Nonfiction because: my faulty brain sometimes mistakes fiction for reality...

In this case, how do you know what is fiction (and therefore you shouldn't read it) and what is not (and therefore you should read it) ?

and cognitive economy - there is a finite amount of knowledge I can store, so I must be sure that it is accurate knowledge.

Can you elaborate ? I'm curious about the topic because I've heard this statement from several of my friends, but I can't quite wrap my head around it.

In the interests of full disclosure, I personally do read fiction: primarily because I find it enjoyable, but also because it sometimes enables me to communicate (and receive) ideas much more effectively than nonfiction (f.ex., HPMoR).

I'll second the recommendation for bioengineering, that's exactly the field you're describing.

However, you might find at the undergraduate level that you'd be better off studying something that will get you a very solid foundation in mathematics and computer programming, which are the languages bioengineering uses to represent and model the behavior of biological systems.

Being an interdisciplinary field, it's critical to balance your time spent learning the various sciences to become an effective bioengineer. You need to have an understanding of very different areas of science such as cell biology and fluid mechanics, so you can integrate these ideas together in your research.

In my experience, students with a background in physics, mathematics, or chemistry actually do better in graduate level bioengineering courses than students whom studied bioengineering or life sciences as undergrads. The formerer were learning to solve complex problems and represent phenomena with mathematics while the bioengineers were memorizing facts and nomenclature in biology classes. Memorizing biological facts is much easier to pick up on your own when you need it, whereas math proficiency is a skill that must be developed over years of practice.

Many prominent professors of bioengineering actually have their degrees in the physical sciences, and taught themselves the relevant biology.

The most important advice I can give is to start doing research in your field of interest NOW. Even in high school, you can volunteer to work in a professors lab. Performing research is where the real education occurs, not in the classroom.

I only read certain things

What kinds of things, out of curiosity, and why do you read them and not other things ?

I started to see myself as a rationalist when I was about 13.

Growing up in a very religious culture, I never bothered to question the beliefs that had been instilled in me. But one day, somehow, I began contemplating death, "How do I know what happens after I die?" or "Will I go to Heaven or Hell?" were questions that bewildered me profoundly. It was then that I realized that everything I had believed about death and the so-called afterlife was pure nonsense. It took me a while to accept that "absence of evidence is evidence of absence" though.

Consequently, I became atheist. Better still, I learnt a very important lesson - that you should always question your beliefs. This skepticism has been my weapon of choice against falsehood ever since.

Hi there,

I am a high school senior who is interested in science, particularly in natural sciences. One day I hope to further our understanding of...well, anything you can think of!

My lifestyle, which I adopted after carefully analyzing my goals, is pretty spartan: I eat a strict diet, I exercise often, I only read certain things and so forth.

I discovered the transhumanist movement a few months ago. I have decided to join lesswrong.com because I think that I stand to learn a lot from this community and, maybe, even bring something to the table.

Hi there,

I am a high school senior who is interested in science, particularly in natural sciences. One day I hope to further our understanding of...well, anything you can think of!

My lifestyle, which I adopted after carefully analyzing my goals, is pretty spartan: I eat a strict diet, I exercise often, I only read certain things and so forth.

I discovered the transhumanist movement a few months ago. I have decided to join lesswrong.com because I think that I stand to learn a lot from this community and, maybe, even bring something to the table.