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Something I meant to ask weeks ago: Are there any reliable nootropics for reducing the need for sleep? (not just making you sleep less, but actively making you not need as much)
Well, that's good to hear, 'cause I have been! Usually around 300-400 words a day just to make constant, incremental progress.
Well, at least I decided to change the perspective to first person early. Doing that even 5000 words in would be hell.
Man, I had no idea how much effort it takes to actually write and the sense of scale there is to five or ten thousand words. I've been working on a fanfic recently and just breached a thousand words so far on the first chapter. It takes a LOT of effort to write that much, especially in trying to keep it up to my own standards. Mad respect for authors that put out 10k a week. I've always preferred longer chapters, but damn if trying to write, myself, doesn't put things in perspective.
Stay safe, friend.
Well, I'd try to find a more accurate estimate of mortality and hospitalization for your age group; if you're younger than 30, I'd be very surprised to find the mortality rate that high. You could also take Acetaminophen instead, as it it is a pain reliever which is NOT an NSAID, and does not seem to cause any stomach bleeding, which should cut it down to the 4x margin. IANAD, though, so take that with a grain of salt, and speak to your GP if you have any particular questions about interactions.
I can follow your maths, but I'm also not a stat major or anything.
Hahah! Kagome's the best. We're presently debating the merits of international merchant adventure, and creating a village hidden in low earth orbit.
It is exceptional. If you have the time, once you get caught up I'd suggest getting involved in decision-making! It's really fun to be involved and also like crack for apparently multiple readers, including myself, and at least one of the writers (who has the common "I'll just refresh one more time before sleeping...") problem.
The people there are actually really mature and empathetic too, though I think that the forum itself is partially to thank for that. The rating system on posts (Like, Hug, Insightful, Informative, Funny) does a lot to encourage empathy.
There is another collaborative writing project I follow, though it is an actual work of multiple people. Hosted on Sufficient Velocity, Marked for Death is also a rational naruto fic.
As mentioned, it has multiple authors -- Eaglejarl and Velorien -- as well as two other people that help them out, one on the mechanics (it is player-driven and functions as a collaborative story in that regard as well) and one on worldbuilding, AugSphere and Jackercracks respectively. If you wish to speak to them about their experiences with this and compare it to your own, I'm sure they could get help too.
I don't think that's THAT crazy of an idea.
An AMA by Federico Pistono, author of "Robots Will Steal Your Job, But That's OK" and "How to Create a Malevolent Artificial Intelligence."
Honestly, you mentioned it in there, but there are people that've been working at this for far longer than we have been thinking on this; I'd suggest finding a monastery or nunnery nearby and speaking to them about it. I realize this may be kind of obvious and low-hanging as far as suggestions go, but it's the best I've got. I wish you the best fortune in your endeavours.
Seconding getting the kid a hearing test. Alternatively, speech therapy, if the issue is that she cannot understand what's being said.
Give an example?
I'm grateful to be born in a time where medicine has the ability to regrow freaking arteries! Seriously, how cool is that?!
I have to admit to wondering this myself.
I would be more inclined to read outside rationality-adjacent blogs if there were some form of familiar-feeling (as opposed to a new website) aggregation than I would be if there were none, and I had to actively search them out.
22 years old here, so not entirely adult-brained yet. I am in the process (well, while recovering from a surgery I'm taking a break, but...) of learning to play piano myself. It's slow going but pretty fun. If you have prior musical experience (for instance, in choir) it will be much easier.
I've mostly been having difficulty finding appropriate (and interesting) sheet music myself. I mostly have been playing video game tunes, and many of those aren't particularly easy for beginners.
If you have any interest in it, I'll point out that Pokemon Go, being made by the same company as Ingress, is presently in production. If anything, it'll be what gets me out of the house.
I've made a point to encourage any artists, musicians, and writers I've found that need it. More recently, it's become clear to me that I am actively making the world better by doing so -- I saw someone that I'd encouraged paying it forward, so speak, just a few days after I gave them encouragement, giving encouragement to someone who admitted to feeling depressed at their art. It's a nice feeling, to make the world better even in small ways like that.
After all, anyone could be the next person to produce a great work of art, music, or literature.
What website would you suggest for looking into medical research, for someone who's not versed in reading medical literature? I'm specifically looking for any developments or studies into the treatment of urethral strictures for my own reference.
Undertale is a deconstruction of RPGs, and video games in general. While, as in most, you are given the option to fight enemies, random encounters turn out to be NPCs in the overworld. If you avoid harming anyone, instead using the MERCY option, the game becomes a heartwarming and heartbreaking experience.
If, instead, you grind out the encounters, you will be treated as the genocidal scum you are.
I've done my best avoid spoilers here, as to be quite honest, this is an incredible experience to play through yourself. As far as the gameplay goes, it makes overtures at being an RPG -- ATK, DEF, LV, EXP -- but combat plays out like a bullet hell on the defense. Its music is amazing, too; the creator of the game was originally a composer before he branched out into programming, and it shows.
I truly can't recommend this game enough. It was an incredibly inspiring experience to play, and I am far from the only one to feel that way. Without spoiling too much, the gameplay and story intertwine -- and while it comes across hammy sometimes, that's usually intentional -- and moreover, it works.
It's ten dollars on steam or the humble store, and even though a playthrough (of which, as I alluded to, there are multiple styles) will only last 6-12 hours, I'd pay ten times that.
For those not sure if they're interested, there is a demo available at the Undertale website.
The soundtrack, too, is available (for the most part; a few spoilery end songs are omitted), at the bandcamp here.
The fetal position is fine. Avoid sleeping on your belly, but sleeping on the sides and back is fine too. As far as I'm aware, leg positioning is mostly to your tastes aside from that both of them should have the same position; don't have one outstretched and the other tucked against you.
It'd be neat to maybe see something similar to Socrates Jones: Professional Philosopher but for rationality-related stuff.
I've no clue myself. My minimal expertise in computer specs is 5 years old; the last time I payed attention to them was when I built my current computer (and even then with parts recommended by a friend). However, I've long since delegated figuring out if my computer can run something to Can You Run It. It functions fairly effectively in checking that sort of thing.
Something you could do, alternatively, is use software like facerig, assuming you have a webcam. It would work fairly effectively, I think, and is comedic enough in its own right to go along with your show.
My first question is the social equivalent of asking whether you've turned your computer off and on again: Have you spoken with your parent about this? No matter how unpleasant it may be (turning my computer off and on again is a chore :P), it is a good first thought when it comes to interpersonal issues, and one I would highly suggest, especially as by your words they do not seem to be aware of how they're hurting you with their lack of trust.
The answer to your questions depends mainly upon your values. How much do you value your family? How much do you value (close) non-members of your family? If the amount that you value each of those is similar, ask yourself instead if your obligation toward a friend would prevent you from breaking contact with them if they were (seemingly) toxic to you as your parent is.
The obligation you have to maintain in touch with your parent depends mainly upon: how much you value them; how much you value those that would judge you poorly based upon your disownment of them; and how much of your identity is tied up in the situation. I find myself personally incapable of ending a somewhat toxic friendship with two people I care deeply about because it would be difficult for me to fathom not having their company at times, and I don't want to see myself as the kind of person that would be willing to abandon them for their issues.
Regarding the complicating factor, there's a lot that would go into a cost-benefit analysis. How much do you value your happiness compared to what the small amount of money you contribute might do? How do you factor in how poorly the stress affects your health? You might get sick because of a compromised immune system because of how stressed you are. Or you might die five years younger, and your charity of choice would lose those years of income. Regardless, I don't think that it should factor too much into your decision, though that's more a personal belief than anything.
Feel free to answer any of these questions, or not. I provided them more to give you food for thought.
That's an interesting thought; I feel just the opposite about the pessimism/optimism spectrum. To me, it seems that to allow the negative to affect your mindset overmuch is a far greater negative than a positive. That's not to say, though, that I think pessimism doesn't have its place, or that optimism is always a good thing; just that as a mindset, it's of greater personal benefit to be an optimist. Interestingly enough, more of my beliefs came from Japan (in the form of video games; the Mother series, and The World Ends With You in particular) than from the US.
I've always felt that to allow oneself to fall to pessimism is the easier path (optimism is a constant struggle for me, though I put on a mien as if it were otherwise), and largely more painful. I used to be quite a bit more pessimistic, but found that, while it's a lot of effort, to push myself toward optimism leads to a higher happiness default point for me. Can you explain your view?
Why would they? That would increase the evolutionary fitness of their competitors.
A similar thing happened on Imgur when tags were introduced there; it seems to have worked fine on their end, though obviously it's a much larger community. I am not certain how the differences there, much less the differences in culture, would affect the adoption of tags as a means of identifying the nature in which a post is intended.
Additionally, it's worth considering the use of the same system for commenting on posts; there are comment threads out there that I could see having used such a tagging system. The question, then, is whether that would create too much clutter.
I think checkboxes are more appropriate here. That is to say, while I would enjoy it as audio or video, it could also have its script written out for those who would rather not use either of those mediums. I did, however, vote video, as that is, in my experience, a generally more accessible medium (wow I butchered those commas).
The sequences are far from the easiest read. I've had several people quit after the first post or two, simply because of that.
Perhaps a rewrite more focused on the laymen would be in order, with a focus on keeping things short, simple, and readable by the average high schooler?
What would I ask for the next time I visit my GP to determine that? Would a CBC suffice, or would I need to ask for some more specific blood test?
That does sound approximately accurate, yes. To be honest, from what I've read, it's close to a panic attack, though not quite as debilitating. I'm still able to put up some facade when in mixed company.
I don't think that I'll be able to afford a therapist. The closest I'll be able to get is sites like Blahtherapy and 7 Cups of Tea, which are mostly in-training psychologists and therapists doing pro bono work for experience from what I've read. Not the best option, but it's what I've got.
Yeah, I understand that. Under the assumption that you're talking strictly platonic relationships, I've got people to help out with that, but there are few patient enough to help me out with this as much as I'd need, and those that do are concerned -- rightfully so -- at the dependency that would develop.
Not presently taking any supplements, no. I'll take those under consideration, though I'm kind of hesitant toward mind-altering drugs. Was a bit burned by previous SSRIs, and would rather get better under my own power. Still, it's an option, and those are always good!
Full disclosure here regarding personal issues. I'm looking for advice on how to resolve them to the point where they no longer affect my life majorly. I don't expect an issue this ingrained into my psyche to ever be gotten rid of entirely. I'm sure there are other places more directly related to the subject that I could request this advice, but LWers have usually seemed to have something useful to add to things.
Recently (toward the end of 2013), I slowed, and then stopped taking Zoloft for what was purported to be emotional instability, since I was about 7 until then, when I was 21. I do not regret doing this in the slightest, as, quite frankly, while on it I was extremely flatlined emotionally and had not grown hardly at all in that regard for years. Everything was quite dull.
I have, since then, had to resort to various techniques to calm myself, as getting off of Zoloft also revealed myself to be rather anxious, and to have had latent abandonment issues resulting in clinginess to my close friends. It is the latter part that I need help with, as most literature that I've found has been rather worthless in truly actionable things, as they suggest broad things to be done and little in regards to intermediary steps, or speak to the effects, consequences, and actions that should be taken when in a romantic relationship (which I am not).
Regarding how it feels when I have an episode (for the purpose of relating to it for other people with perhaps-similar issues), I want to curl up in the corner, I get panicky, and it feels like lightning's shooting through me as a cold, heavy lump forms in my belly.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
I don't really have any problem with accepting criticism if it's couched as such. Or, for that matter, failing (I play Path of Exile hardcore, after all!). It's simply dealing with comments that are intended to be sarcastic, poking-fun-at, that I take to be serious when in the moment.
While I'm good at picking up social cues when given time to analyze them, while I'm playing a game it's difficult for me to recognize.
Ah, I wasn't aware of that! Very well then, I'll begin doing just that.
On a meta note, I think that this should be a monthly thread. I really like this idea, both as a way of provoking thought about one's mistakes, and a way to get help for them. Thoughts?
I consistently misinterpret what people are saying when in the heat of the moment, and get upset about it. For instance, I was recently playing Warframe with a couple friends, and one playfully grumbled at me for getting killed; and I got really upset in response, thinking they were being deliberately cruel.
This is quite an annoying habit for me given the people I hang around (they lack tact), and I'm doing my best to solve it. I suspect I'm falling prey to the Mind Projection fallacy and thinking them heated when I am, which only escalates it.
This would also help those of us that were raised with the imperial rather than metric system acclimate to their usage in approximating values.
Pokémon: The Origin of Species, by daystar721. I'm sure it's been suggested before (I only checked back through until January of this year), but it is an exceptionally interesting work of rationalist fiction in my mind; I've always been interested in Pokémon, so it's great to see something with a rationalist bent to it.
I quite enjoyed that Kantai song; thanks for the recommendation! Haven't listened to the others yet, but I'm sure I'll enjoy them. Touhou music is generally quite good.
I'd probably make sure my friends and family were prepared over the first month, and after that point, depending on the progress (are your chances of resurrection better if it happens while you're alive?) sign up for cryostasis. Preferably offing myself before the cancer progresses too far to maximize my chances; assuming that would not affect my chances, I'd probably live as I'm used to. I don't enjoy excitement, and though it would be sad to die so soon, I think I would be happier with my quiet life as it is.
I realize I'm kind of dodging the hypothetical here, but that's legitimately what I would do. I don't have big, overarching goals in my life beyond to live simply and long. Given the latter's out of the question at this point in time, I may as well maximize the chances of such in the future.
Certainly, writing high quality posts is essential for improving on what we already do well, but as I mentioned in a reply above, not everyone learns best -- or at all effectively -- that way. To be clear, I'm not suggesting we do any less of that, but I think that we may be limiting ourselves somewhat by producing only that style of content. I think that we would be able to get more people interested in Less Wrong by producing non-textual content as well.
I will note, however, that when I suggested webcomics, I wasn't specifically intending a webcomic about Less Wrong (although one about biases in general could work quite well!) so much as one written by someone from Less Wrong, with a rationalist bent, to get people interested in it. Although, admittedly, going at it with that goal in mind may produce less effective content.
Regarding improving the about page, the main thing that jumped out to me is that there seem to be far too many hyperlinks. My view of the About page is that it should be for someone just coming into Less Wrong, from some link out there on the net, with no clue what it is. Therefore, there should be less example in the form of a list of links, and more explanation as to what Less Wrong's function is, and what its community is like.
I voted other. The reason I suggested nontextual formats is because I don't believe that rationality can be taught solely through text, even if I personally prefer to learn that way. I have multiple friends who do not learn well at all in such a manner, but I believe that both of them would learn much more effectively from a video; I suspect this extends out to others, for whom the text dump nature of this site might be intimidating.
If Less Wrong is, indeed, losing steam as a community (I wouldn't have considered myself part of it until recently, and hadn't kept up with it before then), there are options to deal with it.
First, we could create enjoyable media to be enjoyed by large quantities of people, with rationalistic principles, and link back to Less Wrong in it. HPMOR is already a thing, and certainly does well for its purpose of introducing people to and giving some basic instruction in applied rationality. However, as it's over, the flow of people from the readership it generated has ceased.
Other media is a possibility. If people are interested in supporting Less Wrong and CFAR specifically, there could perhaps be a youtube channel made for it; maybe streaming live discussions and taking questions from the audience. Non-video means are also, obviously, possible. Webcomics are somewhat niche, but could drive readership if a high quality one was made. I'm loathe to suggest getting already-established content creators to read and support Less Wrong, partially because of my own reticence in such, and partially because of a host of problems that would come with that, as our community is somewhat insular, and though welcoming in our own way, Less Wrong often comes off to people as arrogant or elitist.
On that note, while I would not suggest lowering our standards for discourse, I think that in appealing to a larger community it's necessary to realize that newer members of the community may not have the background necessary to take constructively the criticisms given. I'm not sure how to resolve this problem. Being told to "go and read such and such, then you'll understand" comes off rudely. Perhaps some form of community primer link on the front page, regarding customs here? The about page is a little cluttered and not entirely helpful. That in addition to a marker next to someone's name indicating they're new to Less Wrong could do a lot to help. Furthermore, a section for the "younger" (in terms of account) posters with encouragement for the older ones to come in and help out may be of help.
Well, I could go on for a while longer, but I think that's enough of a thought dump for now.
I mean, from the context of someone listening to Less Wrong for the first time, what order of listening would be suggested to make the understanding of each article most complete. I suppose that the various previous topics regarding this for reading order would work, too, but that would require some amount of cross-referencing that I'd rather avoid if possible; though I do not intend to offload this work onto others if it is necessary. I was just looking to see if there were a more easily acquired answer than that.
Regardless, thanks a bunch for the help!
Yeah, I'll probably look into whole-body cryonics too once I get a job. Disability really isn't enough to pay for that kind of thing, but it's well worth it.
Oh, that's rather interesting. Do you have any citation for them being so effective? I've a friend for whom they might be quite useful, as he's a bit of a shut-in.