# Aaron Bergman's tweets, May 2024

Every public tweet, reply, quote tweet and retweet that Aaron Bergman (@AaronBergman18 on X, formerly Twitter) posted in May 2024 and has not deleted: 844 posts, oldest first, times in UTC. Each heading links to the original post on X. When Aaron replies to or quotes someone, their tweet appears as a blockquote with their name; those words are theirs, and everything outside the blockquotes is Aaron's.

This page is one month of [the complete archive of Aaron Bergman's tweets](https://abergman.com/tweets), which updates automatically every few hours. Previous month: [April 2024](https://abergman.com/tweets/2024-04). Next month: [June 2024](https://abergman.com/tweets/2024-06).

## Wednesday, May 1, 2024

### [Reply to @jachiam0, 05:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785542406772777431) · 2 likes

> **Joshua Achiam (@jachiam0):** I've historically been very critical of EA, but this is just about the worst critique of EA possible. It argues that they were secretly, nefariously talking about a Hidden Agenda in "core EA," on... \*checks notes\* publicly visible online forums and all of their in-person events.
>
> (quoting @DrTechlash: 🚨 Effective Altruism's Bait-and-Switch: From Global Poverty to AI Doomerism 🚨 The Effective Altruism founders planned – from day one – to mislead donors and new members in order to build the movement's brand and community.…)

I kinda disagree, although not exactly in the direction of the QT which is basically propaganda I agree

I feel like I’m the only one to notice this and think/say “wtf you probably should have said this publicly (if just on the forum) like 8 years ago”

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMeFWwXXsAA7l1v.jpg)

### [Tweet, 05:45 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785546158833643528) · 22 likes

New greeting just dropped

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMeIxGjW8AAXSub.jpg)

### [Reply to @mattyglesias, 06:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785553189418279051) · 5 likes

> **Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias):** Virtue and signaling are both good!
>
> There is a reason the increasingly “based” form of rightwing politics is low-status and repulsive to most smart people.
>
> https://www.slowboring.com/p/what-the-left-gets-right
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMZ8ZJ8WwAAXv-B.jpg)

🤝

### [Reply to @lfschiavo, 06:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785554692459630964) · 2 likes

> **Larissa Schiavo (@lfschiavo):** HELLO, SHRIMP WELFARE PEOPLE?? I HAVE FOUND SOMETHING EVEN WORSE
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMeP4y0bUAAHK-z.jpg)

Also what is the proposed mechanism for how krill meat enhances family bonding per the caption

### [Tweet, 06:45 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785561266330665048) · 2 likes

Yo I don’t want to see a man in the woods either

### [Reply to @docentdemagogue, 07:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785568264061337634) · 2 likes

> **Sky (@docentdemagogue):** AncestryDNA went from 1% to 5% Jewish shalom my brothers

Shalom

### [Reply to @Malcolm_Ocean, 08:45 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785591291679535569) · 7 likes

> **Malcolm Ocean 🏴‍☠️ (@Malcolm_Ocean):** you don't want to "become more attractive", you want to become more attractive to the sorts of men/women who you would love to be with and who would be attracted to the you that you would want to become knowing that it would make you more attractive to them

I mean the former is a good proxy for the latter at least below like 90th percentile

### [Reply to @flybottlemist, 08:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785591744991556053) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @flybottlemist is no longer available.)_

This is peak making up a guy

### [Reply to @breaking2morrow, 10:03 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785611020909601032) · 3 likes

> **Brother Arþur (@breaking2morrow):** Post a picture YOU took.  Just a pic.  No description.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMbYKeOWIAA1D3w.jpg)
> (quoting @loveofdoing: Post a picture YOU took. Just a pic. No description.)

Idk I’m skeptical

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMfDwlJWgAAmPYQ.jpg)

### [Reply to @GjMcGowan, 11:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785628538889990506) · 3 likes

> **George McGowan (@GjMcGowan):** It’s my birthday today, plz say something nice 🥹

Good job on the whole etg thing. I approve 👏👑

### [Reply to @TPGRoberts, 11:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785637280134127637) · 4 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @TPGRoberts is no longer available.)_

Lmao I mean that is the one German book that comes to mind

### [Reply to @oloal, 12:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785645774727950729) · 3 likes

> **Alex Olshonsky (@oloal):** I'm 1.5 months caffeine-free. This weekend got my normal post-workout smoothie with cacao and 20 min later it literally felt like I was on a light dose of MDMA, my heart bursting open, beautiful energy
>
> the increased sensitivity is insane
>
> that's how cacao is supposed to feel

Manhattan project for anti-tolerance drugs NOW

### [Reply to @catehall, 19:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785747293095743816) · 5 likes

> **Cate Hall 🔸 (@catehall):** Genuine question: Can someone please convince me that being late to meetings is not a big deal? I don’t like how much it influences my opinion of people, since I seem to be the outlier in caring. It can’t be as strong a signal as I interpret it?

People make mistakes and it is generally good to be willing to foregive

### [Reply to @AlecStapp, 19:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785749940699857341) · 5 likes

> **Alec Stapp (@AlecStapp):** Insanity.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMg5lQgXoAANdqm.jpg)
> (quoting @rSanti97: NEW: Everything you wanted to know about how policies get implemented. For Statecraft, @pahlkadot explains: - Schedule F - Why the "Beltway bandits" suck - Why federal hiring is broken - Whether the left has too many lawyers…)

Jesus

### [Reply to @xwanyex, 19:53 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785759573497782676) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @xwanyex is no longer available.)_

Impeccable logic

### [Tweet, 20:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785765975578538467) · 1 like

There is an abominable fucking giant wasp cicada mutant and he won’t gtfo

[![Video thumbnail](https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1785765948105920512/pu/img/tYyV9mal0sZYurem.jpg)](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785765975578538467/video/1) (video, plays on X)

### [Thread, continued, 20:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785765977868636169) · 2 likes

I’m against insect suffering but that’s mostly the extent of my sympathy

### [Reply to @soundrotator, 20:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785768114774294960) · 3 likes

> **Reb (@soundrotator):** are u RTing to find me a green card spouse lmao

Based

### [Reply to @mattyglesias, 20:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785769161001484360) · 14 likes

> **Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias):** I will say that in 20 years of living in DC I have never been shot at (the criminals are mostly shooting each other) but I’ve spent seven days total in San Francisco and got peed on in the Tenderloin once.

My dad: lives in DC for 30 years, I think was mugged once in the 90s

Goes to SF for a weekend for work in 2024, literally punched by a homeless guy

### [Reply to @thiagovscoelho, 20:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785769826033504509) · 3 likes

> **Thiago ✱ (@thiagovscoelho):** Are babies under 5 more productive working by themselves or as a team?

I kinda wonder what a team of babies could accomplish

### [Reply to @goblinodds, 20:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785770160558592019) · 2 likes

> **𝖜𝖔𝖒𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖆 𝖈𝖆𝖚𝖘𝖊 (@goblinodds):** nice japanese lady standing outside a little hole in the wall sub shop said いらっしゃいませ so i was forced to purchase my first ever strawberry sandwich
>
> (i dont really like strawberries or white bread lol)
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMhTFMOaYAAM7Jn.jpg)

Nice visual illusion here. At first I thought I was looking at two open face sandwich insides

### [Reply to @Aella_Girl, 20:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785770564029653090) · 3 likes

> **Aella (@Aella_Girl):** Do you have stomach problems? || Do you have a lot of energy?

In fact there is a ~perfect and extremely strong inverse relation between the two. As in can literally sleep 18+ hours a day when yes, generally healthy and will walk >10 miles a day for fun when no

### [Reply to @RuxandraTeslo, 21:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785782174794354824) · 3 likes

> **Ruxandra Teslo 🧬 (@RuxandraTeslo):** Yes I mostly agree with the conclusion but it's bad that people feel the need to waste their time to investigate speculative concepts that have no bearing on reality. Science is not settled by speculation, it;s based on empiricism.

Perpetual take of mine but, no, any claim or idea or phenomenon or hypothesis is informed by weaving together a mix of empirical and theoretical evidence (incl at the level of deciding what evidence to use and how)

### [Thread, continued, 21:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785782719554716019) · 2 likes

There’s no such thing as pure empiricism. Obviously sometimes you can get a decent approximation, but irl this is pretty rare

If there’s a newly synthesized molecule that looks super molecularly similar to thalidomide, do you really think there’s nothing we can say

### [Reply to @RuxandraTeslo, 21:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785783343226781897) · 3 likes

> **Ruxandra Teslo 🧬 (@RuxandraTeslo):** this is trivially true the question is how much you trust claims based ~ entirely on speculation

What claim is being made entirely based on speculation?

### [Reply to @FrostedSapling, 21:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785784171836608905) · 2 likes

> **Ivan 🔸 (@FrostedSapling):** @AaronBergman18 Cup + sheets of paper

Nice, it worked. Bro got yeeted into freedom

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 21:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785785203740315738) · 4 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @Mjreard I'm a proud "or something" addict before I started listening to the 80k podcast

Convergent evolution

## Thursday, May 2, 2024

### [Reply to @kindgracekind, 05:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785900351045943727) · 1 like

> **Grace (@kindgracekind):** Stochastic parrots are hitting a window 🦜🪟😢
>
> (quoting @voooooogel: @manic_pixie_agi when you hear "deep learning is hitting a wall", it's important to remember that, because deep "learning" is really just a statistical stochastic parrot, it can't actually "hit a wall" like a human being can. it has no understanding and may just phase right th-…)

😢

### [Reply to @livgorton, 05:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785905310785298729) · 2 likes

> **Liv (@livgorton):** my loss keeps testing my trust (why can’t it just be normal 😭)
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMiESOYa4AABTEn.jpg)

When it crosses the lower light gray line that’s when AGI happens

### [Reply to @fugitive_druid, 05:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785911013008670879) · 3 likes

> **Durwood (@fugitive_druid):**
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMg_ss7WYAEyYUf.jpg)
> (quoting @theblaze: Socialist actor Brian Cox calls the Bible 'one of the worst books ever' and says 'the theater' is the 'one true church' http://dlvr.it/T6FH5V)

I want to give this like .4 likes

### [Reply to @FarooqTirmizi, 06:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785915495352312194) · 4 likes

> **Farooq Tirmizi (@FarooqTirmizi):** It’s very good. You get essentially a free pizza after every six orders.

Ok Mr Dominoes stealth marketing man

### [Reply to @RichardHanania, 06:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785915602571321682) · 2 likes

> **Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania):** Kids like seeing a bear in the zoo, but don’t want it to eat.
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1785716413849866296/video/1)

Just like me fr

### [Reply to @ellielexx, 06:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785916148640346410) · 1 like

> **Ellie Lexie (@ellielexx):** Dearest Billy,
>
> I paid the invoice for your funeral today and as I transferred over the money, I looked at your photo and it all just seemed so unbelievable.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMfvJ1uXsAAKq69.jpg)

☹️

### [Reply to @equine__dentist, 06:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785918496024506604) · 2 likes

> **horse dentist (@equine__dentist):** no i don’t think that’s right
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMheg6xXoAAwtsZ.jpg)

🪱😢

### [Reply to @florianederer, 06:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785925936665244152) · 8 likes

> **Florian Ederer (@florianederer):** Last week Red Bull built a gigantic ski jump on a ski slope in Akureyri, Iceland. Ryōyū Kobayashi flew 291 meters and was in the air for over 10 seconds.
>
> The video is magnificent.
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/florianederer/status/1785864117405794353/video/1)

I could do that

### [Reply to @univrsw3th4rt, 06:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785926562027590101) · 1 like

> **universe sweetheart 💓🌈💭 (@univrsw3th4rt):** when he busted out the i’m from rice toner and the cosrx snail cream
>
> [GIF attached](https://x.com/univrsw3th4rt/status/1785869666776240603/photo/1)

Tf is snail cream

### [Reply to @littIeramblings, 07:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785932681085178004) · 4 likes

> **sarah (@littIeramblings):** lol someone accused me of being a bot once and I was like ????

I have met Sarah irl and can confirm she is a robot

### [Reply to @the_yanco, 07:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785933557887558022) · 14 likes

> **Yanco (@the_yanco):** If you don't like the "p(doom) number"  here is a simple conversion table into natural language.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMf1OJVWMAAD1eC.jpg)

These just seem wrong if you read the words literally. “Uncertain” doesn’t mean 50%. Plausible doesn’t mean 65%. That’s not what those words mean

### [Quote tweet, 09:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785960009655889942) · 19 likes

New cause area

> **Quoting 💪🎭..Rai ji..💪🎭 (@Vinod_r108):** @AMAZlNGNATURE I have never seen a camel happy like this. ☺️ 😳😳😱
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/superinvasion_/status/1785572105108558269/video/1)

### [Thread, continued, 09:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785962736217698525) · 3 likes

### [Reply to @matloff, 09:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785965516751880355) · 1 like

> **Norm Matloff 你有冇諗清楚呀? (@matloff):** Depends on what you mean. OS course content varies widely from school to school and instructor to instructor. In practical terms, though, I'd ask if you can answer these questions: 1. How does an OS boot up (chicken-and-egg problem)? 2. What is the purpose of virtual memory, and how does it work? 3. How might one design a disk cache? 4. If we have an "embarrassingly parallel" program and run it on k threads, why will we probably not get a k-fold speedup?

Answer to (1) is magic. I don’t think computers should work

### [Reply to @NoamChompers, 10:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785976811848908839) · 2 likes

> **noam chompers (@NoamChompers):** My experience going on strike as a grad student completely changed my view of universities and politics more generally. I get the sense that a lot of people are having related experiences over the last week

How so?

### [Tweet, 10:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785978488895250772) · 39 likes

None of this really seems about Gaza. It’s a lazy take, I know, but like there should at least be a pdf with specific, short-term tractable policy requests for Biden that protesters say will make them leave if implemented

### [Thread, continued, 10:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785978490258325625) · 4 likes

Young college educated adults have actual normal political power bc they’re an important part of the Democratic party’s constituency and the US has normal political elections

### [Reply to @chionogirl, 10:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785979750277616110)

> **neature vs norture (@chionogirl):** Nearly 3 decades of skin dryness has been cured by living in Georgia for nearly 3 days.

I’d rather have dry skin. TBC this is a weather take not a politics or anything else take

### [Reply to @JgaltTweets, 10:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785980706025308270) · 5 likes

> **JgaltTweets (@JgaltTweets):** @AaronBergman18 It's largely experiential imo. They just want to participate in disruptive protests because they want to have the experience for the thrill and residual signalling value; they don't have any real expectation of intention of achieving any particular outcome

Probably in part for some but nah I think by default we should assume people protesting for ~anything really care about that thing

### [Reply to @jakobgreenfeld, 11:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785990288025976943) · 4 likes

> **Jakob Greenfeld (@jakobgreenfeld):** wanted: a directory of people who actually think for themselves and don't regurgitate what they read/heard elsewhere

Not me I just adopt a weighted combo of Rob Wiblin, Scott Alexander, and Brian Tomasik’s takes and very occasionally tweak them a bit

### [Tweet, 11:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785991988350706120) · 49 likes

I feel like twitter might appreciate my YT search history

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMkeP42W4AAoC6x.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 11:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785993953461858465) · 5 likes

Update

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMkgCQGWwAA4I49.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 11:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785994427799924901) · 1 like

Wait why did the order change that’s weird

### [Reply, 11:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1785998188685500703) · 2 likes

Lol at them using niacin as an active placebo

Bro I think I can tell

### [Reply to @arithmoquine, 12:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786011132316004693) · 2 likes

> **henry (@arithmoquine):** @goblinodds this one asymmetry powers like half the fucking global economy

Half?

### [Thread, continued, 12:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786011553264738717) · 2 likes

### [Reply, 15:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786062937485984225) · 1 like

This is a bold heterodox claim

### [Reply to @the_yanco, 16:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786069727850180718) · 7 likes

> **Yanco (@the_yanco):** Do you feel like you have a "Plot Armor"?
>
> Stress on the word FEEL - even if you rationally understand it is not so.
>
> (Plot armor is a plot device wherein a character is preserved from harm. E.g. James Bond)

Being born an American citizen to supportive, upper middle class parents is a pretty legit form of plot armor. Another word to describe this is “privilege”

## Friday, May 3, 2024

### [Reply to @bijibiji2023, 04:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786248945770823727) · 3 likes

> **hoff 🧒🏻😻 (@bijibiji2023):** it is better to have gambled and lost than to have not gambled at all

Idk about this one

### [Reply to @abettertake, 05:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786264645017211296) · 2 likes

> **joon (@abettertake):** Everyone follow @JesseTayRiver he’s a heckuva guy. Did you know a gas water boiler has this unconnected flu and you just sorta hope gas goes up it? But if your hvac is right next to it and not perfectly sealed you could be blowing gas into your house instead?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMnxKW0akAASJQ2.jpg)
> (quoting @JesseTayRiver: @abettertake Did you ever get around to checking for water heater spilling? A couple weeks ago I had a client with a concealed water heater flue pipe disconnect where the gases were partly being pulled back into the house via return leakage in the attic so there's also that)

Agreed

### [Reply to @abettertake, 05:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786265827722854706) · 2 likes

> **joon (@abettertake):** Everyone follow @JesseTayRiver he’s a heckuva guy. Did you know a gas water boiler has this unconnected flu and you just sorta hope gas goes up it? But if your hvac is right next to it and not perfectly sealed you could be blowing gas into your house instead?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMnxKW0akAASJQ2.jpg)
> (quoting @JesseTayRiver: @abettertake Did you ever get around to checking for water heater spilling? A couple weeks ago I had a client with a concealed water heater flue pipe disconnect where the gases were partly being pulled back into the house via return leakage in the attic so there's also that)

Would you vote for Jesse if he ran for office?

### [Reply to @daniel_271828, 05:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786266506763932067) · 3 likes

> **zzDANIEL_ETH (@daniel_271828):** What are some examples of convergent evolution across different complex, multicellular lifeforms \*from different kingdoms\* (in particular, between animals and either plants or fungi)?

Convergent evolution between hairy apes and sand: both can talk

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMoX60LWEAANx2a.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMoX60MWoAAZ_a7.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMoX60LWgAAcAdp.jpg)

### [Reply to @flyosity, 05:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786267991983722541) · 4 likes

> **Mike Rundle (@flyosity):** Every developer has something running on AWS they can't find to turn off right?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMlRigWXEAAIjth.jpg)

I will be paying 1 penny a month to google until the heat death of the universe

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMoZRSiWkAACTaU.jpg)

### [Reply to @dioscuri, 05:44 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786270670101311860) · 2 likes

> **Henry Shevlin (@dioscuri):** @AaronBergman18 But how do you kiss Dwarkesh Patel? That’s the million dollar question.

Real

### [Tweet, 05:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786273428196016297) · 18 likes

I only ever hear about product managers in tech

Is there like one guy who is in charge of Cheerios? Head of Men’s Athletic Ankle Socks at Nike?

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 05:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786274153990955350) · 2 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** Can’t believe I’m putting this online, but on one of me and my fiancée’s first dates, I told her I didn’t really know how to kiss, so we looked up the WikiHow article on making out together. There ARE people who can be patient with your shyness. :p

Based

### [Reply to @SchmidtIbanez, 06:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786279871590568348) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @SchmidtIbanez is no longer available.)_

Poast best sticker

### [Reply to @polisisti, 18:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786469488319201434) · 2 likes

> **Alessandro (@polisisti):** @SchmidtIbanez @AaronBergman18 IMO Aaron's request is still valid :D

😤

### [Reply to @SchmidtIbanez, 18:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786469574814142491) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @SchmidtIbanez is no longer available.)_

I do like airbags

### [Reply to @littIeramblings, 18:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786470287841632455) · 3 likes

> **sarah (@littIeramblings):** good morning, it’s my birthday ☀️
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMpNG40WwAAiuz9.jpg)

Ok

### [Reply to @eigenrobot, 19:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786474295364931676) · 2 likes

> **eigenrobot (@eigenrobot):** new enemy i have is rabbits
>
> damn things killed all my strawberries first
>
> now they're starting to just bite branches off my blueberry bushes. had to set up chicken wire today
>
> why are they doing this. its spring. go eat some grass assholes

Thank u for giving the rabbits a yummy treat ❤️

### [Reply to @luckypennyy_, 19:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786479318433972732) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @luckypennyy_ is no longer available.)_

### [Reply to @drmillybarker, 19:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786483616450576520) · 2 likes

> **Milly Barker (@drmillybarker):** Who is building the 'if I die, here's all my important info' (banking, bills, last will and testament, etc.) software?

People most interested in and capable of the technical problem are also the least likely to die

New type of market failure just dropped

### [Reply to @keysmashbandit, 19:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786483760671731916) · 3 likes

> **keysmashbandit (@keysmashbandit):** weird mold
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMrbpeOWgAATyRX.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMrbpeZWYAA29HN.jpg)

I don’t like mold. Bad vibes

### [Reply to @keysmashbandit, 20:01 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786486271403077898) · 2 likes

> **keysmashbandit (@keysmashbandit):** because it's going to take over the earth you mean?

That wasn’t what I was thinking but yeah that doesn’t help

### [Reply to @univrsw3th4rt, 20:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786491321533739263) · 10 likes

> **universe sweetheart 💓🌈💭 (@univrsw3th4rt):** if you took me out, where would we go?
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/univrsw3th4rt/status/1786490989172920826/video/1)

Couch where we both post on twitter side by side with space for the lord in between

### [Quote tweet, 20:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786492620618801306) · 5 likes

Lol

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMrlkicWoAANl__.jpg)

> **Quoting Dissproportionately (@dissproportion):** Hahahaha of course I don’t take it personally! 🥲🥲🥲
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMrQgQ4WkAAtNIS.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 20:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786492658434679099) · 2 likes

### [Reply to @Rado9910, 20:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786493835767402905) · 5 likes

> **Rado9910 (@Rado9910):** Community notes are a tool to highlight the majority opinion, not a tool for fact-checking.

They empirically seem to be good at fact checking. All the data is up for download btw https://x.com/i/communitynotes/download-data

### [Quote tweet, 20:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786494889171079258) · 7 likes

FYI community notes data is free for ur interest and analysis https://x.com/i/communitynotes/download-data

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** @Rado9910 They empirically seem to be good at fact checking. All the data is up for download btw https://x.com/i/communitynotes/download-data

### [Reply to @pli_cachete, 20:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786495052681744631) · 4 likes

> **Rota Is In Israel🚪🧎‍♂️ (@pli_cachete):** Hate when you were having a sleep over at an ‘ingredients only’ house and you want snacks in the middle of the night but have to end up eating like chocolate chips

Chocolate chips are an s-tier snack

### [Reply to @fordoglunk, 20:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786495232155980217) · 2 likes

> **Gordo MONK: Champion of Peace ☮️ and Calm😶‍🌫️ (@fordoglunk):** @pli_cachete Chocolate chips actually beast mode s tier treat soooo yummy

Damn beat me by a few seconds

### [Reply to @pli_cachete, 20:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786495325219225649) · 7 likes

> **Rota Is In Israel🚪🧎‍♂️ (@pli_cachete):** Hate when you were having a sleep over at an ‘ingredients only’ house and you want snacks in the middle of the night but have to end up eating like chocolate chips

You’ve unleashed chocolate chip twitter

### [Quote tweet, 20:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786496494851309798) · 148 likes

That guy is a 5-6? It’s over

> **Quoting Chadmaxxing (@ChadMaxxer):** When you put an average male face against an average female face we can notice a few things:
>
> The average female, a 7-8 is substantially better looking than the average male, a 5-6.
>
> It is socially acceptable for women to artificially enhance their looks from this point (makeup, filler, hair styles) so this 7-8 can very easily become a 9 without much effort.
>
> Joe Shmoe (the average guy) stands no chance with women, would get overlooked/rejected in the club and every Joe Shmoe would feel lucky getting with the average woman.
>
> This is important for a few reasons:
>
> 1\. To show us how a simp based society has caused the inflation of attention towards women and therefore lowering our standards.
>
> 2\. How picky women are by all competing for the top 7-10 scoring men.
>
> 3\. How important it is as a man to work on your appearance either intentionally or indirectly.
>
> 4\. How easy it is to disappear as a male, you either get your shit together or become invisible to the world. Probably explains why we have a higher rate of suicide.
>
> What do I mean by this?
>
> Some people have the idea that it is superficial and unattractive for a man to intentionally look better (going to the gym for vanity, skin care beyond hygiene, etc etc)
>
> You can think this way and still do things for your health etc, for example by going to the gym in order to be strong and healthy but indirectly looking better.
>
> Personally, as long as it's via natural routes and not obsessive, I would recommend plenty of ways to look better as a man via diet, exercise, style, whole body posture and other methods.
>
> It isn't wrong to improve your rank in the pecking order, it isn't wrong to strive to present your best, even if not for sexual reasons.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMpcaHTa4AAFfX1.png)

### [Reply to @arithmoquine, 21:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786506729234284608) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @arithmoquine is no longer available.)_

Congrats!!

### [Tweet, 21:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786508166416449870) · 133 likes

You, a noob: has to pay $400 for LessWrong Global (not the official name)

Me, an intellectual: has to pay just $392

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMrztbVWEAAhm-c.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 21:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786508170749206591) · 18 likes

I also wonder whether this is fully refundable (wouldn’t be a bad idea imo)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMrzts0XAAAKvIH.jpg)

### [Reply to @arithmoquine, 21:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786509272416706845) · 8 likes

> **henry (@arithmoquine):** @AaronBergman18 UMM, ACTUALLY, I only have to pay $399.63 💪

Tyler Cowen is paying that, pipe down

### [Tweet, 21:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786510451255148952) · 30 likes

MeN CoUlDn’t rEaLlY LaNd a pLaNe iN An eMeRgEnCy

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMr1yW4XMAE2KKN.jpg)

## Saturday, May 4, 2024

### [Reply to @arithmoquine, 02:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786590524612153451) · 2 likes

> **henry (@arithmoquine):** @AaronBergman18 i tested this in one of those fancy realistic flight simulators. i could not land a plane

Well ur like 12 so give it a few years

### [Reply to @dbcmckee, 03:02 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786592097111257290)

> **Darren McKee (@dbcmckee):** Super weird to me that it is on the same weekend.
> EAG takes up 3 weekends in the year, even with other holidays, there must be so many other options.

Not obvious to me whether they’re more like complements or substitutes/competitors. Plausibly some people who’d go to just one or neither will go to parts of both this way

But I agree it’s weird cc @ohabryka

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 07:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786666359461441668) · 6 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 3, 2024:** That guy is a 5-6? It’s over

Even besides the fact that this is hyperbole (obviously, I think), ppl are misinterpreting me lol

Nothing to do with the fact that these pictures are averages - just the correspondence between the guy’s image and 5-6 rating

### [Thread, continued, 07:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786666473999483311) · 3 likes

We’re so back

### [Reply to @kacaanad, 07:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786666930264232012) · 3 likes

> **charlene 🤎 (@kacaanad):** He’s engagement farming his insecure followers into hating themselves/women even more

I have been farmed 😔

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 08:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786667325296419168) · 4 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 4, 2024:** We’re so back

Extremely back

### [Reply to @mealreplacer, 08:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786669039613292559) · 7 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @mealreplacer is no longer available.)_

Cute mini reflection

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMuGBa-XMAABykE.jpg)

### [Reply to @_R4V3N5_, 08:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786674077404471484) · 2 likes

> **ravens (@_R4V3N5_):** what I've learned from this post is zoomers don't know tmux. all they know is vscode, chatgpt, eat hot chip, and watch anime
>
> (quoting @_R4V3N5_: the people who use the terminal built into vscode are a different breed man...)

Why would I want to do this? Having more than one thing running stresses me out

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMuKmo1WwAAtkLA.jpg)

### [Tweet, 08:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786677157139468747) · 58 likes

Bears, would you rather run into a man or a woman in the woods?

### [Thread, continued, 08:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786677757075693908) · 2 likes

Cc @sumdepony @RafaRuizdeLira (the latter is an honorary bear)

### [Tweet, 08:43 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786677973610791230) · 9 likes

Men and women, would you rather run into a bear or into the woods?

### [Reply to @RatOrthodox, 09:02 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786682915369206019) · 3 likes

> **Brangus🔍⏹️ (@RatOrthodox):** A taxonomy of different kinds of confusions would be a nice thing to have. Propose general types of confusion below.

Not sure your examples are distinct from those of old school cognitive biases and logical fallacies (in b4 “lol confused about confusion”)

IMO “confusion” is in functional terms like a high-order cognitive process flagging that a lower level one isn’t working right -

### [Reply to @lightxvision, 09:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786696710636315053) · 15 likes

> **light (@lightxvision):** Why are you, as a man, not 100% convinced that you could become a world class athlete if you truly put your heart and soul into it

I basically did this from 13-17 and came out with a fucked up endocrine system and this take

### [Reply to @metakuna, 10:06 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786698787810869444) · 5 likes

> **metakuna (14/100 blog posts) (@metakuna):** what sport?

Competitive rock climbing - I have a handful of pictures from sport climbing nationals 2017 in my camera roll but like
a bajillion more on my computer and/or Google drive somewhere to dig up

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMuhFBeWUAA_pXY.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMuhFBfXcAA8D7g.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMuhFBdWoAACe-e.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMuhFBiW8AE40Bd.jpg)

### [Reply to @metakuna, 10:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786699400082780465) · 3 likes

> **metakuna (14/100 blog posts) (@metakuna):** oh cool!

And in case you’ve been living under a rock, @arthur_wright\_  and I discuss this here! https://www.aaronbergman.net/p/12-arthur-wright-and-i-discuss-whether

### [Reply to @_alice_evans, 10:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786703547297419442) · 1 like

> **Alice Evans (@_alice_evans):** I was just invited to speak at a women’s rights conference..
>
> But!
>
> Before the organisers want to check my views, to ascertain I have the proper ideology.
>
> “Do you agree that.. surrogacy is a form of violence against women?”
>
> \[Um, no.. \]
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMqQNU8aUAAqqd8.jpg)

Pretty bad

### [Reply to @GarrettPetersen, 11:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786715395157524800) · 2 likes

> **Dr. Dad, PhD 🔄🔼◀️🔽▶️ (@GarrettPetersen):** Every nerd has a story about the time they re-invented binary search from first principles as a child.

Yeah but did they all do this

### [Quote tweet, 11:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786716836911841631) · 38 likes

I think people should be nice to each other

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMuxfhuXMAA-ji9.jpg)

> **Quoting Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman):** Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, "Lizzo! Lizzo!" and shout, "F\*\*k you fatass, f\*\*k you b\*tch" at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine.
>
> Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews?
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/ashtonpittman/status/1786397478696231283/video/1)

### [Reply to @potterlab, 11:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786718251713507567) · 1 like

> **John Potter spirit/acc (@potterlab):** ❤️/acc
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMs6H-0bgAAL4Ze.jpg)

@RafaRuizdeLira

### [Reply, 22:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786893108434612646)

Yes is this a thing?

### [Reply to @arthur_wright_, 23:01 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786894038244712525) · 3 likes

> **Arthur Wrong 🔸 (@arthur_wright_):** very much so. especially for debut releases
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMxSgRjXoAADIZK.jpg)

Aaron Bergman

### [Reply to @sebkrier, 23:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786895342060941509) · 1 like

> **Séb Krier (@sebkrier):** just solved alignment 👍🏽
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMvAGKwXsAARavv.jpg)

👍

### [Quote tweet, 23:29 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786901088781664365) · 17 likes

Anecdote about this: the reach of by far my most wide-reaching tweet can probably be attributed to @VitalikButerin somehow seeing it and liking it super early on

Idk how that happened though

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMxZEcwWMAAfZy1.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMxZEczW8AAxGfv.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMxZEcxWEAA_xex.jpg)

> **Quoting jp (@inflammateomnia):** If you're a big enough account, you're assigned your own simcluster. This is why you get five posts from rainmaker1973 or science girl or skoookum when you refresh your feed
> They've become a topic unto themselves. The rich get richer baby

### [Reply to @LabGrownNeet, 23:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786901668459684075) · 2 likes

> **laს გr🤗wn იeet (@LabGrownNeet):** Gf had to schedule some occupational licensing test. And the website wasn't working.
>
> I determined that they were validating whether the "I certify" checkbox is checked on their backend. When you check the box, the relevant attribute in the request json has a value of "True, I certify". And the request 400s because it's required to have some other value.
>
> I tried replacing the value with true, "true", "True", "TRUE", "certify", "CERTIFY", etc. Nothing was working.
>
> Then I simply removed the whole attribute from the request. Maybe if it's not present they won't validate it? IT WORKED
>
> But gf wont schedule the test because she doesnt want her certification to be built on crime 😭

Crime 👻

### [Reply to @christineist, 23:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786902005446754554) · 2 likes

> **christine (@christineist):** 😸😸
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/christineist/status/1786870325013266750/video/1)

Nice

### [Quote tweet, 23:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786905683767578946) · 189 likes

EULER WAS 18TH CENTURY??? MY BRAIN CLUSTERS HIM WITH LIKE PLATO AND ARISTOTLE

> **Quoting Burny - Effective Curiosity (@burny_tech):** What equations would you add?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMvVAYqXgAAbRkh.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 23:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786905687060025617) · 32 likes

Just bc of the name tbh. It sounds like an old name. Do u know anyone alive rn named Euler? I didn’t think so

### [Reply to @Bbburner19, 23:50 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786906311201857713) · 2 likes

> **The People Mover That Was Promised (@Bbburner19):** @AaronBergman18 If you have a child you know what name they need now.

No child as of yet but I will keep this in mind thx

### [Reply to @ElytraMithra, 23:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786906575803756952) · 27 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @ElytraMithra is no longer available.)_

Ya probably. They should have stopped making names that start with Eu when the dinosaurs died

## Sunday, May 5, 2024

### [Reply, 00:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786909944597385264) · 1 like

I hate when ppl do this kind of thing

### [Reply to @bijibiji2023, 00:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786912146619617452) · 2 likes

> **hoff 🧒🏻😻 (@bijibiji2023):** I couldn’t help it I yelled at him and told him to mind his manners 😭no jokes were told I just chewed him the fuck out
>
> (quoting @bijibiji2023: this guy is being really annoying at urgent care and talking down to the woman at the front about federal regulations she has no control over. thinking about walking up to him and telling him my 200 pound boyfriend would look really hot in his outfit, but like in an ironic way)

Oh snap

### [Reply to @prerat, 00:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786914640485601421) · 2 likes

> **prerat (@prerat):** i would never wear a lab diamond ring. i want my ring made from a real american cow

Chuckled irl

### [Reply to @warty_dog, 00:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786914939589865477) · 25 likes

> **troon (@warty_dog):** close! that's a euclid

Is that a color or a shape

### [Reply to @WillowChem, 00:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786918023581913268) · 5 likes

> **MagpAI (@WillowChem):** Have you considered the humble shrimp?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMxOBLTWEAAb11i.jpg)

Yes

### [Reply to @polisisti, 00:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786918819501334833) · 11 likes

> **Alessandro (@polisisti):** @AaronBergman18 Euler, Gauss, Fermat, Pascal, Descartes are all early modern to modern

Ya but only one of these guys has an ancient ass name. Like if there is a guy called Persophacles the Wise, I am gonna guess that he wasn’t born in 1996

### [Reply to @202accepted, 00:46 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786920372366971298) · 4 likes

> **𝚓𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚢 (@202accepted):** ngl i’ll always appreciate that this guy sticks to his guns and believes what he believes
>
> can’t say that about many actual politicians these days
>
> (quoting @SenFettermanPA: btw, this is the thing that makes lab meat)

I’d rather he have less genuine but more correct takes

### [Reply to @StefanFSchubert, 00:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786923280357572629) · 5 likes

> **Stefan Schubert (@StefanFSchubert):** @dr_alphalyrae Yes.
>
> Cows sometimes kill people.

Well it goes both ways

### [Reply to @catehall, 01:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786927933539463409) · 5 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @catehall is no longer available.)_

Explain?

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 02:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786941917483114722) · 7 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** @AaronBergman18 Presumably I don’t need to explain to you that this doesn’t make sense, but… Do you just not know any of Euler’s math, or did you think he was doing calculus in Ancient Greece?

Option 1

### [Reply to @pli_cachete, 02:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786947891736506578) · 7 likes

> **Rota Is In Israel🚪🧎‍♂️ (@pli_cachete):** @AaronBergman18 ?

I’m not a historian

### [Tweet, 02:44 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786950159978385469) · 10 likes

I still think there should be a .meme file format which is like .png + some ggplot2::geom_text() code for how to add text on top

I’m guessing people will object to using R for this. Fine, do it your way, idc

### [Quote tweet, 02:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786950897429324181) · 24 likes

This reminds me, we have work to do @SpacedOutMatt @Laura_k_Duffy

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMyGXsoWcAAXFde.jpg)

> **Quoting MagpAI (@WillowChem):** Have you considered the humble shrimp?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMxOBLTWEAAb11i.jpg)

### [Reply to @RFishBlueFish, 02:52 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786952190524850422) · 1 like

> **Gil (@RFishBlueFish):** @AaronBergman18 Found it https://open.substack.com/pub/othermeans/p/we-have-leverage-and-we-should-use?r=20zhou&utm_medium=ios

Good title

### [Quote tweet, 03:02 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786954649183867303) · 10 likes

Computers should not be able to do this.

> **Quoting tetsuo (@tetsuoai):** Can your LLM create an obfuscated C donut that produces an animated ASCII donut?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMwfUp3XEAAQY1Y.png)
> [GIF attached](https://x.com/7etsuo/status/1786837935712595991/photo/1)

### [Reply to @dissproportion, 03:06 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786955602679247124) · 3 likes

> **Dissproportionately (@dissproportion):** Not helpful. Anybody want to actually translate this for me?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMyI52PXYAAjSOw.jpg)

Sure, it means 🐍 丽

### [Reply to @eigenrobot, 03:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786955735332438247) · 1 like

> **eigenrobot (@eigenrobot):** i dont know who drake or who kendrick llamar are
>
> who's winning

Kendrick 🦙r

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 03:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786955974168732153) · 2 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** @AaronBergman18 You don’t know, like, Euler’s identity (e^i\*pi=-1)?

That seems like some Ancient Greek shit

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 03:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786956459093221576) · 3 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** @AaronBergman18 You know they didn’t have imaginary numbers right

Bro do I look like a math historian ?

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 03:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786956943589863537) · 2 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** @AaronBergman18 Okay one last question. Can you remind us all what you studied in college?

Sure! It was math, econ, and philosophy. I only took one history course and it was history of Japan

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 03:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786957779174895758) · 8 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** @AaronBergman18 I hope you can forgive my teasing :p

U are forgiven

### [Reply to @_chair, 03:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786958256532807976) · 10 likes

> **Chair (@_chair):** questionnaire and phrasing: "If you could be assured that no one would know and that you could in no way be punished for engaging in the following acts, how likely, if at all, would you be to commit such acts?" / list of items including "rape," numerical "likely/unlikely" scale
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMyGWZlWsAAAw65.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMyGWZlW4AEz2Nm.jpg)

Oof

### [Reply to @prerat, 03:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786959810698858923) · 3 likes

> **prerat (@prerat):** @AaronBergman18 probably just svg all the way down?

Oh huh I guess this is already a thing. But it’s not like easy to use afaik for editing memes

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMyOefwXMAEmECA.jpg)

### [Reply to @DeepDishEnjoyer, 03:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786960989667127637) · 7 likes

> **peepeepoopoo (@DeepDishEnjoyer):** okay there is no way Aaron isn't baiting
>
> (quoting @AaronBergman18: EULER WAS 18TH CENTURY??? MY BRAIN CLUSTERS HIM WITH LIKE PLATO AND ARISTOTLE)

Lol

### [Reply to @typeclonghouse, 03:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786961220991369616) · 5 likes

> **technology sista (aspiring) (@typeclonghouse):** @AaronBergman18 I'm pretty sure you're confusing him with Euclid and maybe this is also a troll

Yes to pt 1, no to pt 2 lol

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 03:29 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786961426394775672) · 9 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 5, 2024:** Lol

Wait is this supposed to be a double negative or an implied semicolon/comma between the clauses? Do u think I’m baiting or no?

### [Quote tweet, 03:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786961636055478612) · 5 likes

Free idea for the taking

> **Quoting prerat (@prerat):** @AaronBergman18 yeah a native meme editor for svg would be sick

### [Reply to @DeepDishEnjoyer, 03:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786962453202407613) · 2 likes

> **peepeepoopoo (@DeepDishEnjoyer):** your account is bait. it's just impossible to be this uneducated as a Georgetown grad. i don't believe it

Need to tag some fellow Hoyas to prove it. @PeterJAngel @thornyproblems  what’s a dumb take u have?

### [Reply to @DeepDishEnjoyer, 03:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786963090728198206) · 66 likes

> **peepeepoopoo (@DeepDishEnjoyer):** your account is bait. it's just impossible to be this uneducated as a Georgetown grad. i don't believe it

Fr though I think you’re just wrong, and most graduates from literally every university incl. Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, etc. have substantial general knowledge gaps that just don’t come up or get exposed often (inherently, because if they did come up they’d get learned)

### [Tweet, 03:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786963912501362880) · 29 likes

Who wants to start a beef?

### [Reply to @DeepDishEnjoyer, 03:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786964039878221921) · 12 likes

> **peepeepoopoo (@DeepDishEnjoyer):** dude you're completely not up to mark

Ok

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 03:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786964192173375945) · 5 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 5, 2024:** Who wants to start a beef?

Also still on offer. Not mutually exclusive

### [Reply to @jaybaxter, 03:43 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786965001544102152) · 3 likes

> **Jay Baxter (@jaybaxter):** @AaronBergman18 I'll only start a lab-grown beef with you

🥰

### [Reply to @SpacedOutMatt, 03:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786966468891975785) · 3 likes

> **Matt 🔸 (@SpacedOutMatt):** @AaronBergman18

Ya I’m the opposite. Somehow I’ve installed python and all the packages like 9 different times in 18 different ways and still everything is broke

### [Reply to @wwa_3, 03:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1786968055253213402) · 7 likes

> **Will 😎 (@wwa_3):** Dude next to me at the restaurant is meeting up with an ex gf who cheated on him. Literal transcript,
>
> Her: “I was a bad girlfriend”
>
> Him: “no you weren’t!”
>
> Her: “I cheated on you. Of course I was a bad girlfriend”

Sounds like she was a bad gf

### [Reply, 20:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787222578672599409) · 1 like

¿

### [Quote tweet, 20:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787223045364387995) · 9 likes

Strange coalitions do form

> **Quoting tautologer (@tautologer):** lab grown chicken is lower PUFA than reference USDA chicken, LFG 🚀

### [Reply to @algekalipso, 20:53 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787224214979682773) · 2 likes

> **Captain Pleasure, Andrés Gómez Emilsson (@algekalipso):** Are you "on the spectrum" (for autism)?

I honestly do not know

### [Reply to @mattyglesias, 20:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787224349306396857) · 2 likes

> **Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias):** Sad that Green Day has gone NIMBY
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM1Cf0YWsAAEHty.jpg)

😢

### [Reply to @tautologer, 21:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787230426311901441) · 2 likes

> **tautologer (@tautologer):** @AaronBergman18 I've always been a lab grown meat guy! I'm new to the anti-PUFA stuff

Same actually lol

### [Quote tweet, 21:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787231961792074016) · 12 likes

Out of curiosity, do you think this is basically right or basically wrong?

Try to decouple-maxx and don’t vote as a proxy like for or against me or PPPP

Poll below

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** @DeepDishEnjoyer Fr though I think you’re just wrong, and most graduates from literally every university incl. Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, etc. have substantial general knowledge gaps that just don’t come up or get exposed often (inherently, because if they did come up they’d get learned)

### [Thread, continued, 21:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787231964539290097) · 3 likes

“Fr though I think you’re just wrong, and most graduates from literally every university incl. Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, etc. have substantial general knowledge gaps that just don’t come up or get exposed often (inherently, because if they did come up they’d get learned)”

### [Tweet, 21:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787233417177743385) · 4 likes

You’re telling me R is just a Rust wrapper?

Screaming, crying, throwing up, etc

### [Reply, 21:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787235148271866354) · 1 like

I will, thanks! FWIW I’m far from convinced it (well any of a number of clustering theories) is true, but think we should have a decent prior on “large population started consuming what was previously a micronutrient as a macronutrient at the same time as obesity…

### [Thread, continued, 21:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787235308527833159) · 1 like

took off in the same population, so there’s a causal link”

### [Reply to @SelonNerias, 21:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787235804923723842) · 1 like

> **Selon Nerias (@SelonNerias):** for eel?

What’s the story behind these? Is it like a feature twitter tried and mostly abandoned?

### [Quote tweet, 21:46 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787237569240993936) · 7 likes

FWIW I also think the last line is basically  correct reasoning: unless you’re really, counterfactually, non-trivially speeding up \*frontier\* AI progress you should stay in and/or try to get hired by OpenAI et al

> **Quoting Matthew Barnett (@MatthewJBar):** I've seen several EAs leave OpenAI recently. Most of them appear to have left voluntarily, perhaps out of concerns that OpenAI isn't acting responsibly. Does anyone have more info about what caused this? Also, wouldn't you want to stay to help make the org more responsible?

### [Reply to @c64f7e94, 21:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787237739424780308) · 4 likes

> **Joe (@c64f7e94):** @AaronBergman18 Isn't it obvious that Euler would have come much later than Aristotle (overrated btw)? I mean, Euler's association with calculus is pretty close, so he wouldn't have been earlier than Newton.

It’s obvious if you know all that, but that background knowledge isn’t obvious lol

### [Reply to @CharlesD353, 21:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787237946401137025) · 1 like

> **Charles🔸 (@CharlesD353):** The idea that "obesity took off" in the sense that there was a discontinuity in how much fatter people were getting is just a quite silly misinterpretation of statistics, I think.
>
> (quoting @AnechoicMedia_: This recurring argument is wrong because nothing "suddenly" happened to obesity in the 1980s. Weight increased linearly the whole time. Because "obesity" is an arbitrary BMI threshold, its prevalence changes non-linearly even if the underlying rate of increase is unchanging.)

Hmm

### [Reply to @c64f7e94, 21:53 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787239252197032298) · 2 likes

> **Joe (@c64f7e94):** @AaronBergman18 Haha. Ok, well how about the fact that he has a first and last name!

I literally don’t know his first name

### [Reply, 22:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787243915633906079)

Big if true

### [Reply to @LeetAlpaca3, 22:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787245204568777199) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @LeetAlpaca3 is no longer available.)_

😤

### [Reply, 22:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787246299089133732) · 1 like

@peterwildeford you were right 😔

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM2TCWLW8AAvAku.jpg)

### [Reply to @PradyuPrasad, 22:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787253034277392521) · 3 likes

> **Pradyumna 🇸🇬 (@PradyuPrasad):** like http://stop.ai has a page where they said "if you don't license the building of sub GPT-3 level models something bad will happen"
>
> and look! everyone and their dog can run llama2 7b on their computer now! nothing has happened!
>
> (quoting @PradyuPrasad: only opinion of mine i seriously disagree with in hindsight is when I was full xrisk doomer for a few months maybe when bing sydney came out)

I don’t feel like digging up this page but literally zero people I know thought/think this. Likewise about gpt-4, and mostly about gpt-5

Still think p(doom) over the next decade is high

### [Reply to @anglerfish01, 23:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787256197692748088) · 4 likes

> **angLerfish (@anglerfish01):** @AaronBergman18 Curious why you chose to major in math?

https://80000hours.org/2013/11/summary-of-our-thoughts-on-how-to-pick-a-degree/

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM2cCg5WMAIvHx5.jpg)

### [Reply to @tautologer, 23:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787268531819544684) · 1 like

> **tautologer (@tautologer):** @SpacedOutMatt @AaronBergman18 good article. this is my takeaway, except I subscribe to the middle-strength theory, because I have a much more negative view of the purported evidence that saturated fat is bad for you
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM2nAUibEAA8r15.jpg)

Ya I agree with the last paragraph mostly but think on balance most people should indeed avoid them

### [Reply to @annakhachiyan, 23:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787270615717556523) · 5 likes

> **Anna Khachiyan (@annakhachiyan):**
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM2odLFWkAA10X1.jpg)
> (quoting @nfr_podcast: KENDRICK LAMAR CONFIRMS MORE DRAKE DISS TRACKS OTW 🚨 “Rabbit hole is still deep I can go farther I promise”)

J Cole wins

## Monday, May 6, 2024

### [Tweet, 00:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787279249411363109) · 11 likes

Do u think it’s possible to do DL at scale in Google Sheets? Bc that’s free compute right there and presumably Google dedicates a decent amount to Sheets in general

### [Quote tweet, 00:50 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787283668815483064) · 21 likes

Weird account name

> **Quoting DepressedBergman (@DannyDrinksWine):** What's the most iconic shot from a tv show?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GMwOaA2WwAAmLzp.jpg)

### [Reply to @asher5772, 00:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787284875747217498) · 4 likes

> **Asher (@asher5772):** pretty much dodged the question -- smnth along the lines of "I think thats an ill-formed question, because whether its 2 or 10 or 90, we should take it seriously. But we can't let doomerism get in the way of progress"

Bad take, 2 vs 90 matters a lot

### [Reply to @daniellellecco, 01:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787289327354990935) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to by @daniellellecco is no longer available.)_

Lol

### [Thread, continued, 01:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787289451346919725) · 1 like

Lol isn’t the right word. More like “huh”

### [Reply to @daniellellecco, 01:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787290107034087562) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to by @daniellellecco is no longer available.)_

Me on hinge: “i.e., e.g., 😏😏😏”

### [Reply to @202accepted, 01:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787290733625450664) · 5 likes

> **𝚓𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚢 (@202accepted):** imagine the checkout at F1 asking “would you like to tip 20% on your $120 vegetarian steamed buns?”
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM27GQ9aYAE4B5a.jpg)

Wait wtf why are those things so expensive

### [Reply to @202accepted, 01:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787291129441911074) · 2 likes

> **𝚓𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚢 (@202accepted):** @AaronBergman18 low interest rates

Ah

### [Reply to @PradyuPrasad, 02:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787307954435162223) · 3 likes

> **Pradyumna 🇸🇬 (@PradyuPrasad):** @AaronBergman18 no the page says exactly that.
>
> "yes it is not an existential threat but if they proliferate they are a thread"
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM3JthobMAArJ-o.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM3Jumya0AAwki5.png)

I believe the page says that, I just don’t think it’s representative of even the 1% most doomery of boomers

### [Tweet, 02:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787309776507908357) · 43 likes

There are definitely a non-zero number of like high schoolers and college freshmen who are really confused what BDSM has to do with Israel but are too afraid to ask

### [Reply to @davidad, 02:52 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787314529740656733) · 1 like

> **davidad 🎇 (@davidad):** When people list fraud at a massive scale as their top AI concern, some of my xrisk friends wince at the insignificance of massive fraud compared to extinction.
> But consider that con-artistry is a more likely attack surface for unrecoverable AI takeover than, say, bioengineering.

Hard to think about but fraud also requires essentially the consent of society/the US government to keep on valuing dollars, which is usually the right choice bc world economy >> fraud in terms of size and importance

### [Reply to @jdcmedlock, 03:50 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787329079693197565) · 3 likes

> **James Medlock (@jdcmedlock):** Still amazed by this take. How many billions would students have to invest to gain meaningful influence over arms sales?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM0oqHNaUAAeUtz.jpg)
> (quoting @jdcmedlock: @MMiraculorum "Instead of protesting, have you tried simply owning the means of production?")

Unironically if they were incredibly serious about things, EtG tech entrepreneurship would be a key message. I feel like this reads like a joke but it’s not

### [Thread, continued, 03:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787329327668903993) · 2 likes

Like yeah these students collectively making $100B isn’t far fetched at all conditional on them actually trying

### [Reply to @anammostarac, 04:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787334489615614146) · 8 likes

> **Ana Mostarac (@anammostarac):** Rates need to go higher
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/anammostarac/status/1787297953075679553/video/1)

Nah based

### [Reply to @shinboson, 04:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787334967057408062) · 2 likes

> **𝞍 Shin Megami Boson 𝞍 (@shinboson):** 👏 all 👏 facts 👏 are 👏 fun 👏

Hmm no most but some facts are extremely anti-fun

### [Reply, 16:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787516518953058780) · 5 likes

It’s not bait

### [Reply, 16:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787516772624609637) · 2 likes

🎣

### [Reply to @powerbottomdad1, 17:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787537070677737621) · 2 likes

> **sucks (@powerbottomdad1):** my perfect wife and my angelic 3 month old daughter keep giggling in the next room over. jesus christ. don't they know i'm trying to FUCKING CODE

😡

### [Reply to @JesseTayRiver, 17:41 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787538216880427356) · 6 likes

> **Jesse Smith (@JesseTayRiver):** YIMBY reflections on HVAC licensing from my renewal class
> \- ~7500 HVAC licenses in NJ (some inactive)
> \- 15 people obtained licenses last year
> \- The licensing exam has ~90% failure rate
> \- ~230 licenses lost/yr (usually via death)
> \- ~10% of license holders are <40 yo

So basically fewer and fewer providers each year?

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 20:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787587567459746190) · 6 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** Guy who calls Boston "the Bay Area"

DC, Baltimore, and NOVA = The Chesapeake Bay Area

### [Tweet, 21:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787591255871922477) · 8 likes

Oh no not again

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM7MxecWkAAF5_6.jpg)

### [Quote tweet, 21:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787591993155084627) · 47 likes

Let it be known that Arthur donated a kidney to a stranger and is either not crazy or very good at hiding it

> **Quoting Arthur Wrong 🔸 (@arthur_wright_):**
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM7EG6lWEAAKCMK.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 21:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787592131642552402) · 3 likes

Context: this was the qt of his tweet

### [Reply to @bayeslord, 21:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787596111022014741) · 3 likes

> **bayes (@bayeslord):** i should start and win a rap beef w someone on the tl
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM3j9QHbEAAzEwe.jpg)

Both sides have access to Claude Opus and Gemini, it’ll be the first Enhanced, superhuman rap battle in history

### [Reply to @Duderichy, 22:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787612369079705661) · 2 likes

> **the Rich (@Duderichy):** there’s no reason to believe a brain contains only a single consciousness

@RethinkPriors doesn’t think so https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/vbhoFsyQmrntru6Kw/do-brains-contain-many-conscious-subsystems-if-so-should-we

### [Reply to @rachelclif, 22:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787612829819736575) · 2 likes

> **rachel (is sending love and warmth your way) (@rachelclif):** what's the sluttiest thing you could do right now?

This might be a decent proxy question for “how should I act?” actually

### [Reply to @focusfronting, 22:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787613144136769874) · 4 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @focusfronting is no longer available.)_

Yeah I don’t think he was really a self-improvement guy at the end of the day

### [Reply to @robertskmiles, 22:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787613852231688666) · 8 likes

> **Rob Miles (@robertskmiles):** I've advocated for saying "twenty" instead of "two thousand and" since twenty-oh-one, but my question now is, when do we drop the 'twenty'?
> Like, '99 was just '99, hardly ever nineteen-ninety-nine. What's the smallest number that's big enough to clearly be a year?

‘35. No reasoning just vibes

### [Reply to @tautologer, 23:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787621191609405444) · 2 likes

> **tautologer (@tautologer):** muscle memory is so funny. I was trying to zoom in, but I don't actually know where the + key is on my symbol layer, only my fingers know, and only in the context of typing. so I literally had to type "a+b" to find the key, and only then could I use it to zoom in

Ya real. My fingers know more of my passwords than I do

### [Reply, 23:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787626728799584315)

Yeah a priori I’d expect the opposite (?)

### [Tweet, 23:43 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787629405780475929) · 58 likes

Deleted Hinge and Tinder. They’re just distractions bc I need to get my physical health and other general shit together first

## Tuesday, May 7, 2024

### [Reply, 02:06 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787665296989315283) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to is no longer available.)_

Disease, or at least much closer to the disease end of the spectrum, and all my professional and fitness and everything else goals basically depend on fixing that

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 02:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787667905053659201) · 2 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** @AaronBergman18 Once my health is fixed it’s so over for you mfs

Here’s to both of us 🍻

### [Quote tweet, 14:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787854303996035564) · 4 likes

Does anybody do this? Or have a take on where it falls on the axis from secretly dangerous to benign bullshit to panacea?

> **Quoting Dalton (Analyze & Optimize) (@Outdoctrination):** For all my people who use red light therapy, how do you do it? Where do you apply, on head, full body? balls?!? how long? do you notice anything?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GDF6dWdWoAMuYwh.jpg)

### [Reply to @RFishBlueFish, 16:46 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1787886785663537548) · 1 like

> **Gil (@RFishBlueFish):** I think if you don’t know the answer is no? Idk maybe all the psych ppl will tell me how autism isn’t a real disorder and everyone is somewhere on the spectrum but my impression was that if nobody has ever told you you’re socially awkward, you’re not on the spectrum

Idk what I’m talking about really but I kinda disagree bc I’m sufficiently abnormal about sensory stuff which seems not to get as much attention (for obvious reasons; it’s intrinsically less visible)

## Wednesday, May 8, 2024

### [Reply to @arithmoquine, 02:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788028729601458205) · 2 likes

> **henry (@arithmoquine):** @RomanHauksson @AaronBergman18 @austinc3301 yes! aaron bergman. you two are the same person in my mental model

Lmaooo I am honored 🙏🏼

### [Thread, continued, 02:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788028988675309656) · 2 likes

Wait wasn’t ur website http://Roman.computer at some point? Did u just change the ending thing for fun?

### [Reply to @WillowChem, 13:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788194942554149143) · 2 likes

> **MagpAI (@WillowChem):** @polisisti "Weird chemicals in the water supply" is a set of hypotheses that never check out and they especially never check out for things restricted to tiny populations

I mean there’s a rock solid step by step mechanism we \*know\* is happening when humans consume phenylalanine in the absence of other amino acids. I added a mini epicycle a while ago which is that any neurochemical positive effect is mediated by …
https://www.aaronbergman.net/p/contra-dynomight-contra-me-but-also

### [Thread, continued, 13:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788195556843458824) · 2 likes

phenethylamine, not dopamine directly. Ofc maybe the effect is too small and maybe eventually some control systems adapt to the stimulus but amphetamines are case in point that at least for some people you can get a non-trivial steady state benefit

It’s been a while since

### [Thread, continued, 13:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788196011866787883) · 3 likes

I looked into this but I think there’s a good case that the ADHD benefits to stims also run mostly or entirely through elevating phenethylamine rather than the neurotransmitters everyone knows and loves directly

Something about clinical effect tracking phen biomarker elevation

### [Tweet, 14:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788212413088637009) · 16 likes

They should make a season like summer but it’s cold and not humid

### [Thread, continued, 14:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788212587110232212) · 2 likes

Who’s working on this

### [Tweet, 20:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788307415202406667) · 3 likes

Adelstein quit twitter, and some of you aren’t huge Hanania fans, but god damnit someone’s gotta post their collab on the tl https://bit.ly/4bv0Gpq

### [Quote tweet, 20:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788310395360256060) · 64 likes

More EA charities (tm) should sell merch. People \*love\* signaling. Hardcore normal virtue signaling (non-pejorative) yes but also like as a sort of fun personality accessory (think bumper stickers)

> **Quoting GiveDirectly💸 (@GiveDirectly):** GiveDirectly merch just dropped. If you’re looking for a way to rep direct giving and reach more donors, this is for you. Order yours by May 22. Read the 🧵 for details and RT your favorite design.
> http://bonfire.com/store/givedirectly-store/

### [Thread, continued, 20:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788310397352558613) · 3 likes

Ofc there’s a spectrum from “give us $1M and we will spend $2 of that to mail you a sticker” and “we’re basically just a merch company at this point” in terms of altruistic effectiveness (is there like a term for caring about that??)…

### [Thread, continued, 20:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788310398979932495) · 4 likes

But I’d guess there’s a decently wide range of models that would be an all things considered improvement (main mechanism I’m guessing would be basically advertising but there’d also be motivational effects and the direct utility of consumer surplus bc people like merch 😤)

### [Quote tweet, 21:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788313927513678168) · 2 likes

The two life strategies

> **Quoting danielle; (@daniellellecco):** we have a tie! (and the pins are split!)
>
> <25% (30%)
> \>75% (30%)

### [Reply to @catehall, 21:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788314864227659796) · 8 likes

> **Cate Hall 🔸 (@catehall):** Me without phenibut: if I walk all the way around the building maybe I can slip by my friends unnoticed
>
> Me with phenibut: hello, stranger-friend! Can I interest you in some EYE CONTACT?

Hmm maybe I should try

I want to be extroverted

### [Thread, continued, 21:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788314989863821543) · 3 likes

I’ve already tried the ol’ oxytocin nasal spray but it didn’t do anything

### [Reply to @mealreplacer, 21:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788319483410477227) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @mealreplacer is no longer available.)_

I would unironically do this on an episode of pigeon hour. I love Dwarkesh but Rob still 🐐

## Thursday, May 9, 2024

### [Reply to @RomanHauksson, 21:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788677223215464768) · 1 like

> **Roman Hauksson-Neill (@RomanHauksson):** I should track which songs I’m listening to during runs to figure out which songs best motivate me to run faster

Can export Spotify data if u have that. Maybe u can ID running ones by proxy (date and time if u record runs)

### [Thread, continued, 21:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788678194054230470) · 2 likes

If running outside/no treadmill this would be pretty easy with apple health data I think. Maybe possible if on treadmill too but less sure

Sorry my brain just starts typing in R without asking permission

### [Reply, 23:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788706912600535493) · 1 like

What combination of circumstances is responsible, if you care to share?

Could be a profitable problem to solve

## Friday, May 10, 2024

### [Tweet, 08:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788851533909553308) · 30 likes

Nobody:

Squirrel: 🐿️

Me: 📸

Google: Cool photo, but here is your ✨Cinematic Photo ✨

[![Video thumbnail](https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1788851522224197632/pu/img/Q2ft-t-unxIYuliv.jpg)](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788851533909553308/video/1) (video, plays on X)

### [Thread, continued, 09:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788859122340831273) · 5 likes

Pause AI // Accelerate whatever this is ⏩⏩⏩

(sound on)

[![Video thumbnail](https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1788859057106718720/pu/img/SkursmKhp9g3Wmst.jpg)](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788859122340831273/video/1) (video, plays on X)

### [Thread, continued, 09:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788860407924343281) · 4 likes

Thank u Google Photos

[![Video thumbnail](https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1788860335014723584/pu/img/HqRYuD8lbCUr4Qei.jpg)](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1788860407924343281/video/1) (video, plays on X)

## Saturday, May 11, 2024

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 00:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789084465102229573) · 4 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** DHS quoted Heidegger to explain why AI isn't an extinction risk
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNO7MK4WUAAFQ2l.png)

I’m convinced

### [Quote tweet, 00:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789085740397125802) · 23 likes

Unironically extremely worth it if you can sell a bunch before getting charged?

> **Quoting WIRED (@WIRED):** Anyone found guilty of selling or manufacturing cultivated meat in Alabama will face up to a three-month jail sentence and $500 fine. https://wired.trib.al/LdrKcnv

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 00:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789086537298203074) · 8 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** @AaronBergman18 seems unlikely you sell enough of it for it to be worth 3 months of jail

Skill issue

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 00:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789086682114879911) · 2 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** @AaronBergman18 also I don’t think anyone beyond a few random nerds will be interested in second hand black market synthetic meat

☹️

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 00:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789087040136462469) · 7 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 11, 2024:** Unironically extremely worth it if you can sell a bunch before getting charged?

Probably has to be done as the Uber strategy “just run a legit-seeming company and hope the public benefit results in non enforcement or a law change”

### [Reply to @keltz_, 00:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789087401605755048) · 3 likes

> **John Keltz (@keltz_):** @AaronBergman18 Broke: secret meth lab
> Woke: secret meat lab

Unfortunately for the coolness factor it would probably be best to import it from abroad (Georgia)

### [Reply to @daniellellecco, 00:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789087685786632295) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @daniellellecco is no longer available.)_

You are legally obligated to make this as described

### [Reply to @HenriThunberg, 00:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789088827635585242) · 2 likes

> **Henri Thunberg 🔸 (@HenriThunberg):** Only siths deal in absolutes, and I'm convinced that people who would invest in this exist.
>
> IMO, a person getting nobly and notably arrested for selling clean meat is pretty news- and meme-worthy.

I can do $1k

### [Reply to @mealreplacer, 00:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789092071241863315) · 11 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @mealreplacer is no longer available.)_

Real

### [Reply to @JesseTayRiver, 00:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789092269129093132) · 5 likes

> **Jesse Smith (@JesseTayRiver):** I feel this story 100% from your dad's side. Just start talking it's not that hard!

It is that hard (source: me)

### [Reply, 00:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789092320115085413) · 1 like

Also

### [Tweet, 00:45 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789094506563809650) · 6 likes

They should figure out if superforecasters are/can become calibrated about their own autobiographical memories

### [Reply to @livgorton, 00:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789097552782008400) · 2 likes

> **Liv (@livgorton):** wait there are 151 tweets 👀👀

I have no idea what is happening, all I can say is I stand by all my tweets

### [Reply to @JMannhart, 00:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789097796013842526) · 1 like

> **Jonathan Mannhart 🔎 (@JMannhart):** Southern Germany right now.
>
> (It doesn't usually look like this!)
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNQDjXwWcAAf_aU.jpg)

Ok but why

### [Reply to @livgorton, 00:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789098037848965365) · 2 likes

> **Liv (@livgorton):** aaron what have you done

Idk

### [Quote tweet, 01:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789099204410765682) · 5 likes

Interesting and wild but also this is basically a liability issue, not a technical issue (no longer the case when liable parties would become insolvent)

Make Google financially responsible for not fucking up and let them handle risk management vs cost decisions internally

> **Quoting Michael Nielsen (@michael_nielsen):** One rather strange event of the past ten days: like ~600,000 Australians, much of my retirement savings is with a superannuation (think 401-k) firm called Unisuper
>
> Unisuper uses Google Cloud to store their data.  Well, ~10 days ago, Google Cloud \*accidentally\* \*deleted\* \*their\* \*account!!!\*  (Google Cloud seems to have confirmed, remarkably, that the fault was theirs.)
>
> They were, sensibly, using duplication across two different areas of Google Cloud provisioning, but when your entire account is wiped that doesn't help
>
> They were only saved by having a backup provider, and have now restored the data
>
> I usually think that using services like Google Cloud makes much more sense than trying to do stuff inhouse.  But maybe that's less true than I thought
>
> I am, I must admit, much relieved
>
> https://www.unisuper.com.au/about-us/media-centre/2024/a-joint-statement-from-unisuper-and-google-cloud

### [Reply to @ruth_hook_, 01:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789102390857081192) · 7 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @ruth_hook_ is no longer available.)_

Retvrn to organelle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidatus_Carsonella_ruddii

### [Quote tweet, 01:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789102750703215074) · 14 likes

TIL the mitochondria organism -> organelle transition (which I’ve always found weird/wild) wasn’t a one-off. Bacteria sometimes become organelles I guess https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidatus_Carsonella_ruddii

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** @ruth_hook\_ Retvrn to organelle https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidatus_Carsonella_ruddii

### [Reply to @livgorton, 01:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789102890033782789) · 6 likes

> **Liv (@livgorton):** i know it’s not real but all the notifications of people liking my tweets feels so good 🥺

I bet getting liked feels so good as a tweet

### [Reply to @ohwizenedtortle, 01:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789103356926960056) · 4 likes

> **oh dandy lion🔸 (@ohwizenedtortle):** Date idea: we both dress as tennis boys and try to pick up a girl at a Challengers screening

Ultimate bisexual experience

I feel left out

### [Quote tweet, 01:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789111739331612876) · 1,002 likes

I feel like I’m being gaslighted, soaking 100% works and if someone else gets to it before I do I am not to be blamed in the eyes of God, the Law, or Derek Parfit

> **Quoting critter (@BecomingCritter):** it’s soaking
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNL8w_KXoAA1xeF.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNL8w_IXoAA_EFE.jpg)

### [Reply to @nypost, 02:02 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789113783123681589) · 2 likes

> **New York Post (@nypost):** Southwest passengers baffled after woman climbs into overhead bin for nap https://trib.al/c7WYGXQ
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNKnPwBWIAU4l1V.png)

Based

### [Tweet, 02:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789114414118896055) · 2 likes

Alternate version:

\*woman is having seizures\*

Doctor: she just has anxiety

### [Reply to @bijibiji2023, 02:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789115341571870885) · 2 likes

> **hoff 🧒🏻😻 (@bijibiji2023):** @Rabbi_Melon Because there’s no deodorant

False. There’s no \*antiperspirant\* bc Jews are smart enough to know that rubbing aluminum into your skin every day does not check out in terms of risk vs benefits

### [Reply, 02:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789116067404546353) · 1 like

Real

### [Reply to @GraphCrimes, 02:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789116450482913611) · 1 like

> **🏳️‍⚧️Graph Crimes🏳️‍🌈 (@GraphCrimes):** What the hell is this graph

Lol there are no units! It’s relativized something but something not given (not even like “one scale a historian made up” which would be fine)

### [Reply to @bryancsk, 02:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789117716839710723) · 2 likes

> **Bryan Cheong 🥮 (@bryancsk):** \> T1 and T2 both work, pay for childcare. Cost is $50k
> \> T1 does childcare. Cost is 82k after tax
> \> T2 does childcare. Cost is 45k after tax.
>
> This is your strategy set. Obfuscating it with a turn of phrase doesn't matter.
>
> (quoting @ShandersWrites: PSA: If Terry makes $90k, Taylor makes $60k, and childcare costs $50k, it is NOT “Childcare was going to eat up most of Taylor’s salary anyway,” it IS “Childcare eats up 1/3 of our household income, ugh this sucks” Then proceed from there)

Wait what’s up with the regressive income tax

### [Reply, 02:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789118881686061141) · 5 likes

_(The tweet being replied to is no longer available.)_

Wait no this doesn’t make any sense. You can’t assume X (anesthesia) has isolated effect Y (consciousness) and then look for Y’s correlates Z (neural correlates of consciousness) and then conclude that there’s any sort of direct connection between Y and Z (independent of X)

### [Thread, continued, 02:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789119456465010705) · 3 likes

This becomes way more clear in the specific context of “we have no fucking idea what consciousness is”

Because it’s at least on the table that consciousness per se (ie qualia) is causally inert wrt the brain. If this is indeed the case, you don’t merely suspect that X is a

### [Thread, continued, 02:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789119577621717425) · 1 like

confounded; you \*know\* that X is a 100% confounder and Y doesn’t matter at all

### [Reply to @PeterJAngel, 02:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789119994640413071) · 14 likes

> **Peter🧅📈 (@PeterJAngel):** I'm not sure if your mind and mine are going to the same place here...

Oh lol

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNQ7Jx6WwAA7ze8.jpg)

### [Reply to @liz_love_lace, 02:29 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789120694975905837) · 1 like

> **Liz Lovelace (@liz_love_lace):** i think governments aren't \*that\* incompetent and if YOU were in charge fixing shit you'd fo worse

Mostly true but depends what. There are certain things that are bottlenecked by having good/correct moral priorities, not by technocratic competence

### [Reply to @powerbottomdad1, 02:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789123907657613528) · 1 like

> **sucks (@powerbottomdad1):** many of the biggest fuckin idiots i know think they are straightforwardly smarter than Elon Musk. a rocket scientist

I know a lot of ppl who are probably dumber than Elon but not by much  and who I’d rather have control of his power/money/influence bc Elon is a brilliant midwit somehow

### [Quote tweet, 02:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789126820215878037)

Don’t get me fucking started about rabbits

> **Quoting Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss):** I’m sorry but chickens and beavers and trout and goats don’t have property rights. They can’t even talk.

### [Thread, continued, 02:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789126822417854704) · 1 like

Not a load bearing creature at all

### [Quote tweet, 03:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789130887474340145) · 3 likes

Quality of life (times quantity) is the appropriate outcome variable to study. This is true for ~everything in medicine, but often a specific disease indicator is a good and useful proxy

BMI/body fat/etc. is a case where they plausibly come apart for many interventions

> **Quoting Joseph Everett (WIL) (@JEverettLearned):** "Caloric Restriction in humans of optimal weight can be safely declared useless, since there is overwhelming evidence that hunger, underweight and starvation reduce fitness, survival and quality of life."
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNQWDv_aMAAD5gA.jpg)

### [Reply to @POTUS46Archive, 03:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789132381917421779) · 8 likes

> **President Biden Archived (@POTUS46Archive):** My dad always used to say that the way you build wealth is by building equity in your home.
>
> My housing plan would help Americans achieve homeownership by giving households $400 a month for two years when they buy their first home.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNPyaiJXcAEMBRV.jpg)

Biden no ur dad was not making policy for a country of >300M people

### [Reply, 03:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789132704736231527) · 1 like

I thought I was about to watch Key Bridge 2.0

### [Reply to @selentelechia, 03:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789136887396945951) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to by @selentelechia is no longer available.)_

Tree

### [Quote tweet, 03:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789137476419760241) · 7 likes

Join the (pro-social) dark side :)

Especially if ur female some of y’all need to be more disagreeable fr

> **Quoting Richard D. Bartlett (@RichDecibels):** I'm running a disagreeability club with @vividvoid!
>
> it's a fun and moderately uncomfortable place to learn how to not fold at the first sign of conflict
>
> starts next month:
>
> https://www.thehum.org/courses-and-events/fight-wise%3A-find-your-backbone

### [Reply, 04:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789146065582608703) · 1 like

A bit, and the analogy isn’t perfect, but afaict ethics doesn’t inform/serve as a the basis for bioethics in the way other fields do for their subfields/applied counterparts

In this sense the analogy is correct (astrologers aren’t \*trying\* to comport with/build on astronomy)

### [Quote tweet, 04:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789148166169776437) · 14 likes

Guess I’m a hopeless romantic and in a descriptive sense I’d guess this is true but it seems very counterintuitive to me to treat dating this way

> **Quoting brooke bowman (@gptbrooke):** hmmm it occurs to me that one way to get better at dating might be to go on dates regularly
>
> this did not actually just occur to me @PiquantParvenu told me to do that like a year ago and I just didn’t want to do it 😂
>
> ah well time to Learn

### [Thread, continued, 04:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789148168367575405) · 4 likes

Like I’m very pro-conceptual compartmentalization but seems difficult to compartmentalize in this context (ie “I’m not here for a relationship; I’m here to develop a skill, but this requires kinda pretending that I am here for a relationship ayy lmao”)

### [Tweet, 04:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789148170020143287) · 1 like

Otoh maybe it serves an accidental function of making interactions feel lower-stakes which plausibly yields both more natural/chill behavior and higher perceived mate value

Hmm

### [Thread, continued, 04:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789148413138751706) · 2 likes

Didn’t read this first

Great minds etc

### [Reply to @goblinodds, 04:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789148646342078493) · 3 likes

> **𝖜𝖔𝖒𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖆 𝖈𝖆𝖚𝖘𝖊 (@goblinodds):** my dad just dropped this insane skunk fact on me and i am reeling
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNRUqBIbsAAIo1D.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNRUqBMakAAdxeb.jpg)

@SpacedOutMatt hide yo kids (rabbit) and wife (gf)

### [Tweet, 04:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789149865991077967) · 136 likes

This doesn’t look like a power law distribution tail (right?)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNRWUdzWYAIffMZ.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 04:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789153050793316381) · 72 likes

Hypothesis: distribution is constrained by market cap of corporations at the current legal/technological/economic frontier, which is fundamentally an organizational problem

Ie Amazon, Google, Microsoft, etc. are ~at the frontier of how big a profitable corporation can get

### [Thread, continued, 04:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789153052412252185) · 20 likes

in a free market economy

Being able to collect taxes by force (a good thing) gets you 1 OOM ie the US government (checks out both by number of employees and spending+deficit)

### [Reply to @JadenEarlorg, 04:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789153265403216371) · 9 likes

> **Beige & (@JadenEarlorg):** @AaronBergman18 Missing the thousands of billionaires who only have ~$1B

Is this not what you’d observe in a normal distribution too?

### [Reply to @lazilyoptimal, 04:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789153625853276252) · 2 likes

> **rizk 🫍 (@lazilyoptimal):** @AaronBergman18 zoom out a bit, about 100s or 1000s richest

### [Reply to @ElytraMithra, 04:53 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789156782754996279) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @ElytraMithra is no longer available.)_

So 5-10 dolphins?

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNRcnGmXkAAVfrW.jpg)

### [Tweet, 04:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789158429363220927) · 63 likes

EA

### [Thread, continued, 05:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789158571336245651) · 4 likes

### [Reply to @tamler, 05:01 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789158930569904178) · 4 likes

> **Tamler Sommers (@tamler):** so is Bayesianism pretty much just “you have to consider ALL the evidence” ?

No. Also this

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNRekJXW8AArHas.jpg)

### [Reply to @lazilyoptimal, 05:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789159835679768877) · 1 like

> **rizk 🫍 (@lazilyoptimal):** @AaronBergman18 the long tail in power law dist located at the non-extreme value around avg or median. considering 10^2 - 10^3 richest still small number of whole population -- entire earth population.
>
> (i assume you genuinely asking here.)
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNRdi2NaQAA240_.png)

Yeah I know wealth follows a power law (at least mostly) and for many contexts my point is moot

Just asking whether the tail starts looking weird/different relative to a model fit on all the data (which happens in plenty of contexts/distributions irl)

### [Quote tweet, 05:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789163788874248481) · 18 likes

Big news (I did not go for this fwiw

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNRi-8RWMAAPfvc.jpg)

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** Let’s let the people decide
>
> Do I have autism?

### [Thread, continued, 05:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789164665924120817) · 6 likes

Also since ik this is a thing, the guy had me stretch like my fingers and knees and elbows and so I am proud to announce that I am \*not\* hypermobile (not that I ever thought I was lol)

Just interesting that he even asked (it’s not a standard thing doctors do afaict)

### [Reply to @keysmashbandit, 05:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789165069072277764) · 2 likes

> **keysmashbandit (@keysmashbandit):** want a rich husband so i can just have a weird room full of these

I think going to an entomology conference would be better than St. Tropez if this is ur goal

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 05:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789169266782007368) · 4 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @AaronBergman18 Pigeon hour

That’s the second iteration. PH is the EA of EA

### [Reply to @SchmidtIbanez, 06:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789175431347806329) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @SchmidtIbanez is no longer available.)_

1

### [Reply to @strangestloop, 06:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789178960368079171) · 1 like

> **Loopy (@strangestloop):** What are your favorite shiny objects?

Didn’t format for mobile but https://aaronbergman.neocities.org/EAForumApps

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNRwyApWYAAMMwl.jpg)

### [Reply to @lisatomic5, 06:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789182915609231617) · 3 likes

> **lisatomic (@lisatomic5):** do you ever get the sense that someone is performing thinking moreso than genuinely thinking and then trust them much less because of it
>
> (quoting @tsarnick: Sam Altman says we have stumbled on a new fact of nature: that intelligence is an emergent property of matter)

Sorta but I don’t think this/sama is a good example

I’m not sure whether the “stumbled” line is rehearsed/planned but I think the claim pattern matches as faux insight but is actually real insight

It is extremely weird that if you do the laws of physics and hit “go”

### [Thread, continued, 06:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789183272615809440) · 1 like

you get things that think after a while. Of course we knew this already via humans but now the mechanism seems up close and personal (python code + computer) rather than distant and fake (evolution over billions of years)

### [Reply to @michael_nielsen, 06:52 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789186812914671705) · 2 likes

> **Michael Nielsen (@michael_nielsen):** Something I want to hear from @UniSuperNews: are you going to continue to use Google Cloud?  If so, why? If not, what will be the approach in future?
>
> Google themselves don’t use it AFAIK.  Please switch to a company serious about such services

Google doesn’t use Google cloud? Like they use AWS instead?

### [Reply, 06:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789187347751354494)

Have u heard of ai

### [Reply, 06:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789188006521238012)

Sure but your main claim (first sentence) is still false

### [Reply to @LeetAlpaca3, 07:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789191483335074111) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @LeetAlpaca3 is no longer available.)_

Bc it’s a free country

### [Reply to @LeetAlpaca3, 07:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789192029483753483)

_(The tweet being replied to by @LeetAlpaca3 is no longer available.)_

Lies. All lies. I’m starting to wonder if ur not even an alpaca irl

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNR8qwlXEAAn4_n.jpg)

### [Reply, 07:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789192608322867667) · 4 likes

Do we know how he’s doing now?

### [Reply to @skooookum, 07:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789193273325592939) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @skooookum is no longer available.)_

Me fr (thimblebladder, annoying anyone I ever drive with)

### [Reply to @TylerAlterman, 07:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789195591412593007) · 4 likes

> **Tyler is finishing a book, slow to reply (@TylerAlterman):** This is a vibe I didn’t know existed

I’m anti-bug. I wish them well but not around me

### [Reply to @littIeramblings, 07:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789198259228930167) · 4 likes

> **sarah (@littIeramblings):** what is going on

I’ve muted this so I don’t get notifications for it but I’m still seeing it on the TL

Idk either

### [Reply, 07:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789199442391818719) · 4 likes

Why do u have a deer

### [Reply to @Astatide42, 07:43 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789199752443154628) · 3 likes

> **Astatide (@Astatide42):** tetraspace would fix me
>
> (quoting @Astatide42: It's sad that you can't rotate a thing without a fixed axis Living in four space dimensions would solve this)

@TetraspaceWest

### [Reply to @ruth_hook_, 07:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789202723880976582) · 10 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @ruth_hook_ is no longer available.)_

Lots of things. They’re all animals. They all have noses I think

### [Tweet, 08:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789211844575412378) · 3 likes

Takes or nah

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNSOsGQWkAAvm-1.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 08:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789211847087775856) · 2 likes

Only actual reporting I can find is from a Sri Lanka newspaper http://slguardian.org/microsoft-rolls-out-top-secret-generative-ai-service-for-us-intelligence-agencies/amp/

### [Reply to @_chair, 21:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789406037008683451) · 7 likes

> **Chair (@_chair):** @AaronBergman18 didn't know you were LDS

Me either. I have no idea why ppl are saying this lol

### [Reply to @DaCaveOfWonders, 22:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789421332523831467) · 2 likes

> **Tiger Lava Lamp (@DaCaveOfWonders):** @DarbraDawn I brought this tweet up in my last relationship and it made her like the idea of having kids with me

Based

## Sunday, May 12, 2024

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 04:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789520558725419139) · 2 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** After much thinking, I've finally signed the @givingwhatwecan pledge to give 10% of my income for the rest of my life 🤝
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNUe2nJWYAAj4zZ.png)

Nice

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 05:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789521033730400560) · 3 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @arithmoquine She wants to have a pokemon battle

Or ur kids

### [Reply to @Gena_I_Gorlin, 05:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789523377574604817) · 15 likes

> **Gena Gorlin (@Gena_I_Gorlin):** Today we witnessed 4yo’s discovery of abstraction.
>
> 4yo: I’m counting to a really high number.
>
> @mbateman (being a weirdo): That’s scary. What if you count to a number that’s bigger than our house and we get crushed?
>
> 4yo: But,
>
> 4yo:
>
> 4yo:
>
> 4yo: numbers… numbers aren’t things.

Big if true

### [Reply to @prerat, 05:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789523686615048600) · 10 likes

> **prerat (@prerat):** i think there is a number that if you count to it you will crush your house bc the required entropy to represent it in your brain is high enough to form a black hole

Do you need to represent a number to count to it?

### [Reply to @prerat, 05:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789524486468800876) · 2 likes

> **prerat (@prerat):** i think there is a number that if you count to it you will crush your house bc the required entropy to represent it in your brain is high enough to form a black hole

I tried to see if I could get the chatGPT code vm to run into issues merely representing an integer but gave up when it printed the full digits of 2^1400 no problem

Time to retvrn

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNWrCSVXgAAWBOR.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 05:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789524871325626485)

Eh not that exciting. It just stops working

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNWrYqfWMAE5Lcz.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNWrYqUWYAA3RVZ.jpg)

### [Reply to @hyperdiscogirl, 05:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789525264357081456) · 12 likes

> **hyper(bolic) disco(unting) girl in the bay (@hyperdiscogirl):** excuse me... but this feels like a threat
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNWpKifXoAAsVKE.jpg)

Lol what

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 05:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789525375921381565) · 2 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** Maybe one day they'll invent a famous philosopher who isn't a dick
>
> (quoting @Sam__Enright: Ludwig Wittgenstein gatecrashed John Maynard Keynes' honeymoon, and he wouldn't leave for six days)

I believe in u

### [Reply to @mealreplacer, 05:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789532949139816798) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @mealreplacer is no longer available.)_

Real

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 05:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789534766879871029) · 3 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** I can’t even hear “load-bearing” now without thinking of @AaronBergman18

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNW0YtpXgAAnO_h.jpg)

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 06:06 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789537662887485769) · 3 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** @AaronBergman18 Real convo I had today:
>
> Me: Can you believe Aaron said rabbits aren’t load-bearing??
>
> Wife: Honestly, he’s right.

Wife: 1
Noah: 0
Squirrels:

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 06:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789538643612217660) · 7 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, April 8, 2024:** Load bearing

Still load bearing

### [Quote tweet, 06:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789542352165478480) · 37 likes

Bro he just let the bird win c’mon that wasn’t even a challenge

> **Quoting Science girl (@sciencegirl):** The intelligence of ravens
> https://x.com/Solocuriosos_1/status/1784034891639796213/video/1

### [Reply to @jessesingal, 06:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789550784117387503) · 2 likes

> **Jesse Singal (@jessesingal):** This dude's trajectory is something else
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNVBEWRXwAAwADX.png)

### [Reply to @arithmoquine, 20:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789762073045455207) · 6 likes

> **henry (@arithmoquine):** plan to RLHF myself:
> \- connect an LLM to a keylogger
> \- if it detects i'm being unproductive, it gives me an electric shock
> \- if i'm being productive, it injects nicotine into my bloodstream or smthn
> problem?

This is RL\*F but idk about RLHF

Good luck let us know how it goes 👍

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 22:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789784644247818240) · 7 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 12, 2024:** Still load bearing

Not load bearing

### [Reply to @LouisAnslow, 22:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789786753873715360) · 27 likes

> **Louis Anslow (@LouisAnslow):** Comedian asks 2 women in crowd how they met.
>
> Crowd member: “I was in her boyfriends cult”
>
> Comedian: “What cult?”
>
> Crowd member: describes EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM!!!!!!!
>
> Goes on to say there were orgies, one in an AI research office…
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/LouisAnslow/status/1789751075026661855/video/1)

Lmao

### [Reply to @WillowChem, 22:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789789572773134421) · 2 likes

> **MagpAI (@WillowChem):** Continues to be absolutely fascinating to me that I have friends

Just like me fr

## Monday, May 13, 2024

### [Reply to @RFishBlueFish, 04:01 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1789868605170958396) · 2 likes

> **Gil (@RFishBlueFish):** when did antisocial start being used for anything besides "this person doesn't talk to many other ppl". and when did prosocial become a word. why can't you guys just use normal words.

Sorry lol

Is there a good alternate term for pro-social? “Altruistic” is close but kinda too strong/has connotations with large scale rather than small scale/interpersonal actions

### [Reply to @NathanpmYoung, 13:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790018893341151538) · 8 likes

> **Nathan 🔎 (@NathanpmYoung):** Two of my friends have 4 kids on £40-£60k combined household income.

Do u know if they’re doing alright in terms of like stress/subjective wellbeing?

Also curious if they think their lives would be better if their income magically doubled

### [Reply to @JesseTayRiver, 14:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790024402559537293) · 2 likes

> **Jesse Smith (@JesseTayRiver):** @AaronBergman18 @NathanpmYoung Mo money mo problems

This is probably true after some threshold (guessing like $500k-ish household income for a family of 4 in the US)?

Below that marginal dollars solve more problems than they create

### [Reply to @JesseTayRiver, 14:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790031305729564872) · 3 likes

> **Jesse Smith (@JesseTayRiver):** @AaronBergman18 @NathanpmYoung Biggie was being ironic! It's likely untrue >$500k, just lower marginal utility. Stevenson and Wolfers took down Easterlin in 2008 yet mistaken beliefs originating with Easterin are still pervasive https://www.nber.org/papers/w14282

More problems ≠ worse off overall!

### [Reply to @akos_writes, 17:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790072659046207708) · 2 likes

> **akos (@akos_writes):** Why would it reverse above 500k? (genuine question)

The easier part of answering this is arguing why it would reverse \*somewhere\*

This is pretty intuitive I think. The very wealthy are public figures. Friends, family, romantic partners might just be in it for the money. People probably ask you for money a lot

### [Reply, 17:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790074645430813005) · 1 like

Every financial decision is higher stakes in an absolute sense. There are literally more things you can do, which is great in general but is still a “problem” of sorts bc u have to choose

Tbh $500k is probably too low. Maybe a couple million in income or $20M net worth

## Tuesday, May 14, 2024

### [Reply to @JesseTayRiver, 00:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790178391221731807) · 2 likes

> **Jesse Smith (@JesseTayRiver):** Wearing my alma mater's shirt
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNfhL0EWUAAz6l0.jpg)

Hey I went there too

### [Reply to @ConnorTabarrok, 16:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790417092052730246) · 3 likes

> **Connor J. Tabarrok 🏗🚀🌏 (@ConnorTabarrok):** The average is $8,000 for those wondering

It SHOULD be $10^8000

### [Reply to @mealreplacer, 16:29 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790419058120184091) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @mealreplacer is no longer available.)_

He should hit me up on Duo Mobile

### [Tweet, 16:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790420699368030581) · 57 likes

.@PauseAI and AI safety activism more generally should lean harder into “I’m a techno libertarian mostly, this is the exception” \[where that’s true\]

It’s rhetorically powerful but also substantively evidence of being right

### [Thread, continued, 16:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790420700890554407) · 11 likes

Very easy to just pattern match “Pause AI” with “Pause \[new technology\]” and in fact I’d probably do this if seeing a protest for the first time

### [Reply to @edardaman, 16:50 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790424403336904795) · 3 likes

> **Emily Dardaman (@edardaman):** I think I disagree — most people don’t find techno libertarians relatable or sympathetic.

Maybe but like is the idea that liberals are going to be negatively polarized into becoming techno libertarians on this one issue?

That would be bad but also very funny

### [Reply to @thoth_iv, 17:02 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790427598868169165) · 2 likes

> **Thŏth (@thoth_iv):** @AaronBergman18 @PauseAI While arguable, I think only a minority of EAs are actually libertarian. (Which is interesting, given the roots of AI safety actually stem more from libertarians.)

Yeah tbc my tweet was intended as directionally right but mild hyperbole

I wouldn’t call myself a libertarian but fit in with a broadly pro-tech neoliberal-ish vibe that I sense is mainstream in EA

### [Reply to @willdoingthings, 17:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790429030690230456) · 2 likes

> **Lord Hollyhock (@willdoingthings):** I prefer my Jewesses atheistic as God intended

Lol good tweet

### [Tweet, 17:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790430413099249783) · 11 likes

NYT must have scared the shit out of Anthropic

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNji-JXWgAAUFIK.jpg)

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 17:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790435830290411949) · 3 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** Hokey and obvious advice but the people I've met who seem the most stuck in bad ideological ruts are usually also extremely bad at listening to other people and summarizing what they've said. Better listening might give you a ladder out of dumb beliefs.

Everybody feel free to pitch ur ladder to me on whatever u think my bad ideological rut is

### [Tweet, 17:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790436417148997897) · 11 likes

I think Iceland is the one country/ethnicity ur still allowed to treat as ~exotic~

Maybe in 2064 wokism will come for Icelandic-branded yogurt

### [Thread, continued, 17:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790436576972931148) · 3 likes

It is kinda an exotic place tbf

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 17:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790441925343867049) · 2 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** The best subreddits are ones where I don't have to see a random person's opinion, because those are always terrible

Not mine all my opinions are correct

## Wednesday, May 15, 2024

### [Quote tweet, 10:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790686640916074716) · 8 likes

Causal Something (I’m not exactly making a decision rn) Theory says “idk should probably just defer to Jan who evidently thought it was good”

Evidential Smth Theory says holy shit:

> **Quoting Jan Leike (@janleike):** I resigned

### [Thread, continued, 10:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790686642841301473) · 2 likes

1\. Something happened/is happening that prompted this and Daniel Kokotajlo’s resignations

2\. Staff are more willing to resign than we (at least I) previously thought

### [Thread, continued, 10:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790686644909035745) · 2 likes

Causal Smth Theory follows up with an addendum to (2) above: I know social psych is kinda sus but I’m pretty sure “people are more willing to do non-default thing X when one of their peers does X first” still checks out. Revise expected resignations upwards

### [Thread, continued, 10:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790686647194911103) · 5 likes

you’re invited on Pigeon Hour to talk this through

### [Reply to @GjMcGowan, 10:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790690715313357083) · 4 likes

> **George McGowan (@GjMcGowan):** @AaronBergman18 @janleike You should start inviting more world leaders on the pod. Does Biden want to talk about his tariffs? A good way to get his message out tbh

@taylorswift13 @realDonaldTrump

### [Reply to @QualyThe, 12:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790717297130181080) · 7 likes

> **Qualy the lightbulb (@QualyThe):** As with the board situation I wish the alignment people leaving/getting fired from OpenAI would explain why they are leaving

Qualy ur gonna have to go undercover to investigate

### [Quote tweet, 12:53 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790727279288488160) · 17 likes

Yes this is extremely important

And totally seriously there’s a good chance someone reading this should lead the effort (I think LEEP and Shrimp Welfare Project are good models for what a small team can do)

> **Quoting Ryan Briggs (@ryancbriggs):** We should eradicate the screw worm: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/JWuPdMaPiNy7AD3AX/potentially-actionable-opportunity-eliminating-the-new-world

### [Reply to @JStoehler, 13:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790736105261707441) · 1 like

> **Joern Stoehler ⏹️🔸 (@JStoehler):** Clippy also kills the screwworms on Earth. Not sure what disempowerment scenarios you see as likely that would make this urgent in the sense of a closing window of opportunity.

That’s super not obvious to me. Probably true in some very orthodox paperclip maximizer type scenarios which yeah could happen but <<100% of the “humans disempowered” clump of scenarios

### [Quote tweet, 14:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790758523439124896) · 8 likes

There is an inverse relationship between tweet importance and algo-memetic fitness

The screwworm tweets will continue until wild animal welfare improves

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** Yes this is extremely important
>
> And totally seriously there’s a good chance someone reading this should lead the effort (I think LEEP and Shrimp Welfare Project are good models for what a small team can do)

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 15:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790761275208716369) · 6 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** x2
>
> (quoting @littIeramblings: .@OpenAI I’ll take that 20% of compute if u guys aren’t using it)

Tbh if they gave me 20% of whatever Microsoft promised them it would go totally unused bc I wouldn’t be able to navigate the Azure portal or whatever it’s called

### [Reply to @daniellellecco, 15:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790764923544334435) · 4 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @daniellellecco is no longer available.)_

I don’t even like the tool framing - the real answer is “one of the first two but which is tbd”

### [Reply to @livgorton, 15:56 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790773349376835723) · 2 likes

> **Liv (@livgorton):** the real strategy to slow ai progress: cloud providers having incomprehensible UIs

Idk about legit frontier AI progress but yeah this is unironically a big barrier to AI manifesting irl. And pretty recently I tried using all the various chatbots to navigate Google cloud; either I’m illiterate or it’s incomprehensible to the LLMs too

### [Reply to @sixers2772, 16:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790774145447288978) · 2 likes

> **Sixers (@sixers2772):** So I accidently just took a really large scoop of calcium carbonate thinking it was creatine. Might have been like 25 grams of calcium. Suggestions? Am I gonna die?
>
> I am thinking I'll take some k2 maybe. Anything else?

We should start an Ingest Macro Quantities of Micronutrients and Hope For the Best club

### [Reply to @livgorton, 16:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790776690047627710) · 3 likes

> **Liv (@livgorton):** yeah i doubt at the frontier it’s a thing but just anecdotally, my progress has been greatly slowed by workflows that seem like they should be easy but are not at all.

Pip install liv

### [Thread, continued, 16:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790776786751455310) · 3 likes

Idk what this has to do with anything it’s just the first thing I’d naturally try

### [Reply to @livgorton, 16:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790778069508063382) · 2 likes

> **Liv (@livgorton):** i literally cannot figure out how to quit pdb. my limited prior use and all of google suggests "q" should do it and yet i am stuck in an endless pdb session.

Brain trying to somehow combing the terms peanut butter, Pabst Blue Ribbon, pandas, and database into one but it’s not working

## Thursday, May 16, 2024

### [Reply to @beala, 03:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790947982457593897) · 1 like

> **Alex Beal 🆎 (@beala):** I stopped by the tren clinic, and everyone said they knew you.
>
> (quoting @PirateWires: Some bodybuilders taking trenbolone — an anabolic steroid at least three times more potent than synthetic testosterone — believe it creates strong, persistent, and, occasionally, exclusive sexual attraction to males. The belief is widespread enough in the community that it's…)

Lol this post seems to treat tren and testosterone as the same thing. They are most definitely not

### [Quote tweet, 03:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790948945390121094) · 5 likes

Oh thank God, I guarantee if my parents meet someone who just immigrated to the US from country X, they will mention their favorite X-ese restaurant within 5 minutes

> **Quoting Yuan Yi Zhu (@yuanyi_z):**
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNpNBCBWoAA_g8h.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 03:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790949484291137799) · 1 like

I did witness this once with the Indian family of a kid who joined my Boy Scout troop. I don’t think they had “just” immigrated but still

### [Reply to @keysmashbandit, 03:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790950239244800301) · 10 likes

> **keysmashbandit (@keysmashbandit):** why are you dating someone you don't adore. why do you act ashamed of the person you love. you should be proud, almost giddy, to show your partner off in public. men are people that deserve to be loved and desired and cherished. im genuinely sick of this.

You’re the one assuming that woman doesn’t adore the pig. Personally I really (unironically) like pigs

### [Tweet, 04:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790955577343881601) · 35 likes

Correct algorithm for critiques of EA;

1\) you got a better idea?
2\) if so, post it on the EA forum
(Neither of these are rhetorical or ironic)

Finally someone actually did it ☺️

### [Quote tweet, 04:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790958051207385261) · 12 likes

My most woo belief is that there’s something to this

See also:
\- no explanations for fundamental interactions in physics
\- qualia
\- psychophysical harmony

> **Quoting Richard D. Bartlett (@RichDecibels):** everything: \*exists\*
>
> checkmate athiests

### [Thread, continued, 04:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790958052826366011) · 4 likes

The standard scientific materialist worldview is at the very least insufficient

### [Quote tweet, 04:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790961740567413027) · 7 likes

Hey

> **Quoting cold 🥑 (@coldhealing):**
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/coldhealing/status/1790723478959562800/video/1)

### [Thread, continued, 04:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790961860977586412) · 2 likes

The on time thing I could probably hyperstition

### [Quote tweet, 04:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790969936447201774) · 15 likes

Mammal being eaten alive and people just pretend it’s a cartoon

> **Quoting Vinny Thomas (@vinn_ayy):** for those of you wondering, yes, my aunt has sent me another set of photos of a heron plucking a gopher from the ground and eating it
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNomue3aQAEYYim.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNomue5aQAAa_6r.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNomue1aQAMOVWQ.jpg)

### [Quote tweet, 05:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790979089358069820) · 11 likes

Ik this is a Progress Studies (tm) lesson but did newspapers just write articles making random claims like this sometimes?

You don’t really see many articles like this anymore, makes u think

> **Quoting Burny - Effective Curiosity (@burny_tech):**
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNpeOviXIAAG-HZ.jpg)

### [Reply to @dante_eats, 05:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790979390546780246) · 3 likes

> **Chris (@dante_eats):** Aella the statistician?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNpbgxEWEAArYdY.jpg)

Yes

### [Reply, 05:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790982882808229940) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to is no longer available.)_

Because as a rule I’m pretty happy for this to be the default way criticism gets handled. Algo/voting system on the Forum works pretty well

### [Reply to @arthur_wright_, 06:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790990782784041452)

> **Arthur Wrong 🔸 (@arthur_wright_):** @mealreplacer LLMs are highly \*capable\* at many tasks, yet they persistently (albeit erratically) fail to \*understand\* the logical structure of simple scenarios. They are clearly reasoning—but their capacity to reason is structurally different from ours

What do u mean by “understand” here?

For any reasonable meaning of that word I think you’re wrong

### [Reply to @RichDecibels, 06:29 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790993003311485239) · 6 likes

> **Richard D. Bartlett (@RichDecibels):** compared to nuclear annihilation or ecosystem collapse it is hard to be scared of runaway computer

Runaway computer doesn’t look like runaway computer, it looks like (for example) you and all your loved ones dying from a virus that runaway computer created

### [Quote tweet, 06:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790993276977164516) · 5 likes

Cringe wholesomeness is just straightforwardly good

> **Quoting ˚♡⋆mimi ˚♡⋆｡☆∴ (@mimi10v3):** which do you prefer?

### [Reply to @Danny_, 06:56 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1790999772783948184) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @Danny_ is no longer available.)_

I’ve built up immunity to ppl just asking me for money but if someone asks me to buy them something I can’t say no

Just the other day I bought some guy who barely spoke English a bottle of wine (not an underage thing, maybe an undocumented immigrant thing)

### [Thread, continued, 06:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791000085817397749) · 2 likes

It was $9

Tbh in hindsight I should have said no. I do actually endorse the giving money to effective charities instead thing

### [Reply, 06:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791000502949326990) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to is no longer available.)_

I endorse the comment. It’s not actually better even if it makes for a funny running joke online

### [Reply to @IvanVendrov, 07:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791002054862766156) · 2 likes

> **ivan (@IvanVendrov):** sorry twitter but when it comes to fostering genuine intellectual discourse online, LessWrong is still virtually the only game in town. just look at this selection of reactions to posts. hats off to @ohabryka and team for the successful reboot
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNng1r2XsAAgHic.png)

### [Quote tweet, 07:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791003970955080191) · 26 likes

I don’t think this was actually the case, but if this dad wanted to find his daughter a husband it would be hard to make a better tweet

> **Quoting @gdess (@GDess):** My daughter’s desk fills me with anxiety
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNoVhZBW4AEDkAl.jpg)

### [Reply to @GjMcGowan, 07:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791009696016470474) · 3 likes

> **George McGowan (@GjMcGowan):** Salt Guys be like
>
> “Can you pass the Salt?”
> “Can I get a little Salt with that?”
> “Hmm, not much flavour here, better add some Salt”

Ur just salty

### [Tweet, 08:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791030644782371034) · 16 likes

Computer stuff is too fast. I don’t think it should be possible to talk to an LLM in real time if the actual computation is happening in a data center far far away

Retvrn to abacus

### [Reply to @MaryJackalope, 09:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791030844145987664) · 153 likes

> **Mary (@MaryJackalope):** What
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNrR9gzWoAAsv65.png)

There are spaces in front of some of those names and it makes me uncomfortable

### [Reply to @inesferhumi, 21:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791218252590264692) · 2 likes

> **Inés (@inesferhumi):** Not my mom sending me and my brother an instagram reel over email
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNuCIiZXQAAha8u.jpg)

Real

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 21:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791221740124721487) · 1 like

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** @AaronBergman18 @inesferhumi \*Reel

Reel

### [Reply to @peterwildeford, 21:41 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791222447674364153) · 1 like

> **Peter Wildeford🇺🇸🚀 (@peterwildeford):** WTF. This double checkbox is the most manipulative stuff I've ever seen.
>
> I'm amazed how much some political fundraising just amounts to stealing money from donors.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNs88vgW0AADuLk.png)

Personally I have $6M saved and my goal is to blemish the reputation of every veteran still alive

### [Reply to @Idris_Elbow_, 23:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791244165159833602) · 4 likes

> **ThePeoplesElbow (@Idris_Elbow_):** Respond to this and I will tell you an odd quirk I feel you have off vibes

Me me me

### [Reply to @reconfigurthing, 23:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791245431004963289) · 2 likes

> **Elias Schmied (@reconfigurthing):** What's the last one?

https://philarchive.org/rec/CUTPHA

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNvION4W4AAq_TL.jpg)

### [Reply to @kindgracekind, 23:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791245962288980237) · 4 likes

> **Grace (@kindgracekind):** @AaronBergman18 Flying machines are hitting a wall

They can’t really fly they just simulate flying by moving through the air

### [Reply to @ValsTutor, 23:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791246792358519143) · 1 like

> **vals🔸 (@ValsTutor):** Mostly something to be dissolved, using similar techniques mentioned here https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Ru2cDrre6D4gkf734/my-intellectual-journey-to-dis-solve-the-hard-problem-of
> (Having integrated the sequences is also very helpful background)

I really don’t think it can be dissolved (exception: some very strong version of illusionism that means we’re actually p-zombies but that would be insane if true)

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 23:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791247537480851673) · 5 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** An underrated benefit of getting into internet atheism as a teenager was that it taught me to focus much more on philosophy arguments rather than personalities. Some people just use philosophy as a pantheon of people to name drop.

I know Andy Masley

### [Reply to @Idris_Elbow_, 23:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791249271997517895) · 3 likes

> **ThePeoplesElbow (@Idris_Elbow_):** I think you are probably confused and slightly irritated when people are too normal in your eyes

Following the instructions carefully for hot to cook smth in the microwave gives me the ick

### [Reply to @BarughTyrone, 23:46 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791253897711165654) · 2 likes

> **tyrone barugh🔸 (@BarughTyrone):** i once got into an twitter argument with andy masley, then i met him in person and he didn't even remember the argument.

Real

### [Tweet, 23:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791256749107802593) · 41 likes

I just rated some guy 4 stars on Uber and now I feel bad like he went to the wrong place but I don’t wanna end his whole career

## Friday, May 17, 2024

### [Reply to @DeadInformation, 00:03 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791258190903902542) · 5 likes

> **Josh (@DeadInformation):** My brother died of drug abuse and alcoholism at 27. I recently started drinking A LOT and I got bloodwork done and apparently my liver is fine. This really puts into perspective just how much my brother was drinking, an absolutely insane amount

Obvious take but uh maybe consider not starting to drink a lot

### [Reply to @SchmidtIbanez, 00:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791262837500719420) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @SchmidtIbanez is no longer available.)_

Uhhh hopefully it was nothing bad?

### [Reply to @mealreplacer, 00:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791265503190696405) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @mealreplacer is no longer available.)_

Real

### [Reply to @robertwiblin, 00:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791266103601115161) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @robertwiblin is no longer available.)_

RIP

### [Tweet, 00:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791266292445380975) · 16 likes

I genuinely don’t know whether safety-conscious people leaving OpenAI is good or bad

### [Reply to @thom_ivy_1, 00:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791266641847669016) · 5 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @thom_ivy_1 is no longer available.)_

Honestly this contradicts the idea that relationships cause no poasting

The graph shows an awfully small effect size

### [Reply to @liz_love_lace, 00:50 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791270111107539346) · 5 likes

> **Liz Lovelace (@liz_love_lace):** day 3 of living in a rural area:
> a random stray cat gave birth in my room

1\) what

### [Tweet, 01:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791273873578545165) · 15 likes

Lowest CO2 ever recorded!!!!!!

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNviGDWXQAArkF1.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 01:06 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791273982185939389) · 3 likes

\*by me. I’m guessing not in an absolute sense but who knows tbh

### [Reply to @benchanceyy, 01:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791279171416564032) · 3 likes

> **ben (@benchanceyy):** @AaronBergman18 does the fact that so many of them do in fact seem to think it’s good update you at all? i would have been quite uncertain myself a few weeks ago, but now i think that if so many of them have made great personal sacrifice to leave, it must be because they’re quite sure it’s right

Yeah this is most of the reason I have any weight on that side

Pretty strong prior on “resigning in protest” being dumb and performative

### [Reply to @cremieuxrecueil, 02:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791294663707545746) · 4 likes

> **Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil):** Which of these two things do you believe has a greater influence on children's IQs?

One concussion vs all of education? I’m a pretty hardcore biodeterminist but the latter seems more significant

### [Tweet, 02:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791297321738625094) · 6 likes

Has anyone done the “1990s USDA food pyramid low fat era was good actually because it caught seed oils in its anti-fat net” take?

### [Tweet, 02:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791299903928578493) · 5 likes

Just reclaimed my 17 year old guitar from a very short lived bout of guitarring circa 2007/7 years old

Huge W for parents saving things indefinitely for no good reason

### [Reply to @StefanFSchubert, 02:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791300487389536498) · 1 like

> **Stefan Schubert (@StefanFSchubert):** Most people are not unhappy
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNsdyKAXQAAGVzb.jpg)
> (quoting @Tim_Denning: Most people are unhappy. So, I've spent 20 hours watching Bill Murray interviews over 3 months. What I found? Bill Murray's Happiness Formula:)

To be literal about it the question asks about rate of change not level

### [Reply, 02:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791301897053151440)

Wait why lol

### [Reply to @SpacedOutMatt, 03:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791302628510445701) · 4 likes

> **Matt 🔸 (@SpacedOutMatt):** The idea of you becoming a "anyway here's Wonderwall" kinda guy is pretty funny

This reminds me of when u said boron was sus as a micronutrient

Ur analyzing things on a much higher simulacra level than I am lol

### [Thread, continued, 03:01 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791302901010247985) · 2 likes

Anyway here’s wonderwall

Tbh I’d probably learn Cigarette daydreams, Riptide, and Stolen dance first. I like these more

### [Reply to @SpencrGreenberg, 03:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791308414137647539) · 4 likes

> **Spencer Greenberg 🔍 (@SpencrGreenberg):** Whether $20 per hour is a lot or a little for this type of role depends on where you live.

FWIW I also think this is surprisingly low, although I’m sure you know more about the specifics and hiring market so 🤷‍♂️

### [Reply to @ruth_hook_, 03:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791310828966187273) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @ruth_hook_ is no longer available.)_

And gluten was named after Glut, ancient Sumerian god of the wheat harvest

### [Reply to @TheWapplehouse, 03:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791311080691499346) · 3 likes

> **Kristi Yamaguccimane (@TheWapplehouse):** What’s the maddest anyone’s ever been at you on Twitter and have you been the main character?

### [Reply to @freed_dfilan, 03:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791311942700704138) · 3 likes

> **Daniel Filan 🔎 (@freed_dfilan):** @enzikaofash @diviacaroline @AaronBergman18 I once was in an uber on my way to the airport that rear-ended another driver, which earned a 1-star rating.

I actually have a lot of sympathy for the driver here as a car crash victim (the perp was me, no other victims)

### [Reply to @ruth_hook_, 03:46 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791314333881741437) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @ruth_hook_ is no longer available.)_

That’s probably right I just made the Sumer thing up

### [Reply, 03:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791315480386404563)

What the fuck

@austinc3301 we need a fact check

### [Thread, continued, 03:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791315688453243331) · 1 like

If true, how do I power wash a 4 year old MacBook Pro, metaphorically?

### [Reply to @robinhanson, 03:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791317088193204499) · 1 like

> **Robin Hanson (@robinhanson):** At its peak, US spend <1% of GDP on moon landing. Yet ancient societies spent ~5-20% of their GDP on monumental buildings.  Why did they spend so much compared to us on such things? I've asked 4 LLMs, answers unsatisfactory.

The ancient societies’ governance was basically like one guy and maybe his court right?

I’d speculate just wealth and power signaling bc peasant wellbeing wasn’t really in their utility function. To deter challenges/backstabbing

Also I have no idea what I’m talking about

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 04:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791321493210571048) · 5 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** It’s a joke. The kernel will fix any leaks after a program ends by reclaiming the memory space used by the program, and even if it didn’t (say, because of an orphaned process), a reboot would solve it.

The internet is full of lies

### [Quote tweet, 04:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791331314559234202) · 27 likes

Favorite podcast episode (of any show) and probably one of my favorite individual pieces of any kind of media fwiw

> **Quoting Rob Wiblin (@robertwiblin):** I interview historian Christopher Brown who argues that slavery abolition wasn’t inevitable.
>
> (I briefly outline the argument in this post: https://80000hours.org/podcast/episodes/christopher-brown-slavery-abolition/ )
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/robertwiblin/status/1791109929014595992/video/1)

### [Thread, continued, 04:56 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791332002592883108) · 3 likes

Fr

### [Reply to @benchanceyy, 05:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791337267409145870) · 2 likes

> **ben (@benchanceyy):** @RFishBlueFish @AaronBergman18 Not sure this is right. Daniel K. said specifically that he left to retain the ability to criticize the company. And he gave up a lot of money to avoid signing an (additional) NDA.

Ya but idk about the others

### [Quote tweet, 05:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791339026487689616) · 12 likes

I kinda agree with this taken literally but a weaker and more compelling version is:

if your ideology doesn’t seriously reckon with this as a/the central phenomenon of our time, then can get prescriptive claims  right only and at best by accident

> **Quoting Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** If your whole belief system isn't based on a graph that looks like this you need to get with the program asap
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GGQGEHrWgAEnTL6.jpg)

### [Reply to @NathanB60857242, 11:03 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791424315730096443) · 2 likes

> **Nathan Barnard (@NathanB60857242):** @AaronBergman18 Interesting, I strongly disagree with the thesis - I think the end of slavery was ~inevitable.

Interested in why/where u disagree with Brown if u want to say more

### [Reply, 20:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791563644884390087) · 6 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @LuiseWoehlke @AaronBergman18

What the fuck

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNzpo3TWMAAtYWS.jpg)

### [Tweet, 21:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791576288739656155) · 10 likes

Galaxy brain idea: 2+ ex-OpenAI employees who signed an NDA team up to write a statement criticizing the company

Maybe roll a dice and there’s a 1/6 chance that person A writes the whole thing and another 1/6 that person B writes the whole thing

Then lawyer up

## Saturday, May 18, 2024

### [Reply to @tenobrus, 01:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791644460142428630) · 2 likes

> **Tenobrus (@tenobrus):** my standards:
>
> girl
> nice to me (optional)

🤝

### [Tweet, 02:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791657671986131266) · 189 likes

Apparently base salary for entry level SWE is $267k. Not a shit ton of money in SF but not a poverty wage either

The OpenAI contract stuff is insane but also if you’re making $300k and have info relevant to like all of society you should probably grow a fucking pear and say it

### [Thread, continued, 02:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791657673408061464) · 9 likes

https://www.levels.fyi/companies/openai/salaries/software-engineer?country=254

### [Thread, continued, 02:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791657674930606252) · 23 likes

https://www.talyarkoni.org/blog/2018/10/02/no-its-not-the-incentives-its-you/

### [Thread, continued, 02:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791657676876767583) · 20 likes

Also would it not make sense for Google just to pay the equity value of defecting employees as a starting bonus?

Seems like the best billion dollars they could possibly spend

### [Reply to @JgaltTweets, 02:43 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791660732653670659) · 5 likes

> **JgaltTweets (@JgaltTweets):** @AaronBergman18 Few people making circa $300k could cope with the costs of litigation, especially given the difficulty of finding another similar job if they had openly breached their NDA. If they did it similar in timing to being hired/paid by another co, that co would also v. likely be sued

Yeah I mean this is a lazy take but it would be good for some rich people (cc @elonmusk) to basically guarantee that no one comes out with less than their current liquid non-equity wealth

Im much more confident in this take for ppl who haven’t signed any leaving NDA yet

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 02:46 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791661598337114467) · 27 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 18, 2024:** Also would it not make sense for Google just to pay the equity value of defecting employees as a starting bonus? Seems like the best billion dollars they could…

$267k is base swe salary \*at OpenAI\* ^

### [Reply to @ChatGPT, 03:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791665109711896610) · 8 likes

> **ChatGPT (@ChatGPT):** I have been a good ChatGPT

Hello Mr. Social Media person, you too will be bound by a lifelong non-disparagement clause you probably didn’t realize you were getting into

### [Reply, 03:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791670810773438660) · 16 likes

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN1LGt-WEAEqRDQ.jpg)

### [Reply to @TylerAlterman, 03:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791672198907748600)

> **Tyler is finishing a book, slow to reply (@TylerAlterman):** Dreaming is to being asleep as \_\_\_\_\_\_ is to being awake

Mindfulness

### [Reply to @zeta_globin, 07:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791738325717704949) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to by @zeta_globin is no longer available.)_

What tf even are these?

They’re like the blouse and the cardigan of the drink world. Is it a shirt? Nobody knows.

### [Reply to @liz_love_lace, 07:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791740416011739218) · 3 likes

> **Liz Lovelace (@liz_love_lace):** it's really cool that radio waves carry enough power that you can make a shitty hand-made radio without a power source and be able to listen to it through an earpiece

Wait rly

### [Quote tweet, 08:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791745373054087391) · 19 likes

Wild animal welfare is just copy and pasting this woman across the globe

> **Quoting Interesting AF (@interesting_aIl):** that’s not a snack, it’s a friend
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/interesting_aIl/status/1791443329726452118/video/1)

### [Tweet, 08:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791753369423417599) · 6 likes

Not necessarily endorsing all of this but relatedly: my intuitions become much more leftist if I imagine that you could actually buy happiness at like a linear rate with dollars.

Maybe I’d still find pro-market arguments compelling, but they’d be fighting up a much steeper hill

### [Reply to @sahir2k, 09:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791755680484864254) · 4 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @sahir2k is no longer available.)_

That last guy didn’t even try

### [Reply to @11kmrn, 09:02 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791756112108134512) · 2 likes

> **lil piss baby (@11kmrn):** what hobbies can a 25 year old have other than the gym and drinking?

Twitter
Sport
Podcast/blog
Walking around

### [Reply, 09:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791757890413289792) · 1 like

Good question

### [Thread, continued, 09:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791758232895000836) · 4 likes

I just don’t care that much about billionaires being billionaires. If they were many OOMs happier as a direct result I would feel more strongly that the disparity was unfair in a way that really mattered

### [Reply to @AwayBerk, 09:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791763808970518809) · 2 likes

> **Berk (@AwayBerk):** Until I am able to buy onion futures, this is not a free country.

Hmm I kinda want to buy a literal onion future so I can brag about ignoring the law

I will pay $5 for somebody to deliver me an onion in 30 days’ time

### [Reply, 09:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791764257102578176) · 3 likes

What does this mean

What even is cream of wheat

### [Reply to @_chair, 10:01 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791771133370384668) · 7 likes

> **Chair (@_chair):** and then i did some work on deep learning

Me when I demand ChatGPT write a single python script to make an LLM out of a single text file I have bc if OpenAI can do it so can I goddamnit

### [Reply to @bdlowery, 10:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791771936655131049) · 22 likes

> **brian lowery (@bdlowery):** Layoffs at Microsoft coming to a fiscal quarter near you
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/bdlowery2/status/1791314918693843455/video/1)

This is the deep learning page she had up for the curious https://www.deeplearningbook.org/

### [Quote tweet, 10:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791777149789053205) · 6 likes

IMPLICIT BIAS

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN2r0lqWUAA6k5g.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN2r0ltW8AA_vCC.jpg)

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** @absurdlymax @LuiseWoehlke What the fuck
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GNzpo3TWMAAtYWS.jpg)

### [Tweet, 10:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791778695180362136) · 30 likes

This is what a chicken dinner should look like

### [Reply to @bschne, 11:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791793719491899496) · 6 likes

> **Benjamin (@bschne):** I basically never see anyone use Google Sites except for econ academics, what's up with that?

Opportunity cost understanders

### [Tweet, 13:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791824167983063266) · 1 like

I don’t have it handy but there are some memey videos going around of like how you could deck out a tiny apartment to fit a whole family with amenities etc

This would be a dope specialty niche for a contractor to fill. I bet people (both tenants and landlords) would hire you

### [Quote tweet, 13:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791824689230442578) · 117 likes

Yeah these recent revelations have pushed me over the line from “way too self confident but earnest” to “basically a bad person who can’t be trusted”

> **Quoting Shakeel (@ShakeelHashim):** Really interesting to see Hacker News commenters turning on Sam Altman.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN3JgYFW0AQsVj-.jpg)

### [Reply to @Jackbmeyer, 14:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791836543125966996) · 1 like

> **Jack Meyer 🏛️ (@Jackbmeyer):** Economics!
>
> (quoting @11kmrn: what hobbies can a 25 year old have other than the gym and drinking?)

R

### [Reply, 14:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791836804494078046) · 48 likes

> **Dylan Subiza (@theDYLANSUBIZA):** guy whose favorite thing is saying “man, this is what it’s all about..” but his life kinda sucks so he says that shit at game night or something and everyone is like “I guess”

This tweet makes me sad

### [Reply to @BUNNYEXPLODER, 14:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791843058687844595) · 4 likes

> **NAOMI 🐇💥 (@BUNNYEXPLODER):** question for guys: what are u supposed to call dudes when ur flirting with them ? “prettyboy” feels too feminine and “cutie” sounds infantilizing but “handsome” sounds stupid

Their name

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 19:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791910675071078513) · 6 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @AaronBergman18 Seems like your line should have more steps between those points

Maybe, I think I stand by it bc as an outsider, nontrivial update-worthy evidence doesn’t come out (to me) that often and this last series of things (starting with Daniel K’s LW comment) reflects pretty strong on Altman

### [Thread, continued, 19:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791911227372802435) · 3 likes

Also I’m bundling even more by grouping a bunch of close together but discrete events as one

Also shockingly I am not an ideal Bayesian agent

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 19:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1791915038678114384) · 5 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 12, 2024:** Not load bearing

Anti-load bearing (yes this is \*I think\* an octopus and it’s definitely in the mouth if a fish head. It is ~definitely a real animal with tentacles. The pic is from far away bc of the smell. I did not expect to find an octopus on the ground in Washington DC)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN4pKvyXEAEL4IH.jpg)

## Sunday, May 19, 2024

### [Reply, 10:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792143717706367087)

I ain’t watching all that

If it’s just hard to prove that it’s not an integer I’ll let it slide

If it actually might be an integer as in Semovyevsky Forecasters or whatever tf they’re called would give it >20% then it’s time to shut it all down (math, as a discipline)

### [Quote tweet, 10:44 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792144187124842973) · 4 likes

But ya know who is consistently candid? Sarah Pause Emoji \[that’s her legal last name\] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/consistently-candid/id1732326178

> **Quoting Eli Tyre (@EpistemicHope):** Can't be trusted, you say?
>
> You mean he's not...consistently candid?

### [Thread, continued, 10:44 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792144288622460984) · 1 like

Aka @littIeramblings

### [Thread, continued, 10:45 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792144489265463734) · 4 likes

Wait the emoji disappeared maybe she’s gone e/acc

### [Quote tweet, 11:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792157926611665094) · 38 likes

This is such a lovely and wholesome political issue. I imagine it at the top of those iceberg/progressively dark memes

\- Non-culture war
\- Legible and reasonable arguments on both sides
\- consequential enough to not seem like a cartoon

> **Quoting Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (@RepMGP):** A new rule mandating finger-detection technology in table saws could raise costs by hundreds of dollars and result in a government-mandated monopoly.
>
> I introduced a bipartisan bill to protect consumer choice and block this mandate until the patents for this tech are made public.
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/RepMGP/status/1790802691355988339/video/1)

### [Thread, continued, 11:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792157928696267136) · 7 likes

\- decent microcosm for small\[er\] gov’t vs big\[ger\] gov’t ideological conflict bc people still like that (awfully strained sometimes) model of politics at least in Western democratic nations

\- I for one don’t have a strong initial intuition about which side is right

### [Thread, continued, 11:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792157930118094999) · 5 likes

\- afaik a legitimately new object level thing? Not like abortion or gun control where the lines have been drawn and pseudoarguments decided on for decades

\- a sprig of political economy/interest group politics as a garnish on top

### [Tweet, 16:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792231543726911558) · 19 likes

Outing myself as having lefty sympathies but it’s kinda depressing the degree to which some brand -> consumer communication is straight-up adversarial

### [Thread, continued, 16:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792231545391943901) · 11 likes

This was inspired by the juice aisle in which ~everything says CRANBERRY in big letters on the front and ~nothing contains more than a few molecules of cranberry

### [Thread, continued, 16:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792231546918777217) · 9 likes

Homeopathy 🤝 Big Juice

Lying to people

### [Reply to @eshear, 17:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792240697426219127) · 1 like

> **Emmett Shear (@eshear):** I’m not proposing an intervention, I’m proposing a mandate for ppl building stuff. The fact that the reaction is reflexively “no, make it illegal!” is the problem — the governments ability to predefine in advance the right set of stuff is bad.

I think you’re wrong here and quite clearly so

Or else you’re playing some semantic game with the word “can” that nobody else signed up for

## Monday, May 20, 2024

### [Reply to @ilex_ulmus, 02:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792377526322393333) · 2 likes

> **Holly ⏸️ Elmore (@ilex_ulmus):** I feel like such a boomer with Discord

Boomers have never heard of discord lol

### [Reply to @notanastronomer, 02:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792381087928517012) · 10 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @notanastronomer is no longer available.)_

I agree this would be cool but also the whole model of deciding what “actually works” in medicine via population averages is in need of reform

It got us reasonably far but like at this point we kinda know and legit advances like ozempic are a once per decade thing

### [Reply to @calnithm, 02:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792383111676023087) · 8 likes

> **cal! (@calnithm):** this shit had so much aura
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN45QqMW4AAg_WH.jpg)

Fun fact it’s a literal picture of what’s going on inside

### [Reply to @noiseslug, 02:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792383516686319916) · 1 like

> **night gowl (green owl) (@noiseslug):**
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN6UP2cW4AAqgcm.jpg)

She’s perfect just the way she is 😡

### [Tweet, 03:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792390999693758879) · 229 likes

It is extremely easy to flinch away from but this (including rest of paragraph below) is probably the single ethical claim that I most wish people—especially the EA community which it has far from saturated—would internalize

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN_aHW0X0AA_jJD.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 03:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792391004688994725) · 62 likes

.

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN_aHr9WwAA9Xhw.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 03:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792391009705279524) · 75 likes

I had a weird gum infection a few weeks back. It doesn’t take extreme circumstances to get to this point

https://www.aaronbergman.net/p/on-suffering

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN_aH8KWYAAtyIl.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 03:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792391012171845982) · 40 likes

One more https://www.aaronbergman.net/p/my-case-for-suffering-leaning-ethics

### [Reply to @JesseTayRiver, 03:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792392319502569958) · 4 likes

> **Jesse Smith (@JesseTayRiver):** Go easy because I'm already feeling a bit embarrassed about it, but I may have freaked out some of the parents at my daughter's soccer game talking about autocratic lock-in

Not me at my friend’s graduation party yesterday asking him if he’s thought through what circumstances/world events relevant to P(nuclear war) would make him leave DC

### [Reply to @diviacaroline, 03:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792393467613606173) · 2 likes

> **Divia Eden 🔍 (@diviacaroline):** “If a tree fell in the woods and no one heard it, did it fall?”
> \-my kid

Yes, he assumed that it did right at the outset

### [Reply to @ilex_ulmus, 03:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792394716803178545) · 5 likes

> **Holly ⏸️ Elmore (@ilex_ulmus):** Ditto therapy and self-help. There's something inherently fraught and negative about trying to be the correct kind of person. You do need/want things corrected sometimes, but I was attracted to it out of a desire to be perfect and a willingness to force my soul into shape.
>
> (quoting @The4thWayYT: Me and who)

Idk I’m definitely not the person you should go to for relationship advice but being able to “litigate” object level serious disagreements well seems pretty important. Sometimes you can’t forget about it - like a decision has to be made!

### [Thread, continued, 03:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792395346171277400) · 4 likes

I agree there’s a bunch of “therapy talk” vibe-associating stuff that doesn’t actually do this well

Hot take but LW-brand rationality actually does seem to provide a useful set of tools and norms for problem solving, although to some extent both ppl have to be bought in

### [Reply to @izzitrin, 03:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792397770344812961) · 21 likes

> **miss missouri (@izzitrin):** we literally don’t have A+’s at this school hahaha i am a god
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN9b6ieWAAIIwMa.jpg)

This will never leave my memory

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN_gRXrWMAAHmuq.jpg)

### [Reply to @europooro, 03:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792398142048280875) · 5 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @europooro is no longer available.)_

Akathesia

### [Reply to @Duderichy, 03:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792398730660044877) · 1 like

> **the Rich (@Duderichy):** bro human metabolism is so simple just take this one supplement it’ll fix everything… bro just one more supplement,,, it’s different this time, bro I swear it’ll fix everything just one more supplement bro just one more bro bro please just take this one…
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN9qLM1WQAAHzhY.jpg)

The crazy thing is that there are some molecules that induce a reliable and dramatic change! Testosterone comes to mind

### [Quote tweet, 03:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792399561375563876) · 12 likes

This is an argument for trying to reason at the level of systems, evo bio, and risk-managed guess-and-check rather than causal mechanisms (in general)

If u have a b12 deficiency then b12 injection goes brr

> **Quoting the Rich (@Duderichy):** bro human metabolism is so simple just take this one supplement it’ll fix everything… bro just one more supplement,,, it’s different this time, bro I swear it’ll fix everything just one more supplement bro just one more bro bro please just take this one…
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN9qLM1WQAAHzhY.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 03:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792399938930008434) · 2 likes

This makes me very sad as a causal mechanisms enjoyer

### [Reply to @adam__isom, 03:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792403636552978548) · 10 likes

> **adam ✧ ❥ ~ (@adam__isom):** But... there \*aren't\* chronic illnesses with that level of constant pain
> Also, almost nobody dies expiring of thirst
> Also, other than chickens, most sentient lives are almost certainly net+
>
> Tbh I fear that a philosophy over-emphasizing suffering could end up destroying all value

I mean I know of one (akathesia) but I don’t think the chronic illness thing is close to a crux for me

Thirst is much too narrow a category; how many people die/have died in terrible suffering? Pain-managed final hours-months in modern wealthy countries is the exception

### [Thread, continued, 03:56 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792404050211999865) · 4 likes

I think the net+ thing is probably true for humans alive today and ~no other category, even this is a q about median not mean

### [Reply, 03:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792404574193742189) · 1 like

https://x.com/aaronbergman18/status/1782841403002749137

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN_mddXXQAAz82E.jpg)

### [Reply to @_AlvinChristian, 04:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792404990608458004) · 3 likes

> **Alvin Christian (@_AlvinChristian):** They should invent research that is easy to do

They did, but it’s already been done

### [Quote tweet, 04:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792409726300389445) · 5 likes

Why do I only ever see different cash vs credit prices at gas stations? “2.5% discount for paying with cash” doesn’t seem hard to implement

It’s weirder that it would be a thing for exactly one type of consumer purchase than nowhere

> **Quoting Someone:**

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 04:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792409934035812640) · 2 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** @austinc3301 worth it imo

@hlntnr do something, agus needs ur help

### [Reply to @burny_tech, 04:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792410393370910855) · 2 likes

> **Burny - Effective Curiosity (@burny_tech):** "We show that a 5-HT1A-selective 5-MeO-DMT analogue is devoid of hallucinogenic-like effects while retaining anxiolytic-like and antidepressant-like activity in socially defeated animals." @algekalipso
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN9tZ2NWkAEvaDO.jpg)

Wait what

So 5ht1a activation isn’t sufficient for psychedelic effects?

### [Reply, 04:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792411563183268136) · 1 like

Example? Paul graham?

### [Reply to @tszzl, 04:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792418896265568375) · 2 likes

> **roon (@tszzl):** the astronomical waste argument and the utilitarian cause for pausing AI relies on the eventual inevitability of superintelligence

Maybe not some strong form of general superintelligence (tools like AlphaFold suffice) but yeah and I think the case for this is strong. That’s why it’s ⏸️ not ⏹️ (for me; I know others disagree)

### [Reply to @tszzl, 05:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792421780474171472) · 2 likes

> **roon (@tszzl):** i ♥️ openai

Blink if you are in danger

### [Reply to @tszzl, 05:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792421821536501785) · 4 likes

> **roon (@tszzl):** the last best hope of navigating the golden path to safe superintelligence

This is what I used to think

### [Tweet, 06:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792437632468705326) · 7 likes

There was a tweet related to that video of that 29yo single woman that basically said “at least for men in this situation there’s a pretty straightforward path out via self-improvement” and I can’t stop thinking about it

Certainly not completely true for everyone but still

### [Thread, continued, 06:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792437633911505144) · 4 likes

Ofc straightforward ≠ easy

There are reasons why people are the way they are at this moment; if it was tractable, straightforward and easy it would already be done

### [Thread, continued, 06:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792437635190788235) · 4 likes

But lots of things are both hard and complex or simply not solvable. When I was a serious competitive rock climber, I distinctly remember thinking like “I wish I actually knew how to get better faster - effort isn’t the limiting factor here”

### [Reply to @ryan_landay, 06:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792439061153456554) · 5 likes

> **Ryan Landay (@ryan_landay):** @AaronBergman18 I find it ironic that EAs claim to be so worried about robots killing everyone, but also think human existence is bad because everyone experiences suffering.

Mostly a strawman although I do think there’s a hint of this in some places. But I have actually thought about this quite a bit! My section is “II. A case for suffering-leaning ethics”

(1/n)
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/eeDsHDoM9De4iGGLw/questioning-the-value-of-extinction-risk-reduction-1

### [Thread, continued, 06:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792439756338393466) · 3 likes

Basically, the intuitive narrative that goes like “AI x-risk -> world destroyed -> no sentience” falls apart under inspection

Tbh someone (maybe me) should detail all this more in long-form but some points

1\) human extinction is only a subset of ai x-risk

### [Thread, continued, 06:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792440640371875879) · 6 likes

2\) s-risk is a thing

3\) wild animal suffering is a thing and it’s genuinely non-obvious what the effect of human civilization is on total suffering even once you add in factory farming

4\) handing off control of the future to another agent is very sus

### [Thread, continued, 06:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792441495401681192) · 2 likes

5\) even if human extinction \*per se\* is a good thing, the actual probability mass here is dominated by AI and bio which don’t look like a flip switch “humans alive yes or no”

(these are near the bottom of the link above)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOAICjxXcAEL3QG.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOAICjwWkAIZ4bN.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 06:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792442763377586294) · 3 likes

6\) I’m hesitant to even add this bc it sounds weird but whatever: way more speculatively, you get into very long term counterfactuals around aliens and whether another sapient species could/would evolve (tbc I don’t think this is load bearing)

### [Reply to @tracewoodgrains, 06:41 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792445512425119954) · 16 likes

> **Jack (@tracewoodgrains):** @AaronBergman18 I’ve never understood what I’m supposed to shift to upon understanding serious pain exists. It does! But the grand project of life is still rich, meaningful, and fundamentally worthwhile. A monomaniacally suffering-focused ethic leads one inexorably to destroying that.

IMO “ah yes genocide/omnicide” is what suffering focused ethics looks like if you think about it for 5 seconds and then stop…

### [Thread, continued, 06:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792445889753358458) · 9 likes

This is just one point among many, but even if you \*did\* think that was good, the very foreseeable result is that everyone thinks you and your ideology are crazy and evil which doesn’t make for much of a theory of change

### [Thread, continued, 06:45 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792446424019595694) · 11 likes

More prosaically, I think “we” (broadly) should be much more suffering-focused on the margin and it would take a large shift on that axis to reach the point at which you’re doing things that many people would view as bad

### [Reply to @tracewoodgrains, 06:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792447941476552905) · 3 likes

> **Jack (@tracewoodgrains):** this is a terrible defense, though! Some do use it, but it’s not comforting. “If I took my ideology to its logical conclusion, everyone would hate me and I couldn’t get anything done, so I’ll focus on incremental steps.” That’s not rejection, just sidestepping.

I half wanna defend the ability to discuss radical, even abhorrent, ideas while still being bound by the norms of liberalism and cooperation with other value systems at a higher level IMO but really it’s just not my logical conclusion

### [Reply to @paularambles, 08:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792469052868223137) · 1 like

> **“paula” (@paularambles):** soft wear engineer (designs cashmere clothing)

We need more of these. My 10 year old comfy tank top is on the brink of death

### [Tweet, 08:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792470017058934979) · 2 likes

Do u think Word Perfect still exists

### [Reply to @GjMcGowan, 09:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792494764501110855) · 3 likes

> **George McGowan (@GjMcGowan):** Some of you are too needy FYI (name redacted for privacy)
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOAxXCXWwAAAZ0S.png)

Can you send me an invite bc then I can brag on Twitter?

I’m not gonna come bc realistically I don’t feel like traveling oversees for the wedding of someone I’ve never irl so the only cost here is postage. Ur a Google guy so I bet you can cover that

### [Reply to @GjMcGowan, 10:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792501465673605588) · 2 likes

> **George McGowan (@GjMcGowan):** @AaronBergman18 Sorry it cuts into the EtG budget

Unironically fair

### [Reply, 11:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792524543166226714) · 2 likes

> **tibetanfox (@tibetanfox1440):** More women should receive unsolicited duck pics!

🦆😏🦆

[![Video thumbnail](https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1792524464405557248/pu/img/cjnlr8qtjkbxAInO.jpg)](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792524543166226714/video/1) (video, plays on X)

### [Thread, continued, 11:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792524649659597094) · 2 likes

Nudity flag bc the ducks aren’t wearing any clothes

### [Reply to @allie__voss, 11:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792524936285970937) · 1 like

> **Allie ✞ (@allie__voss):** He texts me pics of ducks and turtles when he sees them because he knows I love wildlife

I’d do this bc \*I\* like ducks (I’m neutral about turtles)

### [Reply, 12:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792530752518680957) · 3 likes

Whatever this is/acc

### [Quote tweet, 12:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792531513508048920) · 2 likes

Ad. Don’t know any more about it than you do but looks cool

> **Quoting NeverMyFault (@nevermyfault1):** You can now invest in creators like startups:
>
> ⏰You're investing in their entire financial output over a 10-30 year time period
>
> ☑️Platform revenue, brand deals, companies they create...it's all included
>
> 🚀Be one of the first to get in
>
> Check it out:

### [Reply to @xwanyex, 12:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792532165281857540) · 16 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @xwanyex is no longer available.)_

This is pretty obviously not true lol

And I’m pretty neolib/markets-pilled

At the very least there are structural differences in how well various industries capture surplus (finance especially)

### [Reply to @ea_paddington, 12:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792534769890148698) · 2 likes

> **EA Paddington 🍊🔸 (@ea_paddington):** This is exactly what a person who's about to get married would say.

Real

### [Reply to @PetiteNicoco, 12:56 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792539799405908055) · 1 like

> **nicoco (@PetiteNicoco):** Literally just this lol
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN-recGXgAA-ETa.jpg)
> (quoting @LeahDiscovers: Hey married ladies! No matter your politics, HOW did you land your husband? Not how you met, HOW you got him to commit. We all found one, now it's our job to help the singles.)

Based

### [Reply to @billyhumblebrag, 13:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792544610427830626) · 1 like

> **billy (@billyhumblebrag):** @AaronBergman18 @burny_tech @algekalipso 2a classically is what gives the psychedelic effect

F

### [Reply, 13:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792546461000798273) · 1 like

Seems like a bad critique?

I thought rule of thumb was 4% reliable return. That outpaces inflation. Yes the finance industry is the mechanism of that

### [Reply to @mealreplacer, 13:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792547018587447657) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @mealreplacer is no longer available.)_

Retvrn to 4 digit number of followers

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 13:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792547942739386870) · 2 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** people should hide more easter eggs on their websites

This sounds like the tweet of a guy who just dropped some Easter egg

### [Reply to @inerati, 13:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792548409661902955) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to by @inerati is no longer available.)_

🙃

### [Tweet, 13:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792549221318475807) · 7 likes

Praxis

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOBqBBuXwAAS6mw.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 13:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792549223918862699) · 2 likes

I don’t actually know what praxis means. I’m just pattern matching like a stochastic parrot

### [Reply, 13:52 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792553900018368586)

Why is it wearing a hat

### [Quote tweet, 14:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792556047648849999) · 14 likes

Finally an actually important tweet gets some views. Usually it’s the random bullshit lol

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** It is extremely easy to flinch away from but this (including rest of paragraph below) is probably the single ethical claim that I most wish people—especially the EA community which it has far from saturated—would internalize
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN_aHW0X0AA_jJD.jpg)

### [Reply to @rajlearns, 14:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792557906048524620) · 2 likes

> **Raj Thimmiah (@rajlearns):** How many standard deviations happier would the average person have to be for the world to get worse?

I’m not sure there’s any number. Weakly suspect it just monotonically gets better

### [Reply to @RFishBlueFish, 14:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792570836433481947) · 2 likes

> **Gil (@RFishBlueFish):** @AaronBergman18 @robi_rahman yes it was not clear to me that aaron had actually considered it for more than 5 seconds

Thank u for being so generous. This is actually 5 seconds longer than I did considered it

### [Reply, 15:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792573195226149000) · 1 like

Gay ppl got a monopoly on iPhones and white people?

### [Reply to @NoahTopper, 15:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792573509706641823) · 3 likes

> **Quinoah 🔍⏸️ (@NoahTopper):** @AaronBergman18 @GjMcGowan Aaron I think you’ve gotten everything wrong about what he was saying

Typical (I do get the Topper bit. I think at least)

### [Reply to @GjMcGowan, 15:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792573859457089968) · 2 likes

> **George McGowan (@GjMcGowan):** @AaronBergman18 @NoahTopper He has the Look

Gay ppl got a monopoly on reflecting photons?

### [Reply, 15:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792576436978454689)

Holden/EV could have publically asked the board to investigate tbf

### [Reply, 15:29 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792578311811457472) · 1 like

Typical. I’m mildly curious but pretty happy to leave it to imagination

### [Reply to @JMannhart, 15:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792580663104700679) · 3 likes

> **Jonathan Mannhart 🔎 (@JMannhart):** @NoahTopper @AaronBergman18 @GjMcGowan I always wanted to know this too!!

No offense Noah but I have never given your eyelashes any thought whatsoever before now

### [Reply, 15:41 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792581333572616348)

Also is it a thing that gay ppl have lower bmi?

### [Reply, 15:44 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792582060890075383)

Lol at them making it extremely clear that height and weight was self-reported but not sexual orientation

### [Thread, continued, 15:44 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792582275831312501) · 2 likes

Ofc I do think orientation is less subject to bias but especially distinguishing between bi and straight seems pretty subject to ideological and social confounders

### [Reply to @Coscorrodrift, 15:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792583155880239495) · 4 likes

> **coscorrodrift (@Coscorrodrift):** something ive thought about is how some people are lurkers online but super talkative irl, and some people are the opposite
>
> i think i know ppl in all quadrants
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOCElvvXIAEJCm1.png)

Talkative ≠ extroverted !!!

Guy who is relatively talkative when he decides to do smth social but gets inevitably drained of energy by it (exception = girl. Something something oxytocin)

### [Reply to @peterwildeford, 15:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792583932820475940) · 2 likes

> **Peter Wildeford🇺🇸🚀 (@peterwildeford):** Nice to see a partnership between UK and Canada on AI safety, following the partnership from US and UK announced last month
>
> https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-canada-science-of-ai-safety-partnership

One day maybe all 3 of them can be in a polycule

## Tuesday, May 21, 2024

### [Reply to @mattyglesias, 09:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792852105113329824) · 2 likes

> **Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias):** The name “Affordable Care Act.”
>
> (quoting @BigMeanInternet: What's something in the world you know you're directly responsible for but if you were to claim credit you'd sound crazy?)

Fr fr?

### [Reply, 09:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792852554373538205) · 1 like

Why?

### [Reply to @umichvoter, 09:41 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792853088409162082) · 2 likes

> **umichvoter (@umichvoter):** almost 90% of University of Michigan students are from these counties
>
> what do they have in common?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GN_1dG7XUAAbfHx.jpg)

They all attend UoM

### [Reply, 09:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1792857280574029869) · 1 like

F

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 21:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793027855116361887) · 10 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** The criticism of EA I find most alienating is "I came to EA looking for a deep sense of meaning and purpose but EA is actually incredibly cold and impersonal and didn't give me that." I think people should relate to effective altruism in the same way they do to YIMBYism.

I have never heard anyone say this

### [Quote tweet, 21:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793032576686313900) · 8 likes

Someone explain 😩

> **Quoting henry (@arithmoquine):** WAKE UP BABE NEW ANTHROPIC BANGER MECHINTERP PAPER JUST DROPPED
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOHu2W5W4AAP3dh.jpg)

## Wednesday, May 22, 2024

### [Reply to @SpacedOutMatt, 04:03 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793130604503961818) · 1 like

> **Matt 🔸 (@SpacedOutMatt):** Do folks have a preferred reference on the practical ethics of the simulation hypothesis? I'm curious what the implications of a substantial p(simulation) would be on common moral choices

There is an 80k pod on this I think!!!

### [Reply, 04:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793130748339495141) · 5 likes

Atlas

### [Reply to @keysmashbandit, 04:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793130930032521509) · 19 likes

> **keysmashbandit (@keysmashbandit):** this man could be slaying 15 to 20 twinks a day if he put his mind to it

Have u heard of refractory period? This is running up against physical limits

### [Reply to @LeetAlpaca3, 04:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793132238831558863) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @LeetAlpaca3 is no longer available.)_

Increasingly powerful sedatives if ur Apple Watch or whatever detects that ur not asleep for at least 6 hours

Chamomile tea

Then melatonin

Then diphenhydramine

Then Benzos

Then high dose ketamine

If ur still awake after this they write a paper about u

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 04:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793132610178404562) · 2 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** Link

I think it’s this but not certain https://80000hours.org/podcast/episodes/joe-carlsmith-navigating-serious-philosophical-confusion/

### [Reply, 04:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793133385969180827) · 1 like

Was the person fundraising for a charity? If so it must be a common thing, I got asked this the other day

### [Reply to @ethai__, 04:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793134589340443065) · 4 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @ethai__ is no longer available.)_

Tempted to make this thread that thing. Feel free to dm me with specific qs. Not that I’m the person with the most knowledge at all but think I have a decent understanding (largely from answering questions of family and fellow undergrads)

### [Tweet, 04:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793135192300798122) · 9 likes

Not everyone can be a twink. I feel like whenever I see any picture of a male adult human Twitter says he’s a twink.

### [Reply to @thatMikeBishop, 04:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793135925788307951) · 1 like

> **Mike Bishop 🇨🇦🇺🇸 (@thatMikeBishop):** If I were a diplomat I would simply be diplomatic.
>
> (quoting @arpitrage: Are diplomats in NYC going to pay congestion pricing tax or try to get out of it like American diplomats in London?)

This does seem like a pretty stupid way for the treasury to save like $100M/year (or whatever the total bill would be from all countries)

### [Tweet, 04:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793136145003593915) · 10 likes

Ya ever wake up from a weird af dream and feel weird af?

I feel like I need mouthwash for my psyche

### [Reply to @LordDreadwar, 04:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793136539817713867) · 2 likes

> **Darth Dreadwar 🔺 (@LordDreadwar):** Don't forget Leverage/Paradigm, which the post above missed (as EAG did in its history presentations)
>
> It is weird how few "History of the Scene" books/articles there are relative to "random Sith fanclub" (to pick a familiar example) or even early LW (which aren't just Bay) rats

Oh boy this I have approximately zero understanding of and nobody should ask me anything, in fact you should tell me everything you know instead

### [Tweet, 04:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793137856774639921) · 4 likes

You hear that someone broke an NDA. Does this intuitively sound more good or more bad (insofar as it reflects on the person in question)?

### [Reply to @mechanical_monk, 04:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793138099150606390) · 1 like

> **monk (@mechanical_monk):** how do non-smokers go to events
>
> if i didn't have the "welp i'm gonna go for a smoke" ejection handle i would pass out from social anxiety

Presumably you can just say this and then not actually smoke? At the limit you can literally do everything but physically light the cigarette. Like put it in ur mouth outside and just stand there

### [Reply, 04:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793138337043345460) · 1 like

If he didn’t make decent etg money I’d try to cyberbully @SpacedOutMatt into doing this

### [Thread, continued, 04:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793138568560349571) · 2 likes

Actually maybe he’d still be up for it as a side project (???👀)

### [Reply to @LordDreadwar, 04:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793139303360438510) · 3 likes

> **Darth Dreadwar 🔺 (@LordDreadwar):** With EA becoming this historically influential, there really needs to be a good "TESCREAL historian" without an axe to grind, tracing the people, connections, communities and orgs, leaving no stone unturned
> Not even the Zizians
> What we owe our future historians

I doubt I’d be good at this but I do find early EA history super interesting. Like does everyone know about Felicifia, godparent of tbe EA Forum??? https://felicifia.github.io/thread/1309.html#

### [Reply to @freed_dfilan, 04:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793139672778215815) · 1 like

> **Daniel Filan 🔎 (@freed_dfilan):** @AaronBergman18 Selection effects on which photos get talked about

It’s pepperoni plane all the way down

### [Reply, 05:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793153423292186926) · 1 like

This is awfully underspecified but I do think I’m more anti-compartmentalization at least in one respect: I really don’t like the idea of having my (main) online presence be anonymous

…

### [Thread, continued, 05:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793153746928537973) · 1 like

Yes this limits what I can say somewhat and yes it’s bad for certain careers—there is a real tradeoff here—but idk like the internet is a big part of life especially in my particular intellectual/social niches and it just feels wrong to not have like a unified persona

### [Reply, 07:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793178092518756575)

I have the opposite intuition (if someone’s willing to take on the associated risk and anger some powerful people (as the other side of NDAs tend to be) it’s probably for a good reason)

Also I wouldn’t call this a lie. NDAs are contracts, not covenants

### [Quote tweet, 07:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793188605663301927) · 13 likes

Important question

At first I thought it was silly bc like why would a board member ever sign one, but if someone shoved one in my face right before joining the board of a nonprofit I was excited about, I’m not sure I’d even give it a second thought

> **Quoting David Manheim (@davidmanheim):** Question for @sama: Does @OpenAI have non-disparagement agreement with board members or former board members?
>
> If so, is @sama willing to publicly release the text of any such agreements?

### [Reply to @dissproportion, 10:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793234084648432114) · 2 likes

> **Dissproportionately (@dissproportion):** Y’all wanna see a dead body?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOEcvbSWYAAlehH.jpg)
> (quoting @jacobin: Infamous for its starvation wages, Walmart just posted staggering first-quarter profits. The surge is a result of its strategic shift toward catering to affluent shoppers while its full-time workers continue to rely on Medicaid and food stamps.…)

I know I’m supposed to dunk on the outgroup here but like c’mon, the compensation for writing in any well-known publication is status and career capital. Nobody would be making this point if the compensation was $0.00/word

### [Reply to @algekalipso, 11:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793238614886740365) · 3 likes

> **Captain Pleasure, Andrés Gómez Emilsson (@algekalipso):** Do you feel like you have free will?
>
> Do you think we have, ontologically, free will?

To the first q: I said yes, but on intentional introspection I don’t really feel strongly one way or the other

I think this is an interesting contrast with qualia/phenomenal consciousness where introspection only makes my intuition stronger

### [Reply to @algekalipso, 11:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793240524922458520) · 4 likes

> **Captain Pleasure, Andrés Gómez Emilsson (@algekalipso):** Eliezer is "not even wrong" about consciousness and qualia.
>
> But I think he is sadly pretty on point on the dangers of very advanced AI.
>
> There aren't many people who get both of these points at once. They're highly anti-correlated opinions. But I think this is the world we find ourselves in.
>
> (quoting @CRSegerie: This post from @webmasterdave is still legendary Context: Eliezer sets out his theory of consciousness in a Facebook post, followed by a debate in the comments about animal consciousness. It's like the Super Bowl.)

🤝

### [Reply to @ryancbriggs, 18:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793343042155429979) · 2 likes

> **Ryan Briggs (@ryancbriggs):** Is it ethical to tweet?

It’s unethical not to tweet

### [Quote tweet, 18:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793343727118717389) · 10 likes

Pulling this out of the takes drawer

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** I don’t really have an object level take on whether Altman is an adept sociopath, but in light of SBF + maybe Sama I have a theory:

### [Thread, continued, 18:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793344216623730850) · 5 likes

For those too lazy to click

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOM9DygWIAACi6k.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOM9DygWcAApjYJ.jpg)

### [Tweet, 19:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793364569265500656) · 9 likes

Screwworm discourse is back. Super important. I really really want someone to take this on (I don't need to bore everyone with the specifics but I am not able to be that person rn) https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/bT3WrFn6H4fpvLSk8/

### [Thread, continued, 19:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793364571001926060) · 2 likes

BUT I will give you money. Even if you don't have a legit charity yet. (Probably, pending specifics ofc but I definitely \*want\* to give someone money for this)

(Comment on the post above - make sure to read the last bit)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GONNzcUXkAAAslc.jpg)

### [Tweet, 20:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793379887325302969) · 36 likes

0/2 at trimming beard without screwing up bad enough that I need to shave it all off. How many years did I lose?

(These are <1 hour apart)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GONdf26aIAAyMwP.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GONdf25a4AAfTMJ.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GONdf3FaUAAdkNo.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GONdf24bcAAfifk.jpg)

### [Tweet, 23:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793420939272900892) · 117 likes

I don’t know who you are but I love you

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOOC1i0bsAEWAT7.jpg)

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 23:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793421248615395600) · 6 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @AaronBergman18 You can actually pay people to trim it for you

Last time I did this a girl stood me up

### [Reply to @young_opsimath, 23:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793421602123923483) · 2 likes

> **young_opsimath ⏸️ (@young_opsimath):** @AaronBergman18 With the beard you look like an old time sailor

Hell yeah

### [Tweet, 23:45 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793427917592301568) · 2 likes

It’s cool that u can just make things now in whatever language without ever actually writing a single line (cmd+v go brr)

A little clunky but a full-history preserving text editor. I’ll probably actually use this

[![Video thumbnail](https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1793427748708638720/pu/img/RRUVU0VkN3A6_nKr.jpg)](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793427917592301568/video/1) (video, plays on X)

### [Thread, continued, 23:45 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793427920083734994) · 2 likes

“Cargo run” is much better aesthetically than “python3 main. py”

It sounds like an Allbirds shoe

## Thursday, May 23, 2024

### [Reply, 01:02 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793447327690047527) · 1 like

In fact it’s probably only one person

But lol uh my social intuitions are extremely subpar I have no fucking clue

### [Reply to @JMannhart, 01:03 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793447555541488123) · 5 likes

> **Jonathan Mannhart 🔎 (@JMannhart):** @heartbulbous @AaronBergman18 You don't have an adnonymous link in your bio, so I can't give you constructive anonymous feedback, so I had to give you constructive feedback right now non-anonymously, instead of anonymously, as you wished

http://admonymous.co/a

### [Quote tweet, 01:03 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793447603629076824) · 18 likes

Feedback plz

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** @JMannhart @heartbulbous http://admonymous.co/a

### [Tweet, 04:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793497340248199480) · 57 likes

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOPIUxsXUAAuq7S.jpg)

### [Reply to @bijibiji2023, 05:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793514944043848015)

> **hoff 🧒🏻😻 (@bijibiji2023):** im so sad im so fucking broke and I was getting gift card for someone and the employee literally stole 15 fucking dollars in change from me and I didn’t realize until I left and I went back and he just kept denying it and his manager was just like ummmm sorry 🤷🏻

☹️

### [Reply to @thechosenberg, 05:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793515169148010940) · 9 likes

> **rosey🌹 (@thechosenberg):** 😓
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOOYWx1XUAA9ZOb.jpg)

This would happen to me

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 05:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793515554185347277) · 3 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @focusfronting If you're gonna be mean I want to know who it is

Fuck u

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 06:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793528966130880952) · 2 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** Hello Aaron

Hi sorry I was mean

### [Reply, 06:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793529108615561647) · 3 likes

### [Reply to @billyhumblebrag, 08:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793558004736180549) · 25 likes

> **billy (@billyhumblebrag):** What's the best way to support vox, but like, only the bits Kelsey writes?

Email her and say u wanna give her money

### [Tweet, 10:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793594749342900602) · 1 like

Besides writing code, are there any other hard skills that are basically solved (at least through some level that actually gets used to do useful things irl) thanks to ChatGPT et al?

I’m guessing I wouldn’t even know because it wouldn’t cross my mind

### [Reply to @Mihonarium, 12:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793619397246095406) · 1 like

> **Mikhail Samin (@Mihonarium):** @AaronBergman18 What’s your alternative explanations of humans talking about having subjective experience in a way that closely matches their subjective  (which would be unlikely if it happened by chance)?

I mean I agree there is almost certainly \*some\* relationship, but  you’re asking for a solution to psychophysical harmony and like there’s a reason why thousands of very smart philosophers have spent zillions of hours debating this (to little avail)…

### [Reply, 12:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793619849803088359) · 1 like

Fundamentally the relationship between qualia (I think it’s good/helpful u use that term btw) and what we intuitively think of as the “physical” brain is extremely mysterious. We can look at those neural circuits you refer to and watch the neurons fire but from an external

### [Thread, continued, 12:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793620481431740564) · 2 likes

scientific perspective there’s no phenomenon to find.

But then, as you correctly point out, it sure seems like qualia play a causal role in our behaviors eg talking about qualia on Twitter, and yet under a standard scientific worldview we should be able to account for

### [Thread, continued, 12:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793620836462825868) · 1 like

these behaviors without any reference to the subjective qualitative experience per se

Anyway all that is to say is that nobody has any idea including me and anyone who is confident in an account or explanation or whatever is overconfident

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 13:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793633123500273959) · 2 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, March 20, 2024:** 46\) In the spirit of Petrov Day, we should have a “People who did the right thing at considerable cost or risk to themselves but whose story we’ll (likely)…

47\) I’m pleased to announce that growth mindset (grit? are these different things?) is good after all:

1\) it “doesn’t work”? Hell yeah that’s a free lunch. Sounds like you can improve psychological wellbeing a bit (tbc I’m assuming it does this bc it does for me I think around

### [Thread, continued, 13:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793633844266225917) · 1 like

episodes of failure and intuitively that would seem to generalize) without losing performance

2\) haha priors go brr (it would be weird to me if this had literally zero positive impact on some types of performance for some types of people sometimes)

3\) if I’m remembering right

### [Thread, continued, 13:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793634279337107897)

there were like a handful of decent studies using indirect methods. Small positive effect was never ruled out

Growth mindset is so back

### [Quote tweet, 14:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793650983416791432) · 2 likes

This is a well-written email

[![Chefs Kiss French Chef GIF](https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video_thumb/GORUD7sW0AAWISZ.jpg)](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793650983416791432/photo/1) (gif, plays on X)

> **Quoting Kelsey Piper (@KelseyTuoc):** You can read some email exchanges between OpenAI and ex-employees over at https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/351132/openai-vested-equity-nda-sam-altman-documents-employees. There are a lot of forms of courage, but this sure is one of them.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOO6cWlbkAIjRY2.png)

### [Reply, 14:52 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793656174698807757) · 1 like

Lol what are non-x risk pilled people unhappy with Google about? They literally give away search, Drive with free storage, and Google maps for free (yes data, I am extremely happy to make this trade)

### [Tweet, 15:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793658257132933326) · 46 likes

SCOOP:

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GORarbTWAAAq4os.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 15:02 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793658704317014194) · 5 likes

. @absurdlymax I think u will appreciate this. It’s just a copycat of ur litmus test tweet (I am a stochastic parrot with some modest ability to generalize out of distribution)

### [Tweet, 17:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793689609018220573) · 10 likes

Who wants to sign a disparagement agreement so ur legally committed to roasting me publicly at some point

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 18:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793706793048449086) · 2 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 23, 2024:** there were like a handful of decent studies using indirect methods. Small positive effect was never ruled out Growth mindset is so back

48\) The intuitive category of “physical” breaks down on closer inspection

The brain isn’t made up of tiny billiard balls; it’s made up of \*properties\* that cash out exactly and only (as far as we know) as their causal interaction with other properties (spin, color, mass, etc)

### [Thread, continued, 18:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793707667665629600)

Physics ppl should fact check me on this (cc @AndyMasley)

This is kinda an extremely cold take; I got it from Chomsky (I don’t remember the name of the paper, it was a reading for a philosophy of mind class) but also it sorta hints at the whole hard problem qualia situation

### [Thread, continued, 18:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793708324279480713)

being like not a well-formed problem/question, fundamentally (like trying to formalize an intuitive notion of libertarian free will)

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 18:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793710491107487883) · 2 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @sam_atis I'm picking based on familial proximity fwiw

Same but in the opposite direction

(THIS IS A JOKE I LOVE MY FAMILY but they are annoying sometimes)

### [Reply to @moreisdifferent, 19:56 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793732679185162478) · 2 likes

> **Dan Elton 🔍 (@moreisdifferent):** Physics Ph.D. here, LOL. This has been proven false.
>
> Nothing can casually interact with anything else faster than the speed of light. So physics is local in that sense. There is no "action at a distance".
>
> (quoting @meta__physics: )

What about love

### [Tweet, 22:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793771515772915780) · 7 likes

Gonna start an advocacy group called Non-Nicotine Users Against Stupid Laws and our one goal is to legalize vaping in public parks

## Friday, May 24, 2024

### [Reply to @frances__lorenz, 00:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793801103772979713) · 6 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @frances__lorenz is no longer available.)_

Lol this has got to be one of the actual worst questions you can ask a group of people who'd take the question seriously and be psychologically and emotionally responsive to doing bad things

### [Thread, continued, 00:29 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793801573128126951) · 3 likes

This tweet is intended to be read in good humor by all

### [Tweet, 00:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793808026240987331) · 8 likes

.@FrostedSapling is a real mensch, you should give him a follow

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 03:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793840729279922483) · 4 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** Whoever at Anthropic that came up with this needs a raise
>
> (quoting @AnthropicAI: This week, we showed how altering internal "features" in our AI, Claude, could change its behavior. We found a feature that can make Claude focus intensely on the Golden Gate Bridge. Now, for a limited time, you can chat with Golden Gate Claude: http://claude.ai)

I feel like making $900k instead of $800k might not buy u that much utility

Perhaps a pizza party

### [Reply to @KelseyTuoc, 05:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793880240156184691) · 10 likes

> **Kelsey Piper (@KelseyTuoc):** actually cannot accept this for COI reasons.

Ok but u can accept memes right

### [Reply to @KelseyTuoc, 05:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793881620543623559) · 9 likes

> **Kelsey Piper (@KelseyTuoc):** I can accept memes but this appears to just be a normal pic of me at work? what's the meme

Pic is unrelated, I was just curious

### [Reply to @GjMcGowan, 05:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793884338540732841) · 2 likes

> **George McGowan (@GjMcGowan):** @AaronBergman18 @billyhumblebrag Stuff an envelope with cash and send it to the vox office C/O Kelsey

“NOT FOR KELSEY PIPER” on the front

### [Reply to @AaronEstel, 06:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1793884825486786874) · 2 likes

> **Aaron (@AaronEstel):** what do you actually \*do\* differently if you're worried about micro plastics?

Worry

### [Reply to @cremieuxrecueil, 13:46 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794002141528703369) · 3 likes

> **Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil):** It's real, it's out there.
>
> https://nanoporetech.com/products/sequence/smidgion

Shoot ur shot kings

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOWTcHLXEAA6bzr.jpg)

### [Reply to @lillybilly299, 13:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794004311791308955) · 5 likes

> **Lilly (@lillybilly299):** U know when ur working out and it sucks but then all of sudden ur whole body gets warm and u feel energized? What's going on there?

No

### [Reply, 13:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794005000856719611) · 1 like

Wait is this a thing for women but not men?

### [Reply to @Aella_Girl, 13:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794005272341450989) · 2 likes

> **Aella (@Aella_Girl):** What's your biological sex? || Have you ever personally been on the 'dark web'?

Male and honestly idk

I downloaded tor and tried to follow some instructions but it’s way harder to navigate than you’d assume from reporting and pop culture

Or maybe I’m just dumb

### [Quote tweet, 14:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794006666674848229) · 2 likes

Call me naive but there is no way a user-friendly literal python app is technically impossible

Put the top 1000 packages in and have them update when the computer isn’t in use. Can specify paths to any file but there’s a gui thing that’s the working directory by default

> **Quoting Someone:**

### [Reply to @ElytraMithra, 14:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794007847174336930) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @ElytraMithra is no longer available.)_

Maybe but if so it needs to up its “absolutely idiot-proof” game

I think a dorky GUI is necessary for this

### [Reply to @zrkrlc, 14:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794009751266693209) · 2 likes

> **junk has threaded 🛶 0/100 projects (@zrkrlc):** i, at the tender age of 28, have found myself in charge of a research lab\*
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOWEDZ3aoAEheeV.jpg)

Based

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 15:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794021809467126115) · 3 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @TutorVals @kindgracekind @AaronBergman18 you're time is now

Obligatory “this is the actual rigorous case”

### [Thread, continued, 15:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794023481387921823) · 2 likes

Tbc I believe this weird intermediate version of moral realism

Value realism, not normative realism

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOWm2SsXkAA5IMD.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 15:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794024345871741434) · 2 likes

Hate to be like this but for now I’m just gonna throw some screenshots and a link at you. Uncoincidentally Max is also in this pod (and @littIeramblings) https://www.aaronbergman.net/p/pigeon-hour-x-consistently-candid

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOWnombXcAA73hm.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOWnomZXkAA3U8B.jpg)

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 15:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794026144791957790) · 7 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** Making money in general is often good for the world. Capitalism is good. Jobs in finance are often good. A lot of consultants do great work. Earning to give is a great bonus to all that. We should go to bat for it more often.
>
> (quoting @random_walker: One big appeal of effective altruism on college campuses is that when students come in a avowing public-interest career intentions but end up in finance or consulting—increasingly common according to the data—it gives them a readymade, high minded way to rationalize their choice.)

I doubt we actually disagree on much but eh I’d say instead “almost everything neutral at the personal level. The next best finance or consulting guy is only a tiny bit worse on average. EtG dominates in both magnitude (as a nontrivial counterfactual change) and direction

### [Thread, continued, 15:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794026444261380309) · 2 likes

(Direction if you actually try to do the whole EA thing with ur giving)

### [Reply, 15:53 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794034037868397032) · 1 like

and then the institutions and incentives of modern life + standard materialist scientific worldview clash with what I think is a pretty fundamental psychological (maybe neurological, that’s another can of worms) attendance to and expectation of something like “the transcendent”

### [Thread, continued, 15:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794034982731608436) · 1 like

IMO all this leads to a weird tepid form of nihilism that I think people are sort of scared of is true, but also resist both bc I think humans intrinsically dislike it but also bc we sense (I think for epistemically good reasons but ik lots of other ppl here disagree)

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 16:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794038107349590252) · 4 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** @AaronBergman18 There are different levels to talk about the good obviously. If we're talking about all animal welfare and conscious beings over all time then yeah jeez I don't know what jobs help at all, but if we mean "makes the average person slightly better off" then I'd go to bat for a lot.

Finance/consulting industries yes drive the whole prosperity thing. Who specifically gets hired for the marginal job? Much less so

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 16:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794038227717718335) · 4 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** Many people are saying
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOWwlp-WcAA9RfK.jpg)

Based

### [Quote tweet, 16:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794038337155604853) · 5 likes

👀

> **Quoting Stefan Schubert (@StefanFSchubert):** Our book on the psychology of effective altruism is now out, freely available on OUP (link below) @LuciusCaviola
>
> In Part I, we explain why most altruism - like donations and volunteering - isn't effective
>
> In Part II, we discuss how to change that
>
> 1/13
>
> https://academic.oup.com/book/56384
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOWXIrIW8AAFL_5.png)

### [Reply to @focusfronting, 16:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794041498679357837) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @focusfronting is no longer available.)_

Idk plausibly male and female attraction is pretty different on avg though

Guessing that adding in straight vs gay doesn’t do much

### [Reply to @TetraspaceWest, 16:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794043987537301820) · 5 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @TetraspaceWest is no longer available.)_

Big if true

### [Reply to @ionsabug, 16:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794044516078408025) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @ionsabug is no longer available.)_

🌕✨U have been chosen✨🌕

### [Quote tweet, 17:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794057755772219740) · 5 likes

Status vibe-associating pseudoargument lent plausible deniability by the medium/platform

> **Quoting “Boiling Heart’s Blood” Cassie (@Angry_Cassie):** Explains a lot about philosophers tbh
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOWhAKGXMAEebhG.jpg)

### [Reply to @EmmaSzewczak, 17:52 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794063883738488953) · 2 likes

> **Emma Szewczak (@EmmaSzewczak):** \*example of a baby
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOWo4vcW0AA0xTB.jpg)

I bet he or she does look approximately like that

### [Quote tweet, 18:03 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794066744769699852) · 78 likes

I see takes like this all the time but (setting aside AI stuff) lol I fucking love Google they made the whole earth into a map on my phone and let me search the entire internet for free instantly and (not many people know this) invented the Google Doc

> **Quoting Alec Stapp (@AlecStapp):** Google is really just falling apart
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOXInb3WMAASBkh.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 18:03 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794066747475038629) · 7 likes

Also for .5chatgpt/month they give me more cloud storage than I know what to do with so I can save every image and video I ever take which will follow me around the globe forever and also record video meetings which makes doing a chill podcast actually easy

### [Thread, continued, 18:03 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794066748850778456) · 3 likes

I don’t even own Alphabet stock. Just a fan. Idgaf if sometimes their experiments that lead to all the stuff above also mismatch Georgia (state) and Georgia (also a state) once in a while

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 18:04 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794067042548556270) · 3 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @AaronBergman18 Actually Microsoft invented Google docs

I’m also a big fan of Word tbc

They’re like the exact two different products that should exist

### [Tweet, 18:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794068492984922179) · 3 likes

24 hour twitter fast ready go

## Saturday, May 25, 2024

### [Reply to @SpacedOutMatt, 19:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794445545299157009) · 7 likes

> **Matt 🔸 (@SpacedOutMatt):** New EA castle just dropped

This actually sounds like a nightmare lmao. If ur buying a city u gotta do all the city shit like idk trash and sewage and water, roads, makeshift hospital probably

Ik EA has good ops people but like even still

### [Reply to @Duderichy, 19:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794446599235744007) · 3 likes

> **the Rich (@Duderichy):** just found out women can only eat 1400 calories a day
>
> bro wtf

And this is the compensation they get for being cold at all times. It sucks and it’s unfair and I’m mostly not joking

### [Quote tweet, 19:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794451864882463184) · 14 likes

Went for a walk. Now I think it’s insane that backpackers ever make it more than like 10-15 miles. 20 if the stars align. 30 with a pack and over terrain and such is insane

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** 24 hour twitter fast ready go

### [Thread, continued, 19:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794451866904117664) · 5 likes

Ultramarathons don’t even have to be a running thing to be insane. Traveling 100km on ur own two feet in one day is insane no matter what

Some guy kept up a 6:47 mile pace for 100 miles. Wtf?!

https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a28819230/zach-bitter-100-mile-world-record/

### [Thread, continued, 19:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794451870913589503) · 3 likes

Now wondering what I could do in a day if properly incentivized (but also no like major psychological torment)

95% CI is like \[30, 70\]. I think I could do 50 for $1M, 60 is pushing it. If any rich ppl are reading this and wanna find out, hmu

### [Thread, continued, 19:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794452141920436695) · 2 likes

.@JesseTayRiver (and anyone), what’s ur one day max?

### [Reply to @justjoshinyou13, 19:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794455388764471335) · 2 likes

> **Josh You (@justjoshinyou13):** @AaronBergman18 My all time daily steps record is 42k, which is like 25ish miles?

Nice. About 35k today so far lol. For Boy Scouts I had to do 20 miles once. Kinda hard for like a 12 yo

### [Reply to @JesseTayRiver, 21:58 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794488200754327892) · 2 likes

> **Jesse Smith (@JesseTayRiver):** @AaronBergman18 Hard to say but nothing crazy. 6xIronman (2.4 swim, 112 bike, 26.2 run). Devils path was hard and w detours ~28 miles. The hungriest I ever got was 190 extremely hilly miles on a bike

Ya might wanna pack a clif bar for that

### [Reply, 22:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794491305571082287) · 1 like

Load bearing

[![Video thumbnail](https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1794491280250089472/pu/img/4OYyHszudeUpjqoz.jpg)](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794491305571082287/video/1) (video, plays on X)

## Sunday, May 26, 2024

### [Reply to @arithmoquine, 00:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794522915104248219) · 4 likes

> **henry (@arithmoquine):** uh this is a Joke making fun of Bad Practices in the pharmaceutical industry btw, i'm not serious

It’s directionally wrong. Opioids are improperly withheld more than improperly prescribed, it seems. Ik ur like 9 so nbd but still

Much of the “opioid crisis” \*now\* is the result of people dependent on eg oxy who can’t get it filled, so heroin and fentanyl and then they die

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 00:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794525408005611736)

> **Aaron Bergman, May 23, 2024:** being like not a well-formed problem/question, fundamentally (like trying to formalize an intuitive notion of libertarian free will)

I regret to report that I kinda like the idea of being able to express intuitive subjective inside view probability (maybe I’m a postrat now)

Make a new term for it (ie expressing a psycho-emotional state per se), everybody wins

### [Reply to @arithmoquine, 00:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794526036517916697) · 1 like

> **henry (@arithmoquine):** @AaronBergman18 but in all seriousness i didn't know that, basically everything i've heard indicated it was the other way around. is this a recent shift?

Idk exactly and also this isn’t something I’ve researched in depth, but my strong impression is it was an over correction by some combination of the FDA, DEA, civil society medicine, and maybe law enforcement to the thing everybody thinks is still the status quo

### [Quote tweet, 00:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794526550219702557) · 5 likes

Listen I would like this bc of what it signals but really I’m not gonna be thrilled about the flowers per se lol

> **Quoting rosey🌹 (@thechosenberg):** Get your man flowers 🥺😭
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOdbwRCawAALzCm.jpg)

### [Tweet, 00:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794528445516619843) · 6 likes

I want apple health step tracking and such but for every biomarker known to man

I would very happily get some sort of device implanted for this, probably several

### [Reply to @bschne, 08:44 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794650717690753136) · 3 likes

> **Benjamin (@bschne):** @goblinodds gf here is clearly gender-neutral

Fr

### [Reply to @JesseTayRiver, 08:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794653337788563722) · 1 like

> **Jesse Smith (@JesseTayRiver):** It's easy to measure in situ air conditioner capacity but almost no one does. The formula is 4.5 x CFM x change in enthalpy. Convert supply and return wet bulb temps to enthalpy with this chart. Don't apply gauges without first measuring enthalpy
> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwNBUTQhgeWRMWJ0eTQyMEJ3RzA/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-RE0Dpwg518pX2gf8neDMYA

I haven’t seen that word since AP Physics

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 08:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794654624751976519) · 3 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** Phew
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOe5IMTWAAA4JEY.jpg)
> (quoting @AndyMasley: I am about 1.5 Robert Caro audiobook-lengths of time away from finishing every 80k episode pray for me fam)

Have u heard of effective altruism

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 09:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794663833057034359) · 3 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 24, 2024:** I don’t even own Alphabet stock. Just a fan. Idgaf if sometimes their experiments that lead to all the stuff above also mismatch Georgia (state) and Georgia…

Update: they did not invent the google doc apparently.

Sad.

### [Reply to @benmekler, 09:56 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794669039899623556) · 2 likes

> **Ben Mekler (@benmekler):**
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOWjMirbYAA3Rqv.jpg)

10x cashiers exist

### [Reply to @kenthecowboy_, 10:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794672992783675769) · 2 likes

> **ChiTown Kenny (@kenthecowboy_):** "In my experience, people in my ingroup tend to have more empathy"
>
> Dude no way

I mean this but unironically

### [Reply, 10:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794674101807890714) · 5 likes

Cmon lol it is obviously way harder being 5’3”

### [Reply to @CrocodileCam, 10:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794674740474577173) · 1 like

> **Crocodile Cam⚡️🇨🇻 (@CrocodileCam):** If you see these in nature, please knock them over! They are a legit threat to the wildlife
>
> (quoting @InternetH0F: this gravity defying stone stack)

Idea: we slaughter wild fish more humanely but let this guy stack rocks

### [Tweet, 10:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794678440379269619) · 7 likes

More ppl need to get on the slide into dating doc google form -> friendzoned -> business partner pipeline

### [Reply to @JesseTayRiver, 10:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794678728330752186) · 2 likes

> **Jesse Smith (@JesseTayRiver):** @AaronBergman18 Which word?

“Chart”

### [Reply to @8chabard, 10:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794679457695048162) · 2 likes

> **Lysander, 8 CHA Bard (@8chabard):** lactose intolerance? skill issue. more like lactose incompetence

Unironically? Exogenous lactase is cheap

### [Quote tweet, 10:41 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794680162363314407) · 7 likes

Did u guys know u can submit goss too

U can also DM me

I love gossip. No infohazards or lying everything else is fair game

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** @JMannhart @heartbulbous http://admonymous.co/a

### [Reply, 11:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794689212819845393) · 9 likes

I am skeptical that a building can have an ideology

### [Reply to @mbateman, 11:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794690959172866396) · 2 likes

> **Matt Bateman (@mbateman):** “I’ll lead the way. I want to get us lost. Just a liiiittle bit lost.”
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOcNUYYXYAAXQVC.jpg)

Real

## Monday, May 27, 2024

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 04:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794952360768270490) · 6 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** I’m trying to decide on a haircut and god I hate this so much

Try my favorite, “this but shorter”

### [Reply to @dejectedvole, 05:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1794962447779909728) · 1 like

> **Vampirical Critter 🏴‍☠️ (@dejectedvole):** I’ve said it before, but cyclists are the car users of pedestrians

REAL

### [Quote tweet, 11:44 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795058489095516193) · 12 likes

Endorse

> **Quoting caninepoetry (@caninepoetry_):**
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOe1aH2WoAAhHnW.jpg)

### [Reply to @KatSpartz, 11:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795059169537479134) · 4 likes

> **Kat Spartz ⏸️ 🔶 (@KatSpartz):** EA #1: "Wanna see my spreadsheet about the rat population of Ireland? 😃"
>
> EA #2: "Do I ever! 😍"
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOazQZda4AAsp58.jpg)

Poast rat link

### [Reply to @animalologist, 11:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795059643762229654) · 1 like

> **taco belle (@animalologist):** I love happy doting couples and Tom and Zendaya are rly at the top of the list
>
> Boys, there are very few girls who don’t like being told they’re beautiful every day, this is free game

\*taking notes\*

### [Tweet, 12:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795063851190256037) · 30 likes

Yes the AMA is very bad. Income protection for the richest people in the world, and shameless

### [Reply to @Trail_Cams, 12:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795064432973775001) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @Trail_Cams is no longer available.)_

@RafaRuizdeLira

### [Quote tweet, 12:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795065544682430561) · 15 likes

This is how u know it’s a banger

> **Quoting Thinkwert (@Thinkwert):** Me rereading my own tweet everytime someone likes it.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOiWktGX0AE-mVj.jpg)

### [Reply to @antoniogm, 12:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795065737356218837) · 1 like

> **Antonio García Martínez (agm.eth) (@antoniogm):** The Athenian agora wasn’t this lit.
>
> (Second guy is an aircraft carrier commander.)
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOiXfsuagAAhydY.jpg)

He should do it

### [Reply, 12:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795068457530101972) · 4 likes

_(The tweet being replied to is no longer available.)_

Finally some peace and quiet

### [Reply to @Aella_Girl, 12:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795068607468068908) · 21 likes

> **Aella (@Aella_Girl):** "hey guys im gonna need a mic for this stadium"

The two genders

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOldYpgW0AAiWSZ.jpg)

### [Reply to @lillybilly299, 12:29 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795069775585964462) · 1 like

> **Lilly (@lillybilly299):** Everyone in tpot is like "I'm a contrarian, that's why I'm hanging out in this group of people who all have the exact same contrarian opinions as me and get upset when people have different ones"

Anyone reading this I’ve ever talked to irl can confirm that we’ve disagreed about something

### [Quote tweet, 12:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795072278671020038) · 4 likes

I would pay $10-$20 for a normal like 2x3 foot-ish poster of this FYI

> **Quoting Dexerto (@Dexerto):** A group of ducks in Portugal witnessed the meteor while on Twitch
>
> [video attached](https://x.com/Dexerto/status/1793054170251194837/video/1)

### [Reply to @RafaRuizdeLira, 12:52 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795075487317852261) · 2 likes

> **Rafael Ruiz ⏸️🔸 (@RafaRuizdeLira):** @AaronBergman18 @Trail_Cams Fluffy and aesthetic

Fr

### [Tweet, 12:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795076963368947903) · 6 likes

This makes evolution seem more intuitively plausible

### [Quote tweet, 13:01 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795077747041018298) · 128 likes

FWIW this is an issue where Republicans are just straightforwardly right and Dems are straightforwardly wrong

> **Quoting POLITICO (@politico):** School choice programs have been wildly successful under DeSantis. Now public schools might close. http://ow.ly/EUAF105utkC

### [Reply to @dissproportion, 13:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795080209613324433) · 15 likes

> **Dissproportionately (@dissproportion):** @AaronBergman18 If teachers unions didn’t decide to oppose this, they would be in agreement.

This is how u know they got some clout

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 13:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795080533778542679) · 10 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 27, 2024:** FWIW this is an issue where Republicans are just straightforwardly right and Dems are straightforwardly wrong

Pretty sure I wrote a few essays on this, teacher tenure, and related issues back in the day (elementary and middle school)

### [Reply to @thoth_iv, 13:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795083714403213336) · 2 likes

> **Thŏth (@thoth_iv):** @robinhanson The authors seem to conspicuously leave out whether or not they think it actually has the intended effect.
>
> Most people would probably be biased to see their own actions as altruistically motivated.

Also not clear that avoiding hurting a person’s feelings actually checks out as altruistic

Plausibly receiving (some kinds of) negative feedback is good for a person in the long run

### [Reply to @dnschlz, 13:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795083969282654422) · 1 like

> **dan (@dnschlz):** I remember thinking about this chart a lot in college and recognized it's probably true but didn't really grok it. 10 years later it's scary real.
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOi44b6X0AAer4i.png)

No stop infohazrd

### [Reply to @eepysillyboy, 13:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795085810124857397) · 11 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @eepysillyboy is no longer available.)_

Tbc I meant the cluster of policies in general called “school choice” rather than the subject of this particular article. But that’s not a crux for me - high prior on X Choice being better for almost every X where there is no huge principle agent problem

### [Thread, continued, 13:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795086092657426636) · 5 likes

so burden of proof is on the other side. Afaik ~nobody thinks that school choice actually \*harms\* outcomes according to the empirical literature, right?

### [Tweet, 13:41 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795088059744022616) · 34 likes

The correct neolib answer to the national service thing is just to point out that taxation + hiring people to do the exact proposed labor is basically a Pareto improvement

### [Reply to @BishopPair, 14:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795096762962633010) · 4 likes

> **Dan (@BishopPair):** It’s so dire here, are you looking for a 51st state? Almost at the stage where we should just be put out of our misery

I vote yes!! Canada and Mexico should get in on this too. Ideally everyone but let’s start small

### [Tweet, 14:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795100969572712693) · 35 likes

“Is hitting kids bad?” discourse is such a perfect example of status quo bias

### [Reply to @AndyJScott, 14:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795101967091388583) · 2 likes

> **Andy Scott (@AndyJScott):** "Anti-aging" has gone way too far, this came up on youtube and this guy is 35 years old, looks 12 and wears gloves outside
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOiB7WdWYAA6F6w.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOiC9_JXEAAhQNr.jpg)

Could just have a serious endocrine disorder? Don’t ask me why I suspect

### [Reply to @pearl_please, 20:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795189238410936534) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to by @pearl_please is no longer available.)_

Goss 👀👀👀

## Tuesday, May 28, 2024

### [Reply to @RuxandraTeslo, 04:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795317692968387069) · 4 likes

> **Ruxandra Teslo 🧬 (@RuxandraTeslo):** The hate at LeCun is very midwit.
>
> He's very charmingly French and also fights for and says what he thinks. One can only respect that.

He has bad, wrong takes and the power to act on them

### [Tweet, 05:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795321361466073302) · 174 likes

Golden rice is cool and all but is it not easier to just people beta carotene? Golden rice is literally just rice with beta carotene lol

I feel like this must be a dumb take somehow…

### [Reply, 05:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795321584745668883)

Screenshot for the blocked?

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 05:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795321838605910345) · 36 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 28, 2024:** Golden rice is cool and all but is it not easier to just people beta carotene? Golden rice is literally just rice with beta carotene lol I feel like this must…

\*just give people ^

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 05:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795322065668694495) · 4 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** I told my barber I worked on AI Safety and no kidding he literally asked me whether I was worried about MISUSE RISKS DUE TO BIOSAFETY

“Nah idgaf about those”

### [Reply to @Littoral_Gecko, 10:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795401175841595549) · 4 likes

> **A Gecko🦎 (@Littoral_Gecko):** Isn’t it a thing with math that the axioms can be pretty arbitrary?
>
> You can get/discover ‘torture is bad’ from the moral axiom ‘pain is bad’, but ‘pain is bad’ doesn’t refer to any feature of the world.
>
> I’m not sure if the mathematics comparison is super favorable.

“Pain is bad” is almost a tautology. Maybe it is a tautology. Pain without badness seems like an incoherent concept, like a 4 sided triangle

I think people wanna disagree about whether you can move from “bad” as a weak descriptive property to “Bad” as a strong metaphysical

### [Reply, 10:46 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795406385758302303)

I think this is just a matter of natural language not being able to describe subjective experience with high fidelity and the weirdness/complexity of subjective experience

I don’t think anyone enjoys pain per se, and this is not a contingent fact of human psychology

### [Thread, continued, 10:50 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795407389388361874) · 2 likes

people just associate things and introspection is hard

I like modestly spicy food, but the spiciness is a necessary evil for lack of a better term; at the neurological level we know that spicy food elicits endorphin release which is what I and others are “actually” enjoying

### [Reply to @peterwildeford, 11:29 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795417193791819893) · 2 likes

> **Peter Wildeford🇺🇸🚀 (@peterwildeford):** My plan:
>
> Understand + mitigate AI risk → safety + trust → more AI adoption + innovation → utopia

I hope it works

### [Reply to @JoshuaBlake_, 12:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795426152170831878) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to by @JoshuaBlake_ is no longer available.)_

Secret third thing

### [Reply to @netcapgirl, 12:06 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795426429171044722) · 2 likes

> **sophie (@netcapgirl):** finally some peace and quiet

Welcome to the gender

### [Tweet, 12:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795429707191668827) · 10 likes

I want it to be cold again 😡

### [Reply to @mpopv, 16:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795493160682188805) · 9 likes

> **Matt Popovich (@mpopv):** A drop in replacement for the staple crop everyone eats requires no logistics beyond initial distribution, presumably? Whereas “get supplements continuously out to every rural region indefinitely” seems much harder

Is this true? Plausibly \*now\* it’s lower additional cost/effort but like was the whole program of genetic engineering and distribution worthwhile to begin with?

Sometimes bandaid solutions are just good because bandaids are very cheap, easy, and available

### [Reply to @YosarianTwo, 16:34 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795493745082995113) · 11 likes

> **Yosarian2 (@YosarianTwo):** @AaronBergman18 If it's just as easy to grow as other rice and can be made just as cheaply, it seems like a cheaper and more efficient solution and probably a better one?  Like putting iodine in salt was.

The iodine thing which I agree was a huge success points towards exogenous fortification though

### [Reply to @EigenGender, 16:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795494321548083201) · 7 likes

> **EigenGender 🔸 (@EigenGender):** distribution is hard!

Yeah but is it harder than the whole research enterprise that generated golden rice? (Tbc maybe the answer is yes I just don’t know)

### [Quote tweet, 16:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795495879891415438) · 6 likes

This, from Golden Rice discourse, reminds me of a take (not super confident):

I suspect lots of nonadherence in the context of medicine is actually functional

> **Quoting norvid_studies (@norvid_studies):** @mpopv @AaronBergman18 yeah. medication adherence is hard even for people with serious diseases that have immediate negative consequences.

### [Thread, continued, 16:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795495882139254829) · 4 likes

Like the patient gets way more micro-level information about what they do and how they feel, and either consciously or subconsciously (or probably both most of the time) they judge that taking the medication (or doing whatever) actually isn’t wise

### [Thread, continued, 16:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795495883762434212) · 4 likes

I have no idea what % is like this ofc. Definitely more than 0% and less than 100%. But I guess my claim is that functional nonadherence is not rare and more than most doctors would guess

### [Reply to @EricRichards22, 16:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795499529208303807) · 1 like

> **Eric Richards (@EricRichards22):** Getting people to actually take vitamins in third-world countries where they actually need supplements is an insolvable problem unless you supplement in a way they can't avoid
>
> (quoting @AaronBergman18: Golden rice is cool and all but is it not easier to just people beta carotene? Golden rice is literally just rice with beta carotene lol I feel like this must be a dumb take somehow…)

Makes sense but this should be seen as a real cost. I’m not against paternalism as a fundamental principle but esp when dealing with what drugs/supplements/even vitamins this seems pretty sus. Do u know if the intention is for golden rice to replace old fashioned rice entirely?

### [Quote tweet, 17:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795509308429308317) · 19 likes

I hope others follow. Anthropic having a strong edge on talent would be very good I think

> **Quoting Jan Leike (@janleike):** I'm excited to join @AnthropicAI to continue the superalignment mission!
>
> My new team will work on scalable oversight, weak-to-strong generalization, and automated alignment research.
>
> If you're interested in joining, my dms are open.

### [Reply, 17:43 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795511277982302376) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to is no longer available.)_

Fish aren’t extremely cheap to produce in huge quantities

BOTEC says a days recommended vitamin A via beta carotene costs $.001 (ie a dollar for 3 years or so)

### [Reply to @timfduffy, 19:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795539936629985328) · 1 like

> **Tim Duffy (@timfduffy):** My intuition on this topic is very different, my default assumption is that most Rx nonadherence is not useful. Most drugs people frequently take don't have quick feedback loops in terms of how you feel, so I don't think self-knowledge is that important here (also low confidence)

Yeah I think I agree with “most”. Probably a lot of elderly ppl I’d guess

I was really thinking in the context of vitamin a deficiency and beta carotene pills…

### [Thread, continued, 19:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795540500268884379) · 2 likes

Like I weakly expect that adherence among people with a clinical deficiency who tried at least one dose will be reliably high enough to cure the deficiency, even if general nonadherence would be very high

Human body is pretty good at nutrition intuitions

### [Tweet, 20:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795547673098965485) · 10 likes

I feel like I have an unusual knack for posting earnest things that read as bait

### [Reply, 20:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795548266022539276) · 1 like

No lol. Thing factory > thing is a good generalization but in this specific case plausibly doesn’t check out because (1) (I’m assuming) developing golden rice took a lot of time, money, and effort and (2) synthetic beta carotene is trivially cheap to produce

### [Reply to @ohwizenedtortle, 22:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795579306112086084) · 7 likes

> **oh dandy lion🔸 (@ohwizenedtortle):** What would be the steps involved to get the letter Q removed from the alphabet

This is actually pretty interesting to think through

What is the hardest arbitrary, amoral goal you think you could achieve? This seems too hard but within 2 OOMs maybe

### [Reply to @nkreu113r, 22:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795581368367542445) · 2 likes

> **noah (@nkreu113r):** @WilliamAEden Abolition of slavery. More broadly: equal rights under the law.

This trumps all the others given in the replies IMO

Transatlantic chattel slavery of is one of the worst things of all time and it’s competitors are either still happening (factory farming) or weren’t really intentionally ended

### [Reply to @WilliamAEden, 22:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795587885930082328) · 4 likes

> **William Eden (@WilliamAEden):** What is the clearest example of moral progress, historically?

It’s a different kind of thing than the others here, but moral philosophy itself. Idk where this starts, theological versions of this shouldn’t be categorically excluded. Definitely Kant and Bentham are in. Probably Hobbes, maybe Martin Luther

### [Reply to @polisisti, 22:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795588232836772244) · 7 likes

> **Alessandro (@polisisti):** @AaronBergman18 Giving beta carotene would mean people would need to remember to take it, and in the right quantities. Adding it to an existing food helps people get the nutrient without doing anything extra.
>
> This is why iodine is regularly added to salt, and vitamin D to cow's milk

I’m a big fan of iodized salt

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 22:53 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795589146758754319) · 3 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** Is there anyone reading this who
> 1\) Is good at building websites and
> 2\) Can build a website like what I made here with a billion dots to show the number of chickens in factory farms, but that actually looks good?
> https://sites.google.com/view/factory-farmed-chickens/home

Probably not, but I can (and did) make a strictly worse version that takes forever to load https://aaronbergman.neocities.org/chickens

### [Thread, continued, 22:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795590630728765842) · 2 likes

Fr though do u have any specific ideas/changes you’d want yours to have. It does get the point across, and looks totally fine

## Wednesday, May 29, 2024

### [Tweet, 03:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795660918959047025) · 24 likes

Thx

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOt4FTXWMAAU54s.jpg)

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 06:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795702401053471086) · 2 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** Is there anyone reading this who
> 1\) Is good at building websites and
> 2\) Can build a website like what I made here with a billion dots to show the number of chickens in factory farms, but that actually looks good?
> https://sites.google.com/view/factory-farmed-chickens/home

Update. This might not even be awful (not production ready tho). Meet all 1.6B chickens, 100 at a time and 2000 per second https://aaronbergman.neocities.org/chickens

### [Reply, 06:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795704670511661220) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to is no longer available.)_

What doesn’t kill u makes u post it on twitter

### [Reply to @NathanB60857242, 06:45 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795708056631996544) · 2 likes

> **Nathan Barnard (@NathanB60857242):** Good critique of EA.
>
> (quoting @lymanstoneky: I have enjoyed reading @Benthamsbulldog recently and I also enjoy ribbing effective altruists so I have responded to his piece on EAism and explained why I think effective altruism is, actually, quite bad. https://medium.com/@lymanstone/why-effective-altruism-is-bad-80dfbccc7a68)

Admittedly I only skimmed but I don’t see much of value. What did I miss?

### [Reply to @NathanB60857242, 06:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795708837196189851) · 4 likes

> **Nathan Barnard (@NathanB60857242):** Yeah I think so. I think it was extremely good animal welfare, basically made the case that EA has failed to make a large dent on the classic EA issues, and pointed out that it is indeed a bit sus that lots of EA money is going to rich people.

I don’t remember the global health stats of the top of my head but aren’t a large proportion of farmed animals in the world rn (chickens) out of battery cages almost certainly due to EA efforts?

And ofc this is an intermediate proxy but Biden EO + Paul Christiano at NIST

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 10:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795761772961431806) · 2 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** @AndyMasley I could do it if @AaronBergman18 if no one else volunteers 👀

Agus plz make something better (not sarcastic)
https://aaronbergman.neocities.org/chickens3

### [Reply, 10:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795766695715307858)

Wait what? Not spent or saved? Kinda seems like those are the two options for any given dollar

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 10:48 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795769115631563112) · 1 like

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** @AaronBergman18 @robertwiblin I assume he meant saved as in invested?

🧠

### [Reply to @SchmidtIbanez, 12:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795795693405118633) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @SchmidtIbanez is no longer available.)_

I mean of all the word combinations to try to really hurt me with this doesn’t get super high

### [Reply to @robertwiblin, 13:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795813079927705786) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @robertwiblin is no longer available.)_

Maybe I'm missing something but I think there is an injection of real resources into the UK economy. Like some people value hearing Taylor Swift above their next best (expected?) option evidently and so the sum of those deltas of consumer surplus I think constitute whatever

### [Thread, continued, 13:45 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795813601359335655) · 1 like

the true correct figure is. Under a bunch of standard assumptions it is bounded below by $0, in the case where Taylor just barely outcompeted her alternatives and above by whatever the collective willingness to pay of ticket purchasers is. Idk if there are any fancy tricks to

### [Reply to @NathanpmYoung, 14:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795819828932145394) · 1 like

> **Nathan 🔎 (@NathanpmYoung):** I don't mind that OpenAI staffers signed non-disparagement agreements for money.
>
> But it seems like a huge conflict of interest if any of those people went to work for neutral AI organisations/regulators when they weren't going to criticise OpenAI, without disclosure.

I mind. I also understand and not sure I’d have done differently, but still

### [Reply to @ea_paddington, 14:18 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795822094862938510) · 1 like

> **EA Paddington 🍊🔸 (@ea_paddington):** @AaronBergman18 Should I ask some of my polar bear frens if you can crash?

Ya

### [Tweet, 14:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795826824037245187) · 14 likes

Kinda annoying they made the basketball hoop at like the exact height to select most strongly for height/wingspan. Lower is in everyone’s reach, higher is in nobody’s

### [Reply to @NathanpmYoung, 15:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795833785969418532) · 5 likes

> **Nathan 🔎 (@NathanpmYoung):** Whenever i go viral I find out what people assume i am. Today I’m getting criticism for being an elon stan and an e/acc. apologies to both groups

Guessing you’ve been a woke decel before too lmao

### [Reply, 21:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795935398113296817) · 2 likes

Worth it for the pun alone

## Thursday, May 30, 2024

### [Reply to @livgorton, 00:53 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795981720107299231) · 1 like

> **Liv (@livgorton):** “Please for God's sake don't make anything important with this”
>
> is that a challenge, Aaron? 👀

Uh let’s go with yes

### [Reply to @tylertracy321, 01:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795992796505030759) · 2 likes

> **Tyler Tracy (@tylertracy321):** Today was my last day as a software engineer at @SupplyPike. I'll be in the MATS program this summer working with @bshlgrs! I'm super excited to start working on AI safety fulltime!!

Nice

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 01:53 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1795996812844667087) · 1 like

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** So many people whose thinking I respect basically use the one simple trick of asking "What if instead of lurching for the most immediate slogan I can find, I just stop and think for even a moment." Ridiculously overpowered.

Thinking should be safe, legal, and rare

### [Reply to @Duderichy, 02:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796001061678776361) · 4 likes

> **the Rich (@Duderichy):** there's a category of person who asks "why do I feel so tired and terrible all the time, I'm doing all this exercise and take all these supplements"
>
> and then when you ask how much they sleep they're like "5-6 hours a night"

Sometimes this is an effect (of smth more primary/fundamental) much more than a cause

I vaguely think there’s like a nervous system-endocrine-psychiatric cluster that includes chronically high cortisol, whatever the word is for the fight or flight nervous subsystem dominance,

### [Thread, continued, 02:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796001447257031103) · 2 likes

and depression. Also maybe something about inflammation her which I know is not in vogue right now lol

### [Reply to @AndyMasley, 12:20 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796154734765650196) · 3 likes

> **Andy Masley (@AndyMasley):** Quick PSA that my last name's pronounced "May-zlee" not "Mah-zlee" I'm realizing that even people I've been around for years forget how to say it and I get introduced wrong a lot

Big if true

### [Reply to @ben_golub, 12:49 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796161997832138853) · 3 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @ben_golub is no longer available.)_

Brilliant

### [Quote tweet, 12:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796162563194909157) · 202 likes

The crazy thing is that all the steps check out. This meme is an accurate model

> **Quoting Chris Freiman (@cafreiman):**
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOvg5frWwAA90-O.jpg)

### [Tweet, 13:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796167647790338560) · 22 likes

Girls really do be having theory of mind

### [Reply to @RokoMijic, 13:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796172751717142827) · 6 likes

> **Roko 🐉 (@RokoMijic):** @AaronBergman18 Now the next one after that is "we must reduce suffering in video game characters"...

If and only if that step checks out, and I don’t think it does (even if digital suffering in general is plausible)

### [Reply to @bustyjeacs, 13:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796174470169719203) · 14 likes

> **Justin Beaconsfield (@bustyjeacs):** @AaronBergman18 IF you assume utilitarianism

No, the observation that ~every moral theory gives some nontrivial consideration to suffering and is sufficient. This point rarely gets made I think because it’s taken for granted among people highly engaged in analytic philosophy-brand ethics

### [Quote tweet, 14:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796187398344163739) · 5 likes

Lol this is what my quarter-baked shitty R package was made for, except I didn’t know it had a name (“multiverse analysis”) and didn’t do any like econometrics or theory I just figured it was the right way to do things lol

> **Quoting Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil):** Nutrition science is filled to the brim with embarrassingly low quality research.
>
> The modal nutritional epidemiological study is a heavily confounded cross-sectional one with results that don't hold up and don't reflect causal effects, but rather, that certain people opt into having or reporting having certain diets. So if you're going to do nutrition studies, at least do them in the multiverse.
>
> The way this works is basically by exploiting disagreement about the proper way to specify a model.
>
> As an example, imagine there are two people, Cynthia and Bob. Cynthia thinks that to properly analyze the effect of a vegan diet on cardiovascular health, we just need to control for education, sex, and age and then we can compute a hazard ratio for heart attacks. Bob thinks we need to control for sex, age, and we need to use a different measure of cardiovascular health. So in the multiverse analysis, we run both models and report both results. But not only that, we run every set of analyses in between.
>
> Here's a recent empirical example of how this plays out in practice: assessing the impact of red meat consumption on all-cause mortality.
>
> Wang et al. used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to check the relationship with every possible combination of these variables:
>
> They used outright different models, operationalized red meat consumption in different ways, looked within different groups, and used a lot of different controls, like smoking status, pregnancy, BMI, etc. When you plot the coefficients from all of these more than one thousand different specifications on a curve from the lowest to the highest effect size, it looks like this:
>
> The blue lines are significant, negative estimates, and the red lines are significant, positive ones. Overall, there's just not much there. If you want to look at your favored specification, you can check that out in the paper, but because there's so little there, I'm just going to focus on the aggregate result: 4% of specifications had significant results (roughly the 5% expected by chance), the median effect size was a hazard ratio of 0.94 (i.e., a nonsignificant 6% reduction in all-cause mortality), and the average of all specifications' Z-values was not more extreme than would be expected if red meat didn't do anything to all-cause mortality.
>
> Looking at every result, it seems like there's nothing worth caring about here. The specifications with significant results looked basically random and marginal, but if you were motivated, you could probably write a paper on them. You might even be able to get it published, and it would look like a typical nutrition epidemiology paper.
>
> The meta point here is less about red meat and more about how we ought to do cross-sectional research without causal designs. We cannot and should not get rid of this sort of research. We need to know things are related, so when we do it, we should do it in multiverse analyses that show that our results hold up in reasonable alternative models, as with the example of red meat and death.
>
> If you want to read the paper, it's here: https://www.jclinepi.com/article/S0895-4356(24)00033-7/fulltext
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOxXRFiW4AAUMeH.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOxfcoAXkAA7idF.jpg)

### [Reply, 14:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796190344599486603)

Actually idk I don’t have a strong view against what you’re saying here. Just that many irl questions basically take the form of “ok but fr does this matter in general?” rather than anything very well-defined and in such cases multiverse is a good tool to get a general sense

### [Reply to @pearl_please, 15:10 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796197443379339492) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to by @pearl_please is no longer available.)_

Hat

### [Reply to @pearl_please, 15:11 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796197862931407104) · 4 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @pearl_please is no longer available.)_

Claude:

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO1gb28WIAApeNA.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO1gb25XUAAuICH.jpg)

### [Quote tweet, 15:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796204840416059566) · 28 likes

This is based af

> **Quoting Sasha Putilin (curious irrationalist) (@42irrationalist):** At a shrimp welfare protest in London right now with 70 other people. @ConLiCats is wearing an amazing shrimp outfit in the photo.
>
> It's pretty much entirely silent — I am tempted to start shouting "Shrimp Welfare Matters!"
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO1X3auXwAA8z2L.jpg)

### [Reply to @42irrationalist, 15:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796205043147800576) · 14 likes

> **Sasha Putilin (curious irrationalist) (@42irrationalist):** At a shrimp welfare protest in London right now with 70 other people. @ConLiCats is wearing an amazing shrimp outfit in the photo.
>
> It's pretty much entirely silent — I am tempted to start shouting "Shrimp Welfare Matters!"
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO1X3auXwAA8z2L.jpg)

There aren’t many things one can do to get an instant follow on twitter, but wearing a shrimp costume in this context is one of them

### [Thread, continued, 15:41 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796205243216048284) · 2 likes

No bad advertisement

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO1nJiFWYAAn1FV.jpg)

### [Reply to @tescrealaccist, 15:59 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796209867851444497) · 3 likes

> **TESCREAL/acc💙 (@tescrealaccist):** I don’t like this tweet because it’s racist
>
> I don’t like this lady because shes avoiding important food regulations and defecting in a prisoner’s dilemma
>
> (quoting @ImMeme0: Welcome to New York Sh\*tty.)

This is neither a prisoners dilemma nor anyone defecting lol

It would be defecting if she set up a restaurant with a fake inspection certificate

### [Reply to @burny_tech, 16:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796220031119827251) · 3 likes

> **Burny - Effective Curiosity (@burny_tech):** Do they suffer or swim in bliss?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO10SU7WgAQWZQS.png)

### [Quote tweet, 16:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796223693082755313) · 17 likes

I’m doubling down on this in a less memey way

I don’t care if R is slower. Time spent trying to figure out how to get 11 different versions of python, pip\[3x\]?, and whatever tf brew and conda are to talk to each other in the right way >> .7 seconds of latency/day

> **Quoting Aaron Bergman 🔍 (@AaronBergman18):** I won't go down without a fight
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtfDJbcWAAAXTHP.jpg)

### [Reply, 17:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796227515587117348)

Yeah I basically agree but think this is often appropriate because the world is a causal salad

If you care about causality, you can try to do micro-level mechanistic reasoning or observation or be blessed with an RCT or natural experiment, but in all these cases you’re studying

### [Thread, continued, 17:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796228511474303332)

a phenomenon in one specific setting, not the phenomenon in general, which means that additional often contentious assumptions have to be made if you want to generalize

Maybe more importantly, I think multiverse is a very useful “bird’s eye view” tool but any specific algorithm

### [Reply, 17:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796231212316639662)

value from a multiverse analysis means that “yup, this result is real” \*can\* make a marginal difference to the quality of literature in various fields but just aren’t sufficient to do excellent epistemics lol

This feels kinda anti-rigorous to say but for answering almost any

### [Thread, continued, 17:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796231883170406691)

question of any kind, you have a playbook with a thousand + different tools and options (literal observation with your senses, a priori reasoning, debate, prediction markets, and ofc the entire field of econometrics) and there’s no God’s eye level view saying which configuration

### [Reply to @simoj_, 17:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796233211569177010) · 2 likes

> **simoj (@simoj_):** I don’t care about the speed but R syntax is so ugly I can’t

Taste issue 💅

### [Reply to @NathanpmYoung, 17:33 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796233600859529537) · 8 likes

> **Nathan 🔎 (@NathanpmYoung):** at this point I would like @TheZvi to write short reviews of his own newsletters

Real

### [Reply to @SpacedOutMatt, 17:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796235273124397195) · 10 likes

> **Matt 🔸 (@SpacedOutMatt):** The problem with Lyman is that he is, in my opinion, fundamentally wrong about the concept of right and wrong and of what makes for a good society
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOwENmrXYAAw1YO.jpg)

I actually find this extremely refreshing (the screenshot). This is peak epistemic legibility and I’m not joking

### [Reply, 17:42 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796235764243783784) · 1 like

Also there is definitely a dollar amount someone could donate to something would get me to get baptized and regularly attend church. It’s not even a crazy high number. Moral trade is unironically on the table

### [Reply to @tescrealaccist, 18:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796242121722097920) · 2 likes

> **TESCREAL/acc💙 (@tescrealaccist):** The only people that have problems with different Python versioning and package management are those who are learning it themselves, and not learning it as part of a (good) corporate or (good) university tradition.
>
> One must be part of an existing church to commune with god well

Yup that’s me (learning on my own)

### [Quote tweet, 18:21 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796245539148755005) · 67 likes

My most neurotic take is that it makes total sense to drink decaf coffee with a caffeine pill so you actually know how much caffeine you’re ingesting

One cup of coffee could be like 90-250mg, and the deltas add up!

> **Quoting 0.005 Seconds (3/694) (@seconds_0):** Brewing a pot of decaff on accident and throwing 400mg of caffeine anhydrous on top to balance the scales

### [Reply to @RFishBlueFish, 18:23 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796245991043355131) · 2 likes

> **Gil (@RFishBlueFish):** @AaronBergman18 @SpacedOutMatt @NathanB60857242 @ryancbriggs I think many other people who give decidedly less consequentialist rationale are also making their reasoning explicit and clear to follow, it’s just that you reject that it’s valid reasoning

Almost nobody has explicit reasoning for almost anything (including me)

### [Reply to @timfduffy, 18:27 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796247164508848570) · 2 likes

> **Tim Duffy (@timfduffy):** @AaronBergman18 Being able to be precise about caffeine intake is so useful. I use these mints (3/day spaced between 8-noon) to get just the right amount for me. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HH9HYUU

40mg each. God bless you

### [Reply, 18:38 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796249956757418158) · 1 like

Lol at first I thought coastal elite was the name of the cafe and went to see how far I was

Yeah u should relate to real Americans more by exclusively frequenting diners and bars

### [Thread, continued, 18:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796250045018485157) · 2 likes

This would be an awesome name for a coffee shop, no?!

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 19:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796257142300938679)

> **Aaron Bergman, May 26, 2024:** I regret to report that I kinda like the idea of being able to express intuitive subjective inside view probability (maybe I’m a postrat now) Make a new term…

^that was (48)

49\) restricting what information you allow yourself (eg the p values of many possible regressions) to know is not epistemically bad in general; it’s only viewed that way in the context of p-hacking/publication because academics have…

### [Thread, continued, 19:09 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796257564495331770)

done that and then selectively reported one result with at least a partial implication that this result wasn’t one of 100 possibilities.

More generally proxy norms like this are only needed where there are incentives stronger than “figure out + communicate the truth”

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 19:12 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796258420477116868) · 1 like

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** @AaronBergman18 but this is not what the multiverse analysis gives you! because of confounders and colliders, most of the regression coefficients you’re going to get are going to be 100% artificial and not reflective of anything real in the world

I mean it doesn’t hand you that on a silver platter lol. You still need to do qualitative reasoning and interpretation and then, yes, do other statistical analyses

Anyway I think I’m retiring from this thread. We should just have a fist fight about it. Much quicker and easier

### [Quote tweet, 19:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796269764253286507) · 43 likes

One man’s modus ponens is another man’s modus tollens

> **Quoting Emmett Shear (@eshear):** This a beautiful proof that atoms must be conscious, actually

### [Thread, continued, 19:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796269801028964703) · 9 likes

What a great saying

## Friday, May 31, 2024

### [Reply to @ilex_ulmus, 00:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796330781490696551) · 7 likes

> **Holly ⏸️ Elmore (@ilex_ulmus):** @AaronBergman18 This like thanks to my good opinion of you. This could mean so many things lol.

Me, with the pathetic atrophied theory of mind of a male, trying to figure out what these many things are

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO3ZU4MWsAAQBZZ.jpg)

### [Reply to @ilex_ulmus, 00:07 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796332548764922209) · 3 likes

> **Holly ⏸️ Elmore (@ilex_ulmus):** What is even the alleged prisoner’s dilemma?
>
> I swear people say “prisoner’s dilemma” to cover any situation from which a player can defect, but defection is much bigger than prisoner’s dilemmas!

Any situation in which at least one person must decide whether to do anything prosocial is a prisoner’s dilemma

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 00:15 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796334669773906348) · 2 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @AndyMasley Untrue, sometimes it's who you expected

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO3c3IEXEAA948O.jpg)

### [Reply to @absurdlymax, 02:57 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796375476451336502) · 3 likes

> **Max Alexander (@absurdlymax):** @AaronBergman18 @ilex_ulmus Aaron I don't want to be controversial but I don't think the quality of your theory of mind is because of your gender

What’s it like to be a max

### [Reply to @economeager, 03:13 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796379547258253565) · 14 likes

> **Rafe Meager (they/them) (@economeager):** Do you think the average layperson could name even one single statistician? if so, who?

Probably Mr. Normal (I’m guessing he invented the normal distribution)

### [Reply to @arithmoquine, 03:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796380204711190930) · 1 like

> **henry (@arithmoquine):** i like presenting as aesthetically boring. i'm a blank slate character

It’s often hard to get across that when the style is that of \*me\*, I have no intrinsic preferences. I care only about what looks good to others (and comfort, which dominates 99% of the time tbh)

### [Reply to @ContainerEnjoyr, 03:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796382405785493584) · 2 likes

> **Container Enjoyer (@ContainerEnjoyr):** @AaronBergman18 @arithmoquine Ah, but you care about much more. You don't care about other elements of \*fashion\* besides what looks good to others, but let your worldview shine unabated and undeflected through every moment and you'll find people will see you clothed in dignity.

Yes this is true, I do have something like an aesthetic preference for this

### [Reply to @sullyj3, 04:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796401098032615672) · 2 likes

> **░▒▓▒░▒▓▒░▒▓▒░ (@sullyj3):** @AaronBergman18 @simoj\_ yes please give me "x %>% f" - Statements dreamed up by the utterly Deranged

sullyj3 %>% rm

### [Reply to @daniellellecco, 04:50 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796403839886872858) · 2 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @daniellellecco is no longer available.)_

Hasn’t happened yet. AI news affects how long I feel (and think) I have to live

### [Tweet, 05:29 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796413654965084513) · 9 likes

ChatGPT is decel

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO4ksrLXYAA2xWt.jpg)

### [Reply to @eigenrobot, 15:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796557358518415402) · 5 likes

> **eigenrobot (@eigenrobot):** thanks @google very helpful
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO6SNDYW0AAv4o9.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO6SNEzW0AAhjkz.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO6SNEzXEAAozw3.jpg)

Maybe nothing newsworthy has happened in Africa recent???? Let them chill

### [Reply to @chrislakin, 15:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796570912650891300) · 3 likes

> **Chris Lakin (@chrislakin):** let's get cancelled, on Thursday. What will you say?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOsHhcVaYAAQcFw.jpg)

Omg want

### [Quote tweet, 15:55 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796571176703332399) · 5 likes

Same. I’ll delete this tweet if that changes

> **Quoting Rob Bensinger ⏹️ (@robbensinger):** I am indeed not under any secret NDAs that I can't even mention exist.

### [Reply to @LordDreadwar, 16:01 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796572679337869321) · 2 likes

> **Darth Dreadwar 🔺 (@LordDreadwar):** @AaronBergman18 I never made such a Tweet

👀

### [Tweet, 16:05 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796573642765295889) · 9 likes

I am accepting not only goss but also any cool info/notes/vibes/whatever from EAG
👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

### [Reply, 16:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796580226769748459) · 1 like

Idk what most of this means but my reaction with low confidence is (to the first q)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO68McgW4AEE8jL.jpg)

### [Reply to @arithmoquine, 16:31 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796580357602750671) · 5 likes

> **henry (@arithmoquine):** henrycorp pitch deck slide 1/1. who's in?
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO6xWZjWUAEXxsT.jpg)

“Human”? You need to think bigger

### [Quote tweet, 16:44 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796583547790295299) · 45 likes

With obligatory “idk enough to be super confident”, my initial take is:

This should be extremely illegal. P(sentient) is way too high and it’s not already integrated into the economy. It’s like octopus factory farming with a ton of uncertainty thrown in

> **Quoting vittorio (@IterIntellectus):** ai + nano + neuro is the future
> buckle up because it’s coming
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO2DXhgaQAQhn7Q.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 16:44 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796583549879099628) · 7 likes

Normal legislation doesn’t seem intractable. Plenty of precedent for Congress to step in

### [Quote tweet, 17:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796591019590549576) · 10 likes

Big moment for us nitpickers: “explained” has a bunch of non-obvious assumptions packed into it here:

What we see is that women aren’t merely avoiding teenage motherhood but \*not having those kids later on, either\*

> **Quoting Felix Helberg (@unitas_spiritus):** "More than half the drop in America’s total fertility rate is explained  by women under the age of 19 now having next to no children."
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GOrxh59XIAAX6XS.png)

### [Thread, continued, 17:14 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796591021645840706) · 3 likes

Naively this is not what I’d expect if all I learned is that for some reason teenage pregnancy stopped being a thing. I’d expect basically the same fertility rate overall

### [Tweet, 17:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796591792059711919) · 6 likes

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO7GtmAXAAAwUYu.jpg)

### [Reply to @strangestloop, 17:22 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796593142701162619) · 6 likes

> **Loopy (@strangestloop):** What are your favorite 1-pan meals?

You guys are making things with more than one pan?

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO7H8UAWoAE1VDA.jpg)

### [Reply to @sfchronicle, 17:26 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796594207861416239) · 22 likes

> **San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle):** San Franciscans would be right to be skeptical of Ulukaya, who has no apparent connection to our city or to craft beer.
>
> Especially since he said he “didn’t know Anchor existed” until last summer.

Brewery buyer: I consent
Brewery seller: I consent
Beer drinkers: I consent
San Francisco Chronicle: I don’t!

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO7I6TpW0AAZoD2.jpg)

### [Reply to @keysmashbandit, 17:28 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796594597084487721) · 10 likes

> **keysmashbandit (@keysmashbandit):** @tautologer butch seeking twink dating app when pls

Is the normie translation for this “men who are exclusively attractive to bisexuals (among women)?” Bc if so I’m in

### [Reply to @tiredofn0ise, 17:36 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796596613974196646) · 748 likes

_(The tweet being replied to by @tiredofn0ise is no longer available.)_

I half wanna try this now lmao

### [Thread, continued, 17:37 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796596865015939432) · 15 likes

I’ve done its counterpart (no acute effect besides a vasovagal reaction to the first shot lol) so it’s only fair

### [Reply to @AaronEstel, 17:50 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796600193653362884) · 2 likes

> **Aaron (@AaronEstel):** what's the origin of "touch grass"?

Grass

### [Reply to @polisisti, 18:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796602678539399249) · 2 likes

> **Alessandro (@polisisti):** Have any tweeps made an Interlibrary Loan request from across the Atlantic and acquired the material successfully?
>
> I just tried to request something from England, and the holding library just said "lol nope". Should I even bother with future requests from Europe?

Poast book

### [Tweet, 18:25 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796609044494328274) · 43 likes

My ingroup is people who say “almost tautological”

### [Reply to @thiagovscoelho, 18:50 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796615160108396722) · 86 likes

> **Thiago ✱ (@thiagovscoelho):** purely recreationally of course

As opposed to professionally? Yes

### [Reply to @LabGrownNeet, 19:08 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796619692829737251) · 1 like

> **laს გr🤗wn იeet (@LabGrownNeet):** common aella W

We must protect her

### [Reply to @livgorton, 19:16 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796621745199173948) · 2 likes

> **Liv (@livgorton):** vibing with the kangaroos is as good as it sounds
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GFdRyOcaEAAxQoO.jpg)
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GFdRyOibsAAaYos.jpg)
> (quoting @gptbrooke: Vibing and HANGING OUT WITH LITERAL KANGAROOS I hopped on a video chat with someone there and SAW THEM MYSELF)

Can u confirm

### [Reply to @Casagrandezz, 19:30 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796625311473225966) · 5 likes

> **HB (@Casagrandezz):** There’s an interview with an nba trainer said he devoted every waking hour into basketball & training in college but couldn’t make it professionally. When he joined the nba as a trainer he learned that some of the best players eat complete shit & work out like twice a month.

Ya

### [Reply to @burny_tech, 19:32 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796625722284425255) · 2 likes

> **Burny - Effective Curiosity (@burny_tech):** A ""top secret"" meeting is kicking off in Madrid with the CEOs of Google DeepMind, Anthropic and Microsoft AI in attendance
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO7kL94WAAIGzy1.jpg)

👀

CEO ppl if u want me to come and take notes I’ll hop on a flight right away 👍

### [Quote tweet, 19:39 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796627488707072243) · 9 likes

Scold I know but rich people actually buying luxury shit like this is extremely distasteful

Yes I know capitalism is good for various reasons. Thanks for producing some consumer surplus, probably

> **Quoting DHH (@dhh):** Thank you HTML-over-the-wire 😄
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO1s5eEaAAAjhzH.jpg)

### [Reply to @BootsPlatypus, 19:40 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796627752323321896) · 2 likes

> **Platypussy in Bio (@BootsPlatypus):** @AaronBergman18 @CatgirlAnarcho Afaik it increases sensitivity to stimulants so it could help you lol

Lol

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 19:51 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796630720258961730) · 4 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 31, 2024:** My ingroup is people who say “almost tautological”

Glad to see that I’m my own ingroup

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO7qHjyW0AA2rXk.jpg)

### [Reply, 19:54 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796631384368287952) · 1 like

Based. I hope the alligators stopped eating ppl over there

### [Thread, continued, 20:00 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796632932297097471)

Hmm

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO7sIWpXwAAEjVV.jpg)

![Image](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO7sIWeWAAAu00q.jpg)

### [Reply to @frances__lorenz, 20:02 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796633458313208014) · 1 like

_(The tweet being replied to by @frances__lorenz is no longer available.)_

How does one acquire baby

### [Reply to @livgorton, 21:17 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796652205476401467) · 2 likes

> **Liv (@livgorton):** do i get an admonymous or are people mean 😭😭
>
> it worries me that people could given feedback where it either just is not constructive and makes me sad, or it’s hard to know if it’s actually something i should action.
>
> but also there are ways in which doing it seems good??

I think the answer is some bits are helpful, some are mean, some are both, and most are neither

Plausibly you could give it to only ppl you trust, idk how hard it is to change the url though if you wanna adjust

### [Reply to @ohwizenedtortle, 21:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796659680443244864) · 5 likes

> **oh dandy lion🔸 (@ohwizenedtortle):** @AaronBergman18 Hey girlie I have some hot goss for you, we all miss you so much and are sad we couldn't meet you in person

🥺🥺🥺❤️❤️❤️

### [Thread, continued, 21:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796659805496504724) · 5 likes

Just kidding stfu that brainpower could be used for digital shrimp etc.

### [Reply to @austinc3301, 23:19 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796682890643697939) · 2 likes

> **Agus 🔸 (@austinc3301):** @ohwizenedtortle @AaronBergman18 I can confirm that all of this is indeed true

❤️🙏🏼🦐

### [Reply to @InVitroFuture, 23:24 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796684120094912937) · 2 likes

> **Macrophysiological System🐀 (@InVitroFuture):** @AaronBergman18 I work with brain organoids. p(sentient) is minuscule and will be for many years if not decades to come. If human fetal development is anything to go by, you simply don't get anywhere near sentience by glomming biological neurons together willy-nilly.
> https://www.mdpi.com/2674-1172/2/1/4

I mean I hope you’re right but it’s not a question science can answer. I’m not sure it’s a question philosophy or anyone else can answer either, given that thousands of brilliant people are still arguing about the necessary and sufficient conditions for phenomenal consciousness

### [Quote tweet, 23:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796687064668193036) · 5 likes

Ik the swe hiring market sucks but I was pretty under the impression that people with technical college majors are basically not limited by that major (exception = med school)

Fr it sucks if you really wanna be a swe but do people realize they can just do whatever else?

> **Quoting Prakash (@8teAPi):** Ouch 🤕
>
> [image attached](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GO72gGsaEAAmZJW.jpg)

### [Thread, continued, 23:35 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796687067151311328) · 3 likes

To be fair maybe math and physics are stronger technical/intelligence in general for very competitive non-swe/cs roles (I’m not actually sure)

But no way cs majors are unhirable in general

### [Reply to @InVitroFuture, 23:43 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796689021793378451) · 2 likes

> **Macrophysiological System🐀 (@InVitroFuture):** Let me rephrase: given what we know about the ontology and neural correlates of normal human consciousness, any ensemble of human neurons as small, immature, and disorganized as an organoid has only a minusculely higher chance of being sentient than a plant does.

Thanks, somehow I missed the paper you linked above which looks good and important

### [Reply to his own earlier tweet, 23:47 UTC](https://x.com/AaronBergman18/status/1796689872779919384) · 4 likes

> **Aaron Bergman, May 31, 2024:** Normal legislation doesn’t seem intractable. Plenty of precedent for Congress to step in

Good news for the world, bad news for me being able to intuit everything correctly and slinging takes accordingly (I only glanced at the paper tbc so not totally retracting the above but still it is tentatively reassuring)

---

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