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Nanani comments on Open Thread: August 2009 - Less Wrong
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Imagine you find a magic lamp. You polish it and, as expected, a genie pops out. However, it's a special kind of genie and instead of offering you three wishes it offers to make you an expert in anything, equal to the greatest mind working in that field today, instantly and with no effort on your part. You only get to choose one subject area, with "subject area" defined as anything offered as a degree by a respectable university. Also if you try to trick the genie he'll kick you in the nads*.
So if you could learn anything, what would you learn?
*This example is in no way intended to imply that women are less worthy of the right to be attacked by genies. Neither is it intended to imply that there could never be a female genie. That would be stupid. Where else could baby genies come from?
Biology, specifically brain-related neurosci.
I never could get far studying it because of the immense squick factor, but if I could just KNOW all of it via genie, the squick ought to go away because then it'd be just so much brain bits. Kind of like how intimidating complex and austere symbols become just regular greek letters after learning to read math.