ciphergoth comments on Beware of Other-Optimizing - Less Wrong

79 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 10 April 2009 01:58AM

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Comment author: patrissimo 11 April 2009 01:30:57AM 5 points [-]

"And because I have encountered a great many people trying to optimize me, I can attest that the advice I get is as wide-ranging as the productivity blogosphere"

This is awesomely hilarious. People are constantly trying to optimize me too. Since I'm constantly trying to optimize myself, I kinda like it :). But it is true that they often seem very confident about what will work, when it doesn't for me.

The worst one is sleep apnea. Here I have a serious medical condition, confirmed by sleep studies, that I've tried several surgeries for, and I make it clear that this is the case on my blog...and intelligent people constantly, for years, have responded to my posts about it by suggesting random folk remedies for insomnia that don't address sleep apnea at all! Blows my mind, but I guess it's just what you are talking about here.

Comment author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 11 April 2009 01:46:13PM 10 points [-]

This is awesomely hilarious. People are constantly trying to optimize me too.

Hey, you know what I've discovered that really works to stop that?

...no, just kidding. So is that because they care about Seasteading or because you seem to them like such a rational person? Do you know?

Comment author: ciphergoth 11 April 2009 01:55:33PM 1 point [-]

Weirdly, no-one I know face-to-face is trying to optimise me, and I actively solicit advice on how to get more done.