Aug 16, 2022
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/mantic-monday-81522
RIP PredictIt -- Hedgehog Markets -- Salem/CSPI Fellowship
The Passing Of PredictIt
In 2014, Victoria University in New Zealand struck a deal with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the agency that regulates some markets in the US. CFTC would let...
Aug 14, 2022
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/your-book-review-god-emperor-of-dune
Finalist #14 in the Book Review Contest
[This is one of the finalists in the 2022 book review contest. It’s not by me - it’s by an ACX reader who will remain anonymous until after voting is done, to prevent their identity from influencing...
Aug 12, 2022
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/will-nonbelievers-really-believe
There’s a popular saying among religious apologists:
Once people stop believing in God, the problem is not that they will believe in nothing; rather, the problem is that they will believe anything.
Big talk, although I notice that this is...
Aug 12, 2022
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/a-cyclic-theory-of-subcultures
David Chapman’s Geeks, MOPs, and Sociopaths In Subculture Evolution is rightfully a classic, but it doesn’t match my own experience. Either through good luck or poor observational skills, I’ve never seen a lot of sociopath takeovers. Instead,...
Aug 9, 2022
Machine Alignment Monday 8/8/22
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/why-not-slow-ai-progress
The Broader Fossil Fuel Community
Imagine if oil companies and environmental activists were both considered part of the broader “fossil fuel community”. Exxon and Shell would be “fossil fuel capabilities”; Greenpeace...