Perhaps some kind of simulated near-death experience?
anonynamja
Karma: 76
People may for instance be severely mistaken about their prospects for improvement, especially while in the midst of acute crisis.(Conceivably, that could even have been his own situation.)
At the risk of sounding callous, because I did not know Chris or understand the suffering he was going through, I believe that Chris was wrong about this. I’m not sure that one can have enough certainty over (the lack of) future happiness that one can reasonably decide to cut one’s losses.
There is a great deal of uncertainty and randomness in life. Good things (and bad things) do happen, and they can happen suddenly and without warning. There were many such instances in my own life, when I thought that things were probably not going to get any better even despite my best efforts, and then, they did so serendipitously. The girlfriend I never thought would be interested in me. The job I never dreamed I would have the chance to have. Life is unfair, but sometimes we get lucky too. Given this uncertainty, isn’t it better to err on the side of caution and choose to live?
I wish Chris had chosen life, and if there are any others out there feeling as he did, please reconsider, and if you really truly must, do it in a way that is cryonics-recoverable and have the proper arrangements in place.
I think one should distinguish between making the college experience easier (less group work, fewer spoken communication requirements) and helping autism spectrum students progress towards high social function. It is possible that the former will inhibit the latter. I hope you will find a balance between the two… it would be very sad if autism spectrum students left the comfort zone of college daycare and were unprepared to be harshly thrust into social reality where the boss really wants you to be a team player.
This is very similar to my own trajectory. I wonder if it is a common path.
Politics is my life and career. One of the ways I am trying to circumvent irrational behavior in others with regard to politics is not to disclose one’s political affiliation ever or be very ambiguous about it, and learn to speak the language and seemingly share the concerns and beliefs of my conversant. Then, ask subtly leading questions about the consistency and empirical validity of those beliefs.
Yes, it’s not the most honest thing to do, but I believe this disarms the irrational, tribal psychology at work and enables a more fruitful discussion. “The slow blade penetrates the shield” and all that.
What does it mean to ‘optimize’ for rationality outreach? Increasing membership or improving leadership?
Would an Xtranormal animation count?
I am interested in hearing about your reasoning here.