Monthly Archives: July 2015

Non-Dual Awareness

Seen on Lauren’s Facebook: How Does Academia Resemble A Drug Gang? Their answer is that both academia and drug gangs are marked by an endless supply of foot soldiers willing to work in terrible conditions for a small chance at … Continue reading

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Links 7/15: From Link, Where Rocky Peaks Climb Bleak And Bare

A thing you can do: sunburn images onto your body. Whatever, it’s better than tattoos. Everyone knows women live longer than men on average. But did you know this wasn’t true until the 20th century? Most likely explanation: men are … Continue reading

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The General Factor Of Correctness

People on Tumblr are discussing Eliezer Yudkowsky’s old essay The Correct Contrarian Cluster, and my interpretation was different enough that I thought it might be worth spelling out. So here it is: is there a General Factor of Correctness? Remember, … Continue reading

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Freedom On The Centralized Web

I. A lot of libertarians and anarcho-capitalists envision a future of small corporate states competing for migrants and capital by trying to have the best policies. But the Internet is about as close to that vision as we’re likely to … Continue reading

OT24: Hopen Change

This is the semimonthly open thread. Post about anything you want, ask random questions, whatever. Also: 1. Obvious change is obvious. There are still some bugs to be ironed out, and ironed they will be. Thanks to Michael Keenan and … Continue reading

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Reverse Psychology

[Content warning: suicide] I. It all started when I made that phone call. I was really bad. All the tenure-track positions I’d applied to had politely declined, and I saw my future in academia gradually slipping away from me. Then … Continue reading

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CBT In The Water Supply

[Epistemic status: Very speculative,

Things That Sometimes Work If You Have Anxiety

Anxiety disorders are the most common class of psychiatric disorders. Their US prevalence is about 20%. They’re also among the least recognized and least treated. We have sort of finally beaten into people’s thick skulls that depression isn’t just being … Continue reading

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Links 7/15: Link-Carbon Battery

Contrary to claims of dumbing-down curriculum, it looks like schools are assigning tougher reading material at earlier ages than in the past. To riff off Woody Allen, “I read War and Peace in tenth grade. It involved Russia.” Jai on … Continue reading

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Cultural Evolution 2: Thanks For The Meme-Rise

Some points I gleaned from the comments of yesterday’s post: 1. Cultural evolution can happen in cases where a super-innovation allows one culture to conquer or overwhelm all others. For example, agricultural groups were (after a long transition period) eventually … Continue reading