Comment author: matt2000 24 December 2014 10:14:58PM 2 points [-]

I like to have a 25 minute reminder to stop and think about what I'm doing, but assuming I am, I often blaze through the "break" and only rest after a couple consecutive pomodoros. The 25 minute mark is more a safety net. I.e., if I've gotten distracted or gone down an unproductive path, at least I've only wasted no more than 25 minutes.

Comment author: PhilipKolbo 18 December 2014 04:28:28PM *  9 points [-]

Hello LessWrong community,

I came to this site after having read Harper's Magazine article "Come With Us If You Want To Live" by LW member @swfrank (@vernvernvern and I have this in common!). I am 21 years old, and am a percussionist living in Omaha Nebraska.

The first rational thought I can recall occurred in Kearney, NE. I was about 8 years old, I was walking across a soccer pitch on my way home from school. I was singing a modern christian worship song, looking into the sky. As I stared into space, I realized how meaningless my words were. I was alone and I sang to no one (time seemed to slow, it was a surreal experience). I began questioning the existence of a watchful god (this was a hard thing to do in my highly christian family). After that I struggled to involve myself in worship. This was a cornerstone event for me, leading to a more rational way of life.

I am now a junior at University of Nebraska at Omaha working toward a percussion performance degree. My diet consists of about 60% Soylent. I look forward to the connections I will make on LessWrong.

I have compiled some individuals who have played a large role in my rationality and progress: Bjork (musician), Omar Rodriguez Lopez (of The Mars Volta), Stanley Kubrick, C.S. Lewis, Ralph Ellison, Friedrich Nietzsche, George Orwell, Ludwig Van Beethoven, György Ligeti (composer), David Lang (composer), Elon Musk, and Steven Schick (percussionist).

Philip Kolbo

Comment author: matt2000 24 December 2014 04:59:45AM 2 points [-]

I can relate to having musicians in my list of intellectual inspirations. Greg Graffin of Bad Religion was certainly an influence in mmy developing aspirations to rationality.

Comment author: matt2000 24 December 2014 04:55:45AM 9 points [-]

I'm Matt, 32, Living in Los Angeles. I first read Less Wrong sometime in 2012, and attended the CFAR Workshop in February 2014, and finally now am getting around to signing up an account, because while i am not as wrong as I used to be, I'm still mostly wrong much of the time, but I'm working on fixing that. Sometimes I make overly complicated jokes that misuse mathmatical language, because I'm a programmer, not a mathematician. Sometimes I host rationalist rap battles, which in practice are a bit more like ratioanlist group hugs than the thing you saw in 8 mile. I'm an atheist who will gladly debate educated theists. I like board games and short walks on the beach. I'm @matt2000 on twitter.

Comment author: Gondolinian 24 December 2014 02:51:07AM 2 points [-]

Welcome, Matt!

Just so you know, the most recent welcome thread is here. It's not a problem that you posted on this thread, but your post will most likely get more attention if you repost it to the newer thread.

Comment author: matt2000 24 December 2014 04:50:40AM *  1 point [-]

Thanks! Since you seem to be in the know, maybe you know who can update the page that sent me here: http://lesswrong.com/about/

Comment author: matt2000 24 December 2014 01:06:41AM 1 point [-]

I'm Matt, 32, Living in Los Angeles. I first read Less Wrong sometime in 2012, and attended the CFAR Workshop in February 2014, and finally now am getting around to signing up an account, because while i am not as wrong as I used to be, I'm still mostly wrong much of the time, but I'm working on fixing that.