This is Chapter 7 in a blog series. If you’re new to the series, visit the series home page for the full table of contents. ___________ Part 3: Thinking, in 3D “The whole problem with the world is tha
Ethical consumption assumes making purchasing choices is akin to voting, and that the consumer can remake the market in line with their views by consistently exercising this vote. Terry Hathaway argue
My husband Joey and I run a nonprofit, and we pay ourselves what we would make if the world’s wealth was entirely equally distributed. Often when people hear this they think that we live like austere
MAIN CRITICISMS Recent criticisms of the SPE have focused on six issues, each of which I will address in turn. 1. A staff member publicly denounced the SPE as flawed and dishonest. Blum cites a 2005 o
Published in Square Peg · 6 min read · Jan 24, 2018 -- When considering the fundraising process, we think it should be as close to the ideal dental experience: pain-free, cost-effective, quick and lea
My spouse and I have been running LessWrong meetups in two different cities for the past six years (... well, we weren't married when we started). Over time, we've gotten lazier and lazier about organ
Incredible as it may seem, the end of March marks 20 years since the release of the first film in the Matrix franchise directed by The Wachowski siblings. This “cyberpunk” sci-fi movie was a box offic
Have you ever wondered about internal organization dynamics and why some groups of people (who aren’t on the same team) are more successful than others? Why different “tribes” inside the organization
“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with the first step.” — Lao Tzu *** Change is hard. But what if we could make it a little easier? As Lao Tzu so eloquently puts it, maybe we just need to focu
19 Feb 2016 Alternate title: “Use unique, non-obvious terms for nuanced concepts” Naming things! Naming things is hard . It’s been claimed that it’s one of the hardest parts of computer science. Now,
6 Apr 2015 Last Thursday—after my last day of classes ever—one of my classmates, Sung Cheul Hong and I found ourselves in an interesting conversation at a local craftbeer bar. At one point I asked him
Talk all you want to about the importance of strategy or operational efficiency, but the truth is that companies succeed because they offer a product or service that customers find irresistible. Publi
Over the last year, I’ve given a lot of thought to the question of how the effective altruism community can stay true to its best elements and avoid problems that often bring movements down. Failure i
Funding Your Startup The unfortunate reality for most entrepreneurs with an idea is that money is often a prerequisite. And, often, this need necessitates outside sources. However, for the lucky minor
Street Epistemology: The Basics Introduction This article is a brief outline on the basics of Street Epistemology. For more detail, see the 40-page "Complete Street Epistemology Guide: How to Talk Abo
Gray Matter Why We Believe Obvious Untruths Credit... Marion Fayolle How can so many people believe things that are demonstrably false? The question has taken on new urgency as the Trump administratio
Positly’s new and improved experience Luke Freeman and Spencer Greenberg Positly is a unique platform that blends the most significant features and qualities of other research sites into one cohesive,
Why and how to conduct MTurk studies using Positly Luke Freeman and Spencer Greenberg Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is a microtasking marketplace that makes it easier for people to outsource “huma
How do I ask good survey questions? Here’s what you need to know Luke Freeman and Spencer Greenberg As researchers we care deeply about the quality of our results. It can be better to conduct no study
How do I screen participants for my study? 6 steps to screening success Luke Freeman and Spencer Greenberg Aren’t people incredible? Every day I’m reminded about how unique people are… but our uniquen
How to choose a product name or pick your brand name using our frameworks, study templates, spreadsheets & scripts Luke Freeman and Spencer Greenberg Naming is difficult. For most brands, products, or
How to do a pricing study: from templates and tips to strategies and simulations [Free Templates Including Van Westendorp Model] Luke Freeman and Spencer Greenberg Your pricing model is probably one o
Comparing Positly to the competition Luke Freeman and Spencer Greenberg There are many ways to recruit participants, so what makes Positly better? We’ve put together this guide to show you how Positly
Part 7 Why a startup’s initial business plan doesn’t matter that much Posted on July 31, 2007 A startup’s initial business plan doesn’t matter that much, because it is very hard to determine up front
*** Before we commence with the festivities, I wanted to thank everyone for helping my first book become a Wall Street Journal bestseller. To check it out, click here . *** What’s the secret to a head
To date, most of GiveWell’s research capacity has focused on finding the most impactful programs among those whose results can be rigorously measured. This work has led us to recommend, and direct sev
We live in an age where technology is developing at a rate faster than what any individual can keep up with. To survive in an age of acceleration, we need a new way of thinking about technology. *** M
Getting feedback from your coworkers is scary. A leader at one of my previous jobs once said that my emotional stability fell somewhere between that of a squalling infant and pubescent teen. (Cool, co
How do people or companies with vested interests spread ignorance and obfuscate knowledge? Georgina Kenyon finds there is a term which defines this phenomenon. This story is featured in BBC Future’s “
As the very word used to describe it has been “ worn smooth by a million tongues ”, consciousness is a fertile topic for confusion. We all know what it is to be conscious. It is, basically, being awar
What if you never had to return to work? Never had to return to work at the office, that is. You’d be able to juggle kids on school holidays. You wouldn’t need to navigate traffic jams. Your employer
BLOG What Products and Markets are we looking for? 4 February 2013 Blackbird Ventures We have a fairly narrow investment focus which is defined by our ability to add value to a company. Here are some guiding principles: - Global markets: We’re looking for businesses which are attacking global…
after this, you’ll welcome obstacles “The general principle of antifragility, it is much better to do things you cannot explain than explain things you cannot do.” – Nassim Taleb “Being an entrepreneu
The other day I was reading a book and I came across a little anecdote. It was about the great Athenian general Themistocles. Before the battle of Salamis, he was locked in a vigorous debate with a Sp
By Ryan Holiday Updated May 12, 2019 Ryan Holiday explains how to live life to the fullest. By Ryan Holiday Updated May 12, 2019 A weird, and somewhat morbid thought occurs to me from time to time. Wh
*** Before we commence with the festivities, I wanted to thank everyone for helping my first book become a Wall Street Journal bestseller. To check it out, click here . *** There’s a lot of good advic
W hen my father died at the age of 98 he had largely divested himself of possessions. Among what little remained was an old desk in which he had collected various writings precious to him over the yea
Australia’s population is among the fastest growing in the OECD with an increase of 1.7 per cent in 2016-17. In Sydney and Melbourne traffic congestion has become so intolerable many believe a cut to
Does renewable electricity raise or lower electricity prices? There is more to this question than meets the eye: are prices lower before or after renewable subsidies are recovered, how has variability
There are so many stupid, generic business lists online: “10 tips to grow your business!” “3 secrets to SEO Google doesn’t want you to know!” “17 steps to making passive income!” The worst part is, th