Many people think of the jhanas as states of high energy absorption into an object of concentration, but I think of them in kind of the opposite way. I see the jhanas as the mental processes that make up conscious experience quieting down and settling into inactivity.
In the first jhana, the heavy sensations of stress and emotional burden relax into the lighter sensations of excitement and joy. (You can imagine rocks breaking up into pebbles, which then break up into sand.) The intensity of the first jhana varies depending on how heavy the emotional burden of ordinary consciousness is, sort of like how taking off a tight shoe is more of a relief than taking off a loose shoe. By the fourth jhana, the emotional system has relaxed into neutrality. Then in the fifth jhana through cessation, the world model relaxes into lower information states ending in unconsciousness.
This process happens because the mind is relaxed and still. Mental activity gradually diminishes because we’re not giving it any fuel. Nonreactivity is how we settle into relaxation and stillness, because when we react to sensations we disturb our field of experience.
So nonreactivity is the condition that allows the jhanas to happen naturally and on their own.
Cool! I’m going to add my thoughts here, but I’m no authority so feel free to ignore and do whatever feels best.
Waking up early is fine as long as you’re also going to bed early. Chronic sleep deprivation is bad.
If you’re studying CS, give special attention to machine learning and the current AI landscape. It’s hard to predict what AI will look like in five years, but it’s the most important thing to be tracking.
If learning Quenya is fun and intrinsically rewarding, then that’s great, but if you’re doing it for practical reasons there are probably more efficient options. I actually have a system for writing things I don’t want anyone to read. I write in English, but I replace key words with other words based on associations that only I would find meaningful. This requires no preparatory memorization and is basically impossible to decrypt without my brain, as long as I don’t give away the meaning with context clues.
For writing, the two essential things are to have good ideas and to communicate them clearly. In my opinion Scott Alexander is the best example of this, so here’s his guide to nonfiction writing. I endorse just copying his style unless you find something you like better.
I would add a few things about writing:
Make everything predictable and standard except the most important parts that you want to emphasize.
Be honest and use the tone that feels most natural.
Spend most of your effort searching for the best ideas. Then just write them down clearly.
For general rationality, books aren’t all that helpful in my opinion. There’s a sensitivity to the specifics of each situation that’s hard to transmit except by direct example. I think you would get more out of following people who seem smart. I endorse Eliezer Yudkowsky, Scott Alexander, Wei Dai, Gwern, Connor Leahy, Dwarkesh Patel, and Stefan Schubert.