If there are any people who'd like to come to WFS-11, but can't for financial reasons - I'm opening up my Vancouver home as a place to stay for a limited number of people. I have an unused guest bedroom, an additional makeshift third bedroom, and a floor available to anyone who doesn't mind bringing their own sleeping gear.
Interested folks should contact me at wfs11@jaapsuter.com.
Jaap Suter - http://jaapsuter.com
The book Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations touches upon this very concept and how it relates to people's behavior (in corporate environments mostly). I recommend it.
Having shared my view on comp.sci. education, I do wish to throw in a recommendation for pursuing a career in software development (beyond the years of formal education). Specifically in contrast to one alternative discussed earlier in this thread, namely a career in finance.
Full disclaimer, my perspective on "jobs that involve working with money" stems mostly from how the mainstream portrays it and is likely to be extremely naive. Despite what I'm about to say, I actually have a great deal of respect for money-savy people. Considering my personal financial situation is a constant source of akrasia, I'm often envious of people who are able to wield money itself as a tool... (read 1194 more words →)
In a thread called Acturial vs. Software Engineering - what pays best?, somebody wrote:
Do any of you know how much of an option it is to start a software engineering career with a math/science but not CS background?
My response...
I encourage most people to pursue a math or science degree, rather than comp.sci., even if their long term goals are in the field of software engineering. My opinion is based on personal hindsight (having majored in computer science, I often wish my ability to absorb and apply fundamental math or hard physics was stronger) and on eleven years industry experience (where I've noticed an inverse correlation between the amount of formal comp.sci. training... (read more)
Recycling an email I wrote in a Existential Risk Reduction Career Network discussion. The topic looked at various career options, specifically with an eye towards accumulating wealth - the two major fields recognized being finance and software development.
Frank Adamek enquired as to my (flippant) vanilla latte comments, which revealed a personal blind-spot. Namely, that my default assumption for people with an interest in accumulating wealth is that they're motivated by an interest in improving the quality of their own life (e.g., expensive gadgets, etc.).
I should know -- especially in X-Risk Network context -- that wealth accumulation is not necessarily predominantly selfish, and that instead wealth can be an effective multiplier to... (read more)
A number of people mention this one way or another, but an explicit search for "local maximum" doesn't match any specific comment - so I wanted to throw it out here.
Wireheading is very likely to put oneself in a local maximum of bliss. Though a wirehead may not care or even ponder about whether or not there exist greater maxima, it's a consideration that I'd take into account prior to wiring up.
Unless one is omniscient, the act of a permanent (-ish) state of wireheading means foregoing the possibility of discovering a greater point of wireheaded happiness.
I guess the very definition of wireheadedness bakes in the notion that you wouldn't care about that anymore - good for those taking the plunge and hooking up I suppose. Personally, the universe would have to throw me an above average amount of negative derivates before I'd say enough is enough, screw potential for higher maxima, I'll take this one...