Summaries

TagLast edit: Jan 18, 2021, 2:35 PM by Yoav Ravid

Summaries of papers, books, Sequences or anything else.

See also: Book Reviews, Literature Reviews

Mazes Sequence Summary

ZviMay 23, 2020, 4:40 PM

81 points

2 comments7 min readLW link

(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Fucking Goddamn Basics of Rationalist Discourse

LoganStrohlFeb 4, 2023, 1:47 AM

356 points

103 comments1 min readLW link 3 reviews

Rationality: Abridged

QuaerendoJan 6, 2018, 12:20 AM

101 points

25 comments1 min readLW link

A summary of every “Highlights from the Sequences” post

Orpheus16Jul 15, 2022, 11:01 PM

98 points

7 comments17 min readLW link

Fake Frameworks for Zen Meditation (Summary of Sekida’s Zen Training)

Gordon Seidoh WorleyFeb 6, 2021, 3:38 PM

54 points

11 comments10 min readLW link

Maps of Meaning: Abridged and Translated

VaniverOct 11, 2018, 12:27 AM

53 points

14 comments10 min readLW link

Partial summary of debate with Benquo and Jessicata [pt 1]

RaemonAug 14, 2019, 8:02 PM

89 points

63 comments22 min readLW link 3 reviews

Bring up Genius

ViliamJun 8, 2017, 5:44 PM

104 points

62 comments20 min readLW link

Quantum Physics Revealed As Non-Mysterious

Eliezer YudkowskyJun 12, 2008, 5:20 AM

13 points

26 comments8 min readLW link

Book Summary: Consciousness and the Brain

Kaj_SotalaJan 16, 2019, 2:43 PM

179 points

20 comments26 min readLW link 1 review

[Summary] “Introduction to Electrodynamics” by David Griffiths—Part 1

lsusrSep 22, 2021, 10:22 PM

25 points

4 comments4 min readLW link

Reading the ethicists: A review of articles on AI in the journal Science and Engineering Ethics

Charlie SteinerMay 18, 2022, 8:52 PM

50 points

8 comments14 min readLW link

Building Blocks of Politics: An Overview of Selectorate Theory

Yoav RavidOct 12, 2021, 11:27 AM

86 points

26 comments49 min readLW link 1 review

The Equation of Knowledge

Lê Nguyên HoangJul 7, 2020, 4:09 PM

58 points

3 comments7 min readLW link

Extrapolating from Five Words

Gordon Seidoh WorleyNov 15, 2023, 11:21 PM

40 points

11 comments2 min readLW link

Summaries of top forum posts (27th March to 16th April)

Zoe WilliamsApr 17, 2023, 12:28 AM

14 points

1 comment1 min readLW link

“On Bullshit” and “On Truth,” by Harry Frankfurt

CallmesalticidaeAug 28, 2020, 12:44 AM

20 points

3 comments6 min readLW link

Potential factors in Bell Labs’ intellectual progress, Pt. 1

RubyFeb 12, 2021, 7:26 PM

50 points

6 comments8 min readLW link

The Mom Test: Summary and Thoughts

Adam ZernerApr 18, 2024, 3:34 AM

48 points

3 comments10 min readLW link

Outline of Galef’s “Scout Mindset”

Rob BensingerAug 10, 2021, 12:16 AM

163 points

17 comments14 min readLW link

Summary: “Imagining and building wise machines: The centrality of AI metacognition” by Johnson, Karimi, Bengio, et al.

Chris_LeongNov 11, 2024, 4:13 PM

29 points

8 comments8 min readLW link

(arxiv.org)

How To Get Startup Ideas: A Brief Lit Review and Analysis

Adam ZernerMar 30, 2023, 8:33 PM

30 points

10 comments43 min readLW link

Chris Voss negotiation MasterClass: review

VipulNaikNov 20, 2021, 10:39 PM

70 points

15 comments33 min readLW link

Insights from “All of Statistics”: Statistical Inference

Rafael HarthApr 8, 2021, 5:49 PM

8 points

0 comments18 min readLW link

Convergence 2024 Impact Review

David_KristofferssonMar 24, 2025, 8:28 PM

13 points

0 comments1 min readLW link

Insights from “The Manga Guide to Physiology”

TurnTroutJan 24, 2025, 5:18 AM

26 points

3 comments1 min readLW link

(turntrout.com)

(Summary) Sequence Highlights—Thinking Better on Purpose

qazzquimbyAug 2, 2022, 5:45 PM

33 points

3 comments11 min readLW link

Notes on notes on virtues

David GrossDec 30, 2020, 5:47 PM

71 points

11 comments11 min readLW link

Insights from “All of Statistics”: Probability

Rafael HarthApr 8, 2021, 5:48 PM

7 points

0 comments14 min readLW link

Nietzsche’s Morality in Plain English

Arjun PanicksseryDec 4, 2023, 12:57 AM

92 points

14 comments4 min readLW link 1 review

(arjunpanickssery.substack.com)

Summary of “How to Win Friends and Influence People”

CosmosJun 30, 2012, 8:49 PM

26 points

24 comments1 min readLW link

Reasoning isn’t about logic (it’s about arguing)

MorendilMar 14, 2010, 4:42 AM

66 points

31 comments3 min readLW link

Productivity: Working towards a summary of what we know

Adam ZernerNov 9, 2017, 10:04 PM

86 points

22 comments26 min readLW link

Summary of “AGI Ruin: A List of Lethalities”

Stephen McAleeseJun 10, 2022, 10:35 PM

45 points

2 comments8 min readLW link

A Summary Of Anthropic’s First Paper

Sam RingerDec 30, 2021, 12:48 AM

85 points

1 comment8 min readLW link

Read More Books but Pretend to Read Even More

Arjun PanicksseryAug 5, 2023, 12:07 AM

26 points

12 comments4 min readLW link

(arjunpanickssery.substack.com)

And the Winner is… Many-Worlds!

Eliezer YudkowskyJun 12, 2008, 6:05 AM

30 points

12 comments9 min readLW link

“How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read”, by Pierre Bayard

CallmesalticidaeSep 3, 2020, 1:05 PM

11 points

2 comments8 min readLW link

Turning Up the Heat: Insights from Tao’s ‘Analysis II’

TurnTroutAug 24, 2018, 5:54 PM

36 points

6 comments6 min readLW link

Brief summary of ai-plans.com

IknownothingJun 28, 2023, 12:33 AM

9 points

4 comments2 min readLW link

(ai-plans.com)

Megaproject management

ryan_bJan 11, 2019, 5:08 PM

55 points

11 comments5 min readLW link 1 review

And My Axiom! Insights from ‘Computability and Logic’

TurnTroutJan 16, 2019, 7:48 PM

42 points

17 comments8 min readLW link

Set Up for Success: Insights from ‘Naïve Set Theory’

TurnTroutFeb 28, 2018, 2:01 AM

31 points

40 comments3 min readLW link

Course recommendations for Friendliness researchers

LouieJan 9, 2013, 2:33 PM

96 points

112 comments10 min readLW link

EA & LW Forums Weekly Summary (26 Sep − 9 Oct 22′)

Zoe WilliamsOct 10, 2022, 11:58 PM

13 points

2 comments1 min readLW link

Quantum Mechanics and Personal Identity

Eliezer YudkowskyJun 12, 2008, 7:13 AM

14 points

28 comments10 min readLW link

Book Recommendations: An Everyone Culture and Moral Mazes

sarahconstantinJan 10, 2019, 9:40 PM

45 points

13 comments3 min readLW link

(srconstantin.wordpress.com)

Psycho-cybernetics: experimental notes

romeostevensitSep 18, 2018, 7:21 PM

59 points

3 comments13 min readLW link

Coronavirus Justified Practical Advice Summary

Elizabeth and habryka

Mar 15, 2020, 10:25 PM

87 points

53 comments6 min readLW link

Spoiler-Free Review: Monster Train

ZviJun 2, 2020, 1:40 PM

13 points

4 comments5 min readLW link

(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Making a Difference Tempore: Insights from ‘Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction’

TurnTroutJul 5, 2018, 12:34 AM

33 points

6 comments8 min readLW link

What I got out of ‘Algorithms to Live By’

rkApr 11, 2018, 4:35 PM

28 points

1 comment19 min readLW link

Fake Fake Utility Functions

Eliezer YudkowskyDec 6, 2007, 6:30 AM

42 points

9 comments3 min readLW link

Book summary: Unlocking the Emotional Brain

Kaj_SotalaOct 8, 2019, 7:11 PM

334 points

48 comments21 min readLW link 3 reviews

What does Yann LeCun think about AGI? A summary of his talk, “Mathematical Obstacles on the Way to Human-Level AI”

Adam JonesApr 5, 2025, 12:21 PM

13 points

0 comments2 min readLW link

GPT-powered EA/LW weekly summary

smallsiloAug 25, 2023, 6:19 PM

18 points

1 comment11 min readLW link

(forum.effectivealtruism.org)

Summary: “How to read a book” by Mortimer Adler

Pablo RepettoMar 29, 2022, 12:34 AM

5 points

0 comments1 min readLW link

(pabloernesto.github.io)

Book Summary: Willpower by Baumeister, Tierney

DorikkaMay 24, 2012, 11:34 PM

36 points

27 comments2 min readLW link

Summary: “How to Do Research” by OSP’s Red

Pablo RepettoApr 13, 2022, 7:46 PM

9 points

0 comments3 min readLW link

(pabloernesto.github.io)

‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ Chapter Summaries / Notes [link]

LightwaveApr 15, 2012, 9:14 AM

26 points

3 comments1 min readLW link

Mini-review: The Book of Why

Brian SlesinskyMay 21, 2018, 11:11 PM

21 points

5 comments1 min readLW link

Rationality in the Media: Don’t (New Yorker, May 2009)

May 12, 2009, 1:32 PM

7 points

16 comments2 min readLW link

Summary: “How to Read Books and Write Essays” by OSP’s Blue

Pablo RepettoApr 15, 2022, 9:17 PM

8 points

2 comments4 min readLW link

(pabloernesto.github.io)

Summary: “How to Write Quickly...” by John Wentworth

Pablo RepettoApr 11, 2022, 11:26 PM

4 points

0 comments2 min readLW link

(pabloernesto.github.io)

Trust Me I’m Lying: A Summary and Review

quanticleAug 13, 2018, 2:55 AM

100 points

11 comments7 min readLW link

(quanticle.net)

Summary: “How to write a thesis” by Umberto Eco

Pablo RepettoMar 25, 2022, 9:40 PM

7 points

0 comments1 min readLW link

(pabloernesto.github.io)

Summary of “The Straw Vulcan”

alexvermeerDec 26, 2011, 4:29 PM

53 points

27 comments6 min readLW link

“Technology and the Future of Persons”, by Lynne Rudder Baker (2013)

CallmesalticidaeAug 20, 2020, 2:31 PM

5 points

2 comments5 min readLW link

Summaries: Alignment Fundamentals Curriculum

Leon LangSep 18, 2022, 1:08 PM

44 points

3 comments1 min readLW link

(docs.google.com)

Article Review: Discovering Latent Knowledge (Burns, Ye, et al)

Robert_AIZIDec 22, 2022, 6:16 PM

13 points

4 comments6 min readLW link

(aizi.substack.com)

Learning preferences by looking at the world

Rohin ShahFeb 12, 2019, 10:25 PM

43 points

10 comments7 min readLW link

(bair.berkeley.edu)

Insights from Munkres’ Topology

Rafael HarthMar 17, 2019, 4:52 PM

30 points

0 comments14 min readLW link

Let’s Read: Superhuman AI for multiplayer poker

Yuxi_LiuJul 14, 2019, 6:22 AM

56 points

6 comments8 min readLW link

Martin Seligman’s “Authentic Happiness”

David GrossDec 27, 2020, 5:06 AM

10 points

1 comment6 min readLW link

Continuous Improvement: Insights from ‘Topology’

TurnTroutFeb 22, 2020, 9:58 PM

30 points

4 comments4 min readLW link

Book Review: Existential Risk and Growth

jkim2Oct 11, 2021, 1:07 AM

9 points

1 comment7 min readLW link

Book Notes: Scaling, Why is Animal Size so Important?

ketchupduckMar 7, 2021, 8:16 PM

19 points

5 comments7 min readLW link

[LINK] Yudkowsky’s Abridged Guide to Intelligent Characters

katydeeDec 30, 2014, 6:37 AM

21 points

1 comment1 min readLW link

A Taxonomy of Bias: The Cognitive Miser

Kaj_SotalaJul 2, 2010, 6:38 PM

67 points

38 comments5 min readLW link

Judgment Under Uncertainty summaries, Part 1: Representativeness

TesseractAug 15, 2011, 12:05 AM

42 points

2 comments6 min readLW link

Great Books of Failure

Eliezer YudkowskyApr 19, 2009, 12:59 AM

32 points

53 comments1 min readLW link

Human-Aligned AI Summer School: A Summary

Michaël TrazziAug 11, 2018, 8:11 AM

39 points

5 comments4 min readLW link

Menstrual cycle effects—Clue study summary and commentary

just_browsingMar 31, 2021, 4:28 PM

79 points

3 comments6 min readLW link

The Cybersecurity Dilemma in a Nutshell

GentzelDec 12, 2019, 3:20 AM

35 points

5 comments3 min readLW link

(theconsequentialist.wordpress.com)

My 1st month at a “neurodivergent gifted school” called Minerva University

exanovaOct 10, 2023, 3:34 AM

4 points

1 comment1 min readLW link

(inawe.substack.com)

Insights from Linear Algebra Done Right

Rafael HarthJul 13, 2019, 6:24 PM

54 points

18 comments9 min readLW link

How I internalized my achievements to better deal with negative feelings

Raymond KoopmanschapFeb 27, 2024, 3:10 PM

42 points

7 comments6 min readLW link

The simple picture on AI safety

Alex FlintMay 27, 2018, 7:43 PM

31 points

10 comments2 min readLW link

Summary: “Internet Search tips” by Gwern Branwen

Pablo RepettoApr 8, 2022, 2:02 AM

12 points

2 comments4 min readLW link

(pabloernesto.github.io)

The Vulnerable World Hypothesis (by Bostrom)

Ben PaceNov 6, 2018, 8:05 PM

50 points

17 comments4 min readLW link

(nickbostrom.com)

An Intuitive Explanation of Quantum Mechanics

Eliezer YudkowskyJun 12, 2008, 3:45 AM

18 points

3 comments5 min readLW link

o1: A Technical Primer

Jesse HooglandDec 9, 2024, 7:09 PM

170 points

19 comments9 min readLW link

(www.youtube.com)

Confounded No Longer: Insights from ‘All of Statistics’

TurnTroutMay 3, 2018, 10:56 PM

21 points

7 comments10 min readLW link

Highlights from the Blackmail Debate (Robin Hanson vs Zvi Mowshowitz)

Ben PaceAug 20, 2020, 12:49 AM

48 points

37 comments9 min readLW link

A Short Summary of “Focus Your Uncertainty”

Stephen JamesJul 14, 2023, 11:18 AM

2 points

0 comments1 min readLW link

“In the Dust of This Planet,” by Eugene Thacker

CallmesalticidaeSep 10, 2020, 7:50 PM

2 points

0 comments10 min readLW link

Summary and Lessons from “On Combat”

Gunnar_ZarnckeMar 22, 2015, 1:48 AM

28 points

63 comments7 min readLW link

Book Review: The Captured Economy

ZviDec 11, 2017, 1:10 PM

14 points

6 comments8 min readLW link

(thezvi.wordpress.com)

Common Sense Atheism summarizing the Sequences

AlexandrosNov 19, 2010, 12:55 PM

19 points

3 comments1 min readLW link

No comments.