Adam Zerner

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Consider tabooing "I think" — LessWrong

Nov 11, 2024 | lesswrong.com | Adam Zerner

People say "I think" a lot. Here are some examples:I think you brought me the wrong order. I think the numbers in the report are wrong. I think you need to turn left at the light. I think we need to replace the whole water heater. I think iPhones are better than Android phones. I think you should quit your job and start a business. I think that kids shouldn't have any screen time before the age of five. I think everyone should take vitamin D supplements.
Beware unfinished bridges — LessWrong

May 12, 2024 | lesswrong.com | Adam Zerner

This guy don't wanna battle, he's shook 'Cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks - 8 Mile There is a commonly cited typology of cyclists where cyclists are divided into four groups: Strong & Fearless (will ride in car lanes) Enthused & Confident (will ride in unprotected bike lanes) Interested but Concerned (will ride in protected bike lanes) No Way No How (will only ride in paths away from cars) I came across this typology because I've been learning about urban design recently, and it's...
Cohesion and business problems — LessWrong

Apr 18, 2024 | lesswrong.com | Adam Zerner

In software development there is a concept called cohesion. It works like this. Suppose you have the following functions:function getArea(radius) { ... }function getCircumference(radius) { ... }function sendWelcomeEmail(user) { ... }function updatePassword(user, newPassword) { ... }function getTemperatureInFahrenheit(temperatureInCelsius) { ... }function getTemperatureInCelsius(temperatureInFahrenheit) { ... }You want to group similar functions together.
The Mom Test: Summary and Thoughts — LessWrong

Apr 17, 2024 | lesswrong.com | Adam Zerner

I just finished reading The Mom Test for the second time. I took "raw" notes here. In this post I'll first write up a bullet-point summary and then ramble off some thoughts that I have. Introduction:Trying to learn from customer conversations is like trying to excavate a delicate archeological site. The truth is down there somewhere, but it's fragile. When you dig you get closer to the truth, but you also risk damaging or smashing it.
My Clients, The Liars — LessWrong

Mar 6, 2024 | lesswrong.com | Eliezer Yudkowsky |Ben Pace |Adam Zerner |Someone YouOnceKnew

My job as a public defender puts me in a weird place. I am my clients’ zealous advocate, but I’m not their marionette. I don’t just roll into court to parrot whatever my clients tell me — I make sure I’m not re-shoveling bullshit. So for my sake and theirs, I do my homework. I corroborate. I investigate. A significant portion of my job ironically mirrors that of a police detective.
Project idea: an iterated prisoner's dilemma competition/game — LessWrong

Feb 26, 2024 | lesswrong.com | Adam Zerner

Epistemic effort: mostly just thinking out loud. I spend a few dozen minutes thinking about this myself, and then decided to write this up. After watching this video by Veritasium about game theory I am wondering whether more people having an understanding of game theory -- iterated prisoners dilemmas in particular -- would lead to more prosocial behavior in the real world. Here's an example of where I'm coming from.
The Good Balsamic Vinegar — LessWrong

Jan 26, 2024 | lesswrong.com | Seth Herd |Adam Zerner

For a long time I only went to one specialty gourmet store for balsamic vinegar. Their house brand was thick and sweet and amazing on everything, from bread to salad to chicken. The gourmet store only stocked their house brand, and it had an entire dedicated shelf. As far as I knew, the house brand was not available anywhere else in town.
Sam Altman's sister, Annie Altman, claims Sam has severely abused her — LessWrong

Nov 17, 2023 | lesswrong.com | Joseph Miller |Seth Herd |Ben Pace |Adam Zerner

The simplest hypothesis that explains all this evidence is that Annie Altman is suffering from psychosis, and this would be obvious if we weren't all caught up in the metoo world order. E.g. the belief that all her devices, and her wifi were hacked, and that she has been shadowbanned from all internet platforms seems like the kind of thing that someone suffering from psychosis would believe. It's not a rational belief. It's called a persecutory delusion.
Experiments as a Third Alternative — LessWrong

Oct 29, 2023 | lesswrong.com | Adam Zerner

As a kid in elementary school, I was diagnosed with ADHD. I think the diagnostic process is dumb and unreliable, and so the fact that I was diagnosed seems like it should only count as weak evidence. But knowing what I know about myself and having read a few books about ADHD, my best guess is that I have (and had) a moderate case of it. I've never taken medication for it though. Why? Well, from my perspective, there has never been anything wrong with me. There's something wrong with The System.
The Lighthaven Campus is open for bookings — LessWrong

Sep 30, 2023 | lesswrong.com | Ben Pace |Adam Zerner

Lightcone Infrastructure (the organization that grew from and houses the LessWrong team) has just finished renovating a 7-building physical campus that we hope to use to make the future of humanity go better than it would otherwise. We're hereby announcing that it is generally available for bookings. We offer preferential pricing for projects we think are good for the world, but to cover operating costs, we're renting out space to a wide variety of people/projects.