AngryParsley comments on The ideas you're not ready to post - Less Wrong

24 Post author: JulianMorrison 19 April 2009 09:23PM

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Comment author: MBlume 20 April 2009 03:11:59AM *  24 points [-]

On the Care and Feeding of Rationalist Hardware

Many words have been spent here in improving rationalist software -- training patterns of thought which will help us to achieve truth, and reliably reach our goals.

Assuming we can still remember so far back, Eliezer once wrote:

But if you have a brain, with cortical and subcortical areas in the appropriate places, you might be able to learn to use it properly. If you're a fast learner, you might learn faster - but the art of rationality isn't about that; it's about training brain machinery we all have in common

Rationality does not require big impressive brains any more than the martial arts require big bulging muscles. Nonetheless, I think it would be rare indeed to see a master of the martial arts willfully neglecting the care of his body. Martial artists of the wisest schools strive to improve their bodies. They jog, or lift weights. They probably do not smoke, or eat unhealthily. They take care of their hardware so that the things they do will be as easy as possible.

So, what hacks exist which enable us to improve and secure the condition of our mental hardware? Some important areas that come to mind are:

  • sleep
  • diet
  • practice
Comment author: AngryParsley 20 April 2009 09:13:15AM 4 points [-]

I agree. LW doesn't have many posts about maintaining and improving the brain.

I would also add aerobic exercise to your list, and possibly drugs. For example, caffeine or modafinil can help improve concentration and motivation. Unfortunately they're habit-forming and have various health effects, so it's not a simple decision.

Comment author: randallsquared 20 April 2009 09:36:54PM 3 points [-]

I've only had modafinil once (but it was amazing in the concentration-boosting department), but I have a lot of experience with caffeine, and the effects are primarily mood-affecting, for me. Large amounts of caffeine destroy concentration, offsetting any improvements, and, like other drugs, the effect grows weaker the longer you take it. On the plus side, caffeine is only weakly addicting, so you can just stop every now and then to reset things, which I do every few months.

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