These past couple of days I again spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I see as an upcoming bifurcation point in human history. Put very simply, I believe that there are two broad paths leading from our current moment into the future. The first of these, to me, feels more like a… Continue reading Bifurcation Point
Category: Behavior
What influences behavior and decision making?
The Magic Formula
Without further ado, here it is: Carbu Nores – Leaho Totru Astra. What a weird magic formula, you might think. And why is there a pause between the second and third words? What is the purpose of this formula (what does it do)? And does it actually work? I’ll start with the purpose piece: the… Continue reading The Magic Formula
VS is the new BS
First things first… I’m using BS in the title as short for bullshit, and VS as short for virtue signaling. What brought me to this tentative claim? A conversation with my husband earlier today highlighted a pattern which I believe contributes to gridlock we experience everywhere. A complex problem presents itself, and someone or a… Continue reading VS is the new BS
Choosing the Flow for 2022
As the current year, 2021, comes to a close, one thought keeps reverberating in my mind: life comes with its own flavors of energy, and through our conscious experience, we have a say about which energy is being expressed through us. Ultimately, there is only one form of energy (or life), but it comes in… Continue reading Choosing the Flow for 2022
A Way Without a Goal?
As I am listening to Iain McGilchrist’s “The Master and His Emissary“, different images keep occurring to me. Some of these images leave me in a state of deep resonance. One way to express this state is: life without faith is like accepting that I am merely a (biological) robot. The first image I’d like… Continue reading A Way Without a Goal?
Tell the Truth? Maybe not.
I am writing this post early on Thanksgiving morning. A dream with an unpleasant twist woke me up. In that dream, I had been at a festival with a friend. On our way home, we came across a police checkpoint. As the cop who dealt with me looked through the contents of my pockets, he… Continue reading Tell the Truth? Maybe not.
The Case For Social Media
Much has been written and said in recent years about the downsides of social media. In “The Social Dilemma,” former Google Design Ethicist Tristan Harris talks about how algorithms maximize corporate profits while capturing our brains and minds. NYU professor Jonathan Haidt has warned about the deleterious effects that growing up with social media has… Continue reading The Case For Social Media
Gravity, Chaos, and Conscious Choice
The inspiration for this post comes from a recent conversation between Jordan Peterson, Steven Pinker, and Jonathan Haidt. During the first half hour of the video, they explore moralization as a source of violence justification. The more people frame an issue in terms—that is, impose a narrative—of good and evil, the greater the chance that… Continue reading Gravity, Chaos, and Conscious Choice
The Goodhart-Sinclair Trap
Have you heard of Goodhart’s Law? If not, I have come to believe it is a crucial piece in understanding why complex systems in which intelligent agents adapt their behavior can easily deteriorate over time: If agents are rewarded for optimizing a proxy, and they have limited resources to spend on improving their condition across… Continue reading The Goodhart-Sinclair Trap
The Cost of Hyper Sensitivity
The idea of being more— rather than less—sensitive seems intuitively appealing. Take COVID tests for instance: humanity has put enormous amounts of effort into making sure the disease is brought under control. So, more sensitive tests sound like a great idea. As I tried to express in my previous post, however, there are costs involved.… Continue reading The Cost of Hyper Sensitivity