September 2020 BenGoldhaber(.com) Newsletter

Hi all -

I understand that in these uncertain times this, the only email newsletter currently in existence, carries a heavy responsibility to be reliable and prompt in its delivery of BenGoldhaber related content. The five day delay from when you no doubt expected to receive this is unacceptable, and the people responsible have been sacked.

On to the updates!

#writing

Peak Experiences List: Spencer Greenberg had a Facebook thread where he asked what, besides sex, was your most pleasurable experience. There were some great responses, and since I’d like to be more deliberate in my hedonism I compiled them into a spreadsheet. Falling in love, drugs, and festivals all made the list. Some of the more surprising ones, to me, were intense exercise, dancing, and galloping on a horse.

Notes: User Interface: A Personal View, Satisfaction and Progress in Open Ended Work

#good-content

Magic for Humans: A fun show with truly impressive displays of street magic. I really enjoy both the illusions and the ‘master craftsman’ ethos he displays in each episode.

My Octopus Teacher: Touching movie about the friendship between a man and an octopus. If that doesn’t sell you on it idk what will.

The Office: Have you heard of this show? It might become popular one day… Rewatching from Season 1 has been delightful, especially if you watch it after reading the Gervais Principle.

#links

95%-ile isn’t that good: In many domains - from videogames, to public speaking, to programming - people spend little to no time trying to improve their performance. Being in the top 1% isn’t actually that hard. This article has stuck with me, both as motivation to git gud and to reflect on what things I currently do that I’ve never practiced.

Play to Win: On a similar theme Sirlin, a game designer and one of the top ranked Street Fighter players, wrote a book on the techniques and mindsets of top competitive gamers. Focusing on “hitting the target” isn’t a skill that comes naturally, and I enjoyed reading the perspective of a true practitioner.

Becoming a Magician: One of the most motivational essays I’ve ever read, it captured a deep truth about self improvement. The people who are in a league of their own, performing ‘magic’ you can’t understand, have a different lens through which they’re viewing the world. The key to growth is to understand and integrate these paradigms, or discover and develop your own.

What’s Wrong with Social Science and How to Fix It: Reflections After Reading 2578 Papers: Masterful treatise on metascience and the flaws of the current scientific system, coming from the authors experience in a forecasting competion. A heuristic that has never failed me is if someone likes prediction markets and forecasting, they have good intellectual instincts.

Laura Deming vLog: Short video from Laura Deming about visualization techniques and how creating accurate mental pictures can be useful in understanding complex topics.

Tetlock tweet on illusions: So, what's your estimate for how much of life is a con?

Have a good October, and remember I send this email because I desperately crave attention and human connection so you should feel empowered to reply and tell me how you are.

#spooktober