Craving Scraps:

Quintus Curtius:

One of the hardest things to accept is this realization: They know. But they just don't care. They are built differently. They are indifferent to injustice. They worship power and money, and crave scraps from the master's table. They are driven by very base motives.

Try to do things you are naturally good at:

via Chris Williamson:

“If a talent comes naturally to someone, they assume it’s nothing special, and instead try to improve at what seems difficult to them. As a result, people often specialize in things they're bad at.”

G_S_Bhogal

The Amorous Arts:

Quintus Curtius:

"Being oafish, clumsy, selfish, and self-centered is no recipe for success in the amorous arts."

People Without Purpose:

Quintus Curtius:

"When you have a strong sense of purpose, you will grow weary of being in the company of those actuated by little or no purpose."

Power Gradients:

via Robert Henderson:

"Another psychodynamic that contributes to the psychopath's propensity to commit evil acts is chonic emotional detachment from others. For the psychopath, relationships are defined by power gradients, not affectional ties. This biological based deficit in bonding capacity, which may be acquired or inherited or both, was first noted by Bowlby in his study of delinquent adolescents, some of whom he labeled 'affectionless.' Instead of seeking proximity to others as a way to feel affction and closeness to ward off loneliness, the psychopath appears most concerned with dominating his or her objects to control them. The pattern reduces threats to the psychopath and stimulates his or her grandiosity, but also diminished the probability of empathy and inhibition of aggressive impulse. It is phylogenetically a prey-predator dynamic ..."

Mate Choice, Competence, Social Status:

Psychopathy:

via Rob Henderson:

"Some of the psychodynamics of the psychopath bring us closer to what we see as their evil, or their wish to destroy goodness. Psychopaths are aggressively narcissistic, and this aspect of their character pathology is often expressed behaviorally by the repetitive devaluation of others ... Psychopaths generally do this for two reasons: first, to maintain grandiosity, or their sense of being larger than life, and second, to repair perceived insults or emotional wounds ... The repetitive devaluation of others, whci may range vom verbal insults to ..., also serves to diminish envy .... Envy is the wish to possess the "goodness" perceived in others. If the 'good object' cannot be possessed, it must be destroyed or damaged until it is not worth having."

Moral:

Salopp:

Ein Leben mit Moral stellt mehr Ansprüche an das Verhalten als ein Leben ohne Moral.

Human Sexuality:

Was ist das Spannendste an der menschlichen Sexualität?

Vielleicht: Wer wählt wen? Und warum?

Human Biodiversity:

Es gibt unterschiedliche Sorten von Mensch. Weltweit, aber auch innerhalb einer Gesellschaft oder Bevölkerung. Vielfalt von Mensch vorhanden: Warum wird sie ignoriert?

Shame:

Psychology Today:

"Shame involves negatively judging yourself when you believe you’ve failed to live up to your own standards or the standards of others. The feeling of shame evokes intense discomfort ... people may describe feeling worthless, stupid, foolish, inadequate, or “less than.” Shame can paralyze people, forming the lens for all self-evaluation. Everyone experiences shame occasionally—but some, unfortunately, are ruled by it..."

Tiefenentspannte Welten:

Welten, die sich über die gänzliche Abwesenheit von Forderungen charakterisieren lassen. Eine Zeit lang in so eine Welt einzutauchen, kann Entspannung mit sich bringen. Lange in einer solchen Welt zu leben, kann und wird zu Verkümmerung führen.

[Ohne echte Normen und Standards. Ohne Werte.]

A Monumental Project:

Robin Hanson:

A monumental project (MP): A) takes 10s - 100s yrs to achieve B) makes sense for >= nation-sized unit to try C) might be sacred quest to unify unit, inspire sacrifice D) after-fact can measure if achieved by date E) civ decay/collapse delays or cuts chance achieve

Here I list 32 possible MP. In each of next 24 polls, say which of 4 MPs listed seems closest to best able to inspire & unite big % of world in quest to achieve it.

Underwater Population - >10K Earth underwater residents, lasts > 10yrs Off-Earth Population - >1K humans living off of Earth, lasts > 10yrs Stars Colonized - 10 stars colonized, each w/ 100x colony ship production. Gravity Lens Scope - Sun-based gravity lens telescope at >550AU

Benford Beacon - Short-pulse EM beacon visible at 10k light years. Space Library - Very-visible off-Earth library preserves >1ZB for > 1Myr. (World storage now ~100ZB) Deep Refuge - Make >1km deep Earth refuge supports 1K people for 100 years, kept filled & ready.

The Line - 200m wide, 500m tall, 170km long city 10x Pyramid - New Pyramid with >10x volume of Great Pyramid, can last 100K yr. 10km Tower - Build 10km tall inhabited tower. Space Elevator - Space elevator (or orbital ring) lifts >10T/day to >20km altitude.

Lower Med Sea - Damn Gibraltar straits, lower level of Mediterranean sea, colonize new land. Flood Dead Sea - Flood Dead Sea & 4 other big below-sea-level valleys. Great Green Wall - Make >100km wide E-W strip of Sahara that was <25%, now >75% green.

Very Low Mortality - “Immortality" so average human death rate <0.1%/yr. Big Population - World population >100B World Govt - World government lasts 100yr w/ world spending < 5% of WP on civil war Big World Power - World power >100TW (now ~20, was ~12 in ’90) Big World Economy - World product >$1000T (now ~$134T, ~$51T in ’90) High World Income - 5th percentile world income >$100K in current $US. World Travel - Transport live humans between any pair of 100 world locations in < 10hrs for < $100.

300IQ AGI - Create artificial general intelligence with human ability range, IQ of 300. AIs Do Most Work - AI so good human labor gets <20% world income. Brain Emulations - Make at < $10K per scan, <$1K to run for year at human speed. Nano-Assembler - Create a programable self-reproducing nano-assembler.

Quantum Gravity - Find coherent data-verified theory of quantum gravity Answer Big Qs - Make list of big intellectual Qs, weighted ave of % answered > 80%.

Net Zero - Achieve Earth net zero carbon emissions Jurassic Park - Make a real Jurassic park w/ >100 dinosaur era species revived and living on island

Smarter Humans - Increase median human intelligence by 30 IQ. Wild Human - Create “wild” human where each gene locus has its most frequent allele. Uplift Animals - Make smarter versions of non-human animals can use language, make deals.

Shame & the "loss of words":

 via Rob Henderson:

"Increasing levels of experienced regulated shame serve as an important sociodevelopmental function as the agent for the dilution of primary narcissism and narcissistic rage. As shame becomes less rejected from consciousness, it allows for transformation or primary into secondary narcissism, and explosive narcissistic rage into modulated, verbalized anger. At the same time the effects of unconscious shame on the blockage of affect are alleviated, leading to an expansion of the affect array. In general, fully experiencing affective responses is a prerequesite for 'correcting distortions of the object world' ... In partcular, increasing shame tolerance facilitates the acquknowledgement and acceptance of earlier pain-associated attachment and dependeny needs. The clinical import of this affect is that it is essential to the mechanism of repression, that it is a major force of inhibition of affect, cognition, and behavior. Shame, an affect that uniquely causes a 'loss of words' underlies alexithymia, 'no words for feelings'. When shame is unregulated and therefore chronic it interferes with the expression of almost all emotions, and this results in an alexithymic syndrome. Wilson characterizes the alexithymic inability to articulate feeling states: ' We suggest that some people will have a poorly developed lexicon for the description of some manifestation of self-regulatory failures  because they are not consciously accessible and are therefore out of awareness.'. "

Competence and Dominance:

From Robin Richtsfeld:

"Why in the world would you want an incompetent partner? You can't dominate a competent partner."

I like this sentence. Within my relationships I have made different experiences. It really is hard to dominate a competent partner. There will be, a la Jordan Peterson, some kind of a wrestling match. The best relationships certainly are these that grow between two highly competent persons. Additionally I like the idea of being competent or effective. A competent or effective person has the ability to create change, to move things, and some control over relevant resources. 

Seltsame Gespräche:

Seltsame Gespräche, in denen der Gesprächspartner seine Erledigungslisten vor dem Anderen auszubreiten scheint. 

Dreams versus Reality:

 

Individualität:

Individualität bedeutet auch:

"Man kann sich mit niemanden so recht teilen."

Social Skills:

 via Rob Henderson:

Carlin Flora (Friendfluence):

"Likable children size up new situations on the playground or in the classroom and fit themselves into the scene. They are assertive, but not hostile. They don't talk about themselves too much ...they are able to make and maintain friendships. Children who are natural social stars ... present themselves "successfully to others by putting on somewhat different faces for different audiences ... They understand when to put on which face, without ever appearing shallow or false to others and without feeling like fakes or frauds. In short, these are children who are sensitive and responsive to social cues." This is the child who knows how to work the room with jokes or dance moves at her own birthday party with her adoring relatives, but who also knows to hang back and let a friend shine at his birthday party. (This talent for decoding others and adjusting one's own behaviors and expressions appropriately is lacking, to one degree or another, in children on the autism spectrum and this is why they often have a particularly tough time relativ to other kinds and forming friendships.) Aggressive kids, or those who naturally "go against" their peers, have several disadvantages in the friendship market. They tend to be unable to appreciate the thoughts and feelings of fellow children, they react before thinking ..."

Gedichte und Aphorismen:

Ich schreibe gerne Gedichte und Aphorismen und stelle hier auch einige ein. Sicherlich gibt es in diversen Büchern tausendfach gehaltvollere Gedichte und Aphorismen. Und dennoch sind sie hier ein Eigenwuchs. Ein Reststolz also, da sie ursprünglich und mir eigen sind, einen eignen Wuchs aufweisen, da sie eigene Gedanken und Erlebnisse widerspiegeln.

Engaging Machines:

When a machine is optimized to be highly engaging. To capture and keep your attention.

Assoziationen:

Ist dadurch gewonnen, wenn man hin und wieder eine flüssige geschriebene Seite an Assoziationen hinschreibt?

Soziale Medien:

Die sozialen Medien können eine riesen Ablenkung sein. Sie sind optimiert, die Aufmerksamkeit in Beschlag zu nehmen. Informativere Informationsquellen, reichere Informationsquellen, finden sich jenseits der sozialen Medien.

Abseits davon: Interessant ist schon die Frage, wie viel Personen sich via Twitter, Blog und so weiter, und auch wie viele Personen sich im privaten Leben beispielsweise für 25 bis 50 Prozent der Dinge interessieren, die man so sagt und schreibt. Es dürfte sich um eine recht überschaubare Menge an Personen handeln. Das trifft beispielsweise auch auf Twitter-Accounts mit 16 000 Followern (sicherlich hierbei wiederum viele Fake Accounts, die als Follower angeführt werden) zu. Echte "Fans", also die wohl für etwa 25 bis 50 Prozent der geteilten Inhalte Interesse zeigen, finden sich selbst bei solchen Accounts bloß eine Hand voll.

Nice Clothes are Good, Actually

Gordon Seidoh Worley
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/kJoyRgDDPzMg4Fo3Z/nice-clothes-are-good-actually

My story went something like this:

(o) I care about doing important, meaningful things in the world, like solving hard technical problems.

(o) I can solve those problems regardless of what I wear.

(o) Further, lots of the people who seem best at solving hard technical problems dress poorly.

(o) Also, I don't really understand fashion that well, and most of the people who do understand it seem to be focused on things other than solving hard technical problems.

Conclusion:

 

(o) I should not care about dressing nicely. Just wear whatever is comfortable regardless of how it looks.

-----

(o) Wearing a pot-leaf hoodie?

People will reasonably think you smoke weed and that smoking weed is important to you.

(o) Wearing a three-piece suit?

People will think you have money (because you had enough money at least to afford the suit) and are serious.

(o) Wearing a poorly fitted suit?

People will think you are a low-level employee of a faceless business and you don't have the experience or the money to dress better.

(o) Wearing a sundress or a tank top and shorts?

People will think you're relaxed and out to have a nice day off.

(o) Wearing yoga pants or sweat pants and graphic tee?

You're not especially concerned about your looks and just focused on getting through the day.

-----

"dressing nice has made my life better. I can walk into interactions and get treated better because I dress nicer than I would otherwise. I can almost feel the positive attention radiating off other people. People like to look at people who are attractive and dress nice. Do what you can to make yourself more pleasant to interact with. It's a generally useful power you can direct to any purpose you like."

Räume:

Ein paar Mal in seinem Leben
betritt man die schönsten Räume
dieser Welt:
Und das ist's auch schon,
das reicht auch schon.

Besserwerden:

Kritik der Moral (Friedrich Nietzsche):

>Besserwerden< als einzige Aufgabe, 

alles Übrige dazu Mittel (oder Störung, Hemmung, Gefahr ...)

Partnerwahl:

Die Wahl des Partners

bestimmt schon auch

in welcher Welt

man künftig leben wird.

Wissenschaft / Science:

Wissenschaft:

Wissenschaft als eine Sammlung von logisch verknüpften Aussagen über Welt und Wirklichkeit.

Science:

Science as a collection of logically linked statements about the world and reality.

Bücher:

"Ich hatte eine Raum-Zeit-Maschine entdeckt, ich würde Zeit meines Lebens nicht allein oder einsam sein, solange ich ein Buch dabei hätte."

Rückblick:

Was war wesentlich von all dem?

Zeitliche Begrenztheit:

Irgendeines Tages wird es der letzte Tag sein. Das ist schon jeden Tag zu bedenken.

Dystopie:

Die Welt als ein "gottverlassener" Ort. Zerstörte Natur. Kunst und Wissenschaft führen ein Schattendasein. Menschen gibt es da noch. Aber alles Kostbare kaum mehr.

The Weather:

farnam street / E.B.White: 

"Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society - things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly."

Competence & Character:

via farnam street: 

“Competence is how good you are when there is something to gain. Character is how good you are when there is nothing to gain. People will reward you for competence. But people will only love you for your character.”

 — Mark Manson

Erbrechen von Problemen:

>"Er kotzt sich aus" ist eine umgangssprachliche Wendung im Deutschen, die bedeutet, dass jemand sich intensiv und emotional über seine Probleme, Sorgen oder Belastungen äußert. Ähnlich wie bei jemandem, der sich physisch erbricht und damit etwas Unangenehmes aus seinem Körper herausbefördert, bezieht sich "sich auskotzen" darauf, dass jemand seine emotionalen Belastungen oder Probleme loswerden möchte, indem er sie offen ausspricht. Es ist oft ein Ausdruck für einen dringenden Bedarf, seine Gedanken und Gefühle zu entladen, um sich besser zu fühlen oder um Unterstützung von anderen zu suchen.<

Kennenlernen:

Man lernt sehr wenige Menschen so richtig kennen.

Memories:

Quintus Curtius: 

"And it's funny how as you get older you remember these little stories, these little fragments of experience that dot different parts of your life, and you can somehow tie them all together in some sort of coherent form as you get older, hopefully."

Reichtum:

Das Leben könnte so reich sein, aber irgendwie lebt man öfters mal an diesem Reichtum vorbei.

Parenthood:

Liv Sage:

"You’re one of the few people your child is supposed to be able to rely upon…it’s part of being a parent.

You’re giving your child an attachment disorder and trust issues with [a mal-functioning] type of parenting. Not a learning experience."

The Friendship Recession:

 

Truthfulness as an Art:

hoe-math:

"This level of agony is normal for anyone who can see what's happening. Humanity overwhelmingly sleepwalking into destruction and permanent degradation because it's "not nice" to point out the sources of the destruction. We could have a good world if you'd fight for it, but if you consent to every world-ruining new rule so you don't get called a meanie, we will all eventually be stupid, poor, fat, weak, ugly slaves who live for nothing more than momentary dopamine spikes for good-boy behavior."

Das Spiel:

In gewissem Ausmaß bleibt's ja doch immer ein Spiel zwischen Mann und Frau.

Selbstwahrnehumg:

Man nimmt schon auch von außen die Selbstwahrnehmung, d.i. das Selbstbewusstsein einer anderen Person wahr.

Denken:

Das eigene Denken ist wie ein Werkzeug, 

das man einsetzen kann um diverse Probleme zu lösen.

Sharing Problem:

I'm not so sure, if sharing life's problems makes life in any meaningful way better.

Some Emily Dickinson Quotes:

Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.

-----

Much madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness.

-----

Exclusion.

The soul selects her own society,
Then shuts the door;
On her divine majority
Obtrude no more. 

... 

I've known her from an ample nation 

Choose one; 

Then close the valves of her attention 

Like stone.

-----

A Book.

He ate and drank the precious words, 

His spirit grew robust; 

He knew no more that he was poor, 

Nor that his frame was dust. 

He danced along the dingy days, 

And this bequest of wings 

Was but a book. 

What liberty 

A loosened spirit brings!

-----

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too? 

Then there's a pair of us - don't tell! 

They' banish us, you know. 

How dreary to be somebody! 

How public, like a frog 

To tell your nahme the livelong day 

To an admiring bog!

Deep Soy:

Quintus Curtius:

"Some of these soy nerds here will do anything to avoid speaking bluntly and honestly."

-----

"Stop lying. To yourself, and to others."

Meta-Erkennen:

Wie gut jemand sein eigenes Erkennen einordnen kann: Wie sehr die Einschätzung des eigenen Erkennens und der Grenzen des eigenen Erkennens zutrifft.

Disappearance of Males:

via Twitter:

"How easy it is to disappear as a male, you either get your shit together or become invisible to the world."

Beschwerden über Männer:

Beschwerde einer Frau:

"Männer verändern sich zuweilen, wenn sie das Gefühl haben, einen zu haben."

"Men switch up after they already got you. 

Once he has you raising a couple of his kids, he already got you. It's over."

Und:

"I think it’s best to never tell men exactly what you’re looking for. Just observe a guy’s actions, and if it’s not what you want, move on."

-----

Man müsste hier zwecks ausgleichender Gerechtigkeit auch mindestens eine Beschwerde von einem Mann über eine Frau in einer ähnlichen Situation anführen. Im Falle des Mannes handelt es sich sicherlich um einen Extremfall (oder zumindest um einen "Fall", wo ein gehöriges Maß an Impulsivität wohl das eigentliche Problem  zu sein scheint). Die Impulsivität führt allerhand Probleme herbei: OnlyFans, Betrügen des Partners, Alkoholsucht ... Es gibt auch "typische" Beschwerden über Frauen von Männern, wenn Kinder hinzukommen, wenn es also bei keiner bloßen Paarbeziehung bleibt: Emotionalität, Instabilität, Nörgeln, etc. Wenn man sich umblickt, stellen sich bei manchen Beziehungen über das Aufkommen von zusätzlicher Verantwortung Dauerdramen ein.

How to get to the top of your field:

Richard Harper:

"You don't get to the top of your field by interacting with the general public, but by constantly even obsessively engaging with the top minds at the highest levels of abstraction. (In economics as in chess. Most chess instructors s*ck.) (Von Neumann? Genius creates exceptions.)"

Autonomy in the Modern World:

Jaron Lanier:

"How can you remain autonomous in a world where you are ... constantly prodded by algorithms run by some of the richest corporations in history, which have no way of making money except by being paid to manipulate your behavior?"

Twitter, Youtube:

Twitter, Youtube und ähnliche Seiten sind optimiert, die Aufmerksamkeit der Teilnehmer zu fesseln. Per se ist das nichts Schlechtes, denke ich. Aber man sollte solche Seiten in seinem Leben ein bisschen wie Süßigkeiten handhaben. Es geht hier schlichtweg um das Maß. Mal ein paar Stunden auf diesen Seiten zu verbringen hat keine schlechten, eher positive Konsequenzen. Doch kann sich hier rasch ein Bedürfnis einstellen, mehr Zeit investieren zu wollen. Die Hauptsubstanz von Neuem und Interessantem sollte also Anderes ausmachen als eben die Inhalte dieser Services: Direkte Gespräche und Erlebnisse mit Personen. Das Eintauchen in Bücher. Etc.

Beware of Cultural Drift:

Robin Hanson:

"Who or what do you most trust? You might think it’s your parents, spouse, or a teacher. But in fact, you most trust your culture, as you are part of a species, humans, with the superpower of cultural evolution. So as a kid, you eagerly accepted most of what your prestigious associates said, especially if they had long agreed on it. You’re also inclined to accept changes to your culture that come from your culture, and to dismiss the contrary opinions of outsiders. You trust your culture not just on practical facts but on deep values and sacred feelings. Your culture’s instructions feel like a warm, loving embrace. You even find it hard to notice when you’re trusting your culture; its claims feel like obvious facts that no sane person could question.

Do cultures deserve this trust? They used to. For most of human history, the fact that your culture existed was evidence that it had done well for your ancestors and would likely do well for you. (This didn’t mean your culture’s claims were literally true, just that they were a reliable compass for living.) But today is no typical day in history."

Neediness:

According to Manson, a needy person is highly invested in other people's perceptions, i.e. how other people peceive him, what other people think about him, etc.

I am not completely sure if such a statement cuts down to the point.

Bücher:

Bücher sind häufig immer noch die beste Quelle von Information. Insbesondere auch deshalb, da sich Autoren im Schreiben viel Zeit nehmen, mit Sorgfalt zu formulieren, in die Tiefe zu gehen, umfassend Details anzuführen. Ein paar Zeilen, schnell hingeschrieben, können diesen Anspruch nicht stellen.

Sam Harris:

Ein paar Zitate aus seinem Buch "Lying":

"Honesty is a gift we can give to others. ... Knowing that we will attempt to tell the truth, whatever the circumstances, leaves us with little to prepare for."

"Once one commits to telling the truth, one begins to notice how unusual it is to meet someone who shares this commitment."

[Überschrift hätte "ein Paar Zitate" heißen sollen.]

Selbstbewusstsein:

Wilhelm v. Humboldt:

"Es sagt dem Menschen eine innere Stimme, dass er frei und unabhängig ist[.]"

-----

Viele seiner Überlegungen waren Ausgangspunkt für eine Gestaltung von Bildungseinrichtungen. Das "Ursprüngliche", "Freie", "Unabhängige" an einem Menschen als dasjenige, was ihm einen großen Reiz gibt.

-----

"wenn man sich gewöhnt hat, mehr in Ideen und Empfindungen, als in der bloßen Wirklichkeit zu leben."

-----

"es ist immer meiner aus langer Erfahrung geschöpften Überzeugung nach besser, wenn das Innere nach außen, als wenn umgekehrt das Äußere nach innen strömt."

-----

Bildung in dem Sinn als die Entwicklung des Vermögens, einen Beitrag leisten zu können.

-----

"Der Mensch kann das Leben zu dem machen, was er will, und ihm für sich selbst und andere so viel Wert geben, als er Kraft hat es zu tun."

Kritik der Vernunft:

Das Instrument beurteilen,

mit dem geurteilt wird.

Calculus:

Jordan Ellenberg:

"Every smooth curve, when you zoom in enough, looks just like a line."