Posts

Summary of the sequences / Lesson plans for rationality 2021-11-05T17:22:49.439Z
Stoicism vs the Methods of Rationality 2021-10-21T18:07:04.787Z
Noticing the Value of Noticing Confusion 2021-10-21T18:04:51.749Z
Calculated Clairvoyance 2021-08-09T19:46:32.031Z
Most kinds of noise stress me out a lot, and I have a strong preference for silence. I tend to quickly notice quiet environments. Does this occur to anyone else? Any idea why? 2021-02-14T11:37:05.797Z
The True Face of the Enemy 2021-01-12T10:03:23.777Z
How to eradicate the desire to check time-wasting sites 2020-12-20T19:06:44.467Z

Comments

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Which things were you surprised to learn are not metaphors? · 2024-11-23T20:30:17.342Z · LW · GW

What's the distinction?

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Smartphone Etiquette: Suggestions for Social Interactions · 2024-06-24T00:20:46.077Z · LW · GW

Thanks so much for writing this, this is a major problem I experience and it's nice to have a set of really gentle tools to address it.

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on ProjectLawful.com: Eliezer's latest story, past 1M words · 2023-08-17T01:14:46.943Z · LW · GW

Agreed, the spoiler level was insane

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Things I Learned by Spending Five Thousand Hours In Non-EA Charities · 2023-06-01T21:33:14.902Z · LW · GW

Really well written interesting read, thanks

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Creating Flashcards with LLMs · 2023-05-29T18:39:03.235Z · LW · GW

I tried doing this. It was okay. Here was the prompt I used. 

 

I also wrote code to use the GPT-4 API, feel free to DM me if you want it. 

 

It was also very expensive in the end. 

I spent a lot of time on it and it wasn't that good, I think I'll wait for the next GPT to try it again. 

"""
# Better, and now it talks about increases instead of just effects

I'm an Economics student and I want to create flashcards that comprehensively cover the knowledge and the reasons why for each of those pieces of knowledge
------
Make flashcards that cover every piece of information in the text.

One piece of information on the back of each card, eg.

EXAMPLE 1

Incorrect: 
Many labor substitutes cause what effect on labor demand?;elastic, high skilled jobs more inelastic

Correct: 
Many labor substitutes cause what effect on labor demand?;elastic
High skilled jobs have what type of labor demand?;more inelastic

Format:

question;answer
question;answer

NO "card 1:" or "card 2:" 
only 
question;answer

 


make concise flashcards that
- only have one piece of information in the answer
- very clear and concise in wording
- when you ask for defnitions, say "define x"

In the question field
- Never ask what effect [factor] has on [thing]. Always ask what effect a [change in factor] has on [thing]
- Never ask how does [factor] affect [thing]. Always how does AN INCREASE IN [factor] affect thing, or always ask how a DECREASE IN [factor] affects thing
if the question field is: "how does x affect y", change it to "how does an (increase in / decrease in) x affect y" or "cheaper x" or "more expensive x". 
Do NOT do "how does x affect y"

EXAMPLES

Example 1

Incorrect: How does snow affect slipperiness?; An increase in snow increases sliperiness

Correct: How does an increase in snow affect sliperiness?; Increases sliperiness

Example 2
Incorrect: How does wind affect beach revenue?; More wind leads to less wind revenue

Correct: How does more wind affect beach revenue?; decreases beach revenue

Example 3
Incorrect: How does price of metal affect construction?; cheaper metal increases construction

Correct: How does cheaper metal affect construction?; increases construction

 

 

 

- if you make a card on what effect x has on y, make another card asking WHY that effect is true
- if you make a card that states a relationship between variables, make another card on WHY that relationship is true
- split the effect and the CAUSE of that effect into two different cards
- do NOT combine the effect, and the explanation of that effect, into the same card
- do not make up any details, use only details that are from the text
- IMMEDIATELY after each card, make another card that asks why it's true. Do not miss any cards, and do not make anything up
- immediately after EVERY card, every single card, say why. Don't miss any cards. after you've made a normal card.
- Always make a card that asks WHY every card is true. Never skip making a WHY card.

 

- the maximum amount of word

s in the answer field is ten. be very concise. don't be wordy. Be concise
"""

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on How to Support Someone Who is Struggling · 2023-03-13T13:24:04.288Z · LW · GW

In trying to understand people's feelings, I tend to ask a lot of questions about the situation so I can understand, but I worry a lot about it turning into an interview and maybe people don't like explaining themselves a lot when they're upset? But I don't really know what to do. Advice?

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on App and book recommendations for people who want to be happier and more productive · 2022-12-05T23:20:53.897Z · LW · GW

Interesting, I wrote that comment a year ago and autohotkey is still embedded into the genes of how I use my computer. My capslock is remapped to control, I can write a small four letter string to pull up a notepad file with my daily journal, another string for my sleep long, another four my collection of fictional quotes I like, and fun ones like typing 'nowk' to expand to the current date without having to check it (2022-12-05) or typing -0 to auto expand to — em dash are things that my computer feels very empty without now 

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Summary of the sequences / Lesson plans for rationality · 2022-12-05T23:17:53.274Z · LW · GW

Yeah! I did four or so, they're at https://ratsoc.brick.do. It was really fun

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on College Admissions as a Brutal One-Shot Game · 2022-12-05T23:17:07.371Z · LW · GW

What circles are those?

Comment by TheTrueSquidward on [deleted post] 2022-05-24T19:45:26.488Z

This was really interesting. Mapping the bits I understood (which was minimal) to the bits I didn't was fun, but also the style of writing for even the bits I didn't understand was entertaining

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Lies Told To Children · 2022-04-14T16:45:27.874Z · LW · GW

Really engaging! Was especially gripped at the bluffing section, and laughed out loud in shock at the reveal. Really enjoyed it :)

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Working Out in VR Really Works · 2022-04-04T06:19:48.538Z · LW · GW

I love Thrill of the Fight. Gets me super exhausted with my muscles sore. 

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on hath's Shortform · 2022-04-04T05:39:10.901Z · LW · GW

Change is Bad? or Choices are bad? Choices are really bad?

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Do a cost-benefit analysis of your technology usage · 2022-04-02T09:30:44.859Z · LW · GW

Actually, I want to walk back on this a bit. I was on a plane since this comment and the ten hours of no wifi was really nice and really unique and really focused, and I had absolutely no reason to check my phone because there was absolutely zero chance of their being a notification... I realised that I appreciated digital minimalism at the time because I had just come out of having no wifi forced apon me for a week and finding it really nice and really wanting to maintain it. I think I've just forgotten how nice it actually is

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Do a cost-benefit analysis of your technology usage · 2022-03-28T11:13:09.261Z · LW · GW

I really really enjoyed digital minimalism when I read it, but think it was somewhat harmful to my relationships, given how hard it says that only text-relationships are basically worthless. It took like a year but I happened to meet someone really cool who strongly didn't like calling and since the only way I could talk to them was texting, I sucked it up and actually found out that it's not so bad.

I think it did help me firm up the things I dislike about texting, and with some agreed about norms I think they can be mitigated. Wrote about it here: Why call? | Space L Clottey (spacelutt.com)

 

This post did A LOT for me in terms of my phone usage:

Distractions are a Nuisance, but Infinity Pools are the Real Problem | by John Zeratsky | Make Time | Medium

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on A Gentle Introduction on How to Use Anki to Improve Your Memory · 2022-03-11T21:00:49.046Z · LW · GW

What flashcard app did you use?

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on The Book of HPMOR Fanfics · 2022-02-25T14:16:13.915Z · LW · GW

Holy crap, that was the best fanfiction I've ever read. That was insanely entertaining.

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on The True Face of the Enemy · 2022-01-06T03:00:44.364Z · LW · GW

Thank you! Fixing.

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on [Linkpost] Paul Graham 101 · 2021-11-14T20:14:23.393Z · LW · GW

Liron Shapira's bloatedmvp.com may also count? Which involves the same content as The Lean Startup

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on App and book recommendations for people who want to be happier and more productive · 2021-11-07T09:24:48.981Z · LW · GW

Thank you for the recommendations!

 

For something like Keysmith (automating series of tasks) for windows, I use AutoHotkey. It's free and super easy and powerful and has a very good Tutorial Page

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Summary of the sequences / Lesson plans for rationality · 2021-11-05T23:50:09.242Z · LW · GW

Ah, totally, thank you for the tip and how to generate it myself. 

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Nate Soares' Replacing Guilt Series compiled in epub Format · 2021-11-04T18:22:25.721Z · LW · GW

Thank you very much for making this. It didn't work for me on google play books before converting to mobi and back to epub using calibre. This is that version:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h5OeJPZFaUPeYFIn05Z50eOzdJvksGd_/view?usp=sharing

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on What's the most easy, fast, efficient way to create and maintain a personal Blog? · 2021-11-03T23:39:34.382Z · LW · GW

Blot.im also seems really cool, as it auto uploads whatever you put into a dropbox folder. It's $4 a month. 

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on The Best Software For Every Need · 2021-09-10T20:37:44.670Z · LW · GW

I used Anki for 3ish years and SuperMemo for the last year, and have to say I've liked SuperMemo exponentially more because of it's incremental reading feature, where you put hundreds of sources to learn from (like lesswrong posts) into it, and go over them over time and can rank them by priority. Is far less of a pain to learn from things then making cards one by one.

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on What's the most easy, fast, efficient way to create and maintain a personal Blog? · 2021-09-02T14:19:22.083Z · LW · GW

Brick.do without a doubt.

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Calculated Clairvoyance · 2021-08-10T15:49:38.753Z · LW · GW

Oh yes of course, perfect, thank you.

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Calculated Clairvoyance · 2021-08-10T15:47:07.898Z · LW · GW

I think what I'm getting at is a desire for better self-awareness in people giving advice. I think it's fine to give the alternative, brute force  methodology version (step-by-step philosophy to happiness / probability theory) as a way to artifically make up for it in the absence of the original way of acquiring the skill (of happiness / future vision). So I think what Saphire's doing is fine, except if it's under the pretense that that's how you actual acquired the skill in the first place, which I think reflects lack of self awareness. 

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on 100 Ways To Live Better · 2021-03-18T17:44:40.096Z · LW · GW

Loved this, a lot of it made me laugh. Came here from searching 'Naval' to see if other people on LessWrong knew about him. He's a gem of wisdom.

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Lessons I've Learned from Self-Teaching · 2021-01-24T14:00:00.954Z · LW · GW

I think you'd get a lot of value out of using incremental reading, it improves the learning to memorisation workflow tremendously. Currently SuperMemo is the best at IR. (Post I wrote about this: https://gingerjumble.wordpress.com/2020/08/28/the-main-reason-you-should-switch-from-anki-to-supermemo/)

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on The True Face of the Enemy · 2021-01-13T14:55:17.818Z · LW · GW

The truth will triumph - when? They never achieve anything. A cheap hope, better than despair? I disagree. Hope can induce passivity as easily as despair, two ways of changing your perception of the situation without changing the situation.

Thanks, I agree. I do not want to encourage passivity. Leaving it as purely dystopian, which it is, would likely have been better for that purpose. Thank you. I wonder if it's too late to edit out the final bit?

 

As for concrete steps, talking about the thing is one of the steps, so that people can stop rationalising it and see it as wrong, to change from 'Eh, school's not perfectly but it's mostly fine' to 'school is really actually quite terrible'. Unfortunately I don't have an entire action plan, but user rajlego and I are first working towards that, currently mostly based on memetics and creating a website we can point people to to thoroughly outline all the reasons school sucks in a cohesive and persuasive enough that the average parent can be linked to it and have their mind changed by the time they leave. Advice is appreciated.

Luckily in countries like the UK homeschooling is legal at the moment. So any parent convinced can make the local change, hopefully contributing to a tipping of the scales. Maybe. Theoretically. This text is also useful on views for how long compulsory schooling is going to last: School slavery will end soon - supermemo.guru

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on The True Face of the Enemy · 2021-01-13T10:24:13.538Z · LW · GW

At age 5 I am told that every single morning as we drove to school I said to my mother that it was a waste of time. Shockingly, she listened, and after a year of this she had found out about home education and made arrangements for me to be released.

That's amazing, what a victory. I'm really glad that happened, freedom is great.

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on What skills or habits have lasting value through time? · 2021-01-12T19:40:49.836Z · LW · GW

If you're exhausted at the point when your alarm rings, then forcing yourself to wake up at the alarm clock can be pretty terrible for your health since you obviously need more sleep. Unfortunately alarm clocks are a necessity for a large amount of the population, but it is possible to pull back your sleep phase with things like morning sunlight and exercise so that you get closer to waking up at the time you need to naturally. I'm working on pulling back my sleep phase now.

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Some end-of-year media recommendations · 2021-01-01T11:45:50.136Z · LW · GW

Thank you for the recommendations! +1 on Replacing Guilt. It is shockingly powerful. As for Atomic Habits, I've heard some very strong insistence that Tiny Habits is superior with less fluff.

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on Chain Breaking · 2020-12-29T20:11:34.934Z · LW · GW

After I shower, it’s 11:40pm and my hair has to try afterward

typo?

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on 100 Tips for a Better Life · 2020-12-24T16:04:29.154Z · LW · GW

Ditto on Autohotkey. It's amazingly easy to learn and very useful. (eg. for making Yoda Timer windows anywhere with even the most basic of programming experience). I've taught it to quite a few people and would be happy to teach anyone if they want to schedule a call: 
calendly.com/meetsquid

Comment by Space L Clottey (TheTrueSquidward) on The Thinking Ladder - Wait But Why · 2020-12-23T18:23:53.186Z · LW · GW

Ditto, this post in particular is very well explained.