3/10/2025 Author’s note: It’s been a year since I started posting on LessWrong. In that time, I’ve become a better writer. This was my first LessWrong post. I’ve rewritten this post more concisely here. I’m leaving up this original version to showcase my improvement.

Costco's brand:


It's only two ingredients: peanuts and salt.

I'm not sure how I feel about seed oils generally, but I know they're higher in Omega-6 fatty acids. From the NIH: 

Omega-3s are utilized by the body to resolve and lower inflammation, whereas omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids are primarily used for increasing inflammation. Thus, the rise in the omega-6/3 ratio over the past 100 years may be driving chronic low-grade inflammatory conditions including autoimmune diseases, allergies and asthma.

I have considered the powdered option, but given my inflammation, it's possible I have a minor allergy. I'm going to take a break for a while.

Assuming you're serious about the psychological impact of removing all peanut butter products

^Nope, I'm exaggerating. I gave this post a "humor" tag and wrote it to laugh at myself.

I’m legitimately confused about using an LLM to generate actual text

LLMs are in their nascent form with limited capabilities. As they continue to develop, they'll likely become more adept at creating large cohesive narratives. 

I have a soft rule that I never upload the actual text of my book for feedback. I keep the actual text of the book out of the LLM’s memory. 

I’m not sure where that fits in your model. 

It's interesting that you have this soft rule. Why? Are you worried that it'll steal your ideas? Or possibly concerned that it'll strip you of the feeling of authorship?

if someone wrote a book while holding a pen with their toes while doing a headstand, it's not a good signal that the book will be of any interest to you.

Agreed, though I would definitely want to meet this insane person.

After writing his first 100-page short story, my brother realized that he'd become a better writer over the course of creating it. The beginning chapters therefore needed more rewriting than the ending chapters.

He just finished writing his first novel this week (and is getting ready to pitch it to publishers). Because of his prior writing experience, this story needed less overall editing as he has developed his writing style.

I did not replicate his argument in full. I merely selected interesting excerpts to comment upon. 

The full essay can be read online here.

Agreed. The Unhook Youtube chrome extension is great. Another extension I use in combination with it is Improve Youtube. 

Together they've saved me hundreds of hours.

I'll add: No internet on my phone.

My friend recommended I delete the browser on my phone. It's saved me time from going down curiosity rabbit holes.