The letter below was sent earlier today in response to an automated email I received, asking to re-activate my $8/month membership. The first paragraph is removed—next to a greeting it mostly contains my intention to share the letter with a few other people, and also to publish it here on my blog, so as to… Continue reading Open Letter to Sam Harris
Category: Society
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
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
How to do Empathy?
Books published recently have made the case either for or against empathy. A former colleague and friend, Jamil Zaki, published “The War for Kindness“, subtitled “Building Empathy in a Fractured World.” Paul Bloom, a researcher at Yale University, published “Against Empathy“. They even engaged one another on occasion. This question still remains for me: when… Continue reading How to do Empathy?
Colonialism of the Mind
This post is going to be more personal. The thoughts I want to express come with a strong emotional flavor. And the taste is still somewhat bitter. I find it difficult to separate the two aspects, my thoughts and the feelings I have about them. I really would love if I could say these things… Continue reading Colonialism of the Mind
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
The Terror of Suspicion
The other day, I watched Jordan Peterson having a conversation with Michael Malice, the author of “Dear Reader: The Unauthorized Autobiography of Kim Jong Il“. I really recommend watching the video. One core aspect that Michael talks about is people eliminating their own freedom through self-censorship. They choose conformity, become small and unobtrusive, and hide… Continue reading The Terror of Suspicion
Capitalism and Faith
This may seem like a pair of strange bedfellows. I expect people to generally consider faith superfluous when it comes to how the market operates: contracts and legal authorities regulate its function. During the search for an apartment, however, I considered the following hypothetical alternatives: First, imagine a broker—regardless of whether working for a seller… Continue reading Capitalism and Faith
Character Litmus Tests
Over the past few days, I have been struck by an intense experience of frustration. Being from Germany, and growing up in the 1980s, I remember the extent to which my education emphasized tolerance and acceptance of others as a fundamental principle of a functioning society. One of the reasons I felt so strongly about… Continue reading Character Litmus Tests
Playing With Fire
Have you heard about—and maybe believe—the “lab leak hypothesis” related to COVID? The idea is this: people tasked with doing basic research on respiratory viruses might have been partly responsible for the outbreak. Why partly? Their work would have included “gain of function research”, which seeks to investigate more aggressive versions of the virus, artificially… Continue reading Playing With Fire