shelf
Collection of Articles, Books, Podcasts etc.
Listing something doesn’t mean I agree with every statement which is made - often it is quite the contrary. The articles, books or podcasts are impulses to start thinking and caring/not caring about a certain topic.
Articles
I list the years of my discovery not the publication dates.
2021
If you point your telescope in exactly the right direction and squint really hard, you can just make out the letters: “YOU’RE FUCKED”.
Moore’s Law for Everything by Sam Altman
Because we are at the beginning of this tectonic shift, we have a rare opportunity to pivot toward the future. That pivot can’t simply address current social and political problems; it must be designed for the radically different society of the near future. […] Compare how the world looked 15 years ago (no smartphones, really), 150 years ago (no combustion engine, no home electricity), 1,500 years ago (no industrial machines), and 15,000 years ago (no agriculture).
- How to write documents with a clear reasoning transparency.
- What are the most important problems in your field, and why aren’t you working on them?
At their core, social networks are primarily about one thing: Building social capital through signaling. As I wrote in Signaling as a Service, signaling can be broken down into three different components:
2020
The Possibility of an Ongoing Moral Catastrophe
- Is our society unknowingly guilty of serious, large-scale wrongdoing? After reading this, I also learned about Moral Luck.
Novelty and Heresy - Paul Graham
- Work on the non-obvious things.
- Your peer group is essential – mimetic desire (see here).
Half-assing it with everything you’ve got
- When to overachieve and when to slack off – you’re the one setting it.
2019
Secrets about People: A Short and Dangerous Introduction to René Girard
Perhaps one of the paradoxical benefits of the internet, in the long term, is shifting the way we think about peer relationships from “opt-out”, which it’s been since pretty much forever, towards “opt-in.”
- People’s identities and discussions.
The Antidote to Civilisational Collapse
- Adam Curtis on the current state of affairs.
“We’re not actually that individualistic. We’re very similar to each other and computers know that dirty secret.”
On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant
- Interesting thoughts about jobs in general - might include you.
- Sam Harris about collisions with scientific rationality.
- On becoming a rational philanthropist and why it is hard.
2018
waitbuywhy: The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence
- A wonderful introduction to Artificial Intelligence and what’s about to come.
- Interactive introduction guide to game theory and the application on society.
What Does Genetic Research Tell Us About Equal Opportunity and Meritocracy?
- I’ve always been fascinated and wondering about the role of genes.
Podcast Episodes
These are single episodes of podcasts which I can recommend. Nonetheless, usually the whole podcast feed is great.
80,000 Hours Podcast: #92 Brian Christian on the alignment problem
- A wonderful introduction by Brian to the AI alignment problem.
If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy? - Naval
- “You can increase your happiness without losing your drive.”
Kevin Rose Show: with Sam Harris
- When to learn meditation and when to apply it.
AfterOn with Rob Reid: #44 and #45 - with Naval Ravikant
- Emerging technology in the future and bad guys.
thedrive #47 - #49: Matthew Walker on sleep
- Sleep is important, right? But how important and why is it still the first we neglect when busy? Matthew Walker and Peter Attia walk through the importance of sleep.
ALT042: mit Joscha Bach über life, the universe and everything - Alternativlos
- ’life, the universe and everything'
#128 — Transformations of Mind - Waking Up with Sam Harris
- Some interesting discussions about a wide range of topics: evolution of the human species, polygamy, AI and more.
- Tim Urban from waitbutwhy.com. Topics include AI, Elon Musk, etc.
What Is Technology Doing to Us? - Waking Up with Sam Harris
- An interesting discussion with Tristan Harris from Humane Tech how technology is designed to be addictive and how we waste our time being miserable.
Books
- Guilt is an unhealthy motivation – also for doing good. This blog post series makes the case why you’re allowed to fight for something, you have confidence in it while still seeing the dark world.
- Also available as a podcast or a a single podcast episode/audiobook
The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life
Human beings are primates, and primates are political animals. Our brains, therefore, are designed not just to hunt and gather, but also to help us get ahead socially, often via deception and self-deception. But while we may be self-interested schemers, we benefit by pretending otherwise. The less we know about our own ugly motives, the better - and thus we don’t like to talk or even think about the extent of our selfishness. This is “the elephant in the brain.”
The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve
The Ape that Understood the Universe is the story of the strangest animal in the world: the human animal. It opens with a question: How would an alien scientist view our species? What would it make of our sex differences, our sexual behavior, our child-rearing patterns, our moral codes, our religions, languages, and science?
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
- A book about death – forty times death.
The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity
- Our future is not given for granted – it’s at stake. Protecting humanity’s future is one of the most important moral issues of our time.
Inadequate Equilibria: Where and How Civilizations Get Stuck
- Have you ever wondered why everyone is wrong about something? Why are hospitals so inefficient and expensive? Elizier gives some ideas how we sometimes get stuck in inadequate equilibria.
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
- Look for the one who’s looking.
updated jul 2021