I've added guilt and shame to the article :)

I think it might be reasonable to distinguish the physiological reactions of emotions from the felt-sense of the emotions themselves; some biological reactions from emotions are probably leftover evolutionary traits from pre-homo-sapiens.

But I think you're presuming too much by taking note of how inconvenient the physical symptoms are in modern contexts versus past ones. If being anxious->slippery palms->worse spear throws were really that detrimental to hunting, shouldn't we expect it would have been selected against?

Notice your confusion, ask the next question: do sweaty palms make it harder to throw spears, or other natural objects? Smooth, artificially man made objects, yes. But porous objects like rocks and wood, quite the opposite! If you... (read more)

Replying toToss a bitcoin to your Lightcone – LW + Lighthaven's 2026 fundraiser

DaystarEld2mo

Toss a bitcoin to your Lightcone – LW + Lighthaven's 2026 fundraiser

Donated another $1,000, same reasoning as last year, which I'll repost from the comment I made back then. In addition, since last year I ran an event myself at Lighthaven, WARP 2025, and it was a fantastic venue to work with. Having a place like this in the community makes a huge difference, and it feels important to do what I can to help it continue to exist for all of us.

I just donated $1,000. This is not a minor amount for me, and I almost just donated $10 as suggested in Shoshannah's comment, but I knew I could donate that much without thought or effort, and I wanted to really put... (read 665 more words →)

Replying toEpistemology of Romance, Part 1

DaystarEld2mo

Epistemology of Romance, Part 1

Thanks! I haven't seen 500 Days of Summer but have considered making some film review youtube channel that dissects romance films with this lens, so if I do I'll keep that one in mind :)

Epistemology of Romance, Part 2

DaystarEld

2mo

In Part 1, I argued that the four main sources most people learn about romance from—media, family, religion/culture, and friends—are all unreliable in different ways. None of them are optimized for truth, and each comes with its own incentives, blind spots, and distortions.

As I said, I'm not the first to notice that we're failing, as a society, to provide good answers to these questions. There are researchers from various fields trying to provide answers, some rigorously, and some… less so. There are also communities and influencers trying to create a fifth source of romantic advice, independent from the traditional sources, each with their own biases and incentives.

The Counterreaction: Red, Black, and Blue

... (read 5385 more words →)

Epistemology of Romance, Part 1

DaystarEld

3mo

The Notebook is one of the most beloved romance films of the 21st century. When I run this activity, whether it’s at a rationality workshop or Vibecamp, and I ask someone to summarize what it’s about, there’s usually someone who, eyes shining bright, will happily describe what a moving love story it is—all about a man, Noah, who falls in love with a woman named Allie one summer, writes her every day for a year after they're separated, reconnects with her years later, and then in old age reads their story to her in a nursing home because she has dementia, helping her remember their love until they die peacefully in each... (read 4175 more words →)

•••

A Taxonomy of Bugs (Lists)

DaystarEld

3mo

One of my favorite basic concepts from CFAR is the Bugs List. By writing down everything in your life that feels "off," things you'd change if you could, problems you've been meaning to solve, irritations you've learned to live with, you have a straightforward set of problems to try solving with new techniques and frameworks you learn, and can, little by little, actually improve your life in a material way.

Most people's lists include things like:

I have trouble going to sleep on time
I wish I spent more time with friends
I keep putting off that one project
I don't exercise as much as I'd like
I eat out too often
I procrastinate on important emails

These are all... (read 2971 more words →)

Information Hygiene

DaystarEld

3mo

Do avalanches get caused by loud noises?

Based on my dozen+ times giving this class or presentation, at least 7/10 of you are nodding yes, and the main reason the other 3 aren’t is that you sense a trap.

So. What do you think you know, and why do you think you know it?

Our bodies are under constant assault. Bacteria, viruses, parasites—an endless parade of microscopic organisms trying to hijack our cellular machinery for their own replication. You don't notice most of these attacks because your immune system handles them quietly, distinguishing self from non-self, helpful from harmful, and deploying targeted responses to neutralize threats before they can take hold.

We all lived through a... (read 3911 more words →)

Replying toYou are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

DaystarEld3mo

You are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

No apologies necessary, it's possible I wasn't clear enough!

My main point is that the orthogonality thesis applies to humans too: intelligence and values are distinct things. To judge someone's actions as irrational, you need to actually understand their values and preferences. If you think they shouldn't do something because the tradeoff is too high, and they acknowledge the tradeoff but want to do it anyway, that may just reveal preferences different from yours, not necessaril irrationality.

Principles and Generators of a Rationality Dojo

DaystarEld

3mo

Since 2023 I've been directing WARP, the Wandering Applied Rationality Program, with the help of ESPR and SPARC staff, which are summer camps I've taught at since 2017. For those that don't know, these ~10 day programs are hard to summarize well, but are generally meant to create an environment that helps participants better understand the world, themselves, and each other by offering a variety of classes ranging from information theory and statistics, to Double Crux and Focusing, to classes like mine, Emotions Make Sense and Philosophy of Therapy.

The camps are a lot more than just the classes, however, which only make up the mornings of each day. The afternoons are unscheduled... (read 7357 more words →)

Replying toYou are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

DaystarEld3mo

You are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

This is a good point, but the actual difference in the scenario is that ice cream is not meth ;P I think it is actually meaningful to notice that, while there may in fact be good reasons not to have ice cream, there are many, much stronger reasons not to do meth, and Bryce bringing those up are much more likely to dissuade Ash, and if they don't, Ash is much more irrational if Ash chooses to do it anyway... but that choice is still independent from wanting meth.

Your version of Bryce is doing a less defensible thing, while mine is being more reasonable, while still being wrong, and I think that's the important point I'm making.

Replying toEmotions Make Sense

DaystarEld6mo

Emotions Make Sense

Ah, yeah, see again my emphasis that I did not name this article "Emotions Are Good" :P

If you pick scenarios where people can find other emotions by which they end up doing the Morally Good and Personally Optimal thing... yeah, envy isn't needed there.

But my claim is there are situations where people are driven by envy to do things that make their liklihood to survive and thrive better than if they had not felt it. If you disagree with that, this is what the article is trying to accomplish as a step 1, and integration happens after that.

But none of that requires "endorsement" in the way you seem(?) to mean it. Envy is not Nice. To put it in another frame, it is MtG: Black, and the value it brings to the table needs to be understood seperately from "is it good/altruistic/endorsed."

Does that make sense?

Replying toEmotions Make Sense

DaystarEld6mo

Emotions Make Sense

It is certainly not my argument, nor implied by the example, that the only reason someone would do something is because of Jealousy or Envy. Things like pleasure and admiration motivate us as well, but most people don't wonder why we have them or wish they would go away.

Replying toEmotions Make Sense

DaystarEld6mo

Emotions Make Sense

I hope I didn't imply somehow that there are no other reasons people might do things besides envy or jealousy!

Replying toYou are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

DaystarEld6mo*

You are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

"You haven't actually offered me a better alternative" sounds like a failure on your parents' parts, or a failure of imagination on your 15-year-old-self's part. Which happens fairly often, and is a separate thing about the preferences themselves being irrational. Many people would be happy with a life of leisure and no responsibilities, and the desire for that isn't irrational at all. It's important to be educated about the long-term consequences of it specifically because that's what helps people feel motivated to do something more robust to their future self's preferences.

I'd also note that "didn't want to do schoolwork" is different from "didn't want to go to school at all," which yes has legal consequences that rather drastically changes the outcome.

Emotions Make Sense

DaystarEld

6mo

Emotions Make Sense is a class I started teaching five years ago at various rationality camps, workshops, conferences, etc. I’ve done it maybe 40 times in total, more than any of my other ~20 classes at this point, and in those 5 years I think I’ve only encountered a handful out of a few hundred teenagers and adults who really had a deep sense of what it means for emotions to “make sense.” Even people who have consumed media like Inside Out, and internalized its message about the value of Sadness as an emotion, still think things like “I wish I never felt Jealousy,” or would have trouble answering “What’s the point... (read 7211 more words →)

212

You are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

DaystarEld

Epistemic Status: 13 years working as a therapist for a wide variety of populations, 5 of them working with rationalists and EA clients. 7 years teaching and directing at over 20 rationality camps and workshops. This is an extremely short and colloquially written form of points that could be expanded on to fill a book, and there is plenty of nuance to practically everything here, but I am extremely confident of the core points in this frame, and have used it to help many people break out of or avoid manipulative practices.

TL;DR: Your wants and preferences are not invalidated by smarter or more “rational” people’s preferences. What feels good or bad to... (read 3879 more words →)

240

Executive Dysfunction 101

DaystarEld

This is an intro post for the Procedural Executive Function sequence, which is now complete, to help give some general background of how to orient to executive dysfunction both philosophically and practically.

First things first; “executive dysfunction” is not a diagnosis. "Executive Function" refers to a set of skills that govern our ability to plan actions, take those actions, maintain focus on them, adapt to changes, and more subtle steps between, all in the service of a deliberate intention.

In my Procedural Executive Function posts, I break these skills down as follows:

ADHD is a diagnosis that points to a cluster of common struggles with executive function: working memory, impulse control, and self monitoring. But... (read 723 more words →)

Procedural Executive Function, Part 3

DaystarEld

The Off Road project has since been folded into Rethink Wellbeing, but I’ve continued working to better understand and treat Executive Dysfunction. You can read more about the project’s origins here.

If you haven't, I suggest reading the start of my overview and exploration of Executive Function. Parts 1 and 2 of Procedural Executive Function can be found here and here.

TL;DR - Organization is the system of habits and external aids that minimizes effort for accomplishing work.

Working Memory is your capacity for holding information in your attention at once.

Flexible Thinking is your ability to creatively problem solve and avoid getting stuck.

Each helps you maintain progress on your goals, and can help maintain flow... (read 6782 more words →)

Clickbait Soapboxing

DaystarEld

Someone on Twitter said:

I am guilty of deliberately stating things in a bold & provocative form on here in order to stimulate discussion. Leaving hedges & caveats for the comments section. On net, I think this is better than alternatives, but I’m open to being convinced otherwise.

And I finally felt the urge to write up thoughts I’ve had about what I’ll call “clickbait soapboxing” for the past year or so. A disclaimer is that I feel like I could write a whole book on this sort of thing, and will inevitably have more complex thoughts about what I say here that comes off as simple.

Also, I’m not super confident I am right... (read 671 more words →)

LESSWRONG
LW

LESSWRONG
LW

DaystarEld

You are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

Emotions Make Sense

Philosophy of Therapy

Principles and Generators of a Rationality Dojo

DaystarEld

Epistemology of Romance, Part 2

Epistemology of Romance, Part 1

A Taxonomy of Bugs (Lists)

Information Hygiene

Principles and Generators of a Rationality Dojo

Emotions Make Sense

You are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

Procedural Executive Function

DaystarEld

You are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

Emotions Make Sense

Philosophy of Therapy

Principles and Generators of a Rationality Dojo

DaystarEld

Epistemology of Romance, Part 2

Epistemology of Romance, Part 1

A Taxonomy of Bugs (Lists)

Information Hygiene

Principles and Generators of a Rationality Dojo

Emotions Make Sense

You are not too "irrational" to know your preferences.

Procedural Executive Function

The Counterreaction: Red, Black, and Blue