Man, I don't really care what happens to LW but if I had to choose, I honestly would say, 'dunno, shoot me'.
I'm just really getting the 'I don't know what to decide' feeling here. It's a bet, and by 'bet' I mean something I cannot put into concrete, set-in-stone numbers that I must decide on. For example, I recently got a new haircut. I didn't get one compliment for it. Do you think it was a good bet? I could've got a better haircut. But on the other hand, I'm pretty satisfied with it. I got tired of the same old haircut I had and, despite not getting even one compliment, I'm going to keep going with it.
I once did some mindkilling and tried to cold approach[1] women. A significant majority of them said that they have a boyfriend. Only a few women totally appreciated it. Some of them probably invented an imaginary boyfriend. Maybe some of them later went on Facebook or some other media and complain about random guys hitting on them. I suppose that I made this particular branch of universe a slightly worse place to live in. But a very small minority gave me a wide, unexpected smile and at that moment I wanted to middle finger the non-existing camera filming my life and say "420 is for wankers".[2]
Tomorrow, I'll be visiting a previous workplace to say thank you (and ask to keep contact) to a woman who, the moment she saw me, had a welcoming smile and we engaged in conversation in a record-breaking speed of human cognition. And actually part of me screams that this woman is probably nice, or was just curious, or perhaps just happy to see me again, and that the whole effort of dressing up, going the non-trivial travel time, all for what could be yet another (possibly imaginary) boyfriend is a huge waste. But part of me also believes that I could succeed here. Do I know for sure? Nope! It's yet another bet, and the dealer is the laws of physics (maybe biology is a better fit) and who knows what cards I get.
So let's wrap this up. I know you like Mark Manson[3] so you probably noticed a similar theme[4] here. The people that believe LessWrong is going to make it should place their bets - bet with what you will. Money, effort, rationality is winning. The other party already placed their bets and the cards are still not revealed and the roulette has still not started spinning. Place your bets and we'll see who wins.
[1] I basically went with some variation of an introduction, saying that she's gorgeous and if she'd like to talk or meet up later.
[2] Imagine a Loony Toons character breaking the fourth wall. Alternatively, a paranoid schizophrenic psych ward escapee.
[3] markmanson.net does have excellent stuff. What are you waiting for?
[4] The theme is having to make a decision under unknown possibility of success. Which is the way I see it because I personally haven't seen too much from the LessWrong 2.0 camp, despite the enthusiasm.
Subscribe to RSS Feed
= f037147d6e6c911a85753b9abdedda8d)
On the one hand, I upvoted this because there is no reason for this post to be in the negatives.
On the other hand, I don't think I'm a fan of the advice DGW are giving out.
On the third tail, this is because I'm trying it on for myself and it fits just terribly.
On the fourth twitching tufted ear, I have no illusions about being typical, so "doesn't work for me" certainly does not imply "doesn't work for normals".
On the fifth tentacle, I continue to have doubts about this advice even for the normals.
So, follow the herd and don't comparison shop? I would love to be your retailer. Especially if you want to pay now and consume later.
I also suspect (without having read the paper, natch) the authors' methodology. Let me illustrate -- let's take the first point, "buy experiences". Alice and Bob live in pretty identical circumstances. Both have a car that's old, cranky, breaks down a lot, and tends to need expensive repairs. Both have some savings.
Alice goes YOLO!!! and goes on a Caribbean vacation. Returning from it, she continues to curse at her car and suffer from its slings and arrows. Bob uses his saving to buy a new(er) car.
In a bit, DGW show up. They ask Alice -- did spending your savings make you happy? She says yes, fuck yes, that was an awesome vacation, especially compared to how crappy the life now is. They ask Bob -- did spending your savings make you happy? Bob says well, kinda, not really, the new car is highly useful, but it's not like it is the high point of his life.
And so DGW happily go and tell the world to buy experiences.
Reminds me of the classic quote: "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."
But the invisible to DGW opportunity costs can be... problematic.
One should probably distinguish between buying things for what they can do and buying things just to have them.