Rationality
From AI to Zombies
by Eliezer Yudkowsky · first published 2015
61% recommend39% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Long, readable deep-dive into Bayesian reasoning, cognitive biases and examining where your own thoughts come from. Suits people who want a practical entry point to rationality and the arguments behind AI risk.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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For more practical persons I recommend skipping the historical parts of philosophy and go straight to Bayesianism. I recommend "Rationality" by E. Yudkowsky as an entry point, "Probabilistic Inference" by J. Pearl, "Artificial Intelligence" by Russel & Norvig for the theory and "Formal Theory of Creativity & Fun & Intrinsic Motivation" by…
on “Philosophy of science books every computer scientist should read” ↗Rationality: From AI to Zombies by Eliezer Yudkowsky This book changed the way I approach problems in my personal and professional life. It has helped me to reflect on any given thought and understand where the…
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗…that satisfaction over time. I plan to write a blog post sequence for this, but uggh... So I propose an available alternative. The best place to start for "living well" would be the beginning part of "Rationality: From AI to Zombies" by Eliezer Yudkowsky[1]. This book helps you with instrumental rationality, which is the art of living. Highly recommended, even for a few chapters. The book is free as well. Prioritize…
on “Ask HN: Spending my free time in video games. It's eating me. Suggestions?” ↗Rationality: From AI to Zombies by Eliezer Yudkowsky Many people think of themselves as rational and have mastered the basics (understand the scientific method, know how to systematically solve difficult problems,…
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗Rationality: From AI to Zombies by Eliezer Yudkowsky - Despite its many flaws, it seems to be the single most intellectually empowering book I've ever read. The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗…problem is there won't be any books directly refuting Nate Silver's argument because it's essentially just "people who disagree with me are irrational." Right-of-center, "Wait But Why" by Tim Urban and "Rationality: A-Z" by Eliezer Yudkowsky (and LessWrong in general) are much better at talking about examining our own biases. LessWrong will be much better than the stuff Tim Urban wrote, which is still better than…
on “Nate Silver's guide to "The River"” ↗Rationality: from AI to Zombies by Eliezer Yudkowsky.
on “Ask HN: What was the one book that you read and it actually changed your life?” ↗I am quite scared of human extinction in the face of AGI. I certainly didn't jump on it, though! I was gradually convinced by the arguments that Yudkowsky makes in "Rationality: from AI to Zombies" (https://www.readthesequences.com/). Unfortunately they don't fit easily into an internet comment. Some of the points that stood out to me, though: - We are social animals, and take…
on “DeepMind: A Generalist Agent” ↗…(although we sure love trying to prevent it when it's basically too late!) [1] I'm paraphrasing Eliezer Yudkowsky here; he has cool writings on this subject if you're interested, which can be found in "Rationality from AI to Zombies," a large, cleaned-up collection of his years of blog posts at Less Wrong.
on “A Protocol for Dying” ↗…startups I have read is Traction, it's extremely useful overview of all the ways to get traffic/customers. I also making my way through GEB, it's relly interesting, though hard to read. And I am reading "Rationality: From AI to Zombies", it is a collection of rationality essays by Eliezer Yudkowsky, and it's amazing.
on “Ask HN: What books have you read in the first half of 2016?” ↗Yudkowsky's Sequences on Less Wrong (Rationality A-Z is the bookform) has a good claim on being a true future-book as webpage.
on “The 'Future Book' Is Here, but It's Not What We Expected (2018)” ↗Nonfiction: "Rationality: From AI to Zombies" by Eliezer Yudkowsky. It was a fantastic deep-dive into the topic, and despite being extremely long was very readable. Fiction: "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck. I've read other…
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗…sci-fi story about robots and the three laws is about robots defying these laws. It's a narrative trope, it has nothing to do with an actual AI design. If you're interested in the subject - check out "Rationality: From AI to Zombies" by Eliezer Yudkowsky and "Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies" by Nick Bostrom.
on “A Framework for Intelligence and Cortical Function Based on Grid Cells” ↗It's an alphabetically sorted list, sure one can read the whole list top to bottom, but it just doesn't flow very well. If you're interested in rationality and cognitive biases, I'd highly recommend reading Eliezer Yudkowsky's "Rationality: A-Z" sequences: https://www.lesswrong.com/rationality
on “List of Cognitive Biases” ↗…sweeping background to a topic that you can’t get from a blog post read The Emperor of All Maladies (about cancer). For one about Physics read Our Mathematical Universe. There’s also Eliezer Yudkowsky’s Rationality which was a large collection of blog posts put into book form. For fiction I’d recommend The Nix for a really good novel. The difference between good and bad in books is huge and part of the difficulty…
on “Ask HN: Are books worth it?” ↗