Notes/commentary on Bryan Caplan’s “Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids”:
Torello
Karma: 483
My review of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals.
I think there’s productivity or life-hack kind of content on LessWrong, and I think this book is a good addition to that type of thinking, and it might be a useful counter-point to existing lenses or approaches.
Link to my notes/summary of “The Dictator’s Handbook”.
Probably of interest to people here thinking about the dynamics that govern political behavior in nation states, companies, etc.
There’s also a deep dive LessWrong post on the topic:
I haven’t read through the whole post, but just finished The Dictator’s Handbook and was looking for related reading. This post seems very comprehensive.
I’m linking to my notes/comments on the book. It’s a short summary of that book, which is basically a short summary of this post.
If you read this above post, I don’t think you would get any additional info from my book notes.
Thanks—a useful and thoughtful reply.
The Moral Animal by Robert Wright
Good introduction to the general idea of evolutionary psychology (human psychology has been influenced/shaped by natural selection, like the rest of the body).
Then discusses some particular psychological traits (jealousy, love, altruism, reciprocity, etc) through this lens.
Not really the hard science desired in the original post, but hope someone finds the recommendation useful.
Review/notes here:
https://digitalsauna.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/the-moral-animal-by-robert-wright-1994/
Did you read Superforcasting by him? Thought it looked interesting, wanted to see which is better from someone who read both.
To increase, focus/energy, try fasting. Skip breakfast, lunch, or both of them. At dinner, experiment with which foods put you into a food coma.
Good post!
What’s a curation notice?
Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright, 2017
The Three Languages of Politics by Arnold Kling, 2017
The Clock of the Long Now by Stewart Brand, 1999
I would guess that both “Three Languages” and “Long Now” would appeal to most LW readers.
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley
Language at the Speed of Sight by Mark Seidenberg
Paying for it by Chester Brown
Review: https://digitalsauna.wordpress.com/2017/07/18/paying-for-it-by-chester-brown-2011/
Autobiography by John Stuart Mill
Review: https://digitalsauna.wordpress.com/2017/07/19/autobiography-by-john-stuart-mill-1873/
Exit West by Moshin Haimd
Review: https://digitalsauna.wordpress.com/2017/07/31/exit-west-by-moshin-hamid-2017/
Thanks, should be working now.
Yes, you’ve hit on the main point. Survival (and later on, reproductive value) is what matters. The fact that the maps help them survive is what matters. The existence of the map or its accuracy matters only matters in so far as it contributes to reproductive success.
Natural selection doesn’t “reward” them for having an accurate map, only a map that helps they live and reproduce.
I agree that “limited” is a better word than “horrible”.
What I meant by “horrible” is that, relative to human maps, ant maps are extremely limited; they do not represent “truth” or reality as well to the same scope or accuracy of human maps.
I think the point is that even though ant maps are limited, they can still be adaptive. Natural selection is indifferent to the scope/accuracy of a map in and of itself.
My notes and comments on the book Noise:
https://digitalsauna.wordpress.com/2022/09/17/noise-by-kahneman-sibony-sunstein-2021/