Aesthetics and Polyamory (with Sam Rosen)
1. Cultivate Precision in Communication
Develop precision in language, similar to how one must communicate with a computer, to reduce errors and improve clarity when communicating with humans.
2. Use E-Prime for Clearer Thinking
Practice speaking and writing in E-Prime (English without ‘is’ verbs) to force more nuanced perspectives and avoid making ‘godlike’ pronouncements of certainty.
3. Prioritize Meta-Skills of Thinking
Focus on learning the tools and meta-skills for how to approach problems and get answers, rather than just memorizing specific answers to questions.
4. Automate Repetitive Processes
If you have a process you’ll do repeatedly, automate it or turn it into a systematic, written-down human algorithm to improve efficiency, standardization, and quality control.
5. Break Down Problems Systematically
Adopt a mathematical mindset to break things down systematically, think about optimizing systems, and think probabilistically, providing useful mental tools for various situations.
6. Remove Temporary Constraints for Problem Solving
When facing a difficult problem, temporarily remove constraints to solve a simpler version, then analyze that solution for insights to apply to the original constrained problem.
7. Practice Refactoring for Clarity
Apply the concept of refactoring (from programming) to first drafts of anything, going back to simplify, clean up, and make it more concise and easier to understand.
8. Explain Concepts to Others
To deepen understanding and identify knowledge gaps, make it a habit to explain concepts to others or write about them, as this forces synthesis and structure in your thinking.
9. Make Learning Interactive
Engage with learning materials actively through interaction, games, quizzes, or reports, rather than passively reading or listening, to improve processing and retention of information.
10. Integrate Learning with Application
Learn new information by applying it directly in relevant contexts, such as learning about cognitive biases while making a decision, to increase impact and retention.
11. Utilize Automated Quizzes & Spaced Repetition
Incorporate automated quizzes and spaced repetition into your learning process to remember information better and faster, even after initial consumption of material.
12. Learn Through Simulations & Experimentation
When possible, learn by interacting with simulations or physical phenomena to develop deep intuition about concepts, especially in fields like game theory or physics.
13. Develop Meta-Learning Intuition
Cultivate an intuition about your own learning process, allowing you to better predict how much more time you need to spend on a topic or if you truly understand it.
14. Prioritize Actionable Exercises
Seek out or create learning materials that include practical exercises or prompts to apply what you’ve learned in real-life situations, ensuring the ideas ‘matter’ by being usable.
15. Differentiate Types of Forgiveness
Distinguish between ‘internal forgiveness’ (letting go of anger for personal peace) and ’external forgiveness’ (absolving someone of guilt and potentially restoring a relationship) to clarify your intentions and actions.
16. Consider Reasons for Forgiveness
Reflect on the five categories of reasons to forgive (understanding, incomprehension, self-interest, justice, philosophical reasons) to gain clarity on your motivations and the nature of the forgiveness you extend.
17. Engage in Regular Moral Study
Establish a regular practice, like daily study, to ponder moral concepts and how to apply them to your life, keeping them front of mind for moral decision-making.
18. Practice Psychological Benefits of Prayer
Focus on goodwill towards others, similar to the psychological benefits of prayer, to improve how you treat people and foster pro-social interactions.
19. Avoid Fixed Identity Labels
Instead of using ‘is’ to label yourself or others (e.g., ‘I am a teacher’), use active verbs (e.g., ‘I teach math’) to avoid getting attached to identity baggage and allow for multi-factor thinking.
20. Describe Properties, Not Intrinsic Being
When describing things, focus on their observable properties and how they appear to you rather than assuming intrinsic qualities, to avoid pre-scientific assumptions and promote accuracy.
21. Categorize by Properties, Not Fixed Nature
Understand that categories are human constructs and describe things by their properties instead of viewing categories as fixed parts of nature, allowing for more accurate and nuanced understanding.
22. Adjust Resolution of Thinking
Practice zooming in and out on concepts, using broad categories when appropriate and focusing on fine details/properties when nuance is required, to adapt your thinking to the problem at hand.
23. Judge Ideas, Not Credentials
When evaluating information, focus on the ideas themselves rather than the credentials or background of the person presenting them, allowing ideas to stand alone and be judged on their merit.
24. Cultivate Generalist Skills
Value picking up a variety of skills and being able to cross-pollinate between fields, rather than solely specializing, to bring diverse perspectives and insights to problems.
25. Learn Problem Solving & Algorithmic Thinking
Engage in programming to develop problem-solving and algorithmic thinking skills, which can be cross-applied to improve performance across many different domains.
26. Utilize Libraries/Variables (Mental Models)
When working on complex tasks, identify recurring terms or components and define/abstract them once (like programming libraries or variables) to shorten and clarify the overall structure.
27. Expose Children to Diverse Activities
Expose children to a wide variety of activities (music, sports, clubs) to help them discover latent talents and interests, even if they don’t stick with everything long-term.
28. Explore Restorative Justice
Consider approaches like restorative justice that involve victims more in the perpetrator’s outcome, potentially leading to solutions that prioritize victim preferences, rehabilitation, and community reintegration.