Between his best-selling books, The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Chef, and the 4-Hour Body, as well as a podcast, an iTunes TV show, and numerous high-paying speaking and consulting gigs, Tim Ferris has made a lucrative business out of teaching people ‘accelerated learning’, but does the purported efficacy of accelerated learning hold up to scrutiny?… Continue reading Tim Ferriss, Nootropics, and Accelerated Learning
Author: smartistone
The Financial Media: It’s Still Useless
I respect Larry Summers as a maverick intellect – someone who exits the beaten path to express his occasionally politically incorrect views, but he seems to have fallen into the trap of ‘vague alarmist punditry’ that so commonly afflicts online financial journalism (and is why I long since stopped reading many news websites. I don’t… Continue reading The Financial Media: It’s Still Useless
Simulation Hypothesis: Some Thoughts
Tech billionaires convinced we live in the Matrix are secretly funding scientists to help break us out of it The simulation hypotheses is an interesting thought experiment that has received more media coverage than is justified by the paucity of science that supports it. As most people already know, the Bostrom thought experiment is as… Continue reading Simulation Hypothesis: Some Thoughts
The ISIS Presidential Debate
One would think that given all of the mentions of ISIS during the second presidential debate that it was 911 all over again or something. Both candidates invoked the specter of ISIS to exculpate themselves from difficult questions. From the transcript: TRUMP: No, I didn’t say that at all. I don’t think you understood what… Continue reading The ISIS Presidential Debate
Where Did It All Go Wrong?
From Thomas Barghest of Social Matter Where Did It All Go Wrong?, in which he gives an exhaustive historical recitation of the ‘history of decay’, beginning with the 20th century and ending, surprisingly, with the literal formation of the universe. It’s more of a history lesson than an action plan or a rallying cry (descriptive… Continue reading Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Trump’s Lewd Comments: Some Things to Keep In Mind
A couple days ago, video footage from 2005 emerged in which Trump made some supposedly lewd comments about women. Of course, the usual internet outrage and holiness signaling that we’ve come to expect, followed. Some things to keep in mind: 1. The liberal media is trying to create a narrative that Trump supporters are defecting… Continue reading Trump’s Lewd Comments: Some Things to Keep In Mind
Intellectualism as a ‘Passport’
In 2015, almost daily, I would check Scott’s blog to see what weird, new social ‘theory’ he had devised but right now, as 2016 winds to a close, it seems things have stagnated to some extent. It’s no one’s fault, really, but even the smartest people will eventually run out of things to say, as… Continue reading Intellectualism as a ‘Passport’
Why ‘Elites’ Don’t Care About Transparency
From Steve Sailer via Land: The technology of power is moving from the past’s emphasis on privacy and concealment toward more contemporary techniques of diversion, bias, misconception, and willful stupidity. The crude methods that George Orwell summed up in his image of the incinerator-chute “memory hole” are growing into more sophisticated devices for providing the… Continue reading Why ‘Elites’ Don’t Care About Transparency
The Internet Stands With Elon Musk
A couple days ago Sarah Jeong of Vice ran a hit piece on Elon Musk, suggesting he is a closet sexist for not following enough women on his Twitter account. I wish I were joking, but that’s what passes for ‘investigative journalism’ by the left these days. Not surprisingly, the piece was roundly criticized, or… Continue reading The Internet Stands With Elon Musk
For the Left, It’s About Power and Control, Not Free Speech
A forceful essay by Mark Citadel, The Ritual Humiliation of Misunderstanding Power. These passages stood out: Liberals shut down what they feel is threatening to the individual, to his self-esteem and self-image. They don’t care about free speech, and never have in any sincere way. If you truly believe that the ideas of the left… Continue reading For the Left, It’s About Power and Control, Not Free Speech