I studied from my school's textbook (it was free); the textbook recommendations might be better. If you just want a 5 on the AP test, buy the Princeton Review AP Macro/Micro book and memorize it. (Same goes for AP U.S. and AP World History).
Since you quit sports, do you actually spend more time pursuing knowledge? I find I spend more time procrastinating.
For transhumanism, I usually say, "Hey did you see that study? They might have figured out how to cure aging in mice."
"Wow. Cool. Hopefully they figure it out for peop - actually, if they cure aging, we're screwed. Overpopulation - "
"Yeah, definitely. The thing is, all the people who should be figuring out how to deal with that stuff aren't, because it sounds like sci-fi. So instead of thinking of solutions, they're all just, like, 'not going to happen'. Me, I hope they cure aging. Aging sucks."
"You want to live forever?"
"I don't want to die anytime soon, do you? And I think most people only want to die at 80 because being old isn't much fun. If we were getting stronger, smarter, doing interesting stuff... Well, imagine being born in 1700. Wouldn't you still want to be alive today? So much awesome stuff has happened since then..."
"That'd be pretty cool, actually. But if everyone lives forever..."
"That's why we've got to figure this stuff out now, instead of just waiting to see what happens."
(Of the methods I've tested, this seems to be the only conversation track that mostly avoids "But death is good...." conversations).
I usually try to strongly emphasise that curing ageing =/= living forever. I've found it much easier to convince people that curing ageing is a good idea, than living "forever".
As a continuation of the original Welcome thread (if you haven't gone there, go there fist) I think we need a separate introduction thread for highschoolers.
Who: As a demographic, I think that we can probably be characterized by:
1. Our newness to LW.
2. Our uncertainty about which college or career to choose.
3. (if we are in a public school) Looking for ways to game the system (because we're not learning much in it).
4. Our potential to make a huge impact (the best advantage is an early start).
5. An lack of face to face interaction with intellectual people.
Why: I can think of several things this could help highschoolers with.
1. See where you stack up compared to others your age (We're probably all big fish in small ponds. At least I am. Let's get an idea of what the big pond is like).
2. Make friends with people like you.
3. Consider college and career ideas you hadn't considered before.
4. Perhaps find people to apply with for the Thiel Fellowship.
5. Find a chavruta to go through the sequences with you.
What: Tell us the following:
1. How old/what year are you?
2. How have you tried to enhance your education beyond what's normally offered at schools?
3. How many rationalist/philosophical people are at your school/family?
4. What careers/schools are you considering?
5. Are you going to apply for a Thiel Fellowship?
6. EDIT: link to your old "introduce yourself" post.
If you're not in highschool, tell us what you would have told your old highschool self.