The Best of LessWrong

If you're looking for ways to help with the whole “the world looks pretty doomed” business, here's my advice: look around for places where we're all being total idiots. Look around for places where something seems incompetently run, or hopelessly inept, and where some part of you thinks you can do better.

Then do it better.

The author argues that it may be possible to significantly enhance adult intelligence through gene editing. They discuss potential delivery methods, editing techniques, and challenges. While acknowledging uncertainties, they believe this could have a major impact on human capabilities and potentially help with AI alignment. They propose starting with cell culture experiments and animal studies.

Jenn spent 5000 hours working at non-EA charities, and learned a number of things that may not be obvious to effective altruists, when working with more mature organizations in more mature ecosystems.

One winter a grasshopper, starving and frail, approaches a colony of ants drying out their grain in the sun to ask for food, having spent the summer singing and dancing.

Then, various things happen.

Harmful people often lack explicit malicious intent. It’s worth deploying your social or community defenses against them anyway. 

Elizabeth argues that veganism comes with trade-offs, including potential health issues, that are often downplayed or denied by vegan advocates. She calls for more honesty about these challenges from the vegan community.