Published inMap and TerritoryThe Map-Territory Distinction Creates ConfusionLessWrong isn’t exactly founded on the map-territory model of truth, but it’s definitely pretty core to the LessWrong worldview. The…Jan 4, 202245Jan 4, 202245
Published inMap and TerritoryWhy the Problem of the Criterion MattersI think the problem of the criterion is really, really important. So important that I’m willing to risk annoying people by bringing it up…Oct 30, 202186Oct 30, 202186
Published inMap and TerritoryForcing yourself to keep your identity small is self-harmThe title lays out my thesis in perhaps the maximally provocative way: if you put direct effort into keeping your identity small (à la…Apr 16, 2021832Apr 16, 2021832
Published inMap and TerritoryThe Problem of the CriterionI keep finding cause to discuss the problem of the criterion, so I figured I’d try my hand at writing up a post explaining it. I don’t…Jan 22, 202114Jan 22, 202114
Published inMap and TerritoryYou are Dissociating (probably)You are probably dissociating all the time and don’t realize it. Let’s look at just what I mean by this bold claim.Jan 4, 202170Jan 4, 202170
Published inMap and TerritoryA Model of Ontological DevelopmentIn this post I present a model of human psychological development based on increases in the structural complexity of ontology. Or more…Dec 31, 202043Dec 31, 202043
Published inMap and TerritoryLet Your Mind Be Not FixedWhen I was a teenager, I knew my mind was not like adults.Aug 7, 202094Aug 7, 202094
Published inMap and TerritoryNormalization of DevianceAn important, ongoing part of the rationalist project is to build richer mental models for understanding the world. To that end I’d like…Jan 2, 2020121Jan 2, 2020121
Published inMap and TerritoryDoxa, Episteme, and Gnosis RevisitedExactly two years to the day I started writing this post I published Map and Territory’s most popular post of all time, “Doxa, Episteme…Nov 20, 201950Nov 20, 201950
Published inMap and TerritoryMinimization of prediction error as a foundation for human values in AI alignmentI’ve mentioned in posts twice (and previously in several comments) that I’m excited about predictive coding, specifically the idea that…Oct 9, 2019271Oct 9, 2019271
Published inMap and TerritoryScope Insensitivity JudoIt’s easy to bemoan scope insensitivity, a special case of that phenomenon where we mere humans end up caring more about the death of one…Jul 19, 20191Jul 19, 20191
Published inMap and TerritoryLet Values DriftI occasionally run across lines of reasoning that depend on or favor the position that value drift should be avoided. I think otherwise.Jun 20, 2019Jun 20, 2019
Published inMap and TerritoryAkrasia is confusion about what you wantMany people I know might describe this as a case of akrasia, an ancient Greek word literally meaning “no strength/power” but used to mean…Dec 28, 20181Dec 28, 20181
Do More by Doing Less: The 60% RuleIf you watch any sports movie made in the last 40 years, you’ll learn that the way to win is to give 110%. If you want to taste victory…May 16, 2018May 16, 2018
Published inAdStage EngineeringHTTPray for Your HTTP Requests (in Ruby)How much time do you spend waiting for HTTP responses? No matter how fast the server or how efficient your client code, if you make an HTTP…May 1, 2018May 1, 2018
Published inMap and TerritorySuffering and Intractable PainI’ve been writing a lot about AI alignment lately, so let’s take a break from that to talk about a lighter subject: suffering.Apr 3, 2018Apr 3, 2018
Published inMap and TerritoryEvaluating Existing Approaches to AGI AlignmentMy read of the AI safety space is that there are currently two major approaches to AGI alignment being researched: agent foundations and…Mar 27, 20181Mar 27, 20181
Published inMap and TerritoryComputational Complexity of P-ZombiesI’ve claimed that p-zombies require exponentially more resources than phenomenally conscious agents and used this to justify that AGI will…Mar 21, 20181Mar 21, 20181
