I wanted to outline the methods, strategies and approaches that have helped me with anxiety (moderate to severe OCD). Although I hope you might find something useful here, you may not. Seek qualified and competent psychological advice. To make it very clear that this is only my experience, and not general advice, I've written a … Continue reading My method for dealing with anxiety
Author: deponysum
The Kaldor-Hicks efficiency criterion and transfer programs
The Kaldor-Hicks efficiency criterion is a test in welfare economics against which hypothetical policies are often measured- click here for the Wikipedia article. We've clashed horns with it many times on this blog. Here is another demonstration of the absurdity of the Kaldor-Hicks criterion: it implies that we should abolish all transfer programs. Perhaps you … Continue reading The Kaldor-Hicks efficiency criterion and transfer programs
Paradox of the book and the robot
This is an old puzzle- I recall reading it in Ted Chiang and I think other places as well. It's a great example of how seemingly reasonable intuitions can lead us astray. Premise 1. There could exist a book that contains infallibly accurate information about the future. Premise 2. A robot could read this book. … Continue reading Paradox of the book and the robot
Four parts of belief
A little bit of prodding suggests that beliefs are not so simple as they seem. Consider for example Tamar Gendler's concept of an Aelief- a kind of belief-like state. An Aelief, per Wikipedia is: "...an automatic or habitual belief-like attitude, particularly one that is in tension with a person's explicit beliefs. For example, a person standing … Continue reading Four parts of belief
An economic consensus on public research funding?
In the European IGM economic experts panel, 35% of surveyed economists agree or strongly agree that: "Europeans would benefit more from an extra €1 billion of public R&D spent through existing (public) channels than from an extra €1 billion of private R&D spent through existing (private) channels, all else equal." While only 6% disagree and … Continue reading An economic consensus on public research funding?
Why doesn’t Australia raise its job seeker welfare allowance rate? A political science mystery.
EDIT: There's a glaring mistake here. It doesn't really change the analysis though. As of July 23 this year apparently Labour announced that it would support a raise to Newstart, but refused to confirm a figure. I follow this stuff pretty closely and thought I would have known had any such announcement been made, I was … Continue reading Why doesn’t Australia raise its job seeker welfare allowance rate? A political science mystery.
What’s the appropriate attitude towards unpaid mentorship as a writer?
Recently there has been a discussion in a Facebook group I'm in about requests for mentorship from established professionals- mostly writers. One tendency takes the view that, unless you know someone well (and even then...) it's generally inappropriate to ask for mentorship- e.g. a read of a writing sample. As an alternative, they suggest that … Continue reading What’s the appropriate attitude towards unpaid mentorship as a writer?
On the Bolivian coup
I. The new de facto interim president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, tweeted: "I dream of a Bolivia free of indigenous satanic rituals, the city is not for Indians. They need to go to Altiplano or Chaco." She is of course totally democratically illegitimate. If there are new and fair elections she will not win, Morales … Continue reading On the Bolivian coup
The optimistic induction: the argument that helps me grapple with OCD
(This is a distillation of one of the practical upshots of this prior essay) I. I am a near lifelong sufferer from OCD ranging in severity from mild to very. What works for sufferers of mental illness will vary greatly from person to person. For me five things have worked in terms of therapy : … Continue reading The optimistic induction: the argument that helps me grapple with OCD
Philosophical minigame: How much do different activities lose through the experience machine?
Here's a fun little philosophy mini-game. Nozick imagines an experience machine, capable of generating experiences, just as vivid, rich and pleasurable as the real thing- for the whole range of desirable human experiences. Nozick argues that experiences had in such a machine would be inherently less meaningful than their real world equivalents. It seems to me … Continue reading Philosophical minigame: How much do different activities lose through the experience machine?
DePonySum 