Math definitions are easier to understand than theorems, which are easier than proofs. But generating definitions is harder than generating theorems, which are harder than generating proofs.
A 10 minute video talk in which I describe the meaning and motivation behind one of my research projects.
A semi-technical description of an agent foundations research project that I led in early 2024.
In this second post of the entropy sequence, I show how we can meaningfully understand the entropy of a state even when the number of states is infinite.
It's popular to use Conway's Game of Life as a model system, but it fails to capture some profound properties of the real world.
The first of a sequence of posts in which I write the best explanation of entropy that I can.
In which I reflect on how I'm relating to the increasing existential risk from AI.
A speech for the 2020 Bay area secular solstice.
A little vignette inspired by my partner’s whimsical writing style.
A future mind decides to experience a piece of humanity's past. [Short story]
Light pollution shows us more than just cities.
For my 30th birthday party I threw a puzzle hunt with Catherio. I take you through the puzzle so you can solve it yourself, and give instructions for reproducing it for others.
Alone over christmas, I make a gingerbread house, where by “house” I mean the ISS.
Have you ever had an idea so compelling that you didn't know if you would be able to stop yourself from trying to make it real? That happened to me on May 23rd, 2018. [This project didn't get off the ground by the start of the COVID pandemic, and I've now moved on to AI alignment research.]
Reflections on human nature on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
My reaction to the near-loss of Notre Dame de Paris.
A speech for the 2018 Bay area secular solstice.
Introducing the Parker Solar Probe, going closer to the sun than any previous human artifact.
For my second rocket launch viewing, I bring a telescope to find out what more I can see.
An ode to that spark inside humanity.
This was more than a rocket launch. It was a performance, and a shared experience of human achievement.
In which I urge the rationalists to make more art.
Weaved throughout their art, I sense a theme of death.
I attempt to give a sense of my subconscious worldview, and how it conflicts with the real world.
A speech for the 2014 Bay area secular solstice.
[Poem]
Solomonoff induction is a mathematical formalization of induction, i.e. predicting the future. The scope of its success is unprecedented and underappreciated. Co-written with Luke Muehlhauser, this piece explains the concept to a general audience.