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Does anyone have any good web resources on how to be a good community moderator?
A friend and I will shortly be launching a podcast and want to have a Reddit community where listeners can interact with us. He and I will be forum's moderators to begin with, and I want to research how to do it well.
I gave two conference papers in the last month, both in a fairly new field to me, having never attended a conference before. I got good responses and lots of encouraging feedback.
I know there are some R Scott Bakker fans on here, and I was thinking recently about the Second Darkness series. Rot13d for spoilers:
Vg'f n funzr gur pbafhyg ner rivy. Vs gurl jrera'g fb pbzzvggrq gb rivy npgf, gurl pbhyq ratvarre n jnl gb tvir rirelbar n unccl raqvat.
Jr ner gbyq gung fbepreref ner qnzarq, naq gung gur hygvzngr tbny bs gur Vapubebv vf gb erqhpr gur ahzore bs yvivat fbhyf ba gur cynarg gb srjre guna 144,00 va beqre gb frny gur cynarg sebz gur Bhgfvqr naq rfpncr qnzangvba. Gur Pbafhyg pbhyq erpehvg nf znal fbepreref nf cbffvoyr, genva gurz gb terng cbjre naq gura rkgraq gurve yvsrfcnaf jvgu gurve Grxar, juvyr hfvat gurve vasyhrapr gb zbir gur phygherf bs gur jbeyq gbjneqf n zber uhznar naq pvivyvmrq zbenyvgl (be, tvira gung gurer ner nccneragyl jnlf gb trg qngn ba ubj gb orpbzr fnirq be qnzarq, ng yrnfg gbjneqf n fbpvrgl gung vf uvtuyl rssrpgvir ng qvfpbhentvat qnzavat npgf). Bapr n fhssvpvrag ahzore bs fbepreref (fbzrjurer whfg orybj gur 144,000 svther) unir orra npphzhyngrq naq gur jbeyq pbafvfgf cevznevyl bs aba-qnzarq vaqvivqhnyf, gur Pbafhyg pbhyq hfr gurve uhtr zntvpny cbjre gb dhvpxyl trabpvqr gur ragver cynarg, oneevat gurve bja zrzoref. Zbfg fbhyf jvyy or fnirq, naq gur qnzarq fbepreref jvyy erznva ba n frnyrq cynarg, univat nibvqrq qnzangvba.
Guvf ng yrnfg nccrnef gb or n jnl gb trg gur znkvzhz ahzore bs fbhyf n unccl raqvat - juvyr jr qba'g xabj jung unccraf ba gur cynarg bapr vg vf frnyrq sebz gur Bhgfvqr, gur Vapubebv frrz vagrag ba npuvrivat fb gurl zhfg oryvrir vg'f qrfvenoyr.
Last month, I visited a school of dance with a number of other composers from my university, to meet students there and explore possible future collaborations. I had misunderstood how the meeting would take place, and so I only realised I'd have to give an informal presentation about my music when I was already at the train station.
I'm an okay public speaker but nervous about presenting on my music, but the hastily-improvised presentation went really well, I got a great response from the dancers, and met several people who expressed an interest in working with me in the future.
I'm feeling more confident about my presentation skills, my ability to communicate about my music, and my music itself as a result.
Survey taken!
I tried it a few days ago and it didn't submit as far as I can tell - in between I looked up the answer to the calibration question, but I answered as I did originally (NAILED IT anyway).
Survey gripe: I answered "left-handed" for the handedness question, but I only really write with my left hand, and do everything else with my right. My left hand might be a little more dextrous but my right is definitely stronger. As such I'd see myself as cross-dominant rather than ambidextrous; is this something that could be included on future surveys or is it not useful for the kind of data you're collecting?
I have a moral question.
Is it better for the last million people of a certain population to die, or for two million people all around the world, randomly selected and evenly distributed, to die? For the first group, their death would not just result in loss of human life, but potentially loss of a lot of cultural information; their language, their religion, their mythology and folklore, their music. I feel like this cultural information has value.
Thoughts?
I didn't have a strong reaction to it. It's gross, I shrugged and moved on.
Ah yes; that's roughly what happens in the film. I see what you mean.
I've not read the books - don't tell me that Katniss figures out it's a story at the end of the last one?
What an ending that would be: Harry uses the Self-Indication Assumption to conclude that he is most probably a character in a Muggle story about magic, then manages to 'blackmail' the author into granting him godhood in order to stop Harry from committing suicide in a literarily unsatisfying fashion, since the author would prefer the former as an ending over the latter.
Am I the only one who thinks that would be a horrible ending?
The Captain Awkward advice blog. They're not currently taking questions but the archives cover lots of material, and I found just reading the various responses on many different problems, even ones that were in no way similar to mine, allowed me to approach my issues from a new perspective.
The concept of privilege of the "check your..." variety. It's not without it's problems as a tool - it can too easily be used as a Fully General Counterargument - but it's an important thing to be aware of and probably the single concept I've learned in the last two years that has most changed my outlook on the world.
Over the weekend, a potentially unpleasant social situation I was involved in didn't turn into lots of horrible drama. Everyone involved, as far as I can see, handled it well and with great maturity; I was told by someone external to but aware of events that I acted very well in the aftermath. As far as I can tell, everything is cool and back to normal with all involved parties now.
What I have learned:
- I am better at certain social things, such as acting normally and avoiding awkwardness, than I had realized or expected.
- I am better at handling my own emotions, and I think at modelling and considering the emotions of others, than I had expected.
- I am not good at judging other people's level of drunkenness.
EDIT: Maybe it would be useful to put in some resources I feel have helped me to frame social interactions and lead me to these successes?
A very good advice-column blog called Captain Awkward has been great for helping me think about my own and others' emotions, and how to deal with them appropriately. Casually reading feminist blogs in general has given me a better insight to some social interactions (not necessarily to do with gender issues). I've been doing this on occasion for about 8 months, and I think it's helped a few times.
More recently, discussion of "creepiness" and social behaviour has been something I've read a bit about - not so much that I'm worried about being creepy myself (that's a small part of my motivation) but out of a general interest in gender interaction. A lot of this has been through Reddit; though it gets a bad press for misogyny, there's a lot of internal criticism that goes on, and areas dedicated to these topics, so it can be a useful resource for anyone who wants to read discussions in this area.
Individual.
- Nccraqvk
- Synt
- Qnivan ZpPnyy
- Jnyrf
- Oynpxorneq
Fun post. I'm not a fan of the show really, but it's a neat idea. Have you seen Pointless? It's almost the reverse of Family Fortunes.
Does anyone know anything about, or have any web resources, for survey design? An organization I'm a member of is doing an internal survey of members to see how we can be more effective, and I've been tasked with designing the survey.
I only heard about it recently, and did not think I ever experienced it/was capable of experiencing it. I was reading the /r/asmr reddit the other day, and saw a reference to "the goosebumps you get from really good music", and then got an ASMR-like response. Not sure if it was a true reaction, and I was listening to music that wouldn't fit with the usual description of ASMR triggers. I'm pretty suggestible I think, so it may have been the effect of remembering "really good music goosebumps" and then overreacting to that.
How much is the decrease? I imagine that the effect of being responsible for your child's death by smothering is probably a lot more upsetting and mentally damaging than that of having a child die from SIDS. Maybe that's lessened by knowing the above information; but most people don't.
Red Fang (three more songs) - I guess you could call them stoner metal. They're like a less thinky Mastodon, but some of their more recent stuff (not linked) seems to be going down a more progressive route.
I found a neat little live studio album of Tower of Power recently. I can't find a good version of this album online, but here's two songs for anyone who doesn't know them, and the album is called Tower of Power Direct.
It's really clichéd for musicians to list her as an influence, but I'm currently deep in a Kate Bush phase. I must have listened to Never for Ever about five times in the last few days.
I'll be arriving in the city about 3.45 and may not have internet access after noon or so - I'll assume the Mercantile unless you post otherwise.
EDIT: Closer to 5, now. Will the meetup still be on?
This article is interesting, particularly as the topic of LW parenting does come up occasionally.
What the author describes doesn't exactly promote rational thinking in the kids, rather telling them how to win arguments, but there is a degree of evaluation-of-argument in there ("Mary should give you the car because she's a pig?") and it teaches a useful skill early. Rationalists should win after all.
Will try be there - apologies over having not been in touch since last meetup, life has been hectic. Looking forward to it.
I should also make some friends, as my standard reaction to stress is to isolate myself.
Won't continuous biking and not being tied to a geogrpahic area make it harder to make friends? Unless you mean making friends with people you meet and practicing friend-making, in which case this may be a good way to go about it.
There would BE a claim, for starters... Excellent point though, you'd need some additional evidence or stagecraft to impress them, which probably counts as increasing the size of the message.
I imagine defending my arguments with people that I know, debate with, and find are good at challenging my beliefs/making me explain them - my girlfriend and my family most usually. They're always not very good copies - I often make bad predictions at what people will think about certain concepts - but they are useful in getting me to examine arguments. That might be a good place to start.
I have been a bad composer, and a bad blogger. BUT recently I have been better at self-promotion (having put myself forward for more opportunities than I normally would), a better teacher, and a better pianist (I'm making technical breakthroughs and getting back into a good practice routine).
I know some of the reasons that I'm not composing and blogging as well as I'd like, and I have plans to deal with them. I also launched my soundcloud after putting it off for quite a while - file under self-promotion too, I guess.
I've re-established the habit of recording the time I spend practicing. I record the times to the minute, rather than close estimates - if I sit down at the piano at 4:52, I'll write down 4:52 not "ten to five".
Even though there's no one checking my diary for practice times, it helps keep me focused and I'm more likely to practice for the length of time I've committed to and to meet my goals within the practice session.
Survey taken.
Brahms' Rhapsody in G minor is wonderful, the other one in the set is good too.
One of my favourite pieces of all time is Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata (1st movement here).
For more contemporary stuff, I can't recommend Ligeti's solo piano music enough. Etude 13 is in large part responsible for me getting into contemporary music, and thus, becoming a composer.
EDIT: Also, John Field was a big influence on Chopin; he's credited with inventing the nocturne form I think. Not as virtuosic though, if that's what you're into.
I love the Illuminatus! trilogy. I have a soft spot for Discordian ideas in general, actually.
John Cheese is a very good columnist. Cracked has been linked here before; for a dick-joke peddling comedy sight, I find it's usually very insightful and often pretty rational.
I quite like Regina Spektor! I was first introduced to her as being "like the Dresden Dolls without the vitriol" - not a totally accurate description but not far off. The Dresden Dolls are good fun, and some of Amanda Palmer's solo work has some great moments.
Thanks for the reply!
For example, if it turns out that group A has a higher average IQ than group B, and that A and B can be distinguished reliably by genetic testing (including but not limited to visual inspection for associated phenotypes), I might decide to devote more effort to educating group B than group A, to make up for the difference. Or I might decide to devote more effort to educating group A than group B, to get the best bang for my education buck.
Fair enough, that's an example of policy, based on this data.
Or I might decide to research the differences, to learn more about the physiological mechanisms of intelligence.
Also cool, seems obvious in hindsight!
Or I might change my ways of evaluating claims so that I give more weight to group A's ideas relative to group B's than I used to (assuming I used to believe they were equally intelligent).
I'd imagine a group's ideas are more to do with non-genetic factors than genetic intelligence.
Or I might decide to structure my society in such a way that group A has access to certain privileges that group B is denied, on the grounds of their superiority, or such that B gets privileges A is denied, on the grounds of their greater need. Etc.
For me some of these would be contingent on the additional discovery that the group's intelligence is a result of its genetic difference; group B could be generally poorer, or less well-nourished, or some other factor leading to lower intelligence, in addition to being genetically distinguishable. This is also making the assumption that IQ tests are culturally fair and the like - though I'm happy to use the term as a placeholder for 'idealized intelligence test'.
To answer your general method query, this essay by Karl Popper deals with the issue of distinguishing science v pseudoscience. However, from my reading of, you need to know a bit about the topic, or at least observe it in action, to make a judgement.
autism/language troubles in particular, are fields in which there is a lot of pseudo-science... There are a lot of mysticism and sect-like gurus related to autism, too.
What gives you this impression? I'm not saying you're wrong - just that it's something I haven't picked up on myself.
Regarding Freud, I get the impression that his therapies have some merit (placebos work; all talk therapies seem to have some benefit iirc) but his theories are utter horseshit. I know a lot of people that work in special needs education, particularly dealing with autism, and there seems to be no real professional consensus as to what the best approach is. I will ask some questions for you though. I'd hazard a guess that it's important to reinforce whatever methods the kid's parents or educators are using, as long as those methods aren't counter-productive.
similarly, the anti-racist who gets infected by LW might be terrified of telling their family and friends that they're now a race realist.
I recognize that if evidence shows differences in (for example) intelligence between races, then, yeah, I've got to change my belief and except that people of X race are smarter than those from Y. I don't know that this would change my behaviour towards people of either race, or that I think any state policy should change. Perhaps my "racism bad" reflex is stronger than I'm consciously accounting for, but I don't see any useful way to act on this data. Similarly, I don't think my behaviour would change much if there was hard data about intelligence difference between the genders.
I choose intelligence because it's a controversial, and common, topic. I can maybe see the value in applying this data to predisposition to violence, or things like calculating insurance premiums.
I think I'm three behind on his books at this stage, not even counting his children's book... but the other books set in Bas-Lag (the Perdido Street Station world) are very good. The Scar is probably my favourite of the three. Iron Council is also pretty good - among other thing, it's a clever pastiche of a number of different kinds of story - but a lot of people get turned off by how heavily political it is. (Miéville is very very Marxist, as far as I know.) It didn't bother me too much.
The City and the City is very good. I've heard it described as a police mystery by Kafka (I've not read Kafka, but I've heard this a few times). It's set in contemporary Earth, rather than a fantasy setting. His short story collection is also good - there's one Bas-Lag story, and a few horrors. I started Embassytown and it seemed promising.
The main issue with Miéville is he adds a lot of concepts and doesn't explain them clearly until well into the book, if he even outright explains them at all - that works to the book's advantage sometimes but I found it a little tough in Embassytown.
Huh, that means I've read only half his adult books! Better catch up!
I've read a good few of Miéville's novels - I found Perdido Street Station to be the weakest in terms of prose though I guess that could be cause it was only his second novel, or it deliberately homages Lovecraft (whose prose I'm not keen on either) in its style.
Still a wonderful book though.
But if all mathematically possible universes exist anyway (or if they have a chance of existing), then the hypothetical "Azkaban from a universe without EY's logical inconsistencies" exists, no matter whether he writes about it or not. I don't see how writing about it could affect how real/not-real it is.
So by my understanding of how Eliezer explained it, he's not creating Azkaban, in the sense that writing about it causes it to exist, he's describing it. (This is not to say that he's not creating the fiction, but the way I see it create is being used in two different ways.) Unless I'm missing some mechanism by which imagining something causes it to exist, but that seems very unlikely.
However, I deliberately included logical impossibilities into HPMOR, such as tiling a corridor in pentagons and having the objects in Dumbledore's room change number without any being added or subtracted, to avoid the story being real anywhere.
Could you explain why you did that?
As regards the pentagons, I kinda assumed the pentagons weren't regular, equiangular pentagons - you could tile a floor in tiles that were shaped like a square with a triangle on top! Or the pentagons could be different sizes and shapes.
Mine, when I was a teenager, was that you actually died every night, and another mind with your memories woke up instead. I figured that there was not much point in worrying since I couldn't do anything about even if it was true, and I needed to sleep besides. Still pretty scary!
Thank you for the response!
The job of this hypothetical business is to find these things out, and publish them. Answering this question yourself is therefore part of the work required to create such a business, but the short answer is that it's available if you can find it, and by and large, if it's true it's legal to publish (but beware of Swiss laws on business secrets).
That makes a lot of sense, it would be hard to have a service that clarifies and presents already available material be illegal somehow. Defamation laws in Ireland are pretty stupid though.
Invest in what you're recommending. Publish a free web site and offer a paid newsletter. When you have built up enough reputation that people with serious money start asking you for advice, sell it to them. Become an investment company and invest other people's money for them.
Well beyond my (current) knowledge and abilities, but seems a solid plan.
Ethical investment.
Will investigate this further when I have more time.
Are you serious?
Not really. Only a tiny bit at most. I would not like to publish damning material on a very powerful corporation, but I guess one could focus on publishing positive material on good companies instead, if that was a concern.
First off-the-top-of-my-head idea:
An organization that would fulfill a role similar to GiveWell, but for people looking to invest money ethically in businesses. Ethical Investment could evaluate companies on how much their business reduces x-risk, improves the human condition, as well as other factors like environmental impact. What would save this from outright hippiedom is that it's actually encouraging investment in worthwhile companies, not saying "boo capitalism".
Potential problems
- I am pretty ignorant about business issues so I don't know whether this is even possible. Is this data available, and if so is it legal to publish it? Could publishing critical data count as defamation, or whatever the business equivalent is?
- How to profit from doing this - doesn't spring to mind immediately.
- May already exist.
- Assassination.
I'm sure there are others.
Nope, I didn't mean the post to imply that.
Yesterday I received a draft of a poem which I'm setting as a madrigal (SATB) for a concert in September. I only have two weeks to work on it, so time is pretty tight, but for the majority of that time I have my house to myself, the usual distractions in the house aren't available, and recently the place was tidied up so I will be better able to focus. (I find it difficult to study or work when my environment is messy - I don't know if this is common.)
I'm having difficulty finding any particularly 'positive emotion'-music in my collection! Based on what you posted and your responses to other suggestions, here are a few that may be worth checking out:
Bad Religion (solid pop-punk, three part vocal harmonies, highly intellectual to boot), Arctic Monkeys, At The Drive-In (highly charged, very energetic, somewhat anarchic), Ben Folds (modern piano rock, very rockin'), Blue Oyster Cult (not a million miles away from Journey), Kate Bush (80s singer with a unique voice). You probably won't like all of these, but some might be worthwhile.
Will this be made available for play? I suspect at least one other of my gaming buddies would love to try this out.
Sure thing.
I'll be there. I've to come up from down the country but i'll be there. I make that three confirms and a possible... Should we maybe advertise on A&A, see if anyone there is interested?
Eh, I know this is 6 weeks late, but I have it on my computer now if you're still interested. In the meanwhile: Maddox
A few things lead me to this conclusion. a) High crime rates. b) High levels of recidivism. And though it wasn't something I was aware of before, it seems relevant c) the fact that it seems people underestimate how unpleasant prison will be reduces its effectiveness as a deterrent. I agree the opposite seems more intuitive, but it doesn't seem to be the case.