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  Tyler Mills commented on idea #5299.

Not to be nitpicky, especially since you ended up agreeing, but #5234 now has a pending criticism (yours), yet you acted on the idea. (Or rather, on the suggestion implied by it.) Acting on an idea with pending criticisms is technically the definition of irrationality on V.

I’m purposely not marking this a criticism so the flags don’t flip.

#5299​·​Dennis Hackethal, 4 days ago

Ah, I marked my agreement in #5292 a criticism to neutralize yours, since I corrected #5293. But I should have revised it to additionally have the existing criticism no longer apply. I'll make a new revision with that change.

  Dennis Hackethal addressed criticism #5183.

@edwin-de-wit recently asked Deutsch about this:

… hard to vary can also be a property that you don’t want. Sometimes they say that complicated systems are just so entangled that they’re no longer changeable. You could call that hard to vary but it’s not a property you pursue.

Deutsch’s reply:

Quite so. So hard to vary is about explanations, not about end products. So the end product should be easy to vary, if you want to. But it should be hard to vary in the sense that you don’t want to.

#5183​·​Dennis HackethalOP, 18 days ago

But HTV is also about art (BoI chapter 14).
A piece of art is a kind of end product. And we could write code to produce art.

  Dennis Hackethal revised criticism #5233. The revision addresses ideas #5306 and #5307.

What’s wrong with using melatonin indefinitely?

AFAIK it creates no physical dependence, you don’t build a tolerance, and it’s cheap. What’s not to love?

AFAIK it creates no physical dependence and you don’t build a tolerance.

  Dennis Hackethal addressed criticism #5233.

What’s wrong with using melatonin indefinitely?

AFAIK it creates no physical dependence, you don’t build a tolerance, and it’s cheap. What’s not to love?

#5233​·​Dennis Hackethal, 11 days ago

I was wrong to submit this criticism in this form; it should be only about the lack of dependence. Otherwise the criticism chain is inverted for #5203.

  Dennis Hackethal addressed criticism #5233.

What’s wrong with using melatonin indefinitely?

AFAIK it creates no physical dependence, you don’t build a tolerance, and it’s cheap. What’s not to love?

#5233​·​Dennis Hackethal, 11 days ago

What’s not to love?

#5203 already says: causes people to wake up early. (Can corroborate.)

  Dennis Hackethal posted idea #5304.

~All previous methods of preference formation focus too much on what the ideas say; on their content.

Nobody really knows just how simple an idea is (Occam’s razor) or how likely (Bayesianism), for example. In some cases it’s obvious how ideas compare, but in others not so much.

Adherents of those epistemologies are all fooling themselves into thinking they’re being rational when really they’re still acting on whim. Just fancier whim.

Focus instead on how the ideas relate, on the structure of the current state of the discussion, and preference formation gets much easier and simpler.

Then you can easily see which ideas you can adopt and which you can’t. You can even see exactly which criticisms you’d need to address to change someone’s mind, say.

Beautiful.

  Dennis Hackethal criticized idea #5288.

It strikes me that I may have some confusion around compromise. There's an idea (from who/where? Gemini says Brett Hall...) that a compromise can actually be bad, because it is a new theory that no one was advocating for. So if it fails, it's harder to learn from and hold anyone accountable for. Yet, to resolve our procrastination and other hangups (and many problems in life), it seems like finding a common preference is the thing to do (and it seems like it works). But isn't that the same as compromising?

#5288​·​Tyler MillsOP, 6 days ago

… it seems like finding a common preference is the thing to do …

It is.

… (and it seems like it works).

It usually does.

But isn't that the same as compromising?

No. A common preference is a new option everyone involved prefers to their respective original stance. A compromise is an option they do not prefer, but merely reluctantly agree to. And it’s usually not really new in content but resulted from mechanically mixing existing options. See the article linked in #5301.

  Dennis Hackethal criticized idea #5288.

It strikes me that I may have some confusion around compromise. There's an idea (from who/where? Gemini says Brett Hall...) that a compromise can actually be bad, because it is a new theory that no one was advocating for. So if it fails, it's harder to learn from and hold anyone accountable for. Yet, to resolve our procrastination and other hangups (and many problems in life), it seems like finding a common preference is the thing to do (and it seems like it works). But isn't that the same as compromising?

#5288​·​Tyler MillsOP, 6 days ago

… a compromise can actually be bad, because it is a new theory that no one was advocating for.

Compromise is always bad. It’s a form of irrationality.

  Dennis Hackethal criticized idea #5288.

It strikes me that I may have some confusion around compromise. There's an idea (from who/where? Gemini says Brett Hall...) that a compromise can actually be bad, because it is a new theory that no one was advocating for. So if it fails, it's harder to learn from and hold anyone accountable for. Yet, to resolve our procrastination and other hangups (and many problems in life), it seems like finding a common preference is the thing to do (and it seems like it works). But isn't that the same as compromising?

#5288​·​Tyler MillsOP, 6 days ago
  Dennis Hackethal revised idea #5204 and marked it as a criticism. The revision addresses idea #5232.

Time-release melatonin has solved the backfire problem for me. But I don't want to be dependent on it forever to get a good 8 hours.

Time-release melatonin has solved the backfire problem for me. But I don't want to be dependent on it forever to get a good 8 hours.

  Dennis Hackethal commented on criticism #5292.

Well the device may deal with some noisy neighbors, but sure, a criticism overall. Edited.

#5292​·​Tyler MillsOP, 6 days ago

Not to be nitpicky, especially since you ended up agreeing, but #5234 now has a pending criticism (yours), yet you acted on the idea. (Or rather, on the suggestion implied by it.) Acting on an idea with pending criticisms is technically the definition of irrationality on V.

I’m purposely not marking this a criticism so the flags don’t flip.

  Dennis Hackethal posted idea #5298.

Idea: rational discussion graph with recursive criticism evaluation, like Veritula does now. Except the ideas are programs, not natural-language text. And they execute when they have no pending criticisms.

  Tyler Mills commented on idea #5237.

Found this article illuminating (emphasis mine):

The gradual loss of energy during the day produces a drive to sleep in order to restore that energy. This is known as the homeostatic sleep drive. If the homeostatic process were the only one involved, a person would wake up fully energized and then gradually wind down over the course of the day, like a battery losing power. This would mean an uneven level of alertness during the day, with dangerously low alertness in the afternoon and evening. To counterbalance this, the SCN also regulates alertness by what is known as the circadian process. As the day goes on, and energy winds down, the SCN compensates for this by sending a stronger alertness signal to the brain and body. This alertness signal reaches a peak in the two hours just before bedtime. This zone of maximum alertness is known as the “forbidden zone for sleep” since the alertness signal makes sleep nearly impossible during that zone. When the usual bedtime is reached, the SCN begins to turn down its alertness signal to allow the body to sleep.

The article is on “Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder”. I’m obviously no doctor so don’t take anything I say as advice or diagnosis. But from what you’ve said, I wonder if you have that. I think I have the same issue.

The article goes into several causes you could look into. For example, it says exposure to blue light in the morning can help reset one’s internal clock. But that requires a special type of cell on the retina. If those cells don’t work properly, then as far as your internal clock is concerned, you’re effectively blind.

#5237​·​Dennis Hackethal, 10 days ago

Interesting and disturbing. I still think psychology is the prime suspect for me, though. Runaway thinking. I'll pay more attention going forward, and see if I observe this "alertness signal."

  Tyler Mills commented on idea #5244.

Something simple you could try is heavily dimming your computer and other devices and using strong red filters for the last few hours before bed.

Not just the standard night shift features, which are often far too weak. I mean making the screen properly red so that almost all of the blue and green light is removed.

You might be surprised by how dim you can make your devices while still being able to use them fine. You just need to give your eyes a minute to adjust. I routinely have my iPhone and MacBook on their dimmest settings.

Dimming or reddening the room lighting could help too. (Following up on #5243.)

#5244​·​Benjamin Davies, 10 days ago

I do use 0% brightness on my monitor and Windows' red night filter at 90% about 90 minutes before getting ready for bed, and I use only a warm-colored lamp. But could do more. Have not messed with the actual monitor color presets (turning off the blue and green channels; not the same thing as the night filter?). No screens at all seems like a smarter habit, which I'll work toward.

  Tyler Mills commented on idea #5235.

Have you traveled internationally? I’m thinking specifically of flying west for a large distance.

For example, if I fly to the West coast from central Europe and I land at 12pm say. That’s 9 hours behind Europe. And then I try to stay up until 10pm or so. That’s nearly impossible. I’ve fallen asleep with the lights on.

Would be interesting if you still lay awake for an hour or so even when severely jet lagged.

#5235​·​Dennis Hackethal, 11 days ago

I have traveled internationally, and I think jetlag is the same as just staying up very late. Both allow for fast time-to-sleep (<30min). I can fall asleep quickly if I've been awake for 19 hours, say. The issue is trying to achieve that time-to-sleep for ~16 hours of awake time.

  Tyler Mills revised idea #5225 and marked it as a criticism.

Interesting. But I would guess it only works well for constant sounds. The sensor has to read the waveform to create one that cancels it. Will not do much for short impulses of sound, which are the main offender (my current neighbors are okay, for the record).

Interesting. But I would guess it only works well for constant sounds. The sensor has to read the waveform to create one that cancels it. Will not do much for short impulses of sound, which are the main offender (my current neighbors are okay, for the record).

  Tyler Mills addressed criticism #5234.

Isn’t this a criticism?

#5234​·​Dennis Hackethal, 11 days ago

Well the device may deal with some noisy neighbors, but sure, a criticism overall. Edited.

  Tyler Mills commented on idea #5205.

Time-release melatonin also does not noticeably affect the larger issue for me of falling asleep.

#5205​·​Tyler MillsOP, 11 days ago

I've wondered about taking some regular to fall asleep, and the time-released to stay asleep. But in any case testing so far has shown melatonin (of either kind) on its own does not significantly help the falling asleep issue (the greater of the two, falling asleep and staying).

  Tyler Mills commented on criticism #5233.

What’s wrong with using melatonin indefinitely?

AFAIK it creates no physical dependence, you don’t build a tolerance, and it’s cheap. What’s not to love?

#5233​·​Dennis Hackethal, 11 days ago

A cursory search suggests I was mistaken. It may be "mentally" habit forming (one becomes anxious if it's unavailable). But that's no big deal. So it could be a fine long-term solution to the staying asleep problem. What's not to love: #5205.

  Tyler Mills commented on criticism #5232.

Shouldn’t this be a criticism?

#5232​·​Dennis Hackethal, 11 days ago

Indeed; the criticism included with it (that I don't want to be dependent) applies to regular melatonin as well.

  Tyler Mills commented on idea #5229.

The cause of procrastination is a conflict between preferences. Part of you wants to take out the trash, another doesn’t. The solution is a common preference: a new option both parts of you prefer to their respective initial position.

Can you identify those parts within you?
Try brainstorming many new options on V. With any luck, you’ll find a new option both parts of you want without delay.

#5229​·​Dennis Hackethal, 11 days ago

It strikes me that I may have some confusion around compromise. There's an idea (from who/where? Gemini says Brett Hall...) that a compromise can actually be bad, because it is a new theory that no one was advocating for. So if it fails, it's harder to learn from and hold anyone accountable for. Yet, to resolve our procrastination and other hangups (and many problems in life), it seems like finding a common preference is the thing to do (and it seems like it works). But isn't that the same as compromising?

  Tyler Mills commented on idea #5230.

Could you do meal prep for the week? Have meals ready in the freezer so you don’t need to cook every day.

#5230​·​Dennis Hackethal, 11 days ago

Oh I definitely meal prep. But major room for improvement. Work in progress.

  Tyler Mills commented on idea #5231.

Something I made the other day, recipe in the caption :) https://www.instagram.com/p/Db2DzFplBXq/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

#5231​·​Dennis Hackethal, 11 days ago

Looks awesome! Didn't realize you have a bodybuilding channel, will check it out.

  Tyler Mills addressed criticism #5228.

Then again, so is not sleeping…

#5228​·​Dennis Hackethal, 11 days ago

Not sleeping at all certainly damages the rhythm. But for me the current choice is between a chemically-mediated 8-9 hours from, say, 12am to 8am, or a natural 5-6 hours, from 2 or 3am to 8am. Both are similar in terms of the day night cycle, and not close to as bad as sleeping in to noon (and later and later) would be, I think.