or similar positions most of the time (so that it feels new each time you play) (2) Forgiveness: you don't automatically lose when you make a mistake (which can be frustrating for new players, and unsatisfying to the people that beat them) (3) Simplicity: fewer and easier...

Know Your Addictions

July 7, 2012

What are you unable to stop after you start? Do you: Tell yourself you'll eat just a few chips, then eat the whole bag? Watch funny YouTube videos "for a few minutes", and then notice that an hour has passed? Choose to have "one drink", and end up having five? Decide to play video games "for an hour" and then later discover you've been at it the entire night? Tell yourself you'll check your stock portfolio "just once more" today, and then check it three more times? Regardless of w...

Planned Resolutions: meeting goals, rather than just making them

May 7, 2012

So often when we make resolutions to change our lives we fail to carry through on them. Setting a goal and telling ourselves we'll achieve it requires no sacrifice and feels good. It's the actual effort to achieve that requires willpower and sacrifice, so it shouldn't be a surprise that we set goals more often than we actually take significant steps towards achieving them. But another, important part of the story as to why resolutions are so often ineffective is that they often lack a plan. S...

Fighting Against Your Counterproductive Inclinations

August 8, 2011

Sometimes, in a given situation, what we feel like doing is precisely the opposite of what would be best for us. Our natural inclinations about what action is helpful in a given circumstance can lead us in entirely the wrong direction. Consider, for example, what happens when you feel tired. The obvious and natural thing to do is to lie down. This works well when there is time to sleep or nap. But what if you are feeling tired and should leave your house in 10 minutes? While lying down is wha...