AISafety.com hosts a Skype reading group Wednesdays at 19:45 UTC, reading new and old articles on different aspects of AI Safety. We start with a presentation of a summary of the article, and then discuss in a friendly atmosphere.
80,000 Hours researches different problems and professions to help you figure out how to do as much good as possible. Their free career guide show you how to choose a career that's fulfilling and maximises your contribution to solving the world's most pressing problems.
Giving What We Can is a charitable movement promoting giving some of your money to the developing world or other worthy causes. If you're interested in this, consider taking their Pledge as a formal and public declaration of intent.
Norwegian founders with an international team on a mission to offer the equivalent of a Norwegian social safety net globally available as a membership. Currently offering travel medical insurance for nomads, and global health insurance for remote teams.
B4X is a free and open source developer tool that allows users to write apps for Android, iOS, and more.
Altruisto is a browser extension so that when you shop online, a portion of the money you pay goes to effective charities (no extra cost to you). Just install an extension and when you buy something, people in poverty will get medicines, bed nets, or financial aid.
The COVID-19 Forecasting Project at the University of Oxford is making advanced pandemic simulations of 150+ countries available to the public, and also offer pro-bono forecasting services to decision-makers.
Dr. Laura Baur is a psychiatrist with interests in literature review, reproductive psychiatry, and relational psychotherapy; see her website for more. Note that due to conflict of interest she doesn't treat people in the NYC rationalist social scene.
Beeminder's an evidence-based willpower augmention tool that collects quantifiable data about your life, then helps you organize it into commitment mechanisms so you can keep resolutions. They've also got a blog about what they're doing here
Jane Street is a quantitative trading firm with a focus on technology and collaborative problem solving. We're always hiring talented programmers, traders, and researchers and have internships and fulltime positions in New York, London, and Hong Kong. No background in finance required.
Support Slate Star Codex on Patreon. I have a day job and SSC gets free hosting, so don't feel pressured to contribute. But extra cash helps pay for contest prizes, meetup expenses, and me spending extra time blogging instead of working.
MealSquares is a "nutritionally complete" food that contains a balanced diet worth of nutrients in a few tasty easily measurable units. Think Soylent, except zero preparation, made with natural ingredients, and looks/tastes a lot like an ordinary scone.
Seattle Anxiety Specialists are a therapy practice helping people overcome anxiety and related mental health issues (eg GAD, OCD, PTSD) through evidence based interventions and self-exploration. Check out their free anti-anxiety guide here
.
Metaculus is a platform for generating crowd-sourced predictions about the future, especially science and technology. If you're interested in testing yourself and contributing to their project, check out their questions page
Substack is a blogging site that helps writers earn money and readers discover articles they'll like.
The Effective Altruism newsletter provides monthly updates on the highest-impact ways to do good and help others.
Tag Archives: medicine
Bad Dreams
[Content warning: Scary stuff, gawking at weird diseases] My first sign that something was up was when I noticed my Sleep Medicine textbook was written by a Dr. Dement. I reassured myself that it was probably just a coincidence, while … Continue reading
Seeming and Being Empathetic
“The most important thing is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” – George Burns The Empathy Exams is a good piece about medical actors. You should read it. Most of the communication skills classes I took … Continue reading
Beware Mass-Produced Medical Recommendations
When I was younger, my father gave me some advice I will never forget. “Scott,” he said “when somebody tells you they want to help you figure out the evidence base behind different supplements, ask them about Vitamin D. If … Continue reading
Genetic Testing and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Lineweaver et al tested 144 elderly adults for the ApoE4 gene, which is known to be a major risk factor for Alzheimers. They told half of them their test results, kept it secret from the other half, then waited. Eight … Continue reading
Marijuana: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
This month I work on my hospital’s Substance Abuse Team, which means we treat people who have been hospitalized for alcohol or drug-related problems and then gingerly suggest that maybe they should use drugs a little less. The two doctors … Continue reading
Statistical Literacy Among Doctors Now Lower Than Chance
Good news! 42% of doctors can correctly answer a true-false question on p-values! That’s only 8% worse than a coin flip! And this paragraph is your friendly reminder that six months after this study was published, the FDA decided it … Continue reading
More Fictional Drugs Banned By The FDA
See the original: List Of Fictional Drugs Banned By The FDA ADIPOBARIN PROFILE: Popular weight loss drug proven to work in clinical studies. Patients lose 10 – 20% of their body weight in two months with no side effects. BANNED … Continue reading
A Letter I Will Probably Send To The FDA
I predict that the current spat between 23andMe and the FDA will be less apocalyptic than some people fear. In particular, I expect 23andMe will submit a lot of paperwork, change some of their wording around, advertise a little less … Continue reading
Genetic Russian Roulette
[TRIGGER WARNING: This would be a really bad post to read if you have or are about to have a young child] I. One of the downsides to working in psychiatry is that it is slowly but inexorably sapping away … Continue reading
List of Fictional Drugs Banned By The FDA
PROTOZOSIN: PROFILE: Alpha blocker notably effective against Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder BANNED BECAUSE: Banned on request of DARPA, who are trying to use epidemiology of Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder to predict the course of future conflicts. Lobbying to overturn ban by “Future … Continue reading