I'm hand-typing the code from the pdf. I know it would be easier if I used the .lhs file from github, but I'd like to make sure I read and understand the code first. Reading the .lhs file hurts my eyes due to formatting issues in Emacs.

Of interest for the data science angle. Also it includes the word "bayesian" and links to Paul Graham. That's got to make it more or less on-topic, right?

I recently took this collection of text messages (from Hilary Mason's collection of research-quality data sets ), and attempted to build a simple Bayesian spam filter for text messages.

This was mostly just a fun exercise. I wasn't expecting to produce a usable product (and I didn't), but as an exercise it was pretty informative and well worth my time. I've put some observations in rot13, as anyone else undertaking this exercise may benefit from observing them by themselves.

Vg'f n irel tbbq qrzbafgengvba bs cbjre nanylfvf pbaprcgf, naq gur genqr-bss orgjrra frafvgvivgl naq fcrpvsvpvgl. Jura znxvat gjrnxf gb gur pynffvsvre, vg ernyyl unzzref ubzr gur vqrn gung ryvzvangvat glcr-V reebef pneevrf gur pbfg bs zber glcr-VV reebef.

Gur birenyy zrgubq (anvir onlrf pynffvsvpngvba) frrzf gb or fvtavsvpnagyl yrff hfrshy sbe grkg zrffntrf guna sbe rznvy zrffntrf. Gurer ner n ahzore bs boivbhf ernfbaf sbe guvf, naq n srj yrff boivbhf barf. Grkg zrffntrf ner n ybg fubegre guna rznvyf (hfhnyyl yrff guna 140 punenpgref, juvyr rznvyf jvyy abeznyyl unir ng yrnfg 140 punenpgref bs urnqre zrgnqngn orsber lbh rira trg bagb gur obql grkg). Nyfb, yrtvgvzngr grkg zrffntrf frrz gb pbagnva n ybg zber "fcnzzl" pbagrag guna rznvyf. Gur zrffntrf va zl grfg unz pbechf gung synttrq nf fcnz nyy ybbxrq ernyyl fcnzzl. Gur zbfg ragregnvavat qvfpbirel jnf gung gur gbxra "kkk" ybbxrq zber yrtvg guna fcnzzl orpnhfr fb znal crbcyr fvta bss gurve grkgf jvgu gung.

Zl vaghvgvbaf nobhg ubj cebonovyvgvrf hcqngr tvira bgure cebonovyvgvrf vf nyy jebat.

If anyone else tries this, let me know how you get on.

Well, try this: Show how general abstract nonsense could be relevant to a rationalist in his day to day life or in his general understanding of the world. Or try an introduction to general abstract nonsense that does not leave the reader with the feeling that it is, well, general abstract nonsense.

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I concur with dbaupp's suggestion.

Additionally, you can try the reframing technique. Anna describes it here:

When facing a difficult decision, I try to reframe it in a way that will reduce, or at least switch around, the biases that might be influencing it. (Recent example from Anna's brother: Trying to decide whether to move to Silicon Valley and look for a higher-paying programming job, he tried a reframe to avoid the status quo bias: If he was living in Silicon Valley already, would he accept a $70K pay cut to move to Santa Barbara with his college friends? (Answer: No.))

The example she gives isn't quite isomorphic to the choice you're making, but I think the technique still may be worth trying. Imagine you're currently living out one option but given the chance to take the other - how would you feel about it? And vice versa.

I don't have anything specific to offer, but (in theory) hard choices matter less. And if you literally can't decide between them, you can try flipping a coin to make the decision and as it is in the air, see which way you hope it will end up, and that should be your choice.

Happy New Year, LWers, I'm on a 5 month vacation from uni, and don't have a job. Also, my computer was stolen in October, cutting short my progress in self-education.

Given all this free time I have now, which of these 2 options is better?

• Buy a road bicycle & start a possibly physically risky job as a freelance bike-messenger within my city ( I'm that one guy from Nairobi )in order to get out of the house more, then buy a laptop and continue my self-education in programming, computer science, philosophy, etc.

or

• buy a laptop, do quick and easy wordpress websites for local businesses, then buy the bike and use it for leisurely riding under no pressure? I only have money for either one or the other for now, and for some reason I'm hesitating. Maybe it's because I want to do both. This is important to me, and I'll appreciate any discussion on this. Thanks.

Happy New Year, LWers, I'm on a 5 month vacation from uni, and don't have a job. Also, my computer was stolen in October, cutting short my progress in self-education.

Given all this free time I have now, which of these 2 options is better?

• Buy a road bicycle & start a possibly physically risky job as a freelance bike-messenger within my city ( I'm that one guy from Nairobi )in order to get out of the house more, then buy a laptop and continue my self-education in programming, computer science, philosophy, etc.

or

• buy a laptop, do quick and easy wordpress websites for local businesses, then buy the bike and use it for leisurely riding under no pressure? I only have money for either one or the other for now, and for some reason I'm hesitating. Maybe it's because I want to do both. This is important to me, and I'll appreciate any discussion on this. Thanks.

This happens to me sometimes, and I sort of bring myself back to normality by reminding myself of the fact that the things my meat-brain chooses to bring to my attention are out of my control (for a short time) when I'm in panic mode. Other facts I recall: I have a reflectively-inconsistent meat brain, I was raised in a Christian home (I'm atheist now), and just about everything relevant that I can remember from Kahneman (correspondence bias etc.) and other psychology texts. Also, the Sequences.

Annoying aliefs are annoying.

A thing to do would be to condense all that gratitude into the word "awesome". Best said with a wide grin.