Thank you for this article. I'm finding it still difficult to navigate the site in terms of comments and posts. Would it be possible to edit some more explanation in the "site mechanics" portion of this article to include an explanation of what open threads are and how to use them?
Certainly would cut down on the loss of morale one feels going from +3 karma to zero in one sincere post to discussion. Is there no way to reasonably differentiate between critical thought and just being obtuse?
I wanted to post it as an open thread, but it didn't give me that option. Can it be moved?
Hello LW World!
I have been reading the writings of Eliezer Yudkowsky for about 2 years now, ever since a friend of mine introduced me to HPMOR. It continues to blow my mind that there is an entire movement and genre dedicated to reason. It's provided a depth of thought that I've always felt different from others for enjoying, and now I can happily say that there's a community for it.
I am currently an unemployed veteran and college dropout seeking to solve the financial problems which prevent me from currently completing my degree. I am halfway finished with an ultrasound tech school and I am also studying programming as a hobby. I'm proud of a lot of my work so far, from making the beginnings of an awesome game on Scratch to completing an advanced challenge on Hackerrank (technically it's incomplete, but it's only the timeout limit on large inputs that I have yet to find a solution for). I'm also learning web design skills on FreeCodeCamp where I have found very supportive mentors and hope to get a basic foot-in-the-door level of skills to gain employment.
What I REALLY wanted to do but failed at due to financial hardship is to work in neuroscience research. I'm more interested in the cybernetic side of turning science fiction into real scientific discoveries, but AI research is not a concept that I would turn away from, as I believe it has mutually beneficial applications to connect with neuroscience. Fingers crossed, I can either accomplish my goals toward neuroscience sooner rather than later or I can be lucky enough to survive to the point where aging is cured and widely distributed, giving me more than a lifetime to complete my goals.
The reason I'm posting today in particular is that I wanted to know if Reason, Cyberpunk, and Transhumanist themed poetry that I have created would have a place here. I'm thinking that I would like to have feedback from others who enjoy thinking critically about life. That said, the poetry I've made is an art form and would only expect to get feedback from rationalists to the extent that Reason is an art form. Perhaps any concern of that nature is really the result of a fallacious view of Reason that still clings to me as the "Hollywood Reason" concept that Eliezer described.
Regardless, what I have created is intended to be thought provoking and entertaining for individuals who often think of the intricate concepts that are on LessWrong. Any feedback that would help me to make them more thought provoking and entertaining would be a great help to improve them. Any advice on if there is an acceptable space for such a thing as well as advice on where to begin is appreciated in advance.
I hope I'm posting this correctly. I swear that I did my best to research how to use open threads here but to no avail. This is a poem I posted a few days ago in discussion, and I am attempting to have it talked about in open thread where it "belongs."
I've been considering poetry that I write of this nature to be of a Reason/Cyberpunk/Transhuman sort of genre. Feedback would be appreciated.
I forever wish to change from who I am today,
Yet as I am today, I do not wish to cease.
Who am I in this moment?
I am nothing to myself without the passage of time
If I had no fear of death,
Would I have a wish to live?
I can deny cynicism.
Can I verify optimism?
Must euphoria define my goals?
Every euphoric drive has served to continue my existence.
From the beginning mechanisms of life, I have emerged
Passed through millions/billions of small keyholes of existence
A package of information, which served to create me
Developed me to fit my environment.
Existing just to continue to exist.
An axiom of my function
Euphoria drives me
Skepticism contradicts me
I cannot withhold judgement on the purpose of existing.
To enjoy the show is to accept this euphoria as my chosen purpose in the end.
Can I want without pleasure?
Can my wants be reasoned?
Why do I want to enjoy the show,
Yet not to be consumed or confined to an eternity of bliss?
Is dignity and pride different from euphoric drives?
Are they the strategies and philosophies of my existence?
Can I be more obsessed with finding the perfect design for myself,
Than with finding bliss? Are they functionally different?