Monthly Bragging Thread October 2015

post by elharo · 2015-10-03T13:27:09.622Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 14 comments

Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to comment on this thread explaining the most awesome thing you've done this month. You may be as blatantly proud of yourself as you feel. You may unabashedly consider yourself the coolest freaking person ever because of that awesome thing you're dying to tell everyone about. This is the place to do just that.

Remember, however, that this isn't any kind of progress thread. Nor is it any kind of proposal thread. This thread is solely for people to talk about the awesome things they have done. Not "will do". Not "are working on". Have already done. This is to cultivate an environment of object level productivity rather than meta-productivity methods.

So, what's the coolest thing you've done this month?

(Previous bragging thread)

14 comments

Comments sorted by top scores.

comment by Jacob Falkovich (Jacobian) · 2015-10-03T16:50:33.542Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Presented at BAH Fest in front of more than 1,000 people at MIT, poked fun at Max Tegmark on stage (for which he gave me his signed book), went drinking with Zach Weinersmith and the other awesome contestants, drank enough beer to numb the pain of actually coming in 2nd.

Replies from: Gunnar_Zarncke
↑ comment by Gunnar_Zarncke · 2015-10-07T18:04:37.158Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I don't get what this is about from the website - and I don't watch Youtube. Can anybody explain/link?

Replies from: Jacobian
↑ comment by Jacob Falkovich (Jacobian) · 2015-10-08T14:07:15.894Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

It started with this comic and proceeded to happen exactly as it does in the comic.

In detail: people come up with evolutionary theories to explain human or animal characteristics. The theories have to be well supported and also 100% wrong (but mostly they have to be funny). My theory was that sleepwalking is an adaptation to get you in good shape, and it started off with Homo Erectus jogging after antelopes for days in persistence hunting. Like most modern jobs, persistence hunting doesn't require you to be actually awake.

From an LWian point of view, it's a master class on confirmation bias - it's frighteningly easy to find supportive evidence for the dumbest hypotheses in every chart or citation. For example, sleepwalking is comorbid with depression and sleep apnea, both of which can be alleviated by regular exercise. QED. Also, Google NGram prevalences of "sleepwalking" and "overweight" have 0.97 correlation. Coincidence? I think not!

comment by [deleted] · 2015-10-04T19:17:56.266Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Got a new collaborator on my PhD project at another university; my biological system is uniquely well-suited for helping them untangle a new previously unknown method of genetic regulation.

Replies from: Kaj_Sotala
↑ comment by Kaj_Sotala · 2015-10-07T18:59:38.351Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

my biological system is uniquely well-suited for helping them untangle a new previously unknown method of genetic regulation.

I know that's not what you meant, but this sentence makes it sound like you'll be experimenting on your own body. :)

Replies from: None
↑ comment by [deleted] · 2015-10-10T00:57:20.960Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

As amusing as rhythmically injecting me with alcohol and measuring its effect on my rate of reproduction would be, I think I'll pass.

comment by Kaj_Sotala · 2015-10-07T14:35:18.173Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Finally sent my supervisor a finished version of my MSc thesis, which I started working on, roughly, in the summer of 2013. (Well, finished version until he comes back with a 10-page list of changes he'd like me to make, but still.)

comment by Calliope_Areyon · 2015-10-08T20:59:55.840Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Um . . . aside from making an account on this site? Joking! I wrote four new chapters on a story I'm working on; finished the entire Children of the Bard series; aced my English, math, history, and science tests; and convinced my friend of the reality of flaws in everyone's reasoning process. Oya!

comment by Gleb_Tsipursky · 2015-10-18T01:20:31.490Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Just published an article in the The Huffington Post​ about using rationality-informed strategies to manage my mental illness. Hope this helps people think more rationally about this topic.

comment by moridinamael · 2015-10-07T17:59:03.276Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Published the third podcast in our book/movie/etc review/discussion show. It's a really fun project.

comment by [deleted] · 2015-10-24T05:46:32.927Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

  • Realised that reason, the root concept for rationality, isn't just about interpersonal communication, but intrapersonal intratemporal communication so I have a vested interest to write higher quality posts.

  • Heard about the spotlight effect

  • Decided which smartwatch I want to buy. Now I just need to figure out if I can use it with a wireless headset or whatever!, and buy them both to replace my smartphone and the burden it imposes on my pockets!

Google's gonna make their smartwatch independent of a mobile phone. Can't wait to get one! Gmail on my wrist, I'll discard my phone! Woo! Hope it's modular enough that I don't have to keep all their crappy apps like I do on my iphone at the moment. On the other hand the Huaewi watch is very discreet, classic and also untethered. I read a reported in a room full of all the smart watch prototypes at a Google office couldn't keep his hands off that Chinese gadget. On the other hand, can't match the support from a Google watch, I anticipate. Apparently they're pretty much the same anyway

comment by cameroncowan · 2015-10-06T20:07:58.388Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I took more leisure time away from the big business of The Cameron Cowan Show.

comment by [deleted] · 2015-10-06T09:16:04.710Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Does personal progress with mental health count? It's not impressive to many people, but it's incredibly important to me.

I've maintained a job, paid my bills, and kept a consistent schedule for the past six months, without any undue anxiety or depression spirals.