Same[1]. Would you want to write a short post about this? I think you could better than I could, judging by these two paragraphs you just wrote.
(I edited into my reply: “(Maybe this needs its own post instead of two comments by me that few saw given it works for both of us)”)
Here’s the summary I was writing for a not-yet-existent post
Summary: (i) Follow a policy of trying not to point your mind at things unrelated to alignment so your brain defaults to alignment-related cognition when nothing requires its immediate attention. (ii) If your mind already does that, good; now turn off all the lights, try to minimize sound, and lay in bed. Stay there for at least an hour. I predict you’ll have new relevant insights in this state. (iii) This works very well for me, but I don’t know if it will for others; but you only need to test it once.
I hope my favorite alignment theorists see this and do it intentionally.
apart from wanting to learn to use computers without becoming distracted, I think that would be really hard for my mind and I should just usually avoid them
Summary: (i) Follow a policy of trying not to point your mind at things unrelated to alignment so your brain defaults to alignment-related cognition when nothing requires its immediate attention. (ii) If your mind already does that, good; now turn off all the lights, try to minimize sound, and lay in bed.
I really appreciate your willingness to think “extreme” about saving the world. Like, if you’re trying to do an extremely hard thing, obviously you’d want to try to minimize the effort you spend not-doing that thing. All sources of joy are competitive reward-events in your brain. Either try to localize joy-sources to what you want yourself to be doing, or tame them to be in service of that (like, I eat biscuits and chocolate with a Strategy! :p).
...But also note that forcing yourself to do thing X can and often will backfire[1], unless you’re lucky or you’ve somehow figured out how to do forcing correctly (I haven’t).
Also, regarding making a post: Sorry, probably not wish do! And the thinking-in-bed thing is mostly a thing I believe due to extensive experience trying, so it’s not something I have good theoretical arguments for. That is, the arguments wouldn’t have sufficiently convinced a version of myself that hadn’t already experienced trying.
But also note that forcing yourself to do thing X can and often will backfire[1]
I must have mis-worded the first sentence. I guess it’s hard for me to write advice without it being read as ‘naively maximize this in a way that leads to burnout instead of actually maximizing it’, cause I modified the original phrasing away from ‘minimize’ to ‘trying not to’ to try to avoid that interpretation.
I just try to add that disclaimer whenever I talk about these things because I’m extra-worried that ppl will be inspired by my example to jump straight into a severe program of self-deprivation without forethought. My lifestyle is objectively “self-deprivational” relative to most altruists, in a sense, so I’m afraid of being misunderstood as an inspiration for doing things which makes my reader unhappy. 🍵
Same[1]. Would you want to write a short post about this? I think you could better than I could, judging by these two paragraphs you just wrote.
(I edited into my reply: “(Maybe this needs its own post instead of two comments by me that few saw given it works for both of us)”)
Here’s the summary I was writing for a not-yet-existent post
apart from wanting to learn to use computers without becoming distracted, I think that would be really hard for my mind and I should just usually avoid them
I really appreciate your willingness to think “extreme” about saving the world. Like, if you’re trying to do an extremely hard thing, obviously you’d want to try to minimize the effort you spend not-doing that thing. All sources of joy are competitive reward-events in your brain. Either try to localize joy-sources to what you want yourself to be doing, or tame them to be in service of that (like, I eat biscuits and chocolate with a Strategy! :p).
...But also note that forcing yourself to do thing X can and often will backfire[1], unless you’re lucky or you’ve somehow figured out how to do forcing correctly (I haven’t).
Also, regarding making a post: Sorry, probably not wish do! And the thinking-in-bed thing is mostly a thing I believe due to extensive experience trying, so it’s not something I have good theoretical arguments for. That is, the arguments wouldn’t have sufficiently convinced a version of myself that hadn’t already experienced trying.
There’s probably something better to link here, but I can’t think of it atm.
I must have mis-worded the first sentence. I guess it’s hard for me to write advice without it being read as ‘naively maximize this in a way that leads to burnout instead of actually maximizing it’, cause I modified the original phrasing away from ‘minimize’ to ‘trying not to’ to try to avoid that interpretation.
I just try to add that disclaimer whenever I talk about these things because I’m extra-worried that ppl will be inspired by my example to jump straight into a severe program of self-deprivation without forethought. My lifestyle is objectively “self-deprivational” relative to most altruists, in a sense, so I’m afraid of being misunderstood as an inspiration for doing things which makes my reader unhappy. 🍵