I’m sure I’m not the only one tempted here to make up some top-level post about how Eliezer chooses what he had for breakfast in a completely rational manner
It sounds silly, but that’s actually a nontrivial and important decision, where rationality has high returns, and where the default is to get it wrong. Everyone should consider the what-to-have-for-breakfast question explicitly, and rationally.
The more that I think about it, the more that I like the idea. It could actually be a relatively amusing cliff notes on various facets of rationality, a kind of who’s who to the memes around here (e.x. “Luminosity Bella consults her notes on how she liked what she had last week, seeing what kind of impact her introduction of cougar blood is having”).
Or it could just be like one of those angry essays Eliezer does sometimes, with such lines as “and they just THROW THE BUTTER ONTO THEIR POTATOES like it’s a friend of the family”, in which case healthy eating would be a metaphor for cyronics.
Or it could just be like one of those angry essays Eliezer does sometimes, with such lines as “and they just THROW THE BUTTER ONTO THEIR POTATOES like it’s a friend of the family”, in which case healthy eating would be a metaphor for cyronics.
I find almost everything about this sentence baffling.
Several of Eliezer’s essays have a somewhat angry tone to them, particularly those arguing that humans need to develop means by which we no longer have to die, expressing a frustration with the typical human’s resignation to death. Similarly, they are resigned to eating butter because it’s a normal kind of thing and their parents did it and just a little can’t be that bad for you.
This would probably be exactly the kind of thing that would be being opposed—i.e. that we have deep sentimental attachments to things like butter, partly due to their nature as superstimuli (although as superstimuli go, butter is pretty mild). And even if butter feels like a friend of the family, a sentimental attachment is probably not paying a ton of rent.
Eh, a sentimental attachment doesn’t necessarily have to be irrational or untested. My attachment to butter thoroughly pays rent every time it correctly predicts that butter is delicious.
Not all carbs for breakfast; some or all of it should be fat and protein. Pay attention to when you get hungry and adjust the serving size to ensure it’s not before you plan to eat next. Have a portable, nonperishable backup in case you run out of an ingredient or are in a hurry, since skipping a breakfast entirely is much worse than eating the wrong thing.
Try some different breakfast foods and pay attention to (or better, takes notes on) how you feel later in the day after having each. (Individual biochemistries vary). Pay special attention to headaches and mind fog, no matter how minor; these are almost always caused by diet somehow, though there are many mechanisms and finding the specific causes may require some experimentation.
Avoid sugar water, even if it’s fruit-themed or fruit-derived. Take a standard multivitamin/multimineral (very important, but it doesn’t matter which meal it’s with); pay no attention to whether other foods contain vitamins too. Take vitamin D unless you live close to the equator, spend lots of time outside, or confirm with a blood test that you don’t need it.
If you use caffeine, have a policy for when and how much, and be disciplined about it. Don’t get your caffeine and hydration from the same source (eg, only drinking caffeinated soda); that’ll make your intake unpredictable, which is bad. If you don’t know what the early stages of caffeine withdrawal feel like, induce it under controlled circumstances and pay attention, so you’ll know if you’ve messed up that way.
pay no attention to whether other foods contain vitamins too.
Do, however, pay attention to whether other foods contain micro-nutrients not rated as vitamins. Unless, of course, your multivitamin includes them. Obvious this is less, um, vital.
It sounds silly, but that’s actually a nontrivial and important decision, where rationality has high returns, and where the default is to get it wrong. Everyone should consider the what-to-have-for-breakfast question explicitly, and rationally.
The more that I think about it, the more that I like the idea. It could actually be a relatively amusing cliff notes on various facets of rationality, a kind of who’s who to the memes around here (e.x. “Luminosity Bella consults her notes on how she liked what she had last week, seeing what kind of impact her introduction of cougar blood is having”).
Or it could just be like one of those angry essays Eliezer does sometimes, with such lines as “and they just THROW THE BUTTER ONTO THEIR POTATOES like it’s a friend of the family”, in which case healthy eating would be a metaphor for cyronics.
I find almost everything about this sentence baffling.
Several of Eliezer’s essays have a somewhat angry tone to them, particularly those arguing that humans need to develop means by which we no longer have to die, expressing a frustration with the typical human’s resignation to death. Similarly, they are resigned to eating butter because it’s a normal kind of thing and their parents did it and just a little can’t be that bad for you.
Butter’s a friend of my family.
This would probably be exactly the kind of thing that would be being opposed—i.e. that we have deep sentimental attachments to things like butter, partly due to their nature as superstimuli (although as superstimuli go, butter is pretty mild). And even if butter feels like a friend of the family, a sentimental attachment is probably not paying a ton of rent.
Eh, a sentimental attachment doesn’t necessarily have to be irrational or untested. My attachment to butter thoroughly pays rent every time it correctly predicts that butter is delicious.
And awesome.
You’d better just stay away from the bacon subreddit.
Do you have any particular tips? I’m not advanced in the field of nutrition, but this seems like as good a place as any to start.
Not all carbs for breakfast; some or all of it should be fat and protein. Pay attention to when you get hungry and adjust the serving size to ensure it’s not before you plan to eat next. Have a portable, nonperishable backup in case you run out of an ingredient or are in a hurry, since skipping a breakfast entirely is much worse than eating the wrong thing.
Try some different breakfast foods and pay attention to (or better, takes notes on) how you feel later in the day after having each. (Individual biochemistries vary). Pay special attention to headaches and mind fog, no matter how minor; these are almost always caused by diet somehow, though there are many mechanisms and finding the specific causes may require some experimentation.
Avoid sugar water, even if it’s fruit-themed or fruit-derived. Take a standard multivitamin/multimineral (very important, but it doesn’t matter which meal it’s with); pay no attention to whether other foods contain vitamins too. Take vitamin D unless you live close to the equator, spend lots of time outside, or confirm with a blood test that you don’t need it.
If you use caffeine, have a policy for when and how much, and be disciplined about it. Don’t get your caffeine and hydration from the same source (eg, only drinking caffeinated soda); that’ll make your intake unpredictable, which is bad. If you don’t know what the early stages of caffeine withdrawal feel like, induce it under controlled circumstances and pay attention, so you’ll know if you’ve messed up that way.
Do, however, pay attention to whether other foods contain micro-nutrients not rated as vitamins. Unless, of course, your multivitamin includes them. Obvious this is less, um, vital.