I’m driven by a passion for self-stimat and self-estime. My work explores motivation by weaving together information theory. I am a dyslexics Brazilian guy living in Argentina, writing in English for LessWrong feels like a paraplegic playing for the major leagues—ambitious, awkward, and, every now and then, a miracle of technology.
P. João
Karma: 189
don’t see why we shouldn’t apply the same logic to corpus callosotomy. Destroying the major connection (though not the only one: there is also the anterior commissure, posterior commissure, and hippocampal commissure) between the cerebral hemispheres damages the brain; obviously. The parts that have previously cooperated fluently now have a problem to cooperate. The split-brain syndrome is a result of the damage. However, despite that, the split-brain patients typically maintain a unified sense of self and personality, it’s just that some of their information processing systems are disconnected. Which makes it even less likely that in people with intact corpus callosum the two brain hemispheres secretly act as two different personalities.
That reminds me of Descartes’ Error — how Damasio argues that any damage to one system tends to affect the whole, since reason, emotion, and embodiment are deeply integrated. It feels analogous to social systems too: once a channel of integration is disrupted, even if others remain, the total coherence suffers. So yeah, even when split-brain patients seem unified, it’s still a case of partial systemic breakdown.
El cerebro izquierdo prefiere Android, el cerebro derecho prefiere iPhone
Bueno, admito que me inventé el último. El resto es una simplificación excesiva.
haha i see
hahaha, a god point!
0 Motivation Mapping through Information Theory
You’re right — ideally we’d have an AI watching and tagging everything, but since that’s not feasible (yet), I’ve been experimenting with a workaround.
Instead of trying to record everything, I just register the moments that feel most impactful or emotionally charged, and then use AI tools to help me unpack the surrounding details. That way, even if I miss a lot of low-signal noise, I can still train a kind of pattern recognition — looking for which contextual features around those moments tend to correlate with useful outcomes later.
It’s far from perfect, but it increases the odds of catching those subtle X→Y chains, even when X seemed insignificant at the time.
I use it to organize my moments of maximum motivation, objectives, routines, tasks and diary. Would you like an example in which areas?
8 PRIME SKILLS An analisis
8 PRIME SKILLS - A simplified construction from MaxEnt Informational Efficiency in 4 questions
8 PRIME SKILLS – A construction from MaxEnt Informational Efficiency in 4 questions
Gamify life from BayesianMind
yee, haha maybe there are a tax to do this.
[Question] Is Local Order a Clue to Universal Entropy? How a Failed Professor Searches for a ‘Sacred Motivational Order’
The post presents an interesting framework for personal improvement, but I believe we can enhance it by reconsidering two key aspects:
What Works in the Original System
The author effectively demonstrates how gamification can transform mundane tasks into engaging challenges by:
Assigning point values to activities
Creating a progress system similar to video games
Building consistent habits through regular engagement
Proposed Improvements
1. Eliminating Negative Scoring
The current system subtracts points for undesirable behaviors, but I propose a philosophical shift: nothing should have negative value. Just as darkness is merely the absence of light, “bad” behaviors simply contribute less value rather than negative value.
Benefits of this approach:
Avoids punishment-based motivation which can be discouraging
Creates a purely growth-oriented mindset
Aligns with positive psychology principles
Implementation: Assign very low (but still positive) point values to less beneficial activities while giving significantly higher values to highly beneficial ones. The relative difference remains motivating.
2. Dynamic Confidence-Based XP System
I propose that experience points should be gained when the system identifies variables that impact progress with higher confidence levels.
How it works:
The system tracks correlations between your activities and measurable outcomes
When it discovers a strong correlation (high confidence), you gain XP
This rewards you for finding what truly works for your specific situation
Points become personalized and evidence-based rather than predetermined
This creates a self-improving system where your actions continuously refine your understanding of what works for you personally.
By implementing these two improvements, we create a more psychologically sound and adaptive gamification system that evolves with you rather than imposing fixed external values.
When the Wannabe Rambo Comedian Cried
Mateusz Bagiński, Thank you for showing interest,
I’ll translate for you
haha, would be funny, but is my tesis.
here I asked a question before publishing:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/TRcNafiSYdsYQYxnN/could-my-work-beyond-haha-benefit-the-lesswrong-community
You can’t see my name or my profile besides my alias, yes?Sorry for my Spanish. Thank you for showing interest, I will translate the thesis for you.
Field tests of semi-rationality in Brazilian military training
Thanks Lucie Philippon! Follow the video
I’m grateful for your kind words, especially coming from someone who truly appreciates rationality. And that comment—”Your writing is more enjoyable than that of many native English speakers, and I am one”—is just so, so, so sweet!
Maybe my next story is going deeper into logos. Some about “How I Almost Got Arrested for Teaching CPR (And Why ‘Staying Alive’ Could Be Ironic)”—a.k.a.
How to Save Lives & Offend Generals
I’ve even got a video of my classes at the military school for you. Cheers, and thanks again for the encouragement!
I’m going to do it with the moments of peak motivation.