All of Mexamark's Comments + Replies

Mexamark130

Done the survey. Nice touch at the end.

Nice! Unfortunately there are not as many Brazilians in this site as one could expect., given our large population. If you don't mind me asking, where is he living now?

2TheOtherDave
We both live in the U.S. (Massachusetts).

Someone made a post about this recently listing that and other useful practices (and I just saw you replied in there as well). I've heard about these checklists before but while I think it's a pretty important habit to acquire I haven't had the time yet to improve on those aspects nor have made of those an habit yet (i.e. I think it's important to improve but I don't actually remember to practice on my daily life).

Taking this checklist as an example, I think I can say that I failed to do 2.1 (when I said there were two probable interpretations without even... (read more)

0TheOtherDave
A rule of thumb I find very helpful when evaluating statements is to ask myself what I would expect to experience differently if it were true or false, and to ask myself what I would endorse doing differently if I knew it were true or false. Frequently, what this makes me realize is that I don't actually understand the statement... which is particularly embarrassing when I'm the one who said it.

Ew, that was pretty stupid of my part, sorry. I was thinking in terms of

At then end of a year, which hospital will have the greater number of days in which more than 60% of the girls born over both hospitals were born at that hospital

Which is a different question altogether and still has an obvious answer... Oh well, way to make a good first impression.

2TheOtherDave
Oh, and: hey! You're from Sao Paulo! (My husband is from Sao Carlos, and his family still lives around there.)
5TheOtherDave
Ah! Yes, that makes sense. Though you're right that the answer is obvious, assuming one hospital is much larger than the other, which I vaguely remember it was. (grin) More so than you might expect. Hi, welcome to Less Wrong. We actually tend to respond pretty well to people who recognize and admit to goofs. We all do it from time to time, and it sure beats hell out of failing to recognize and admit to them. That said, figuring out the failure mode and intervening to make it less likely in the future is even better. Any thoughts on that?

Those were the exact interpretations I was referring about, thanks. And just for reference, I answered the question as if it were #2.

2TheOtherDave
Cool, I'm glad I understood you. Given that, can you say more about interpretation #1? It doesn't make much sense to me; I don't see how that question has an answer, so I'm curious as to how you're seeing an ambiguity as to which interpretation to use. I mean, if I deal a 5 of clubs and a 6 of hearts and I ask you which card has the total across two cards of more than 10, it seems the correct answer is "both," or perhaps "wtf?" The same thing seems true to me of interpretation #1 above.
Mexamark210

I just took it but I'd like to make a few points:

At the end of a year, which hospital will have the greater number of days on which more than 60% of the babies born were girls?

Is it asking about the total number of babies born at the day or babies born at each hospital?

Redwood question.

Please, use meters next time.

A1987dM110

Redwood question.

Please, use meters next time.

Better still, ask a question for which everyone in the world would natively use the same units.

2TheOtherDave
If I'm understanding your question correctly, you're distinguishing between the following two interpretations: 1. At the end of a year, which hospital will have the greater number of days on which more than 60% of the babies born [summed over both hospitals] were girls? and 2. At the end of a year, which hospital will have the greater number of days on which more than 60% of the babies born [at that hospital] were girls? Did I understand that correctly, or is there some other interpretation you have in mind?

Hey guys, sorry for the unanswered messages, I've been literally out of time those last months. Unfortunatelly I'll be unable to attend the 2nd meeting as well since I'll have exams at the university that very same day.

And even if I went I don't think I'd have much to add to your conversations, I'm still at the beginning of the sequences. Good luck, I hope to go next time.

1Gust
Man, even if you don't think so, you probably do have something to add to the group. Even if you don't have a lot of scientific/philosophical knowledge (I myself felt a little like this talking to the other guys, and i see that as a learning opportunity), you can add just by being a different person, with different experiences and background. Please show up if you can, even if you arrive late!

According to the Leverage Research's team page he directs the Institute for Ethics, Rationality and the Future of Humanity (Instituto Ética, Racionalidade e Futuro da Humanidade). They don't appear to have a site though.

I'd be glad to get more information about their activities as well.

Hello! I'm not a "user" but am from São Paulo as well. I just pass here to read something or other every once in a while. I don't know if I'll be able to attend but I'll certainly keep an eye on this thread.

0Gust
I guess the meetup probably isn't going to happen, but another goal of the thread was to get brazilians to show up, and that's going well.