Just as intelligence is orthogonal to morality, the intrinsic value of a human being is orthogonal to that human being’s intelligence. I don’t judge other people for being stupid anymore than I would judge a dog for being stupid. We are all just animals. I love dogs and people for being exactly what we are.
I went through a cynicism phase similar to what you seem to be going through. I realize, looking back, that my disdain was connected to having low status myself. These days, now that I have high status, I think of dumb people more like kittens and less like bad guys.
If you think you are smarter than other people then either you are wrong or you are right. If you are wrong then you should change your mind. If you are right then you live in an extremely inefficient world and can make a killing. The antidote to stupid words is intelligent action. If you’re not winning then you’re doing rationality wrong.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed person is dictator. It’s good to be the dictator. If you’re not dictator then either you are blind or you do not live in the land of the blind.
Can you recommend me any reading material or training you think it made you smarter or better at predicting the world or other people?
Teach yourself to read and write Chinese. (This is my favorite antidote for thinking you’re smarter than other people.) Then read The Art of War in its original language.
Learn history. Make sure you cover at least three major civilizations (China, the Islamic World and Europe is a good place to start). This helps with perspective.
Read ethnographies on pastorialism and hunter-gatherers. Two excellent books are Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger and Nisa by Marjorie Shostak. This helps you understand what people were designed for.
Learn the basics of evolutionary biology.
Acquaint yourself with the research on IQ and the Big 5 personality traits.
Take a long-distance trip with $100 in your pocket, earning the money you need to survive en route.
Some items are pretty much exactly what I need for my goals, and if I had a lot of time I could try a lot more.
Sadly I need to get as smart as I can really fast. I do know a lot of things that are going in my “first century of life” list, though.
I don’t judge other people for being stupid anymore than I would judge a dog for being stupid.
It’s funny, I got to a similar moral conclusion about an hour before reading it in your answer.
I think of dumb people more like kittens and less like bad guys.
This is an extremely useful way to think about it.
If you are right then you live in an extremely inefficient world and can make a killing.
I have had an insistent feeling about this for a while, but I just had vague ideas I couldn’t focus on or test. This seems an extremely good point from which to start thinking about it.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed person is dictator. It’s good to be the dictator. If you’re not dictator then either you are blind or you do not live in the land of the blind.
I guess it’s not really relevant, but this is the first time someone manages to describe my exact feelings about this. Thank you.
(Not that I want to literally be a dictator, I’m stating it out loud just so I don’t risk being misunderstood by someone else who hasn’t had my exact thoughts)
Teach yourself to read and write Chinese. (This is my favorite antidote for thinking you’re smarter than other people.) Then read The Art of War in its original language.
I had tried to idly learn Japanese as a past time, it took me around five days to realise it was just wasted time if I couldn’t dedicate some serious efforts to it. I think I was told by friends that Chinese is substantially harder. Could you give me an estimate of how much The Art of War loses when read in a good translation?
Just as intelligence is orthogonal to morality, the intrinsic value of a human being is orthogonal to that human being’s intelligence. I don’t judge other people for being stupid anymore than I would judge a dog for being stupid. We are all just animals. I love dogs and people for being exactly what we are.
I went through a cynicism phase similar to what you seem to be going through. I realize, looking back, that my disdain was connected to having low status myself. These days, now that I have high status, I think of dumb people more like kittens and less like bad guys.
If you think you are smarter than other people then either you are wrong or you are right. If you are wrong then you should change your mind. If you are right then you live in an extremely inefficient world and can make a killing. The antidote to stupid words is intelligent action. If you’re not winning then you’re doing rationality wrong.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed person is dictator. It’s good to be the dictator. If you’re not dictator then either you are blind or you do not live in the land of the blind.
Abstain from stupid media like news, Facebook and videogames.
Learn to use Anki spaced repetition software.
Teach yourself to read and write Chinese. (This is my favorite antidote for thinking you’re smarter than other people.) Then read The Art of War in its original language.
Complete a college degree in physics.
Complete a college degree in mathematics.
Learn economics, especially microeconomics.
Read all of Paul Graham’s articles.
Teach yourself computer science and machine learning.
Start a tech company.
Start a non-tech enterprise.
Get in shape by lifting weights.
Learn history. Make sure you cover at least three major civilizations (China, the Islamic World and Europe is a good place to start). This helps with perspective.
Read ethnographies on pastorialism and hunter-gatherers. Two excellent books are Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger and Nisa by Marjorie Shostak. This helps you understand what people were designed for.
Learn the basics of evolutionary biology.
Acquaint yourself with the research on IQ and the Big 5 personality traits.
Take a long-distance trip with $100 in your pocket, earning the money you need to survive en route.
Teach classes.
This is… an impressive list. I really mean it.
Some items are pretty much exactly what I need for my goals, and if I had a lot of time I could try a lot more.
Sadly I need to get as smart as I can really fast. I do know a lot of things that are going in my “first century of life” list, though.
It’s funny, I got to a similar moral conclusion about an hour before reading it in your answer.
This is an extremely useful way to think about it.
I have had an insistent feeling about this for a while, but I just had vague ideas I couldn’t focus on or test. This seems an extremely good point from which to start thinking about it.
I guess it’s not really relevant, but this is the first time someone manages to describe my exact feelings about this. Thank you.
(Not that I want to literally be a dictator, I’m stating it out loud just so I don’t risk being misunderstood by someone else who hasn’t had my exact thoughts)
I had tried to idly learn Japanese as a past time, it took me around five days to realise it was just wasted time if I couldn’t dedicate some serious efforts to it. I think I was told by friends that Chinese is substantially harder. Could you give me an estimate of how much The Art of War loses when read in a good translation?
When translated into English, The Art of War loses almost as much as Romeo and Juliet loses when translated into Japanese.
If you can’t read it in Chinese then this the best translation I know of.
Which gives this person who is asking nothing. Just do what is fun for you wound be a better advice