Why personal experimentation?
I experiment with many things, as do those around me. Some of this is randomization and explicit records, more is just trying different things, muttering ‘VOI‘ and repeating what felt good. I refer...
View ArticlePersonal experiments: for the unusual?
I asked in what kind of world personal experimentation could seem worth it for me yet not already exhausted. Today I’ll look at one potential explanation, popular with commenters last time: I and my...
View ArticlePersonal experiments: fueled by innovation?
Another way personal experimentation might be worth it for me, yet not used up by those before me: there is so much innovation that there are constantly new things to test, even if people experiment a...
View ArticlePersonal experimentation: not shared?
I’ve been talking about how personal experimentation could be worth it for people like me, without relevant info being depleted long ago. My next potential explanation is that people do experiment, but...
View ArticlePersonal experimentation: context specific?
A last way that personal experimentation could be worth it for me, yet not already completely covered by others, is that most of the facts one is likely to learn are quite context-specific. That way,...
View ArticlePersonal experimentation: I’m wrong?
I’ve been wondering why experimentation seems worthwhile. I’ve given some explanations in my last few posts. The last category of explanations to consider are the ones in which my judgement is wrong....
View ArticleWhat motivates cognition?
When I was a teenager, I think I engaged in a lot of motivated cognition. At least in an absolute sense; I don’t know how much is common. Much was regarding trees. Before I thought about this in...
View ArticlePersonal experimentation: summary
I asked how it could be that experimenting in my own life could be worthwhile, given that if such things were worthwhile other people should have already figured them all out. My suggested...
View ArticleWhen seeing X suggests ‘generally ¬X’
Suppose nobody has ever told you that they like you. Suppose you are relatively uncertain about how often people like other people, and also about how often they will disclose it when they do. Suppose...
View ArticleWeirdos and foreigners
Maybe this is old advice, or so obvious that everyone figures it out. But handy tip for if you are strange, and you want others to not think you are strange: hang out with foreigners. To foreigners,...
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