KPier comments on PROPOSAL: LessWrong for Teenagers - Less Wrong

19 [deleted] 08 November 2012 06:09AM

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Comment author: Viliam_Bur 09 November 2012 02:41:00PM *  5 points [-]

Question, only for teenagers: Is there a topic, somehow relevant to your age group, which you would like to see rationally discussed on LW?

Please, be specific.

Comment author: KPier 09 November 2012 08:36:16PM 14 points [-]

I'm a freshman in college now, but a post or two analyzing the reasons for choosing an (expensive, high status) private college versus an (essentially free, low status) state college, or going to school in America versus Europe versus somewhere else, would have been immensely valuable to me a year ago.

This would belong on LessWrong because typical advice on this topic is either "follow your dreams, do what you love, everything will work out", or "you're an idiot to take on debt, if you can't pay your own way through college you're a lazy, entitled brat".

A post describing how to make such a decision based on expected-value calculations, discussing value of information and college visits, and dissecting the research into the income effects of attending top colleges would be very nice.

(I could write such a post, if others think it would be of enough general interest).

Comment author: NancyLebovitz 12 November 2012 02:58:51AM 1 point [-]

I think it would be a good idea for a post, not just for the specifics but also because it would relate to making decisions which involve long range predictions.

Comment author: KPier 12 November 2012 03:09:53AM 3 points [-]

From the upvotes I'm concluding it's worthwhile to go ahead and write it: I agree it serves as a pretty decent example of applying rationality concepts for long-term decision making. It'll have to wait a week until Thanksgiving Break, though.