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Comment by pewpewlasergun on One Year of Goodsearching · 2014-10-21T05:38:15.928Z · LW · GW

Do you have an example of a valuable search you made recently that you wouldn't have made last year? I'm having trouble telling whether I use search engines an optimal amount.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Look for the Next Tech Gold Rush? · 2014-07-20T05:54:45.779Z · LW · GW

If other states follow Colorado's lead and legalize marijuana, there could be opportunities related to that. Not very 'techie' though.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Effective Writing · 2014-07-18T21:51:15.478Z · LW · GW

What's the best way to improve at writing? I was surprised at how much harder it is a few years out of school.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Consider giving an explanation for your deletion this time around. "Harry Yudkowsky and the Methods of Postrationality: Chapter One: Em Dashes Colons and Ellipses, Littérateurs Go Wild" · 2014-07-08T04:12:42.375Z · LW · GW

the divers models of Harry Potter-Yudkowsky gathered dust

Divers has gradually been replaced by diverse, in fact this is the first time I've seen it in a text written after 1900. Unless you are going for an 'archaic' feel in your work, I'd suggest limiting your use of homonyms like this.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Open Thread, May 5 - 11, 2014 · 2014-05-07T06:43:26.089Z · LW · GW

Thanks.

After a bit of random googling it seems there are a lot of results about 'saying no to people who want to get coffee/pick your brain' so it seems like reasonably successful people with an internet presence get a lot of these requests.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Open Thread, May 5 - 11, 2014 · 2014-05-07T05:28:43.838Z · LW · GW

So I often find that interesting people live near me. Anyone have tips on asking random people to meet up? Ask them for coffee? I suppose a short email is better than a long one, which may come off creepy? Anyone have friends they met via random emails?

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Biomedical research, superstars, and innovation · 2014-03-15T06:09:48.925Z · LW · GW

It is to an established biomedical researcher's favor to promote the impression that they have a rare and valuable skillset, and to imply that there is a shortage of people like him. As you pointed out, for 200,000 you could have your pick of top employees, so he obviously doesn't actually believe that one is worth that. When I was considering a career in biomedical research, these are the factors that swayed me away from it:

  1. Frequent layoffs and closing of research centers by industry.

  2. An abundance of highly qualified people - when I talked to post-docs and grad students in various departments those in biomedical research had more publications, had gone to higher status schools, and had the most difficulty finding positions. This could be because I talked to those on the low end, but the average age of R01 recipients has climbed - indicating that its taking longer for everyone to become an established researcher.

  3. Several articles have come out claiming a large portion of published research is wrong. Up to 50% of academic studies can't be replicated by industry.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on On not getting a job as an option · 2014-03-11T07:05:02.440Z · LW · GW

Its expensive to get health insurance when you aren't buying with a group.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Open Thread for February 11 - 17 · 2014-02-12T02:10:36.411Z · LW · GW

Does anyone have advice for getting an entry level software-development job? I'm finding a lot seem to want several years of experience, or a degree, while I'm self taught.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on February 2014 Media Thread · 2014-02-01T22:17:49.334Z · LW · GW

Ancillary Justice is one of the best debut science fiction novels of 2013. It concerns an AI that used to control a ship with its own humans it had direct control over. There are two alternating narratives, one when the ship is complete and another when the ship has been reduced to a single human. As you can imagine, much of the story involves the identity of beings that control numerous individual bodies.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Open thread, January 25- February 1 · 2014-02-01T00:20:50.015Z · LW · GW

I'd like to know how many techniques you were taught at the meetup you still use regularly. Also which has had the largest effect on your life.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Open Thread for January 17 - 23 2014 · 2014-01-17T14:22:22.994Z · LW · GW

I'd like to go against Robin Hanson's recommendation and tell people to go see Her. The visual direction is beautiful, as one would expect, and quirks like fashion, advertisements, and art are just jarring enough to remind you that its the future. I found it easy to overlook the 'why don't they just buy an AI and make it write the letters' problems because it isn't really a movie about technology changing us, but how relationships and their endings do.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Anonymous feedback forms revisited · 2013-12-08T08:57:02.859Z · LW · GW

What's the difference between corrections and criticism? Did you get any that changed the way you do things?

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Rationality Quotes October 2013 · 2013-10-03T06:06:56.211Z · LW · GW

“Whenever serious and competent people need to get things done in the real world, all considerations of tradition and protocol fly out the window.”

Neal Stephenson - "Quicksilver"

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Open Thread, September 23-29, 2013 · 2013-09-30T21:07:46.061Z · LW · GW

Regarding touch-typing, do you find yourself reaching 'top speed' often while programming?

Comment by pewpewlasergun on LW Study Hall - 2 Month Update · 2013-05-12T20:40:27.286Z · LW · GW

What's the minimum amount of people it needs to be effective for you? Not sure how I'd do with just one other person.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Let's make a "Rational Immortalist Sequence". Suggested Structure. · 2013-02-25T00:36:16.433Z · LW · GW

Is the idea with the case studies to conduct an email interview with the subjects? Or just collect publicly available information from around the internet?

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Rationality Quotes February 2013 · 2013-02-02T04:15:27.931Z · LW · GW

If anyone feels even remotely inspired to click through and actually learn python, do it. Its been the most productive thing I've done on the internet.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Open Thread, December 16-31, 2012 · 2012-12-17T00:30:17.953Z · LW · GW

Could anyone comment on the market for biomedical engineers? I'm specifically interested in regenerative medicine, so the common advice of "get a degree in MechE or EE and apply to biomedical companies" doesn't seem like it would apply.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on My experience as an Australian work-holiday maker · 2012-12-10T04:53:18.837Z · LW · GW

To clarify, the cost of meals and accommodation was $40/week.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Example of neurons usefully communicating without synapses found in flies [LINK] · 2012-11-24T07:07:15.465Z · LW · GW

Would this really make WBE emulation much harder? We already know som neurons synapse with several thousand others, so adding a few hundred adjacent neurons doesn't seem that much more difficult.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on [deleted post] 2012-10-30T07:05:00.856Z

I disagree. It also provides several other examples for those (like Kaj_Sotala) who didn't find the post's example of agency sufficient.

Comment by pewpewlasergun on Leveling IRL - followup · 2011-09-15T02:22:36.523Z · LW · GW

In the previous post it was suggested that to be Level 1 you should be able to do any of the Level 1 tests at any time. Perhaps have a quarterly testing schedule, with the date chosen at random? Post a table for each of the attributes showing Levels and actions, and have something like you can consider yourself a level X if you do at least Y actions at that level.

This would encourage building habits rather than ramping up for a week or two and testing yourself, like one-and-done leveling does, as you would have to be ready for a test at any time. If it works how I hope it would, you feel like you're steadily grinding your way up over the months/year.

One thing I'd like to strongly suggest is avoiding any task that requires special equipment a significant portion of the less wrong readership may not have easy access to. Unless you're in college or already belong to a gym, it would cost around 150$ (gym activation fee and a month or two of membership) to do the level 1 tasks.