What if Harry Potter was a Scientist?
Harry Potter And The Methods of Rationality
I am just a few chapters into this book and I already love it. The best part: it’s free to read.
In this world, Petunia (Harry’s abusive aunt) is married to a scientist. So Harry Potter is now entering the wizards’ world with a rationalist outlook and an experimental spirit.
This book is fan-fiction written by an AI and Decision researcher, Eliezer Yudkowsky, who is popularly known for his blogs on rationality.
You can download it in all ebook formats here. Or you can read it here.
Stories Are Like Religion
Stories are the adhesive that brings and keeps together a group of people. When you’re sitting in a cafe listening to your friend talking about his trip to Kasol, it’s not the truth, it’s a story, a fiction that he created — consciously and subconsciously. This is true for all conversations and interactions in any social setting you can think of.
Now, if you’ve read or heard Jordan Peterson you’d realize that religion serves a similar function. Read this blog to understand why fiction is essential for human societies.
How To Write Concisely
The most prominent characteristic of good writing is conciseness. Good writing is compact and straightforward. To achieve that you need to eliminate redundant words, phrases, and sentences.
This blog by the University of California shares great insights on Writing Concisely. If you want to be a good writer, learning how to write concisely is the first step.
Content I Shared This Week
YouTube:
I Graduated From Columbia
Watch my graduation vlog as my friends, classmates, girlfriend, and my parents meet as one of the biggest events in my life unfolds.
Instagram:
How to Deal w/ Over-protective Parents?
Unless you live in a toxic household, your parent's decisions are not guided by malice but fear.
What YOU need to do is assure them that you will be okay and can be on your own.
That is the distance you have to go to get them to shift their ground.
Hello Sher Gang!
Check out my personally curated dose of curiosity.
The Rizz Master Opening Formula! Yoo, Remember that feeling when your crush is right in front of you - Your brain makes thousands of scenarios of talking with her and the moment just passes. You're left empty-handed yet again with your daydreams. The fear of messing up holds you back and - it's fair! The problem is not with you! It is - We were never taught the correct way to approach a woman. I was like this once. Scared and insecure. But now, I am living the best of my life with an...
Prem Patra #15 What's up, Sher gang? Hope you had a great weekend. Feels great that we made it to the 15th edition of my Prem Patras — your fortnightly dose of curiosity! Reply to this mail and share what you are reading/watching/listening to this week — I will share some of them in our next edition. Genetic Evolution of Sea Nomads: There is a tribe of people in the Philippines that lives on giant houseboats that sail around the Pacific ocean. For thousands of years, they have lived like...
Evolutionary History of Human Violence Humans have been extremely violent creatures for the better part of their 2,00,000 years of evolutionary history. We butchered our way to survival. When we study our fossils, we find that the biggest reason behind our ancestor’s death was murder — there was no concept of a terminal illness. However, later in the evolutionary spectrum, we realized the importance of collaboration. The change occurred when we transitioned From Nomadic Bands to Large...