5 ms·

I posted a list of them a while ago. For several years I was interested in alternative worldviews -- grand sweeping theories of reality. Here's my list: http:/

by IsaacL 10y ago

I posted a list of them a while ago. For several years I was interested in alternative worldviews -- grand sweeping theories of reality. Here's my list: http://ribbonfarm.com http://ribbonfarm.com https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Sequences http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.co.uk/ http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.co.uk/ http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.co.uk/ http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.co.uk/ http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ https://meaningness.com/ https://meaningness.com/ http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/ http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/ Enjoy :)

Analemma_ 10y ago
I remember that list, because I said then what I'll say now - posting a list like that on a site like this is akin to handing out bags of heroin at a school :P . But I guess it's what the OP asked for.
- artifaxx 10y ago
  At least you learn something from reading these sorts of sites. Heroin doesn't do that...then again I may just be justifying an addiction.
  - type0 10y ago
    Some neuroscientists would argue that addiction is a form of "learning".
    - artifaxx 10y ago
      That's an interesting way of thinking about it, in some cases there is overlap. Both do transmit dopamine and reinforce neural connections. However this is just one of many types of "addiction", so I think the relationship goes both ways with learning having the potential to be one of many types of addiction.
    - ccvannorman 10y ago
      I guess you learn about reinforcement loops at an intimate level, which is probably good for machine learning/AI
    - Zelmor 10y ago
      Were their experiments be recreated and properly peer-reviewed? Some reviewers argue that neuroscience experiments are mostly not worth the candle. http://andrewgelman.com/2016/09/21/what-has-happened-down-here-is-the-winds-have-changed/ http://andrewgelman.com/2016/09/21/what-has-happened-down-he...
      - artifaxx 10y ago
        The replication crisis definitely leaves a lot of room for questioning. However, even if all the studies we have were properly replicated we still wouldn't understand addiction perfectly. We still have a lot to learn, just look at how vague definitions of addiction are still http://www.dsm5.org/documents/substance%20use%20disorder%20fact%20sheet.pdf http://www.dsm5.org/documents/substance%20use%20disorder%20f... But both addiction and learning involve the brain's dopamine circuitry; ironically when responding to your point I can't read the relevant articles I found because they are behind paywalls. This article has some interesting commentary but the sources are paywalled: https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.1055/s-0028-1124107 https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.10... Most likely there is a connection, but anyone who claims to understand it entirely at this point is overconfident.
  - Analemma_ 10y ago
    That's almost part of the problem though. My feelings about LW/the Sequences/SSC/etc. are complicated with lots of positives and negatives-- way too much to summarize in an HN comment when I'm supposed to be working ;) -- but the main negative I was referring to here is that they are incredibly potent "insight porn". That term was originally coined to describe the work of hacks like Malcolm Gladwell, and while LW et al are definitely on a level above Gladwell's crap, something can be true and still be insight porn, with all the addictiveness and consequences to your mental faculties that implies.
    - artifaxx 10y ago
      Fair enough, I have had to make sure I don't lose myself as an insight junkie. When it comes to the consequences are you thinking of it damaging our ability to seek out insights for ourselves if they are so easy to read?
      - jtolmar 10y ago
        The reason these works feel so insightful is that they link all their material together into a massive, cohesive worldview. Each additional detail makes it sound more true, even though rationally each detail is one more thing that could be wrong (ironic LW link: http://lesswrong.com/lw/ji/conjunction_fallacy/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/ji/conjunction_fallacy/). What you're left with after consuming the work is a single giant "fact" that's actually composed of a whole bunch of genuine knowledge and a whole bunch of nonsense, and it's mentally draining to toss the nonsense because it feels like it's somehow a key part of something valuable. The big cohesive viewpoint is a lot more seductive than the actual truth - that all of the material needs to be evaluated separately and there are no shortcuts for sorting it out. Or another way to put it: You really need to keep a critical eye towards each new fact that's introduced, but the entire appeal of this sort of thing is the idea that it's all one super-fact, so your critical thinking is at odds with your desire to enjoy the big picture.
      - z0rg 10y ago
        The double plus enhanced version of the old spell "Charm monster" now comes with an option to raise awareness of the wizard mode in it's victims.
  - Zelmor 10y ago
    I don't think I have ever learned anything from some such sites. Distilled, prepared wisdom of people with limited scope and understanding. Who is your source? It this source trustworthy? What are his/her biases and prejudices? At least with a good book you get an expanded argument, for or against which you can argue yourself. These feel-good pages, as I call them, are as good as a fart against the wind.
williamle8300 10y ago
Biblical Christianity is straight-up iconoclastic. Give that a try.
arvinjoar 10y ago
If you like those you might also like http://slatestarcodex.com http://slatestarcodex.com It's Yvain's (from LW) blog. It's gotten quite popular, with lots of mainstream media referencing it.
- grkvlt 10y ago
  Isn't it Scott Alexander (note the almost anagram) that blogs there?
  - tgb 10y ago
    That's his current pseudonym, yes. Went by Train previously.
    - tgb 10y ago
      Ignore my autocorrect typo above.
  - norswap 10y ago
    Yvain is Scott Alexander: http://slatestarcodex.com/about/ http://slatestarcodex.com/about/
h4nkoslo 10y ago
Glaring omission of http://blog.jim.com http://blog.jim.com , if you want to go down the rabbit hole of stylistically coherent & pithy, well though out, right-wing philosophizing.
- pzone 10y ago
  What a revolting sweaty pit of misogyny. > "In general female behavior is not explicable in terms of rational pursuit of goals, but as innate reactions to stimuli."
  - h4nkoslo 10y ago
    Oh, you can find far worse quotes. No one said it was a fun read.
coldtea 10y ago
You might like this one then: http://www.datapacrat.com/Opinion/Reciprocality/ http://www.datapacrat.com/Opinion/Reciprocality/ Good example: http://www.datapacrat.com/Opinion/Reciprocality/r2/index.html http://www.datapacrat.com/Opinion/Reciprocality/r2/index.htm...
marttt 10y ago
There's also Chris Davis' Idle Theory: https://web.archive.org/web/20160513191724/http://www.idlex.freeserve.co.uk/ https://web.archive.org/web/20160513191724/http://www.idlex.... As Ran Prieur, owner of another similar rabbit hole, once put it: "The idea is that the purpose of life is not to accomplish something, but to do as little as possible." Ran Prieur is here (anti-consumerism and beyond): http://www.ranprieur.com http://www.ranprieur.com
lostcolony 10y ago
What...what have you done...oh God. I'm getting no work done today it would seem.
matthewvincent 10y ago
Well... an hour and a half later and I'd say that's quite the rabbit hole you've dug up. Thanks!

by IsaacL 10y ago

Analemma_ 10y ago

I remember that list, because I said then what I'll say now - posting a list like that on a site like this is akin to handing out bags of heroin at a school :P . But I guess it's what the OP asked for.

artifaxx 10y ago
At least you learn something from reading these sorts of sites. Heroin doesn't do that...then again I may just be justifying an addiction.
- type0 10y ago
  Some neuroscientists would argue that addiction is a form of "learning".
  - artifaxx 10y ago
    That's an interesting way of thinking about it, in some cases there is overlap. Both do transmit dopamine and reinforce neural connections. However this is just one of many types of "addiction", so I think the relationship goes both ways with learning having the potential to be one of many types of addiction.
  - ccvannorman 10y ago
    I guess you learn about reinforcement loops at an intimate level, which is probably good for machine learning/AI
  - Zelmor 10y ago
    Were their experiments be recreated and properly peer-reviewed? Some reviewers argue that neuroscience experiments are mostly not worth the candle. http://andrewgelman.com/2016/09/21/what-has-happened-down-here-is-the-winds-have-changed/ http://andrewgelman.com/2016/09/21/what-has-happened-down-he...
    - artifaxx 10y ago
      The replication crisis definitely leaves a lot of room for questioning. However, even if all the studies we have were properly replicated we still wouldn't understand addiction perfectly. We still have a lot to learn, just look at how vague definitions of addiction are still http://www.dsm5.org/documents/substance%20use%20disorder%20fact%20sheet.pdf http://www.dsm5.org/documents/substance%20use%20disorder%20f... But both addiction and learning involve the brain's dopamine circuitry; ironically when responding to your point I can't read the relevant articles I found because they are behind paywalls. This article has some interesting commentary but the sources are paywalled: https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.1055/s-0028-1124107 https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/html/10.10... Most likely there is a connection, but anyone who claims to understand it entirely at this point is overconfident.
- Analemma_ 10y ago
  That's almost part of the problem though. My feelings about LW/the Sequences/SSC/etc. are complicated with lots of positives and negatives-- way too much to summarize in an HN comment when I'm supposed to be working ;) -- but the main negative I was referring to here is that they are incredibly potent "insight porn". That term was originally coined to describe the work of hacks like Malcolm Gladwell, and while LW et al are definitely on a level above Gladwell's crap, something can be true and still be insight porn, with all the addictiveness and consequences to your mental faculties that implies.
  - artifaxx 10y ago
    Fair enough, I have had to make sure I don't lose myself as an insight junkie. When it comes to the consequences are you thinking of it damaging our ability to seek out insights for ourselves if they are so easy to read?
    - jtolmar 10y ago
      The reason these works feel so insightful is that they link all their material together into a massive, cohesive worldview. Each additional detail makes it sound more true, even though rationally each detail is one more thing that could be wrong (ironic LW link: http://lesswrong.com/lw/ji/conjunction_fallacy/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/ji/conjunction_fallacy/). What you're left with after consuming the work is a single giant "fact" that's actually composed of a whole bunch of genuine knowledge and a whole bunch of nonsense, and it's mentally draining to toss the nonsense because it feels like it's somehow a key part of something valuable. The big cohesive viewpoint is a lot more seductive than the actual truth - that all of the material needs to be evaluated separately and there are no shortcuts for sorting it out. Or another way to put it: You really need to keep a critical eye towards each new fact that's introduced, but the entire appeal of this sort of thing is the idea that it's all one super-fact, so your critical thinking is at odds with your desire to enjoy the big picture.
    - z0rg 10y ago
      The double plus enhanced version of the old spell "Charm monster" now comes with an option to raise awareness of the wizard mode in it's victims.
- Zelmor 10y ago
  I don't think I have ever learned anything from some such sites. Distilled, prepared wisdom of people with limited scope and understanding. Who is your source? It this source trustworthy? What are his/her biases and prejudices? At least with a good book you get an expanded argument, for or against which you can argue yourself. These feel-good pages, as I call them, are as good as a fart against the wind.

williamle8300 10y ago

Biblical Christianity is straight-up iconoclastic. Give that a try.

arvinjoar 10y ago

If you like those you might also like http://slatestarcodex.com http://slatestarcodex.com It's Yvain's (from LW) blog. It's gotten quite popular, with lots of mainstream media referencing it.

grkvlt 10y ago
Isn't it Scott Alexander (note the almost anagram) that blogs there?
- tgb 10y ago
  That's his current pseudonym, yes. Went by Train previously.
  - tgb 10y ago
    Ignore my autocorrect typo above.
- norswap 10y ago
  Yvain is Scott Alexander: http://slatestarcodex.com/about/ http://slatestarcodex.com/about/

h4nkoslo 10y ago

Glaring omission of http://blog.jim.com http://blog.jim.com , if you want to go down the rabbit hole of stylistically coherent & pithy, well though out, right-wing philosophizing.

pzone 10y ago
What a revolting sweaty pit of misogyny. > "In general female behavior is not explicable in terms of rational pursuit of goals, but as innate reactions to stimuli."
- h4nkoslo 10y ago
  Oh, you can find far worse quotes. No one said it was a fun read.

coldtea 10y ago

You might like this one then: http://www.datapacrat.com/Opinion/Reciprocality/ http://www.datapacrat.com/Opinion/Reciprocality/ Good example: http://www.datapacrat.com/Opinion/Reciprocality/r2/index.html http://www.datapacrat.com/Opinion/Reciprocality/r2/index.htm...

marttt 10y ago

There's also Chris Davis' Idle Theory: https://web.archive.org/web/20160513191724/http://www.idlex.freeserve.co.uk/ https://web.archive.org/web/20160513191724/http://www.idlex.... As Ran Prieur, owner of another similar rabbit hole, once put it: "The idea is that the purpose of life is not to accomplish something, but to do as little as possible." Ran Prieur is here (anti-consumerism and beyond): http://www.ranprieur.com http://www.ranprieur.com

lostcolony 10y ago

What...what have you done...oh God. I'm getting no work done today it would seem.

matthewvincent 10y ago

Well... an hour and a half later and I'd say that's quite the rabbit hole you've dug up. Thanks!