Adam Zerner

1 I really like wearing hoodies. I'm not sure exactly why I like wearing hoodies so much. They make me feel kinda cozy. Insulated. Protected. Maybe it's the feeling of having something in contact with my skin. Maybe it's the former poker player in me. Maybe something to do with...

I recently moved in to a new apartment. As I get set up, one of the things I've done is set up an emergency kit. Y'know, a box of things that might be useful in the case of something crazy like a nuke, biological attack, pandemic, or earthquake. Honestly, I'm...

I just moved into a new apartment and am working on getting my lighting set up. Like polyamory and group housing, lighting is one of those things that rationalists sometimes approach differently from the rest of the population, and are arguably ahead of the curve on. If there were a...

I've been thinking about specificity recently and decided to re-read SotW: Be Specific. In that post Eliezer writes the following: > S. I. Hayakawa called this the ladder of abstraction. I'm not sure if understanding the following section will really help with the skill of Being Specific, or help anyone...

A wise woman once said: humans are not automatically strategic. I'd like to propose a way of being more strategic in the kitchen. I'd like to propose that you learn the reverse sear technique. But not just the technique. Not just the thing you do to cook a steak. I'd...

(Meta: This is largely a re-framing of Consider your appetite for disagreements.) Poker players get into arguments a lot. Back when I used to play I would review hands with a friend and we'd get into these passionate disagreements about what the right decision is. To keep it simple, suppose...

Ever since watching this clip of a Larry David interview, the phrase "social intercourse" has stuck with me. He uses it to describe things like dinner parties where people mix and mingle. I thought about it the other day. I was in Cancun on vacation and was texting with a...