Useful and non-obvious #life-advice, from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/sep/04/oliver-burkemans-last-column-the-eight…
A single big goal is very difficult and risky to achieve and, in the time you're working on it, you will not have achieved any goals at all…
This is really the only advice I know of for [ how to make a friend ]. And it works. Invite someone to social events, as you would a…
Take notes in a personal knowledge manager like [ Roam Research ] or [ Obsidian ] that makes it easy to jot down fragments of ideas and…
This was one of the beliefs that SuccessfulFriend and I shared (and still share). This seems like a cynical thing to say. But it's not meant…
One of Paul Graham's heuristics for doing what you love is to 'always produce'. That resonates with me: it's a way to keep yourself honest…
Churchill, 'My Early Life': Come on now all you young men, all over the world. You are needed more than ever now to fill the gap of a…
Related to: [ generative vs discriminative modeling ] The difficulty of [ learning new skills ] I remember learning to play the violin when…
Fiction memoirs of hadrian shogun name of the wind Cloud Atlas gay: Giovanni's Room sci-fi: nexus a fire upon the deep / a deepness in the…
aka 'little love' or 'big love' or various other things Saved from https://www.carsieblanton.com/blog/post/82149148832/casual-love This…
"find the thing that makes you come alive, and do that." I find myself thinking about 'giving up' in the sense of dreams of being an…
Nate Soares wrote an essay a while ago on how he experiences [ self-confidence ] when opining on difficult topics: On reflection, I've…
https://markmanson.net/how-to-be-confident see also [ imposter syndrome ] and the thesis that a lack of confidence is often an aversion to…
Multiple people working together are fundamentally more powerful than a single person working alone. Governments recognize this fact, which…
The [ hedonic treadmill ] manifests in taste for things like wine, beer, coffee, fine cuisine. I've never spent effort refining my taste in…
What does it mean to 'be yourself'? Selves aren't a well defined thing. Ultimately everything about your self is shaped by your surroundings…
Academic components: Right view (right understanding): seeing reality as it really is and understanding the [ four noble truths ]. This…
Innerring (C. S. Lewis). In any institution there are unofficial circles of influence: people who are 'on the inside' and people who are…
Quit Your Job (palladiummag.com) : Productive exploration requires the application of skilled personal judgment to chasing hunches and…
From a Jean Yang tweet : I once attended a talk by the late Nobel Laureate Oliver Smithies where he talked about going into lab on weekends…
Credit to NameRedacted for this refrain https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1324978566455468035/retweets/with_comments It's a powerful take…
Should I give up having fun in order to do impactful things? It'd be tempting to think that it'd be more virtuous to be serious and mission…
Thoughts drawn from my experience doing a CS PhD at a top-4 school around 2010-2016. They may be somewhat applicable to PhDs in other areas…
If you fail to achieve your goals, you'll be sad---almost self-evidently. Nonetheless: there is no coherent notion of the 'right' goals to…
I've heard it said, and it's been ringing true to me, that the thing to do is live the life you want to have now , not plan to spend years…
I don't hold the moral view that it's better to be a morning person than an evening person. Having always tended towards a later sleep…
When you're thinking about doing something that feels right to you, it's easy to get caught up in worrying about what other people will…
Toilet: A bidet. Cold water, warm-water (if a hose from your toilet can reach your sink's plumbing), or internally heated. It saves toilet…
see also (maybe combine with?) [ relationship ] Accept [ bids ] as much as possible. Praise your partner in public (and in private). Stay in…
I need to genuinely care about other people and want the best for them, both in general, and for specific people in my life. Why? Obviously…
Sometimes it's necessary and right to prioritize my own interests, even if [ global utility ] is ultimately the only metric. Developing…
It's not a terrible summation of [ depression ] that it starts from seeing no way to achieve your goals. Sometimes that's because it's…
What would true wireheading feel like? People have this impression that it'd be thin, exhausting, artificial, ultimately isolating and not…
This is one of those things that sounds cliche but is still profound and #fundamental: this is all. There's no great reward in the future…
How to be warm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MolmoFuXu4&t=123s
A story from [ Dan Brown ]: A group of psychologists came to interview the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet. One of the Americans…
your writing needs to be at the edge of your knowledge, it needs to address the most fascinating people you know or can imagine. That is…