Louie comments on How to Save the World - Less Wrong

73 Post author: Louie 01 December 2010 05:17PM

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Comment author: PeerInfinity 01 December 2010 06:47:29PM *  11 points [-]

This is an awesome post! Thanks, Louie :)

some obvious suggestions:

  • Make friends with other world-savers.
  • Spend less time with your current friends, if it's obvious that they are causing you to be significantly less effective at world-saving, and the situation isn't likely to improve any time soon. But don't break contact with any of your current friends entirely, just because they aren't world-savers.
  • Find other world-savers who can significantly benefit from skills or other resources that you have, and offer to help them for free.
  • Find other people who are willing to help you for free, with things that you especially need help with.
  • Look for opportunities to share resources with other world-savers. Share a house, share an apartment, share a car... There's lots of synergy among the people living at the SIAI house.
  • Join the x-risks career network
  • If you know of an important cause that currently doesn't have a group dedicated to that cause, consider starting a group. For example, the x-risks career network didn't exist a year ago.
  • Check out the Rationality Power Tools
  • really, anything that will help make your life more efficient will help you be more efficient at world-saving. Getting Things Done, 4 Hour Workweek, lots more...
Comment author: Louie 02 December 2010 12:50:32AM *  2 points [-]

Great ideas! I incorporated a not so subtle mention of the x-risks career network into #6 based on your suggestion. My goal here was to keep things general in tone and only deeply permeate the subtext + links with my own value judgments. It's a kind of overt neutrality with a strong undercurrent of things you can look into if you're interested. But if you never click on a link, you could just as easily be a member of any current activist set and still get a lot of value out of my writing.

Actually I think I'll write up a new section like "Become more generally capable" which seems like something I didn't specifically cover but almost certainly should.

Anyone have suggestions for "must have" items to go in that summary section? What other Less Wrong posts are good for that?

EDIT: Added as the new point #5 now -- it's general if you just read it but rich in specific examples if you follow up on the resources linked from it

Comment author: [deleted] 02 December 2010 02:16:43AM 1 point [-]

"Become more generally capable" is an applause sign; it's too generic, not actionable. Although you can mitigate this by including as many specific actions as possible. Maybe stress the importance of proper diet (Paleo) and movement and sufficient sleep on general capability. Not sure what else would count without it turning into a list of how to become more specifically capable, contra "generally".

Comment author: wedrifid 02 December 2010 02:49:10AM *  1 point [-]

"Become more generally capable" is an applause sign

A rather weak one if it is. I don't associate it with strong affect of any kind.

; it's too generic

Possibly. More specificity could be helpful.

, not actionable.

Sure it is. Search your brain, the internet or lesswrong for personal development techniques and practices. There are posts here on self improvement, including some specifically for developing capabilities for 'world saving'. (One way to be less general would be to link to one of them.)

Comment author: [deleted] 02 December 2010 04:39:07PM 2 points [-]

Perhaps I'm using the term "applause sign" incorrectly. My intended meaning there is that it is obvious, it provides no new information to anyone, everyone will not their heads as though it is wisdom, but it is not specific enough to make it easy for people to do. Much like "lose weight" is a bad goal, but "get to 190 lbs, 10% body fat by April 15th" is a better goal, and is even better as "get to 190 lbs, 10% body fat by April 15th by limiting intake to 1000-1500 calories, 90% Paleo/primal foods, heavy lifting 3 days a week, daily yoga and mobility work, and 5 nature hikes a week for at least 30 minutes."

Pardon if the "applause sign" term was misappropriated. "Sounds like wisdom, but is not informative enough to be helpful" is probably closer.

Comment author: wedrifid 03 December 2010 01:48:05AM *  1 point [-]

Pardon if the "applause sign" term was misappropriated. "Sounds like wisdom, but is not informative enough to be helpful" is probably closer.

"Not even an applause light" reflects well on your point. ;)