thomblake comments on Intelligence Amplification Open Thread - Less Wrong

46 Post author: Will_Newsome 15 September 2010 08:39AM

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Comment author: XFrequentist 16 September 2010 07:21:57PM *  4 points [-]

I've been mulling over getting an iPhone, basically weighing two considerations.

On the one hand, it's another distraction. As Paul Graham wrote, the ability to carry the internet around is not necessarily a move someone aspiring to get more done should make.

On the other, it seems like it must have awesome potential as an intelligence amplification tool! I feel like I'm missing a step towards human-machine integration by not getting one.

Anyone have any thoughts on how to optimize the tool for intelligence amplification?

A few apps that seem to have potential:

  • SuperMemo/SRS
  • EverNote
  • QuickReader (or some sort of flash-read app)
Comment author: thomblake 16 September 2010 09:40:51PM 3 points [-]

Being the possessor of a Motorola Backflip, I find that I do not use it for time-wasting Internet browsing. It has four major advantages over my previous dumbphone:

  • I can look up words / facts in mid-conversation or while listening to a talk
  • I can browse Twitter/Facebook any moment I'm not doing something useful, so I don't feel compelled to check them when I could be doing productive work in front of a computer
  • My contacts are all imported automatically from Facebook, and when I call someone I immediately see their last facebook/twitter update and picture (and all other possible combinations of this functionality)
  • If I want to find something locally, I can just start Google Maps. It knows where I am and I can call the place with one touch. Also, I can call numbers on websites with one touch.
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