Tag Archives: Analysis

Out to Get You

Posted on September 23, 2017 by TheZvi

Epistemic Status: Reference. Expanded From: Against Facebook, as the post originally intended. Some things are fundamentally Out to Get You.  They seek resources at your expense. Fees are hidden. Extra options are foisted upon you. Things are made intentionally worse, forcing … Continue reading →

Posted in Death by Metrics, Facebook Sequence, Good Advice, Rationality, Reference, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 53 Comments

Choices are Bad

Posted on July 22, 2017 by TheZvi

Epistemic Status: Spent way too long deciding what to put here Kind of a Follow-Up to: Change is Bad Will Hopefully Lead To, But No Promises: Some combination of, when and if I write them: Complexity is Bad, Choices Are … Continue reading →

Posted in Rationality, Reference, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 28 Comments

Book Review: Weapons of Math Destruction

Posted on June 4, 2017 by TheZvi

Epistemic Status: Minus One Million Points Shortness Status: Long (this is a proposed new norm I want to try out, in the sense of ‘apologies for writing a long letter, I did not have enough time to write a shorter … Continue reading →

Posted in Death by Metrics, Economics, Personal Experience, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Against Facebook: Comparison to Alternatives and Call to Action

Posted on April 22, 2017 by TheZvi

Previously: Against Facebook: Details Take Action: Help Us Find Your Blog (and others) Epistemic Status: Shouting from the rooftops. For further details, see previous post. This post is my recommendations for how to communicate online. If you need details and/or detailed … Continue reading →

Posted in Facebook Sequence, Good Advice | Tagged , , , , , | 31 Comments

Against Facebook

Posted on April 22, 2017 by TheZvi

Leads to: Against Facebook: Comparison to Alternatives and Call to Action, Help Us Find Your Blog (and others) Epistemic Status: Eliezer Yudkowsky writing the sequences. They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom. Galileo. This army. Chris Christie to Marco Rubio at … Continue reading →

Posted in Facebook Sequence | Tagged , , , , | 61 Comments

United We Blame

Posted on April 16, 2017 by TheZvi

Blame Index Funds: Overbooking and Cross Selling (first story) Blame The Law: The Deeper Scandal of That Brutal United Video Blame The Culture of Law Enforcement in Aviation:The Real Reason a Man Was Dragged Off That United Flight and How To Stop … Continue reading →

Posted in Impractical Optimization | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Escalator Action

Posted on April 12, 2017 by TheZvi

Epistemic Status: Slow ride. Take it easy. You Memba Elevator Action? I memba. A recent study (link is to NY Times) came out saying that we should not walk on escalators, because not walking is faster. From the article: The train … Continue reading →

Posted in Impractical Optimization | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Avoiding Emotional Dominance Spirals

Posted on March 30, 2017 by TheZvi

Follow Up to: Dominance, care, and social touch One thing Ben said in his latest post especially resonated with me, and I wanted to offer some expanded thoughts on it: Sometimes, when I feel let down because someone close to me … Continue reading →

Posted in Good Advice, Rationality | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

On Automoderation

Posted on March 19, 2017 by TheZvi

Follow Up to: Trio Walks, Duo Talks Response to: Automoderation (Ferocious Truth) Hat Tip: Automoderation (Agenty Duck) In my post Trio Walks, Duo Talks I laid out the thesis that the key to a high-quality discussion with more than two participants … Continue reading →

Posted in Rationality | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Restaurant Guide 1: Restaurants should not look like (most) restaurants

Posted on March 5, 2017 by TheZvi

Epistemic Status: Full Power Related: Surgeons Should Not Look Like Surgeons, An Economist Gets Lunch Follow-Up: Restaurant Guide 2: Pizza Conceptually Related More Than You Might Think: Short-Termism I have spent a lot of time optimizing restaurant choice, and what to do when … Continue reading →

Posted in Good Advice | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments