Comment author: iarwain1 13 May 2016 02:25:24PM *  2 points [-]

In our world, classical mechanics (Newton + Maxwell and their logical implications) holds for most everyday experiences at slow speeds (relative to the speed of light) and at scales larger than the atomic realm.*

Question: Is this necessarily true for every possible world that matches our macroscopic physical observations? Is it possible to construct an alternative set of physical laws such that the world would function exactly as our world does on a macroscopic, everyday level, but that would violate Newton's laws or Maxwell's laws or thermodynamics or the like? Again, I'm not talking about violating those laws in extreme cases (close to the speed of light, tiny scales) where these laws don't really apply even in our world. I'm talking about a world where even the everyday approximate equations of physics, as expressed in classical mechanics, do not apply.

Said another way: If you messed with Newton's equations or Maxwell's equations or thermodynamics even a little bit, would the world necessarily function differently in such a way that we could tell that you'd messed with the laws? Would it function so differently as to be unrecognizable?

Or said yet another way: Do our macroscopic experiences entail that the equations of classical mechanics are at least a very good approximation of the underlying physics?

I'd especially appreciate sources / references / links to further reading.

[*Leaving aside the types of modern technology which bring quantum mechanical effects into the everyday observable world.]

Meetup : Baltimore / UMBC Weekly Meetup: General Discussion

0 iarwain1 06 May 2016 06:34PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Baltimore / UMBC Weekly Meetup: General Discussion

WHEN: 08 May 2016 03:00:00PM (-0400)

WHERE: Performing Arts and Humanities Bldg Room 456, 1000 Hilltop Cir, Baltimore, MD 21250

Meetup is in Room 456, the philosophy department conference room. As usual, parking restrictions don't apply on weekends so park wherever you want.

Discussion article for the meetup : Baltimore / UMBC Weekly Meetup: General Discussion

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Meetup : Baltimore / UMBC Weekly Meetup: How To Actually Change Your Mind (part 3)

0 iarwain1 28 April 2016 12:10PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Baltimore / UMBC Weekly Meetup: How To Actually Change Your Mind (part 3)

WHEN: 01 May 2016 03:00:00PM (-0400)

WHERE: Performing Arts and Humanities Bldg Room 456, 1000 Hilltop Cir, Baltimore, MD 21250

Meetup is in Room 456, the philosophy department conference room. As usual, parking restrictions don't apply on weekends so park wherever you want.

We are currently going through How to Actually Change Your Mind. This week we'll be discussing the last three sequences (Sequence I: Seeing with Fresh Eyes, Sequence J: Death Spirals and the Cult Attractor, and Sequence K: Letting Go).

Discussion article for the meetup : Baltimore / UMBC Weekly Meetup: How To Actually Change Your Mind (part 3)

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Meetup : Baltimore / UMBC Weekly Meetup: How To Actually Change Your Mind (part 2)

0 iarwain1 20 April 2016 06:05PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Baltimore / UMBC Weekly Meetup: How To Actually Change Your Mind (part 2)

WHEN: 24 April 2016 03:00:00PM (-0400)

WHERE: Performing Arts and Humanities Bldg Room 456, 1000 Hilltop Cir, Baltimore, MD 21250

Meetup is in Room 456, the philosophy department conference room. As usual, parking restrictions don't apply on weekends so park wherever you want.

We are currently going through How to Actually Change Your Mind. This week we'll be discussing Sequence G: Against Rationalization, and Sequence H: Against Doublethink.

Discussion article for the meetup : Baltimore / UMBC Weekly Meetup: How To Actually Change Your Mind (part 2)

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Comment author: DanielDeRossi 17 April 2016 06:42:39AM 0 points [-]

So I was wondering what career is best in terms of being able to accumulate wealth and having a decent quality of life. I've heard finance jobs are good.

Comment author: iarwain1 17 April 2016 06:59:45PM 2 points [-]

Check out 80,000 Hours. For finances in particular see their career review for trading in quantitative hedge funds.

Meetup : UMBC / Baltimore Weekly Meetup: How To Actually Change Your Mind

0 iarwain1 13 April 2016 10:50PM

Discussion article for the meetup : UMBC / Baltimore Weekly Meetup: How To Actually Change Your Mind

WHEN: 17 April 2016 03:00:00PM (-0400)

WHERE: Performing Arts and Humanities Bldg Room 456, 1000 Hilltop Cir, Baltimore, MD 21250

Meetup is in Room 456, the philosophy department conference room. As usual, parking restrictions don't apply on weekends so park wherever you want.

For the next few weeks we'll be going through How to Actually Change Your Mind. This week we'll be discussing Sequence E: Overly Convenient Excuses and Sequence F: Politics and Rationality.

Discussion article for the meetup : UMBC / Baltimore Weekly Meetup: How To Actually Change Your Mind

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Meetup : UMBC / Baltimore: Intro to LW / general discussion

0 iarwain1 03 April 2016 10:03PM

Discussion article for the meetup : UMBC / Baltimore: Intro to LW / general discussion

WHEN: 10 April 2016 10:00:00AM (-0400)

WHERE: Performing Arts and Humanities Bldg Room 456, 1000 Hilltop Cir, Baltimore, MD 21250

If new members show up we'll do some intro to LW stuff. Otherwise it'll be whatever people want to discuss.

Discussion article for the meetup : UMBC / Baltimore: Intro to LW / general discussion

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Comment author: Huluk 26 March 2016 12:55:37AM *  26 points [-]

[Survey Taken Thread]

By ancient tradition, if you take the survey you may comment saying you have done so here, and people will upvote you and you will get karma.

Let's make these comments a reply to this post. That way we continue the tradition, but keep the discussion a bit cleaner.

Comment author: iarwain1 28 March 2016 11:09:37PM *  34 points [-]

Took survey. Didn't answer all the questions because I suspend judgment on a lot of issues and there was no "I have no idea" option. Some questions did have an "I don't have a strong opinion" option, but I felt a lot more of them should also have that option.

Meetup : Baltimore Area / UMBC: Intro to LW and future of the meetup

0 iarwain1 25 March 2016 07:13PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Baltimore Area / UMBC: Intro to LW and future of the meetup

WHEN: 03 April 2016 03:00:00PM (-0400)

WHERE: Performing Arts and Humanities Bldg Room 456, 1000 Hilltop Cir, Baltimore, MD 21250

We have some new members, so we'll do some introductory material on confirmation biases, probabilistic thinking, etc. We'll also discuss timing and content suggestions for future meetups.

Meeting is on 4th floor of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building. Permit parking designations do not apply on weekends, so park pretty much wherever you want.

My contact info:

  • Cell: 443-453-6673 (might not pick up if I don't recognize the number, so leave a message)
  • Email: nyratynaqre@tznvy.pbz (rot13'd to avoid spam)

Discussion article for the meetup : Baltimore Area / UMBC: Intro to LW and future of the meetup

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Meetup : Baltimore Area Meetup: Futurology / Open Discussion

0 iarwain1 17 February 2016 08:24PM

Discussion article for the meetup : Baltimore Area Meetup: Futurology / Open Discussion

WHEN: 28 February 2016 03:00:00PM (-0500)

WHERE: 1852 Reisterstown Rd, Pikesville, MD 21208

Discussion Topic: Officially futurism, transhumanism, x-risks, etc. Unofficially whatever people feel like talking about.

Place: Panera Bread in Pikesville

My contact info:

  • Cell: 443-453-6673 (might not pick up if I don't recognize the number, so leave a message)
  • Email: nyratynaqre@tznvy.pbz (rot13'd to avoid spam)

Discussion article for the meetup : Baltimore Area Meetup: Futurology / Open Discussion

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