Cognito - User contributions [en]

Effective altruism learning resources

2017-11-20T07:25:00Z

Riceissa: /* Personal blogs of individuals interested in effective altruism */ link is dead; using a working snapshot

Since the mid-2000s, [[wikipedia:effective altruism|effective altruism]] has grown considerably as a movement. The goal is to choose one's altruistic actions with the goal of doing as much good as possible and as effectively as possible. There are a number of different groups promoting effective altruism, and their websites provide information that can help you get started on understanding the general principles.

==Trello list of starting points==

See [https://trello.com/b/rm3da7HZ/effective-altruist-introductory-resources Effective Altruist Introductory Resources] for a list of books, videos, and blogs intended to introduce people to effective altruist ideas. The list is not created or maintained by us.

==Organizations or group websites interested in effective altruism==

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization/website !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://www.effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum] || A discussion forum for topics related to effective altruism. Formerly the effective altruism blog. || Some posts linked on their [http://effective-altruism.com/ea/6x/introduction_to_effective_altruism/ introduction page]: [http://www.effective-altruism.com/what-effective-altruism/ What is Effective Altruism?] by William MacAskill, [http://www.effective-altruism.com/effective-altruism/ Effective Altruism] by Holden Karnofsky, and [http://www.effective-altruism.com/four-focus-areas-effective-altruism/ Four Focus Areas of Effective Altruism] by Luke Muehlhauser. || It might be worth reading the discussions.
|-
| [http://www.givewell.org GiveWell] || Non-profit dedicated to doing the most good possible. Their primary consumer-facing product is recommendations for top charities to donate to, across all causes (rather than providing a top charity separately for each cause). In addition, they evaluate claims about a diverse range of activities (such as scientific research and political advocacy) that people have claimed might be highly effective ways of improving the world. || [http://www.givewell.org/giving101 Giving 101: the basics] is a useful primer that reviews many basic effective altruism ideas, such as differences between standards of living in different parts of the world, [[wikipedia:room for more funding|room for more funding]] and triage (the one-charity argument). || Follow their [http://blog.givewell.org blog] and skim through their detailed reviews of [http://givewell.org/top-charities top charities] as well as their [http://www.givewell.org/shallow shallow cause overviews].
|-
| [http://givingwhatwecan.org Giving What We Can] || Non-profit dedicated to advocating that people donate more money to charity, as well as providing suggestions about top charities to donate to. They rely on GiveWell's research plus some in-house research to make recommendations. || The [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give/methodology charity evaluation methodology] might be the most educational and informative place to start, but it may be fruitful to check out the [http://givingwhatwecan.org/why-give why give?] and [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give where to give] pages first to get some background and context. || Follow their [http://givingwhatwecan.org/blog blog]
|}

==Courses==

* [https://www.coursera.org/course/practicalethics Practical Ethics] by Peter Singer on Coursera
* [https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-jpal101x-evaluating-social-programs-1532 Evaluating social programs] by the Poverty Action Lab on EdX

==Effective altruism in connection with career choice and life trajectory==

{{further|[[Choosing a career with effective altruism as a dominant consideration]]}}
{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://80000hours.org/ 80,000 Hours] || Combine publicly available research as well as personalized career guidance to guide people on career choice, where the people they guide have effective altruism as a primary consideration in career choice. || [http://80000hours.org/research Research page] || Their [http://80000hours.org/blog blog] is worth following if this topic interests you.
|}

==Personal blogs of individuals interested in effective altruism==

* Brian Tomasik is an effective altruist writer who maintains the website [http://reducing-suffering.org/ Essays on Reducing Suffering]. Brian also has a [http://briantomasik.com/ personal website].
* Ryan Carey is an effective altruism movement-builder who is interested in guiding young people interested in effective altruism. His website is [http://careyryan.com/ here].
* Peter Hurford blogs regularly about topics closely related to effective altruism and utilitarian ethics [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/ here].
* Bastian Stern's website [https://web.archive.org/web/20131026010118/http://utilitarianism.bastianstern.com/ compiles resources on utilitarianism and effective altruism].
* Paul Christiano maintains a [http://rationalaltruist.com/ blog on rational altruism].

==Other useful starting points==

* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/37f/efficient_charity/ Efficient Charity] by multifoliaterose
* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/3gj/efficient_charity_do_unto_others/ Efficient Charity: Do Unto Others...] by Yvain

==Combined feeds==

* [http://www.rssmix.com/u/3890223/rss.xml EA Medley] maintained by Peter Hurford is a RSS feed combining many effective altruism-related blogs.

==Online communities for general discussion==

* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/effective.altruists/ Effective Altruists Facebook group] (read [http://effectivealtruism.info/?page_id=10 here] for the group guidelines)
* [http://effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum]
* The comments sections of some of the blogs linked above.
* [http://www.lesswrong.com LessWrong] often has blog posts on effective altruism and many people in the LessWrong community are interested in effective altruism.
* You might also be interested in forums related to utilitarianism, including [http://www.felicifia.com Felicifia] and many Facebook groups.

==Key terminology==

Links are to Wikipedia pages or other canonical sources:

* [[Wikipedia:Earning to give|Earning to give]]
* [[Wikipedia:Room for more funding|Room for more funding]]

==See also==

* [[Development economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics learning recommendations]]

Effective altruism learning resources

2017-11-20T07:23:15Z

Riceissa: /* Personal blogs of individuals interested in effective altruism */

Since the mid-2000s, [[wikipedia:effective altruism|effective altruism]] has grown considerably as a movement. The goal is to choose one's altruistic actions with the goal of doing as much good as possible and as effectively as possible. There are a number of different groups promoting effective altruism, and their websites provide information that can help you get started on understanding the general principles.

==Trello list of starting points==

See [https://trello.com/b/rm3da7HZ/effective-altruist-introductory-resources Effective Altruist Introductory Resources] for a list of books, videos, and blogs intended to introduce people to effective altruist ideas. The list is not created or maintained by us.

==Organizations or group websites interested in effective altruism==

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization/website !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://www.effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum] || A discussion forum for topics related to effective altruism. Formerly the effective altruism blog. || Some posts linked on their [http://effective-altruism.com/ea/6x/introduction_to_effective_altruism/ introduction page]: [http://www.effective-altruism.com/what-effective-altruism/ What is Effective Altruism?] by William MacAskill, [http://www.effective-altruism.com/effective-altruism/ Effective Altruism] by Holden Karnofsky, and [http://www.effective-altruism.com/four-focus-areas-effective-altruism/ Four Focus Areas of Effective Altruism] by Luke Muehlhauser. || It might be worth reading the discussions.
|-
| [http://www.givewell.org GiveWell] || Non-profit dedicated to doing the most good possible. Their primary consumer-facing product is recommendations for top charities to donate to, across all causes (rather than providing a top charity separately for each cause). In addition, they evaluate claims about a diverse range of activities (such as scientific research and political advocacy) that people have claimed might be highly effective ways of improving the world. || [http://www.givewell.org/giving101 Giving 101: the basics] is a useful primer that reviews many basic effective altruism ideas, such as differences between standards of living in different parts of the world, [[wikipedia:room for more funding|room for more funding]] and triage (the one-charity argument). || Follow their [http://blog.givewell.org blog] and skim through their detailed reviews of [http://givewell.org/top-charities top charities] as well as their [http://www.givewell.org/shallow shallow cause overviews].
|-
| [http://givingwhatwecan.org Giving What We Can] || Non-profit dedicated to advocating that people donate more money to charity, as well as providing suggestions about top charities to donate to. They rely on GiveWell's research plus some in-house research to make recommendations. || The [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give/methodology charity evaluation methodology] might be the most educational and informative place to start, but it may be fruitful to check out the [http://givingwhatwecan.org/why-give why give?] and [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give where to give] pages first to get some background and context. || Follow their [http://givingwhatwecan.org/blog blog]
|}

==Courses==

* [https://www.coursera.org/course/practicalethics Practical Ethics] by Peter Singer on Coursera
* [https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-jpal101x-evaluating-social-programs-1532 Evaluating social programs] by the Poverty Action Lab on EdX

==Effective altruism in connection with career choice and life trajectory==

{{further|[[Choosing a career with effective altruism as a dominant consideration]]}}
{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://80000hours.org/ 80,000 Hours] || Combine publicly available research as well as personalized career guidance to guide people on career choice, where the people they guide have effective altruism as a primary consideration in career choice. || [http://80000hours.org/research Research page] || Their [http://80000hours.org/blog blog] is worth following if this topic interests you.
|}

==Personal blogs of individuals interested in effective altruism==

* Brian Tomasik is an effective altruist writer who maintains the website [http://reducing-suffering.org/ Essays on Reducing Suffering]. Brian also has a [http://briantomasik.com/ personal website].
* Ryan Carey is an effective altruism movement-builder who is interested in guiding young people interested in effective altruism. His website is [http://careyryan.com/ here].
* Peter Hurford blogs regularly about topics closely related to effective altruism and utilitarian ethics [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/ here].
* Bastian Stern's website [http://utilitarianism.bastianstern.com/ compiles resources on utilitarianism and effective altruism].
* Paul Christiano maintains a [http://rationalaltruist.com/ blog on rational altruism].

==Other useful starting points==

* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/37f/efficient_charity/ Efficient Charity] by multifoliaterose
* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/3gj/efficient_charity_do_unto_others/ Efficient Charity: Do Unto Others...] by Yvain

==Combined feeds==

* [http://www.rssmix.com/u/3890223/rss.xml EA Medley] maintained by Peter Hurford is a RSS feed combining many effective altruism-related blogs.

==Online communities for general discussion==

* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/effective.altruists/ Effective Altruists Facebook group] (read [http://effectivealtruism.info/?page_id=10 here] for the group guidelines)
* [http://effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum]
* The comments sections of some of the blogs linked above.
* [http://www.lesswrong.com LessWrong] often has blog posts on effective altruism and many people in the LessWrong community are interested in effective altruism.
* You might also be interested in forums related to utilitarianism, including [http://www.felicifia.com Felicifia] and many Facebook groups.

==Key terminology==

Links are to Wikipedia pages or other canonical sources:

* [[Wikipedia:Earning to give|Earning to give]]
* [[Wikipedia:Room for more funding|Room for more funding]]

==See also==

* [[Development economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics learning recommendations]]

Effective altruism learning resources

2017-11-20T07:22:46Z

Riceissa: /* Personal blogs of individuals interested in effective altruism */ use new domain

Since the mid-2000s, [[wikipedia:effective altruism|effective altruism]] has grown considerably as a movement. The goal is to choose one's altruistic actions with the goal of doing as much good as possible and as effectively as possible. There are a number of different groups promoting effective altruism, and their websites provide information that can help you get started on understanding the general principles.

==Trello list of starting points==

See [https://trello.com/b/rm3da7HZ/effective-altruist-introductory-resources Effective Altruist Introductory Resources] for a list of books, videos, and blogs intended to introduce people to effective altruist ideas. The list is not created or maintained by us.

==Organizations or group websites interested in effective altruism==

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization/website !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://www.effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum] || A discussion forum for topics related to effective altruism. Formerly the effective altruism blog. || Some posts linked on their [http://effective-altruism.com/ea/6x/introduction_to_effective_altruism/ introduction page]: [http://www.effective-altruism.com/what-effective-altruism/ What is Effective Altruism?] by William MacAskill, [http://www.effective-altruism.com/effective-altruism/ Effective Altruism] by Holden Karnofsky, and [http://www.effective-altruism.com/four-focus-areas-effective-altruism/ Four Focus Areas of Effective Altruism] by Luke Muehlhauser. || It might be worth reading the discussions.
|-
| [http://www.givewell.org GiveWell] || Non-profit dedicated to doing the most good possible. Their primary consumer-facing product is recommendations for top charities to donate to, across all causes (rather than providing a top charity separately for each cause). In addition, they evaluate claims about a diverse range of activities (such as scientific research and political advocacy) that people have claimed might be highly effective ways of improving the world. || [http://www.givewell.org/giving101 Giving 101: the basics] is a useful primer that reviews many basic effective altruism ideas, such as differences between standards of living in different parts of the world, [[wikipedia:room for more funding|room for more funding]] and triage (the one-charity argument). || Follow their [http://blog.givewell.org blog] and skim through their detailed reviews of [http://givewell.org/top-charities top charities] as well as their [http://www.givewell.org/shallow shallow cause overviews].
|-
| [http://givingwhatwecan.org Giving What We Can] || Non-profit dedicated to advocating that people donate more money to charity, as well as providing suggestions about top charities to donate to. They rely on GiveWell's research plus some in-house research to make recommendations. || The [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give/methodology charity evaluation methodology] might be the most educational and informative place to start, but it may be fruitful to check out the [http://givingwhatwecan.org/why-give why give?] and [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give where to give] pages first to get some background and context. || Follow their [http://givingwhatwecan.org/blog blog]
|}

==Courses==

* [https://www.coursera.org/course/practicalethics Practical Ethics] by Peter Singer on Coursera
* [https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-jpal101x-evaluating-social-programs-1532 Evaluating social programs] by the Poverty Action Lab on EdX

==Effective altruism in connection with career choice and life trajectory==

{{further|[[Choosing a career with effective altruism as a dominant consideration]]}}
{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://80000hours.org/ 80,000 Hours] || Combine publicly available research as well as personalized career guidance to guide people on career choice, where the people they guide have effective altruism as a primary consideration in career choice. || [http://80000hours.org/research Research page] || Their [http://80000hours.org/blog blog] is worth following if this topic interests you.
|}

==Personal blogs of individuals interested in effective altruism==

* Brian Tomasik is an effective altruist writer who maintains the website [http://reducing-suffering.org/ Essays on Reducing Suffering]. Brian also has a [http://briantomasik.com/ personal website].
* Ryan Carey is an effective altruism movement-builder who is interested in guiding young people interested in effective altruism. His website is [http://careyryan.com/ here]
* Peter Hurford blogs regularly about topics closely related to effective altruism and utilitarian ethics [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/ here].
* Bastian Stern's website [http://utilitarianism.bastianstern.com/ compiles resources on utilitarianism and effective altruism].
* Paul Christiano maintains a [http://rationalaltruist.com/ blog on rational altruism].

==Other useful starting points==

* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/37f/efficient_charity/ Efficient Charity] by multifoliaterose
* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/3gj/efficient_charity_do_unto_others/ Efficient Charity: Do Unto Others...] by Yvain

==Combined feeds==

* [http://www.rssmix.com/u/3890223/rss.xml EA Medley] maintained by Peter Hurford is a RSS feed combining many effective altruism-related blogs.

==Online communities for general discussion==

* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/effective.altruists/ Effective Altruists Facebook group] (read [http://effectivealtruism.info/?page_id=10 here] for the group guidelines)
* [http://effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum]
* The comments sections of some of the blogs linked above.
* [http://www.lesswrong.com LessWrong] often has blog posts on effective altruism and many people in the LessWrong community are interested in effective altruism.
* You might also be interested in forums related to utilitarianism, including [http://www.felicifia.com Felicifia] and many Facebook groups.

==Key terminology==

Links are to Wikipedia pages or other canonical sources:

* [[Wikipedia:Earning to give|Earning to give]]
* [[Wikipedia:Room for more funding|Room for more funding]]

==See also==

* [[Development economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics learning recommendations]]

Rationality learning resources

2017-11-20T07:14:23Z

Riceissa: /* Websites that promote rationality, with a focus on epistemic rationality */

==Websites that promote rationality, with a focus on epistemic rationality==

* [http://www.lesswrong.com LessWrong], which describes itself as a "community blog devoted to refining the art of human rationality." Less Wrong additionally has its own [http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/LessWrong_Wiki wiki], which often contains quick summaries of rationality concepts and tends to do a good job of grouping together related posts. As of late 2017, an open beta of [https://www.lesserwrong.com/ LessWrong 2.0] is taking place in an attempt to revive LessWrong.
* [http://slatestarcodex.com/ Slate Star Codex], a blog that applies the principles of rationality to the analysis of many questions of philosophy, psychology, culture, and society. Scott Alexander ([http://lesswrong.com/user/Yvain/ Yvain] on Less Wrong), the author of Slate Star Codex, has also created a [http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/05/mapmaker-mapmaker-make-me-a-map/ map of the rationalist community] which groups different websites/blogs/Twitter accounts by subject, and may be useful for finding more resources in an area of one's interest.
* [http://rationality.org/ Center for Applied Rationality] website
* [http://www.overcomingbias.com Overcoming Bias], a blog primarily written by Robin Hanson, that strives to uncover and correct for human bias and discover the truth.

==Other websites that discuss issues related to rationality==

* Bryan Caplan's blog posts on [http://econlog.econlib.org EconLog] often discuss issues related to rationality and philosophy, although the blog is primarily focused on economics
* [http://www.gwern.net/ Gwern's website]
* See the [[effective altruism learning resources]] page. Many learning resources for effective altruism use rationalist ideas. In particular, [http://rationalaltruist.com Paul Christiano's blog] does.

Transferring connections from online to real-life

2017-11-19T22:52:11Z

Riceissa: /* Basic idea */ fix dead link

This page discusses transferring online connections into a real-life setting. In other words, it discusses interacting face-to-face with people you have already interacted with online.

== Basic idea ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

Here are some further considerations:

* Obviously personal safety must be taken into account.
* Some of the topics discussed on this wiki, such as [[Rationality_learning_resources|rationality]], [[Effective_altruism|effective altruism]], and [[Quora]], already have local meetup groups; see [http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong_meetup_groups Less Wrong meetup groups], [https://eahub.org/groups effective altruism meetups], and [https://www.quora.com/Quora-Meetups Quora meetups]. Other potentially useful meetups can be found on e.g. [http://www.meetup.com/ Meetup.com].
* Remember that meeting up in person will become easier once one is older and can drive to meetups, live on a college campus where these take place, and so on.
** A corollary to this is that if you are young, going to meetups will allow you to interact with older people who share your interests. This can be useful for both sides; see the questions [https://www.facebook.com/riceissa/posts/1475882736024012 "In what ways do you think older people benefit from interacting with younger people, besides feeling good about helping?"] (Facebook) and [https://www.quora.com/For-high-school-and-early-college-or-equivalent-students-how-has-regular-casual-interaction-with-people-in-their-mid-to-late-20s-influenced-you "For high school and early college (or equivalent) students, how has regular casual interaction with people in their mid-to-late 20s influenced you?"] (Quora).

User:Riceissa

2016-06-21T08:21:43Z

Riceissa: /* Licensing */

I'm [http://issarice.com Issa Rice].

== Licensing ==

All of [[Special:Contributions/Riceissa|the content I contribute to this wiki]] is released to the public domain according to the [http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication].

User:Riceissa

2016-06-21T08:21:24Z

Riceissa: /* Licensing */

I'm [http://issarice.com Issa Rice].

== Licensing ==

All of [http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Riceissa the content I contribute to this wiki] is released to the public domain according to the [http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication].

User:Riceissa

2016-06-21T08:21:08Z

Riceissa: /* Licensing */

I'm [http://issarice.com Issa Rice].

== Licensing ==

All of [the http://info.cognitomentoring.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Riceissa content I contribute to this wiki] is released to the public domain according to the [http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication].

Using Reddit

2016-06-21T08:19:56Z

Riceissa: /* See also */

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". Despite the impressive volume of information on Reddit, it's probably underused by young people as a source of intellectual content due to the site's difficult navigation, [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_reddit|controversiality]], and general lack of awareness as a place to discover intellectual content.

In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong), but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong, there is still possibly more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there. Moreover, developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful.

On this page we describe some considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

__TOC__

==General remarks==

Here are some general things to keep in mind when using Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still generally acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account creation for each site).

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaway accounts), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like Quora or LessWrong.

* Reddit practices shadowbanning (sometimes called [[Wikipedia:Hellbanning|hellbanning]] or ghost banning), which means it's possible your posts will appear invisible to others. This shouldn't be a problem for most users, though, and definitely isn't a problem if you only browse (and don't post).

==Finding good content==

Finding content (especially intellectual content) you like on Reddit can be a challenge. Keep the following in mind to help you find what you like.

* Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse. Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving]. The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]" lists some subreddits to look into.

* Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, you might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research).

* Despite the underemphasis on users on Reddit, it might still be worth looking into particularly notable users like [https://www.reddit.com/user/gwern gwern]. See also the Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Who-are-the-most-interesting-science-people-to-follow-on-reddit Who are the most interesting science people to follow on reddit?]"

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code> to restrict your search to Reddit. For example, you can search for all Reddit discussions of Dread Pirate Roberts on Google like [https://www.google.com/#q=site:reddit.com+dread+pirate+roberts this]. Note that Reddit also natively has search, but this may be inferior to a Google search. (See [https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/24qvek/reddit_your_search_engine_fucking_sucks/ this thread] for discussion.)

* Many external sites often link to certain Reddit threads. For instance, Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex often links to Reddit threads in his recurring links posts. You can find some of these [https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Aslatestarcodex.com%20reddit here]. More generally, if you can find people who have the ability to filter out content on Reddit in a way that you like, this can lead you to some of the most useful content on Reddit with little effort on your part.

* Reddit AMAs often have interesting content from experts on various topics. Some people associated with the broader effective altruism/rationality sphere, such as [https://www.reddit.com/comments/y9lm0/_/ Luke Muehlhauser], [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32lnif Peter Singer], and [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1x1dyy/i_am_bryan_caplan_economist_and_professor_at/ Bryan Caplan], have done AMAs.

* Reddit has the ability to filter link shares by website. To do this, simply navigate to <code>reddit.com/domain/URL</code>, where <code>URL</code> is the URL of the site in consideration. So for example https://www.reddit.com/domain/michaelochurch.wordpress.com/top/ and https://www.reddit.com/domain/slatestarcodex.com/top/ will show you the top link shares of Michael O. Church's blog and Slate Star Codex, respectively. In other words, Reddit can function as a great way look for top content on sites as well as seeing the commentary.

* For information on colleges, using a combination of Reddit (particularly subreddits of various schools), [[Quora]], and [[College Confidential]] is likely to turn up the most comprehensive information.

* There are some external sites that help people discover Reddit content. We list some examples:
** [http://paulrosenzweig.com/explore-reddit/ Explore Reddit] by Paul Rosenzweig helps you find top content for subreddits as well as related subreddits.
** [http://metareddit.com/ Metareddit] is another tool that helps you explore Reddit.

==External links==

* "[http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/reddit-tips-tricks/ Getting The Most Out Of Reddit: 20 Tips, Tricks And Tools]" on Hongkiat provides general information on how to use Reddit.
* [https://www.quora.com/Alex-K-Chen/answers/Reddit-website Alex K. Chen's Quora answers about Reddit] provide insights from an experienced user of both Reddit and Quora.

Choosing a career with effective altruism as a dominant consideration

2016-05-30T01:37:35Z

Riceissa: /* Top causes that effective altruists have narrowed down to */ add some causes

This page discusses how to choose a career with effective altruism as a ''dominant'' consideration. If you want to consider the ''general'' question of the social value of different lines of work, read [[social value of work: factors to consider]] and [[social value of work: income as a proxy]]. For background on effective altruism, see [[effective altruism learning resources]].

==The relation between effective altruism and career==

* The work you do can directly [[social value of work: factors to consider|generate social value]].
* The money you earn by working can be channeled to philanthropic causes (see [[wikipedia:earning to give|earning to give]]).
* You can leverage your work experience, credentials, and position of authority to engage in effective altruist actions either on the side or after a few years of working.

==Careers typically considered high-potential for effective altruism==

===Top causes that effective altruists have narrowed down to===

* Poverty alleviation
* Technological progress
* Entrepreneurship
* Existential risk and global catastrophic risk (this includes unfriendly artificial intelligence, climate catastrophe, asteroid collision, epidemic, world war, out-of-control nanotechnology, etc.)
* Animal welfare
* Cause prioritization
* Other preparations for the far future, such as space colonization

===Careers that are generally accessible to people with high intelligence and high conscientiousness===

The list here excludes careers that have superstar economies, with very few people at the top (such as politics, sports, and acting) or ones that require special talent that generally needs to be nurtured from childhood (such as music).

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Career name !! Reason for selection as a candidate!! Discussion of social value
|-
| [[Finance as a career option|Finance]] || High earnings make it attractive for earning to give; also, finance involves moving large amounts of money and this can have considerable social impact || [[Social value of finance]]
|-
| [[Biomedical research as a career option|Biomedical research]] || Many of the hardest problems related to human health, productivity, and longevity depend on breakthroughs in biomedical research || [[Social value of biomedical research]]
|-
| [[Entrepreneurship as a career option|Entrepreneurship]] || Entrepreneurs can create new businesses and ideas that are transformative (huge upside) and they are less replacable. Individuals are risk-averse, so there is less entrepreneurship than is socially optimal. Entrepreneurs could potentially make a lot of money and then engage in earning to give. || [[Social value of entrepreneurship]]
|-
| [[Medicine as a career option|Medicine]] || Doctors are in charge of performing life-saving diagnoses and procedures. Doctors earn a lot of money (though much of it goes into paying medical school debt). They could in principle engage in earning to give. A position as a doctor gives one a position of authority via which to advocate improvements in healthcare systems. This could have very high leverage. || [[Social value of medicine]]
|-
| [[Software engineering as a career option|Software engineering]] || Software, including the underlying code for websites, has a very high ratio of consumers to producers (for instance, Facebook has less than 7,000 employees and serves over a billion people). Salaries in software engineering are high, facilitating earning to give. || [[Social value of software engineering]]
|}

==Resources==

The [http://www.80000hours.org 80,000 hours] website and blog are devoted largely to the question of how to choose a career if effective altruism is a dominant consideration.

The following articles provide general discussion of how to think about the career choice:

* [http://www.givewell.org/altruistic-career-choice Conference call with Holden Karnofsky of GiveWell about altruistic career choice]
* [http://80000hours.org/blog/172-interview-with-holden-karnofsky-co-founder-of-givewell Interview with Holden Karnofsky, co-founder of GiveWell] by Bejamin Todd, 80,000 Hours blog, April 29, 2013
* Discussions and conversations by Peter Hurford about choosing a career in effective altruism: [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/essays/i-now-have-approximately-five-career-categories/ categorization into five categories], [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/essays/comparing-across-my-five-career-categories/ comparison across the five categories], [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/essays/my-conversation-with-satvik-beri/ conversation with Satvik Beri], [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/essays/my-careers-conversation-with-holden-karnofsky/ conversation with Holden Karnofsky]

==See also==

* [[Effective altruism learning resources]]
* [[Social value of work: factors to consider]]
* [[Social value of work: income as a proxy]]

Ballparking the value of a skill

2016-05-29T01:41:31Z

Riceissa: /* Reading and writing: a worked example */

Some types of knowledge and skill deliver enduring [[human capital]]: they provide machinery for understanding and navigating the world and making decisions that, in the aggregate, affect one's life outcomes considerably. Other types of knowledge and skill deliver little human capital. This page considers the puzzle of how one might ballpark the human capital value of a skill.

Of course, the human capital value of a skill is not the only consideration when determining whether to acquire it. The cost in time and money, as well as other gains from acquiring the skill, including signaling gains and consumptive benefits of the learning process, need to be factored in.

==How to do it==

The key idea is that the value of a skill is determined by how frequently one uses it and the value of each instance of using it. This value could be measured:

* via upside (what's the most one can gain from using the skill): This framing is used when the skill helps with an optional choice.
* via downside (what's the most one can gain from not using the skill): This framing is used when the skill is necessary for an action one needs to complete.

The underlying idea is that [http://lesswrong.com/lw/i3/making_beliefs_pay_rent_in_anticipated_experiences/ beliefs should pay rent in anticipated experiences].

==Reading and writing: a worked example==

We keep hearing of how it's important to be able to read. But ''why'' is it important? One way of trying to judge the importance of our reading ability is to measure the extent to which individual steps in our regular, daily lives depend on our reading skills. A slight variant is to imagine how an illiterate person might navigate life in our place.

Illiteracy can be thought of as selective blindness – blindness to street names, to road safety signs, to store signs, to brand names on items at the supermarket, to restaurant and cafe menus.

* Illiteracy significantly affects one's ability to travel to new places. Illiterate people can do fine navigating known geographic regions, drawing on their familiarity with the terrain. But it can be much more cognitively stressful for them to venture out into new areas on their own. They cannot understand maps too well, and cannot read street names and road signs. This means they need to memorize long lists of oral directions (or use diagrams, but even here, they need to have the skills of translating a geographical map to a two-dimensional diagram). Even though people can ask around for directions, it can be embarrassing to do so repeatedly.
* An illiterate person would have more trouble navigating a new restaurant or cafe. Because of difficulty reading menus, he or she would need to ask other people to read out menu items and prices. This can be socially embarrassing. To avoid embarrassment, the person may just end up ordering a standard item with a high probability of availability and whose cost would not be too high. Similarly, it would be difficult to identify brands of items at a supermarket, or even figure out what types of items are in what aisle. Again, the person needs help navigating the supermarket. The person may not be able to read expiry dates and therefore may need assistance from others even for such mundane tasks.
* An illiterate person has difficulty reading instructions for hardware assembly, cooking, machine repair, and many other mundane tasks. The person has trouble reading dosage instructions or ingredient details for medicine and food items. Again, these are non-issues as long as the person sticks to standard items or asks other people. But this does reduce the person's ability to experiment or cope with new situations, and the need to constantly ask others for help can be an embarrassment and make one dependent on others.
* Illiterate people cannot use text-based communication. For instance, text messages through mobile phones and the Internet are often cheaper and more effective means of communication than voice communication, particularly for asynchronous or one-to-many communications. But lack of literacy means that this option is foreclosed. It also means that others cannot communicate with the person in this manner.
* Illiterate people cannot read the newspaper or other basic information sources (like Wikipedia) and therefore have to rely on information filtered through other individuals, who may not be in a position or mood to help them, and/or have a vested interest in providing inaccurate information.

==Academic skills that have relatively direct, immediate application in day-to-day life==

* '''Reading''':
** Reading letters and words
** Reading sentences
** Reading paragraphs
* '''Writing''':
** Writing words, including names
** Writing sentences
** Writing paragraphs
* '''Basic arithmetic''':
** Counting, reading numbers in base ten
** Addition and subtraction
** Multiplication and division
** Concepts of fractions, ratios, percentages, decimals, and negative numbers
* More advanced
** Written composition, editing, reformulating and expressing oneself well
** [[Algebra learning benefits|Basic algebra]]
** Functions and graphical representations (precalculus)
** Basic statistics

''In general, the more basic a skill, the higher the value of learning it well, and the greater the return per unit time invested in learning it.''

For instance, an overwhelming majority (99%+) of people in the developed world can read words and simple phrases, and their ability to do this affects their ability to follow road signs and street names, thus providing the minimum literacy threshold needed to drive easily through new terrain, shop at supermarkets and eateries, follow simple instructions for do-it-yourself assembly, food preparation, or taking medicine doses, etc. People often mess up these activities, but they can still do them reasonably well a reasonable fraction of the time.

The ability to understand complicated sentences, on the other hand, delivers little marginal benefit. Rarely does your ability to use a public transit system or drive rely on your ability to read a sentence such as the ones on this page! Occasionally, complicated sentences do get used in public transit, such as "Due to an overcrowding issue, we will be switching the train to the left track, and therefore doors will open on the right instead of the left." But the train operator will probably repeat the important part "doors will open on the right instead of the left" a couple more times so that people who were confused by the original sentence grasp the important point. And even if they don't understand, they will still see visually that doors are opening on the right instead of the left.

==Do high-level skills ''ever'' get used?==

Is there ''any'' value to the type of skills people learn in high school and college? Can you envisage any situation where such knowledge would affect one's decision?

The answer is a qualified ''no''. There are some exceptions, but there is a strong presumption of uselessness of most material learned in high school and college:

# There are rare situations where a job directly uses an acquired skill. For instance, a programming job directly uses knowledge of programming syntax and programming practices.
# There are other situations where, although a job does not require a particular skill, having that skill allows one to do the job ''better'' because one is able to see patterns that others cannot identify. Commentary on social policy may benefit from a deep understanding of mathematics that allows one to understand various quantitative indicators of the social policy, even though one can make crude first-pass analyses with a minimal knowledge of mathematics.

(1) is relatively rare: most people do not take up jobs that directly apply the knowledge they have gained. (2) is also rare in practice. The reason is that to get to the stage where one can do (2), one has to understand material ''really'' well, far better than the level that is needed to do well in school.

For instance, if one has a strong intuition for different types of growth functions (linear, quadratic, exponential) then one can understand relevant patterns in growth trends, identifying when a particular growth pattern comes closer to linear, quadratic, or exponential, or understanding the implications of exponential growth. But this requires a broad-based qualitative understanding that goes beyond what is taught and tested in courses.

Ballparking the value of a skill

2016-05-29T01:41:05Z

Riceissa: /* How to do it */

Some types of knowledge and skill deliver enduring [[human capital]]: they provide machinery for understanding and navigating the world and making decisions that, in the aggregate, affect one's life outcomes considerably. Other types of knowledge and skill deliver little human capital. This page considers the puzzle of how one might ballpark the human capital value of a skill.

Of course, the human capital value of a skill is not the only consideration when determining whether to acquire it. The cost in time and money, as well as other gains from acquiring the skill, including signaling gains and consumptive benefits of the learning process, need to be factored in.

==How to do it==

The key idea is that the value of a skill is determined by how frequently one uses it and the value of each instance of using it. This value could be measured:

* via upside (what's the most one can gain from using the skill): This framing is used when the skill helps with an optional choice.
* via downside (what's the most one can gain from not using the skill): This framing is used when the skill is necessary for an action one needs to complete.

The underlying idea is that [http://lesswrong.com/lw/i3/making_beliefs_pay_rent_in_anticipated_experiences/ beliefs should pay rent in anticipated experiences].

==Reading and writing: a worked example==

We keep hearing of how it's important to be able to read. But ''why'' is it important? One way of trying to judge the importance of our reading ability is to measure the extent to which individuals steps in our regular, daily lives depend on our reading skills. A slight variant is to imagine how an illiterate person might navigate life in our place.

Illiteracy can be thought of as selective blindness -- blindness to street names, to road safety signs, to store signs, to brand names on items at the supermarket, to restaurant and cafe menus.

* Illiteracy significantly affects one's ability to travel to new places. Illiterate people can do fine navigating known geographic regions, drawing on their familiarity with the terrain. But it can be much more cognitively stressful for them to venture out into new areas on their own. They cannot understand maps too well, and cannot read street names and road signs. This means they need to memorize long lists of oral directions (or use diagrams, but even here, they need to have the skills of translating a geographical map to a two-dimensional diagram). Even though people can ask around for directions, it can be embarrassing to do so repeatedly.
* An illiterate person would have more trouble navigating a new restaurant or cafe. Because of difficulty reading menus, he or she would need to ask other people to read out menu items and prices. This can be socially embarrassing. To avoid embarrassment, the person may just end up ordering a standard item with a high probability of availability and whose cost would not be too high. Similarly, it would be difficult to identify brands of items at a supermarket, or even figure out what types of items are in what aisle. Again, the person needs help navigating the supermarket. The person may not be able to read expiry dates and therefore may need assistance from others even for such mundane tasks.
* An illiterate person has difficulty reading instructions for hardware assembly, cooking, machine repair, and many other mundane tasks. The person has trouble reading dosage instructions or ingredient details for medicine and food items. Again, these are non-issues as long as the person sticks to standard items or asks other people. But this does reduce the person's ability to experiment or cope with new situations, and the need to constantly ask others for help can be an embarrassment and make one dependent on others.
* Illiterate people cannot use text-based communication. For instance, text messages through mobile phones and the Internet are often cheaper and more effective means of communication than voice communication, particularly for asynchronous or one-to-many communications. But lack of literacy means that this option is foreclosed. It also means that others cannot communicate with the person in this manner.
* Illiterate people cannot read the newspaper or other basic information sources (like Wikipedia) and therefore have to rely on information filtered through other individuals, who may not be in a position or mood to help them, and/or have a vested interest in providing inaccurate information.

==Academic skills that have relatively direct, immediate application in day-to-day life==

* '''Reading''':
** Reading letters and words
** Reading sentences
** Reading paragraphs
* '''Writing''':
** Writing words, including names
** Writing sentences
** Writing paragraphs
* '''Basic arithmetic''':
** Counting, reading numbers in base ten
** Addition and subtraction
** Multiplication and division
** Concepts of fractions, ratios, percentages, decimals, and negative numbers
* More advanced
** Written composition, editing, reformulating and expressing oneself well
** [[Algebra learning benefits|Basic algebra]]
** Functions and graphical representations (precalculus)
** Basic statistics

''In general, the more basic a skill, the higher the value of learning it well, and the greater the return per unit time invested in learning it.''

For instance, an overwhelming majority (99%+) of people in the developed world can read words and simple phrases, and their ability to do this affects their ability to follow road signs and street names, thus providing the minimum literacy threshold needed to drive easily through new terrain, shop at supermarkets and eateries, follow simple instructions for do-it-yourself assembly, food preparation, or taking medicine doses, etc. People often mess up these activities, but they can still do them reasonably well a reasonable fraction of the time.

The ability to understand complicated sentences, on the other hand, delivers little marginal benefit. Rarely does your ability to use a public transit system or drive rely on your ability to read a sentence such as the ones on this page! Occasionally, complicated sentences do get used in public transit, such as "Due to an overcrowding issue, we will be switching the train to the left track, and therefore doors will open on the right instead of the left." But the train operator will probably repeat the important part "doors will open on the right instead of the left" a couple more times so that people who were confused by the original sentence grasp the important point. And even if they don't understand, they will still see visually that doors are opening on the right instead of the left.

==Do high-level skills ''ever'' get used?==

Is there ''any'' value to the type of skills people learn in high school and college? Can you envisage any situation where such knowledge would affect one's decision?

The answer is a qualified ''no''. There are some exceptions, but there is a strong presumption of uselessness of most material learned in high school and college:

# There are rare situations where a job directly uses an acquired skill. For instance, a programming job directly uses knowledge of programming syntax and programming practices.
# There are other situations where, although a job does not require a particular skill, having that skill allows one to do the job ''better'' because one is able to see patterns that others cannot identify. Commentary on social policy may benefit from a deep understanding of mathematics that allows one to understand various quantitative indicators of the social policy, even though one can make crude first-pass analyses with a minimal knowledge of mathematics.

(1) is relatively rare: most people do not take up jobs that directly apply the knowledge they have gained. (2) is also rare in practice. The reason is that to get to the stage where one can do (2), one has to understand material ''really'' well, far better than the level that is needed to do well in school.

For instance, if one has a strong intuition for different types of growth functions (linear, quadratic, exponential) then one can understand relevant patterns in growth trends, identifying when a particular growth pattern comes closer to linear, quadratic, or exponential, or understanding the implications of exponential growth. But this requires a broad-based qualitative understanding that goes beyond what is taught and tested in courses.

Using Reddit

2016-01-17T23:18:48Z

Riceissa: force TOC

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". Despite the impressive volume of information on Reddit, it's probably underused by young people as a source of intellectual content due to the site's difficult navigation, [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_reddit|controversiality]], and general lack of awareness as a place to discover intellectual content.

In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong), but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong, there is still possibly more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there. Moreover, developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful.

On this page we describe some considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

__TOC__

==General remarks==

Here are some general things to keep in mind when using Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still generally acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account creation for each site).

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaway accounts), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like Quora or LessWrong.

* Reddit practices shadowbanning (sometimes called [[Wikipedia:Hellbanning|hellbanning]] or ghost banning), which means it's possible your posts will appear invisible to others. This shouldn't be a problem for most users, though, and definitely isn't a problem if you only browse (and don't post).

==Finding good content==

Finding content (especially intellectual content) you like on Reddit can be a challenge. Keep the following in mind to help you find what you like.

* Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse. Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving]. The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]" lists some subreddits to look into.

* Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, you might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research).

* Despite the underemphasis on users on Reddit, it might still be worth looking into particularly notable users like [https://www.reddit.com/user/gwern gwern]. See also the Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Who-are-the-most-interesting-science-people-to-follow-on-reddit Who are the most interesting science people to follow on reddit?]"

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code> to restrict your search to Reddit. For example, you can search for all Reddit discussions of Dread Pirate Roberts on Google like [https://www.google.com/#q=site:reddit.com+dread+pirate+roberts this]. Note that Reddit also natively has search, but this may be inferior to a Google search. (See [https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/24qvek/reddit_your_search_engine_fucking_sucks/ this thread] for discussion.)

* Many external sites often link to certain Reddit threads. For instance, Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex often links to Reddit threads in his recurring links posts. You can find some of these [https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Aslatestarcodex.com%20reddit here]. More generally, if you can find people who have the ability to filter out content on Reddit in a way that you like, this can lead you to some of the most useful content on Reddit with little effort on your part.

* Reddit AMAs often have interesting content from experts on various topics. Some people associated with the broader effective altruism/rationality sphere, such as [https://www.reddit.com/comments/y9lm0/_/ Luke Muehlhauser], [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32lnif Peter Singer], and [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1x1dyy/i_am_bryan_caplan_economist_and_professor_at/ Bryan Caplan], have done AMAs.

* Reddit has the ability to filter link shares by website. To do this, simply navigate to <code>reddit.com/domain/URL</code>, where <code>URL</code> is the URL of the site in consideration. So for example https://www.reddit.com/domain/michaelochurch.wordpress.com/top/ and https://www.reddit.com/domain/slatestarcodex.com/top/ will show you the top link shares of Michael O. Church's blog and Slate Star Codex, respectively. In other words, Reddit can function as a great way look for top content on sites as well as seeing the commentary.

* For information on colleges, using a combination of Reddit (particularly subreddits of various schools), [[Quora]], and [[College Confidential]] is likely to turn up the most comprehensive information.

* There are some external sites that help people discover Reddit content. We list some examples:
** [http://paulrosenzweig.com/explore-reddit/ Explore Reddit] by Paul Rosenzweig helps you find top content for subreddits as well as related subreddits.
** [http://metareddit.com/ Metareddit] is another tool that helps you explore Reddit.

==See also==

* "[http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/reddit-tips-tricks/ Getting The Most Out Of Reddit: 20 Tips, Tricks And Tools]" on Hongkiat provides general information on how to use Reddit.
* [https://www.quora.com/Alex-K-Chen/answers/Reddit-website Alex K. Chen's Quora answers about Reddit] provide insights from an experienced user of both Reddit and Quora.

Using Reddit

2015-07-06T09:54:53Z

Riceissa: add peter singer

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". Despite the impressive volume of information on Reddit, it's probably underused by young people as a source of intellectual content due to the site's difficult navigation, [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_reddit|controversiality]], and general lack of awareness as a place to discover intellectual content.

In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong), but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong, there is still possibly more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there. Moreover, developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful.

On this page we describe some considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

==General remarks==

Here are some general things to keep in mind when using Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still generally acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account creation for each site).

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaway accounts), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like Quora or LessWrong.

* Reddit practices shadowbanning (sometimes called [[Wikipedia:Hellbanning|hellbanning]] or ghost banning), which means it's possible your posts will appear invisible to others. This shouldn't be a problem for most users, though, and definitely isn't a problem if you only browse (and don't post).

==Finding good content==

Finding content (especially intellectual content) you like on Reddit can be a challenge. Keep the following in mind to help you find what you like.

* Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse. Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving]. The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]" lists some subreddits to look into.

* Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, you might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research).

* Despite the underemphasis on users on Reddit, it might still be worth looking into particularly notable users like [https://www.reddit.com/user/gwern gwern]. See also the Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Who-are-the-most-interesting-science-people-to-follow-on-reddit Who are the most interesting science people to follow on reddit?]"

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code> to restrict your search to Reddit. For example, you can search for all Reddit discussions of Dread Pirate Roberts on Google like [https://www.google.com/#q=site:reddit.com+dread+pirate+roberts this]. Note that Reddit also natively has search, but this may be inferior to a Google search. (See [https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/24qvek/reddit_your_search_engine_fucking_sucks/ this thread] for discussion.)

* Many external sites often link to certain Reddit threads. For instance, Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex often links to Reddit threads in his recurring links posts. You can find some of these [https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Aslatestarcodex.com%20reddit here]. More generally, if you can find people who have the ability to filter out content on Reddit in a way that you like, this can lead you to some of the most useful content on Reddit with little effort on your part.

* Reddit AMAs often have interesting content from experts on various topics. Some people associated with the broader effective altruism/rationality sphere, such as [https://www.reddit.com/comments/y9lm0/_/ Luke Muehlhauser], [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/32lnif Peter Singer], and [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1x1dyy/i_am_bryan_caplan_economist_and_professor_at/ Bryan Caplan], have done AMAs.

* Reddit has the ability to filter link shares by website. To do this, simply navigate to <code>reddit.com/domain/URL</code>, where <code>URL</code> is the URL of the site in consideration. So for example https://www.reddit.com/domain/michaelochurch.wordpress.com/top/ and https://www.reddit.com/domain/slatestarcodex.com/top/ will show you the top link shares of Michael O. Church's blog and Slate Star Codex, respectively. In other words, Reddit can function as a great way look for top content on sites as well as seeing the commentary.

* For information on colleges, using a combination of Reddit (particularly subreddits of various schools), [[Quora]], and [[College Confidential]] is likely to turn up the most comprehensive information.

* There are some external sites that help people discover Reddit content. We list some examples:
** [http://paulrosenzweig.com/explore-reddit/ Explore Reddit] by Paul Rosenzweig helps you find top content for subreddits as well as related subreddits.
** [http://metareddit.com/ Metareddit] is another tool that helps you explore Reddit.

==See also==

* "[http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/reddit-tips-tricks/ Getting The Most Out Of Reddit: 20 Tips, Tricks And Tools]" on Hongkiat provides general information on how to use Reddit.
* [https://www.quora.com/Alex-K-Chen/answers/Reddit-website Alex K. Chen's Quora answers about Reddit] provide insights from an experienced user of both Reddit and Quora.

Using Reddit

2015-06-30T17:12:52Z

Riceissa: /* See also */ grammar

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". Despite the impressive volume of information on Reddit, it's probably underused by young people as a source of intellectual content due to the site's difficult navigation, [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_reddit|controversiality]], and general lack of awareness as a place to discover intellectual content.

In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong), but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong, there is still possibly more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there. Moreover, developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful.

On this page we describe some considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

==General remarks==

Here are some general things to keep in mind when using Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still generally acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account creation for each site).

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaway accounts), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like Quora or LessWrong.

* Reddit practices shadowbanning (sometimes called [[Wikipedia:Hellbanning|hellbanning]] or ghost banning), which means it's possible your posts will appear invisible to others. This shouldn't be a problem for most users, though, and definitely isn't a problem if you only browse (and don't post).

==Finding good content==

Finding content (especially intellectual content) you like on Reddit can be a challenge. Keep the following in mind to help you find what you like.

* Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse. Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving]. The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]" lists some subreddits to look into.

* Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, you might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research).

* Despite the underemphasis on users on Reddit, it might still be worth looking into particularly notable users like [https://www.reddit.com/user/gwern gwern]. See also the Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Who-are-the-most-interesting-science-people-to-follow-on-reddit Who are the most interesting science people to follow on reddit?]"

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code> to restrict your search to Reddit. For example, you can search for all Reddit discussions of Dread Pirate Roberts on Google like [https://www.google.com/#q=site:reddit.com+dread+pirate+roberts this]. Note that Reddit also natively has search, but this may be inferior to a Google search. (See [https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/24qvek/reddit_your_search_engine_fucking_sucks/ this thread] for discussion.)

* Many external sites often link to certain Reddit threads. For instance, Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex often links to Reddit threads in his recurring links posts. You can find some of these [https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Aslatestarcodex.com%20reddit here]. More generally, if you can find people who have the ability to filter out content on Reddit in a way that you like, this can lead you to some of the most useful content on Reddit with little effort on your part.

* Reddit AMAs often have interesting content from experts on various topics. Some people associated with the broader effective altruism/rationality sphere, such as [https://www.reddit.com/comments/y9lm0/_/ Luke Muehlhauser] and [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1x1dyy/i_am_bryan_caplan_economist_and_professor_at/ Bryan Caplan], have done AMAs.

* Reddit has the ability to filter link shares by website. To do this, simply navigate to <code>reddit.com/domain/URL</code>, where <code>URL</code> is the URL of the site in consideration. So for example https://www.reddit.com/domain/michaelochurch.wordpress.com/top/ and https://www.reddit.com/domain/slatestarcodex.com/top/ will show you the top link shares of Michael O. Church's blog and Slate Star Codex, respectively. In other words, Reddit can function as a great way look for top content on sites as well as seeing the commentary.

* For information on colleges, using a combination of Reddit (particularly subreddits of various schools), [[Quora]], and [[College Confidential]] is likely to turn up the most comprehensive information.

* There are some external sites that help people discover Reddit content. We list some examples:
** [http://paulrosenzweig.com/explore-reddit/ Explore Reddit] by Paul Rosenzweig helps you find top content for subreddits as well as related subreddits.
** [http://metareddit.com/ Metareddit] is another tool that helps you explore Reddit.

==See also==

* "[http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/reddit-tips-tricks/ Getting The Most Out Of Reddit: 20 Tips, Tricks And Tools]" on Hongkiat provides general information on how to use Reddit.
* [https://www.quora.com/Alex-K-Chen/answers/Reddit-website Alex K. Chen's Quora answers about Reddit] provide insights from an experienced user of both Reddit and Quora.

Using Reddit

2015-06-29T20:09:36Z

Riceissa: add quora question

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". Despite the impressive volume of information on Reddit, it's probably underused by young people as a source of intellectual content due to the site's difficult navigation, [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_reddit|controversiality]], and general lack of awareness as a place to discover intellectual content.

In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong), but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong, there is still possibly more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there. Moreover, developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful.

On this page we describe some considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

==General remarks==

Here are some general things to keep in mind when using Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still generally acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account creation for each site).

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaway accounts), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like Quora or LessWrong.

* Reddit practices shadowbanning (sometimes called [[Wikipedia:Hellbanning|hellbanning]] or ghost banning), which means it's possible your posts will appear invisible to others. This shouldn't be a problem for most users, though, and definitely isn't a problem if you only browse (and don't post).

==Finding good content==

Finding content (especially intellectual content) you like on Reddit can be a challenge. Keep the following in mind to help you find what you like.

* Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse. Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving]. The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]" lists some subreddits to look into.

* Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, you might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research).

* Despite the underemphasis on users on Reddit, it might still be worth looking into particularly notable users like [https://www.reddit.com/user/gwern gwern]. See also the Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Who-are-the-most-interesting-science-people-to-follow-on-reddit Who are the most interesting science people to follow on reddit?]"

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code> to restrict your search to Reddit. For example, you can search for all Reddit discussions of Dread Pirate Roberts on Google like [https://www.google.com/#q=site:reddit.com+dread+pirate+roberts this]. Note that Reddit also natively has search, but this may be inferior to a Google search. (See [https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/24qvek/reddit_your_search_engine_fucking_sucks/ this thread] for discussion.)

* Many external sites often link to certain Reddit threads. For instance, Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex often links to Reddit threads in his recurring links posts. You can find some of these [https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Aslatestarcodex.com%20reddit here]. More generally, if you can find people who have the ability to filter out content on Reddit in a way that you like, this can lead you to some of the most useful content on Reddit with little effort on your part.

* Reddit AMAs often have interesting content from experts on various topics. Some people associated with the broader effective altruism/rationality sphere, such as [https://www.reddit.com/comments/y9lm0/_/ Luke Muehlhauser] and [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1x1dyy/i_am_bryan_caplan_economist_and_professor_at/ Bryan Caplan], have done AMAs.

* Reddit has the ability to filter link shares by website. To do this, simply navigate to <code>reddit.com/domain/URL</code>, where <code>URL</code> is the URL of the site in consideration. So for example https://www.reddit.com/domain/michaelochurch.wordpress.com/top/ and https://www.reddit.com/domain/slatestarcodex.com/top/ will show you the top link shares of Michael O. Church's blog and Slate Star Codex, respectively. In other words, Reddit can function as a great way look for top content on sites as well as seeing the commentary.

* For information on colleges, using a combination of Reddit (particularly subreddits of various schools), [[Quora]], and [[College Confidential]] is likely to turn up the most comprehensive information.

* There are some external sites that help people discover Reddit content. We list some examples:
** [http://paulrosenzweig.com/explore-reddit/ Explore Reddit] by Paul Rosenzweig helps you find top content for subreddits as well as related subreddits.
** [http://metareddit.com/ Metareddit] is another tool that helps you explore Reddit.

==See also==

* "[http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/reddit-tips-tricks/ Getting The Most Out Of Reddit: 20 Tips, Tricks And Tools]" on Hongkiat provides general information on how to use Reddit.
* [https://www.quora.com/Alex-K-Chen/answers/Reddit-website Alex K. Chen's Quora answers about Reddit] provides insights from an experienced user of both Reddit and Quora.

Using Reddit

2015-06-29T06:46:07Z

Riceissa: flesh out intro + minor changes

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". Despite the impressive volume of information on Reddit, it's probably underused by young people as a source of intellectual content due to the site's difficult navigation, [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_reddit|controversiality]], and general lack of awareness as a place to discover intellectual content.

In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong), but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong, there is still possibly more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there. Moreover, developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful.

On this page we describe some considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

==General remarks==

Here are some general things to keep in mind when using Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still generally acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account creation for each site).

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaway accounts), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like Quora or LessWrong.

* Reddit practices shadowbanning (sometimes called [[Wikipedia:Hellbanning|hellbanning]] or ghost banning), which means it's possible your posts will appear invisible to others. This shouldn't be a problem for most users, though, and definitely isn't a problem if you only browse (and don't post).

==Finding good content==

Finding content (especially intellectual content) you like on Reddit can be a challenge. Keep the following in mind to help you find what you like.

* Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse. Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving]. The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]" lists some subreddits to look into.

* Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, you might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research).

* Despite the underemphasis on users on Reddit, it might still be worth looking into particularly notable users like [https://www.reddit.com/user/gwern gwern].

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code> to restrict your search to Reddit. For example, you can search for all Reddit discussions of Dread Pirate Roberts on Google like [https://www.google.com/#q=site:reddit.com+dread+pirate+roberts this]. Note that Reddit also natively has search, but this may be inferior to a Google search. (See [https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/24qvek/reddit_your_search_engine_fucking_sucks/ this thread] for discussion.)

* Many external sites often link to certain Reddit threads. For instance, Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex often links to Reddit threads in his recurring links posts. You can find some of these [https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Aslatestarcodex.com%20reddit here]. More generally, if you can find people who have the ability to filter out content on Reddit in a way that you like, this can lead you to some of the most useful content on Reddit with little effort on your part.

* Reddit AMAs often have interesting content from experts on various topics. Some people associated with the broader effective altruism/rationality sphere, such as [https://www.reddit.com/comments/y9lm0/_/ Luke Muehlhauser] and [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1x1dyy/i_am_bryan_caplan_economist_and_professor_at/ Bryan Caplan], have done AMAs.

* Reddit has the ability to filter link shares by website. To do this, simply navigate to <code>reddit.com/domain/URL</code>, where <code>URL</code> is the URL of the site in consideration. So for example https://www.reddit.com/domain/michaelochurch.wordpress.com/top/ and https://www.reddit.com/domain/slatestarcodex.com/top/ will show you the top link shares of Michael O. Church's blog and Slate Star Codex, respectively. In other words, Reddit can function as a great way look for top content on sites as well as seeing the commentary.

* For information on colleges, using a combination of Reddit (particularly subreddits of various schools), [[Quora]], and [[College Confidential]] is likely to turn up the most comprehensive information.

* There are some external sites that help people discover Reddit content. We list some examples:
** [http://paulrosenzweig.com/explore-reddit/ Explore Reddit] by Paul Rosenzweig helps you find top content for subreddits as well as related subreddits.
** [http://metareddit.com/ Metareddit] is another tool that helps you explore Reddit.

==See also==

* "[http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/reddit-tips-tricks/ Getting The Most Out Of Reddit: 20 Tips, Tricks And Tools]" on Hongkiat provides general information on how to use Reddit.
* [https://www.quora.com/Alex-K-Chen/answers/Reddit-website Alex K. Chen's Quora answers about Reddit] provides insights from an experienced user of both Reddit and Quora.

Using Reddit

2015-06-29T06:28:35Z

Riceissa: add external tools

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". It can be difficult to navigate and [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_reddit|rather controversial]], but still contains a lot of valuable content. In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong), but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong there is still possibly more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there. Moreover developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful.

On this page we describe some general considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

==General remarks==

Here are some general things to keep in mind when using Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still generally acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account creation for each site).

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaway accounts), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like Quora or LessWrong.

* Reddit practices shadowbanning (sometimes called [[Wikipedia:Hellbanning|hellbanning]] or ghost banning), which means it's possible your posts will appear invisible to others. This shouldn't be a problem for most users, though, and definitely isn't a problem if you only browse (and don't post).

==Finding good content==

Finding content you like on Reddit can be a challenge. Keep the following in mind to help you find what you like.

* Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse. Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving]. The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]" lists some subreddits to look into.

* Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, you might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research).

* Despite the underemphasis on users on Reddit, it might still be worth looking into particularly notable users like [https://www.reddit.com/user/gwern gwern].

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code> to restrict your search to Reddit. For example, one can search for all Reddit discussions of Dread Pirate Roberts on Google like [https://www.google.com/#q=site:reddit.com+dread+pirate+roberts this]. Note that Reddit also natively has search, but this may be inferior to a Google search. (See [https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/24qvek/reddit_your_search_engine_fucking_sucks/ this thread] for discussion.)

* Many external sites often link to certain Reddit threads. For instance, Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex often links to Reddit threads in his recurring links posts. You can find some of these [https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Aslatestarcodex.com%20reddit here]. More generally, if you can find people who have the ability to filter out content on Reddit in a way that you like, this can lead you to some of the most useful content on Reddit with little effort on your part.

* Reddit AMAs often have interesting content from experts on various topics. Some people associated with the broader effective altruism/rationality sphere, such as [https://www.reddit.com/comments/y9lm0/_/ Luke Muehlhauser] and [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1x1dyy/i_am_bryan_caplan_economist_and_professor_at/ Bryan Caplan], have done AMAs.

* Reddit has the ability to filter link shares by website. To do this, simply navigate to <code>reddit.com/domain/URL</code>, where <code>URL</code> is the URL of the site in consideration. So for example https://www.reddit.com/domain/michaelochurch.wordpress.com/top/ and https://www.reddit.com/domain/slatestarcodex.com/top/ will show you the top link shares of Michael O. Church's blog and Slate Star Codex, respectively. In other words, Reddit can function as a great way look for top content on sites as well as seeing the commentary.

* For information on colleges, using a combination of Reddit (particularly subreddits of various schools), [[Quora]], and [[College Confidential]] is likely to turn up the most comprehensive information.

* There are some external sites that help people discover Reddit content. We list some examples:
** [http://paulrosenzweig.com/explore-reddit/ Explore Reddit] by Paul Rosenzweig helps you find top content for subreddits as well as related subreddits.
** [http://metareddit.com/ Metareddit] is another tool that helps you explore Reddit.

==See also==

* "[http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/reddit-tips-tricks/ Getting The Most Out Of Reddit: 20 Tips, Tricks And Tools]" on Hongkiat provides general information on how to use Reddit.
* [https://www.quora.com/Alex-K-Chen/answers/Reddit-website Alex K. Chen's Quora answers about Reddit] provides insights from an experienced user of both Reddit and Quora.

Using Reddit

2015-06-29T04:04:38Z

Riceissa: wording

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". It can be difficult to navigate and [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_reddit|rather controversial]], but still contains a lot of valuable content. In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong), but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong there is still possibly more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there. Moreover developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful.

On this page we describe some general considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

==General remarks==

Here are some general things to keep in mind when using Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still generally acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account creation for each site).

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaway accounts), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like Quora or LessWrong.

* Reddit practices shadowbanning (sometimes called [[Wikipedia:Hellbanning|hellbanning]] or ghost banning), which means it's possible your posts will appear invisible to others. This shouldn't be a problem for most users, though, and definitely isn't a problem if you only browse (and don't post).

==Finding good content==

Finding content you like on Reddit can be a challenge. Keep the following in mind to help you find what you like.

* Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse. Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving]. The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]" lists some subreddits to look into.

* Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, you might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research).

* Despite the underemphasis on users on Reddit, it might still be worth looking into particularly notable users like [https://www.reddit.com/user/gwern gwern].

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code> to restrict your search to Reddit. For example, one can search for all Reddit discussions of Dread Pirate Roberts on Google like [https://www.google.com/#q=site:reddit.com+dread+pirate+roberts this]. Note that Reddit also natively has search, but this may be inferior to a Google search. (See [https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/24qvek/reddit_your_search_engine_fucking_sucks/ this thread] for discussion.)

* Many external sites often link to certain Reddit threads. For instance, Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex often links to Reddit threads in his recurring links posts. You can find some of these [https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Aslatestarcodex.com%20reddit here]. More generally, if you can find people who have the ability to filter out content on Reddit in a way that you like, this can lead you to some of the most useful content on Reddit with little effort on your part.

* Reddit AMAs often have interesting content from experts on various topics. Some people associated with the broader effective altruism/rationality sphere, such as [https://www.reddit.com/comments/y9lm0/_/ Luke Muehlhauser] and [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1x1dyy/i_am_bryan_caplan_economist_and_professor_at/ Bryan Caplan], have done AMAs.

* Reddit has the ability to filter link shares by website. To do this, simply navigate to <code>reddit.com/domain/URL</code>, where <code>URL</code> is the URL of the site in consideration. So for example https://www.reddit.com/domain/michaelochurch.wordpress.com/top/ and https://www.reddit.com/domain/slatestarcodex.com/top/ will show you the top link shares of Michael O. Church's blog and Slate Star Codex, respectively. In other words, Reddit can function as a great way look for top content on sites as well as seeing the commentary.

* For information on colleges, using a combination of Reddit (particularly subreddits of various schools), [[Quora]], and [[College Confidential]] is likely to turn up the most comprehensive information.

==See also==

* "[http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/reddit-tips-tricks/ Getting The Most Out Of Reddit: 20 Tips, Tricks And Tools]" on Hongkiat provides general information on how to use Reddit.
* [https://www.quora.com/Alex-K-Chen/answers/Reddit-website Alex K. Chen's Quora answers about Reddit] provides insights from an experienced user of both Reddit and Quora.

Using Reddit

2015-06-29T03:23:11Z

Riceissa: separate headers

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". It can be difficult to navigate and [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_reddit|rather controversial]], but still contains a lot of valuable content. In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong), but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong there is still possibly more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there. Moreover developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful.

On this page we describe some general considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

==General remarks==

Here are some general things to keep in mind when using Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still generally acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account creation for each site).

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaways), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like Quora or LessWrong.

* Reddit practices shadowbanning (sometimes called [[Wikipedia:Hellbanning|hellbanning]] or ghost banning), which means it's possible your posts will appear invisible to others. This shouldn't be a problem for most users, though, and definitely isn't a problem if you only browse (and don't post).

==Finding good content==

Finding content you like on Reddit can be a challenge. Keep the following in mind to help you find what you like.

* Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse. Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving]. The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]" lists some subreddits to look into.

* Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, you might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research).

* Despite the underemphasis on users on Reddit, it might still be worth looking into particularly notable users like [https://www.reddit.com/user/gwern gwern].

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code> to restrict your search to Reddit. For example, one can search for all Reddit discussions of Dread Pirate Roberts on Google like [https://www.google.com/#q=site:reddit.com+dread+pirate+roberts this]. Note that Reddit also natively has search, but this may be inferior to a Google search. (See [https://www.reddit.com/r/offmychest/comments/24qvek/reddit_your_search_engine_fucking_sucks/ this thread] for discussion.)

* Many external sites often link to certain Reddit threads. For instance, Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex often links to Reddit threads in his recurring links posts. You can find some of these [https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Aslatestarcodex.com%20reddit here]. More generally, if you can find people who have the ability to filter out content on Reddit in a way that you like, this can lead you to some of the most useful content on Reddit with little effort on your part.

* Reddit AMAs often have interesting content from experts on various topics. Some people associated with the broader effective altruism/rationality sphere, such as [https://www.reddit.com/comments/y9lm0/_/ Luke Muehlhauser] and [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1x1dyy/i_am_bryan_caplan_economist_and_professor_at/ Bryan Caplan], have done AMAs.

* Reddit has the ability to filter link shares by website. To do this, simply navigate to <code>reddit.com/domain/URL</code>, where <code>URL</code> is the URL of the site in consideration. So for example https://www.reddit.com/domain/michaelochurch.wordpress.com/top/ and https://www.reddit.com/domain/slatestarcodex.com/top/ will show you the top link shares of Michael O. Church's blog and Slate Star Codex, respectively. In other words, Reddit can function as a great way look for top content on sites as well as seeing the commentary.

* For information on colleges, using a combination of Reddit (particularly subreddits of various schools), [[Quora]], and [[College Confidential]] is likely to turn up the most comprehensive information.

==See also==

* "[http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/reddit-tips-tricks/ Getting The Most Out Of Reddit: 20 Tips, Tricks And Tools]" on Hongkiat provides general information on how to use Reddit.
* [https://www.quora.com/Alex-K-Chen/answers/Reddit-website Alex K. Chen's Quora answers about Reddit] provides insights from an experienced user of both Reddit and Quora.

Using Reddit

2015-06-29T02:36:52Z

Riceissa:

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". It can be difficult to navigate and [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_Reddit|rather controversial]], but still contains a lot of valuable content. In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong) but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong there is possibly still more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there. Moreover developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful.

On this page we describe some general considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account registration for each site). Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse.

* The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]"

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code>

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaways), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong.

* Despite the underemphasis on users on Reddit, it might still be worth looking into particularly notable users like [https://www.reddit.com/user/gwern gwern].

* Many external sites often link to certain Reddit threads. For instance, Scott Alexander of Slate Star Codex often links to Reddit threads in his recurring links posts. You can find some of these [https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Aslatestarcodex.com%20reddit here]. More generally, if you can find people who have the ability to filter out content on Reddit in a way that you like, this can lead you to some of the most useful content on Reddit with little effort on your part.

* Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, one might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research). Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving].

* Reddit AMAs often have interesting content from experts on various topics. Some people associated with the broader effective altruism/rationality sphere, such as [https://www.reddit.com/comments/y9lm0/_/ Luke Muehlhauser] and [https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1x1dyy/i_am_bryan_caplan_economist_and_professor_at/ Bryan Caplan] have done AMAs.

* Reddit also practices shadowbanning (sometimes called [[Wikipedia:Hellbanning|hellbanning]] or ghost banning)

* Reddit has the ability to filter link shares by website. To do this, simply navigate to <code>reddit.com/domain/URL</code>, where <code>URL</code> is the URL of the site in consideration. So for example https://www.reddit.com/domain/michaelochurch.wordpress.com/top/ and https://www.reddit.com/domain/slatestarcodex.com/top/ will show you the top link shares of Michael O. Church's blog and Slate Star Codex, respectively. In other words, Reddit can function as a great way look for top content on sites as well as seeing the commentary.

==See also==

* "[http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/reddit-tips-tricks/ Getting The Most Out Of Reddit: 20 Tips, Tricks And Tools]" on Hongkiat provides general information on how to use Reddit.
* [https://www.quora.com/Alex-K-Chen/answers/Reddit-website Alex K. Chen's Quora answers about Reddit] provides insights from an experienced user of both Reddit and Quora.

Maintaining your online presence

2015-06-29T01:11:55Z

Riceissa: /* Websites for content creation */ wikilink to new page on reddit

The Internet has a wide plethora of resources that you can leverage well. Many of these can be accessed passively and anonymously, but for some, you can squeeze a lot more value through active participation. This page lists some general tips for creating and maintaining your online presence to minimize later regret.

See also [[Participate in online communities]].

==Look respectable==

===Choose a good name===

Your online handles, including your email address, Facebook URL, Twitter name, or any other online public-facing user identity you have, should preferably be based on your real name. This makes it easy for people to locate you. Preferably do ''not'' choose handles that are related to specific political or religious beliefs or cultural icons. Your beliefs may change over time, and in any case, it's not good practice to make your beliefs and affiliations scream out at people every time they visit your profile. '''Under no circumstances should you use swearwords, exhortations to violence, or controversial cultural terms in your email address or online handles.'''

===Don't post embarrassing photographs===

Decide between two options:

* Not posting a photograph at all (this may be suited in the beginning, when you're mostly lurking, and to protect your identity somewhat).
* Posting a photograph that shows your face clearly and well, in a relatively sober expression (i.e., don't "make faces" to the camera).

It's generally unhelpful to post photographs of somebody else for your profile picture, even if that person is a known model or actor and therefore can't be confused with you. Choosing a photo of yourself while drunk or making funny faces to the camera sends a bad impression.

===Use decent language, spelling, and grammar===

Avoid the use of swear words, derogatory ethnic terms, exhortations to violence, or overtly confrontational language, even in private messages or posts to restricted lists. Unless constrained by space limitations (as in the case of tweets on Twitter) use grammatically correct sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.

===Think hard before raising controversial issues===

Civil discussion of controversial issues is often admirable. But it should be done with care. Even if your original post is civil, the reactions to it (if you allow comments) could be uncivil. Even if you're not personally hurt by such reactions, these could get you into trouble. Colleges and potential employers generally steer clear of people who get enmeshed in controversies, even if those people aren't objectively at fault.

==Privacy==

===Anonymity===

Anonymity through the use of pseudonyms on some forums may be appropriate. However, the general naming rules apply to pseudonyms: do not choose pseudonyms that are perceived as offensive or insensitive. Choose pseudonyms only on fora where pseudonym use is encouraged, and follow the general naming conventions of the forum.

Do ''not'' trust that the use of pseudonyms will be a foolproof guarantee of anonymity. ''Always'' write with expectation that some of what you write may later be associated with your real name.

===Do not reveal "real-life" information===

Avoid revealing the following outside of restricted-access friend lists:

* The names of your family members.
* Your home address.
* Your phone number (keep contact information restricted to an email address and social media accounts).
* The names of employers for part-time or full-time jobs that you are doing (unless the employer gives consent, or your public persona ''requires'' you to associate yourself with a particular employer).
* Information explicitly attributed to others that is conveyed by them to you in private fora (online or offline), unless they give you consent.

Basically, your online persona should reveal those parts of you that help people get an idea of what you're thinking about and your opinions on specific issues, but should not be a way for them to track you down or get information about your real-life friends (except if they contact you personally).

=== Selecting an appropriate audience ===

There exists a spectrum for sharing information about oneself; i.e. there is no dichotomy of either complete privacy or complete release of information. Consider the gradual increase in visibility in the following:

# Keeping one's data local (on one's own hard drive)
# Keeping data on a cloud service but available only to oneself (so that the service provider, such as Google, can potentially view or use the data)
# Keeping data on a cloud service but with the ability to invite other authorized users to view the data (e.g. restricted Facebook posts)
# Making the data public, but not locatable by search engines, so that effectively only people with the link can view the data (this is, for instance, what [https://github.com/ GitHub] does with its [https://help.github.com/articles/about-gists#secret-gists secret gists])
# Releasing the data publicly and making it locatable by search engines

Additionally, in each case, one has the option of using one's real name or a pseudonym (or, in some cases, staying anonymous). It is important to know, then, that some of the pros and cons of privacy will only apply to a certain part of this spectrum.

In terms of content sharing online, this means that one can attempt to restrict the audience that receives specific content. Since your interests are likely to not overlap completely with that of most people, targeting content to an audience who shares a particular interest will likely mean that (1) they will be happier seeing content that applies to them, and (2) you will receive better feedback on what you post. Restriction of the whole discussion may also mean that people will give you more candid responses.

=== Concerns about privacy ===

[[Wikipedia:Internet privacy|Privacy on the internet]] has received a lot of attention over the years, with for instance some, like free software activist [[Wikipedia:Richard Stallman|Richard Stallman]], [https://stallman.org/facebook.html#privacy advising people not to use Facebook on grounds of privacy] (among other reasons). See [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-making-information-about-oneself-available-online-through-for-example-smart-phone-apps-and-social-media-posts the Quora question "What are the advantages and disadvantages of making information about oneself available online through for example smart phone apps and social media posts?"] for more on this topic.

==Join online communities==

===Lurk for a while===

Each community has its own rules for engagement. Spend some time reading their formally codified rules, plus more time reading discussions of the sort you eventually intend to participate in. Doing this for a while gives you a sense for what sort of discussions work well and what sort generate controversy. You can then start participating in an informed manner.

===Be polite and deferential to begin with, and don't try to "take over" the forum===

It's better to err initially in the direction of being deferential and polite. Some concrete tips:

* Avoid participation in flame wars or in threads where there's trolling or trollbaiting.
* Don't make posts too short or too long.
* Don't post too frequently in the beginning.
* If you're uncertain of whether the post is appropriate for the forum, briefly indicate this at the beginning of the post, preemptively apologizing in the event that the post is inappropriate.
* When framing views that you think others might disagree with, preface with "I think ..." or "In my view ..." and end by asking others what they think. Show that you're eager to learn and exchange ideas, rather than just there to preach your views. If the forum penalizes such language, it may not be worth participating in.
* Always disclose conflicts of interest. If you're trying to stay anonymous, then do ''not'' post anything linking to work done by you under your real name, because that leaves two unpleasant options: (a) disclosing your identity due to conflict of interest (and defeat the purpose of anonymity), or (b) do not disclose your identity, and violate the conflict of interest disclosure norm.

===Pay your dues===

Online communities are generally insular to ''external'' credentials or work, but reward effort ''within'' the community. Some of them have explicit karma systems and credits that give you more privilege as you participate more. In some, informal norms do a similar job. Be useful to the community and its members over an extended period of time, and you'll find your opportunities growing.

==Communities to consider joining==

Most websites state a minimum age of 13, due to the COPPA in the United States for child privacy. The norm may not be strictly enforced by websites. But we strongly recommend not joining such a website if you're not yet 13, unless you check ''both'' with your parents ''and'' with the website administrators that it is okay for you to join the website. If you join too early, you might get kicked out.

===Email and messaging===

* Get an email account with a service such as Gmail. The Google ID can also be used for other Google services. Keep the username suggestions in mind.
* Get a Skype account. Some people you want to communicate with may be more comfortable using Skype than Google's voice services.

===Social networks===

Joining does not mean that you are required to regularly participate. In fact, unless you find a good reason to participate actively, it's preferable that you don't. But joining still has benefits: you acquire an online presence, you can connect with more people, and you can search within the networks for specific people or things.

* [http://www.facebook.com Facebook]: Join early. Keep your profile serious. Start building your network of friends and pages -- building friend networks, particularly networks of friends outside your immediate surroundings, takes time. It's okay to keep your Facebook activity to a minimum other than that, but if you do find communities on Facebook that you like participating in, you can participate in those. For more, see [[using Facebook effectively]].
* [http://www.twitter.com Twitter]: There aren't compelling arguments to join Twitter, but you might as well snag a good username when it's free and start building your Twitter network.
* [http://www.linkedin.com LinkedIn]: Again, a minimal LinkedIn profile can provide an online identity for you that others, including potential employers for jobs or internships can refer to. You can also start building connections and obtaining endorsements.

There are many other social network-based websites, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest. But none of these have the property that people are ''expected'' to have online accounts on the website, and they generally don't have a sufficiently large network of users already, so joining in order to connect with others may not work out well.

===Websites for content creation===

* [http://www.quora.com Quora] (question-and-answer website): This is a great place both for getting information and for honing your craft of communicating your thoughts through writing. You can also set up your blog on Quora (you can cross-post there with an off-Quora blog). In general, we'd recommend getting a start with writing practice on Quora before you start blogging on your own. See our [[join Quora]] page for more.
* [http://www.stackexchange.com StackExchange] (question-and-answer website): Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer websites devoted to specific topics. It's less freewheeling than Quora, and allows you to develop your topical knowledge and communication skills for the topics where the Stack Exchanges are high-quality and active.
* [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]: Wikipedia's a great resource to read, but you can also edit Wikipedia. Admittedly, it's a little more effort to get ''started'' editing Wikipedia: you need to understand the MediaWiki markup language and also the etiquette of Wikipedia, and you need to be prepared for your work getting ruthlessly rejected. Unlike Quora, we don't think ''all'' people reading this page should get on Wikipedia and start contributing. But it's something worth looking at.
* Some websites, like [http://www.reddit.com/ Reddit], can be [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_Reddit|rather controversial]], but it may still be worth looking into these. Reddit in particular can seemingly have a low signal-to-noise ratio, but developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful. Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, one might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research). Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving]. You can read more about [[using Reddit]].

== Transferring connections ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real-life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

{{further|[[Transferring connections from online to real-life]]}}

==Personal website==

{{further|[[creating your personal website]]}}

Using reddit

2015-06-29T01:04:42Z

Riceissa: Redirected page to Using Reddit

#REDIRECT [[Using Reddit]]

Using Reddit

2015-06-28T23:24:27Z

Riceissa: publishing draft

[https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] is an online discussion and content sharing site that has been called the "front page of the internet". In general the signal-to-noise ratio on Reddit is low (lower than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong) but since many more people use Reddit than Quora or LessWrong there is possibly still more total opportunities to discover interesting content or connect with smart people there.

On this page we describe some general considerations on how to get the most out of Reddit.

* Although a single account allows you to contribute to all parts of the site, each subreddit still acts as a separate community. This sort of division is somewhere in between what you see on Quora (people are extremely "fluid" across topics) and Stack Exchange (very discrete communities; separate account registration for each site). Given the somewhat discretized and extremely numerous communities of Reddit, finding the most interesting content often means finding the right subreddits to browse.

* The Quora question "[https://www.quora.com/Reddit-website/Which-subreddits-do-the-smartest-Redditors-follow Reddit (website): Which subreddits do the smartest Redditors follow?]"

* There is enough content on Reddit that a domain-restricted search can turn up useful results. On search engines like Google and DuckDuckGo, preface your searches by <code>site:reddit.com</code>

* Since most people post under pseudonyms, and since many people also quickly change accounts (e.g. by using throwaways), identity is less important on Reddit than on sites like [[Quora]] or LessWrong.

User:Riceissa

2015-06-28T21:42:22Z

Riceissa:

I'm [http://issarice.com Issa Rice].

== Licensing ==

All of the content I contribute to this wiki is released to the public domain according to the [http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication].

Dealing with intellectual isolation

2015-05-26T06:32:43Z

Riceissa: add relevant links

If you're an intellectually curious high school student, you likely have trouble finding people who share your interests. This may or may not bother you:

* Sometimes people don't need intellectual connection to form good relationships
* Sometimes people are content being alone
* Sometimes people feel lonely in absence of others who share their intellectual interests

There's not an easy solution to the problem of finding intellectually curious peers while in high school. Intellectually curious people are geographically dispersed, such that you may have few in your geographic vicinity altogether. You shouldn't necessarily expect to be able to find them.

* If you're lonely, try not to be frustrated with your peers for their inability to connect with you, and try not to be frustrated with yourself for your inability to connect with them. Often the divide traces back to genetics and early childhood development factors, and can't be bridged to a substantial degree regardless of how much effort the different parties put into doing so.
* Be aware that things do get better. People do find clusters of intellectually curious people as they get older – in particular, the rate of intellectual curiosity amongst graduate students is much higher than among college students.

==External Links==

* [https://sengifted.org/archives/articles/depressive-disorder-in-highly-gifted-adolescents Depressive Disorder in Highly Gifted Adolescents]
* [http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10269.aspx Existential depression in gifted individuals]
* [http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10065.aspx Vulnerabilities of highly gifted children]

Stay mainstream until you have demonstrated success doing unusual stuff

2014-12-03T21:00:38Z

Riceissa: fix typo

Many people who accomplish great stuff do so by taking fairly unusual career paths. For instance, [[entrepreneur academic stage data|many entrepreneurs drop out of college to pursue their startups]]. If you're considering the possibility of leaving a mainstream track (education followed by job) for something offbeat, and potentially high-impact, read on.

'''Our main piece of advice:''' stay (at least nominally) on a mainstream track until you have ''demonstrated'' nontrivial success with the unusual trajectory you are considering. In particular, do ''not'' quit the mainstream track purely on the strength of arguments of the form: "once I don't have to waste my time on jumping through the hoops of the mainstream trajectory, I'll have enough free time to do something unusual." In absence of experience, you may overestimate:

* Your ability to work productively in the absence of external structure.
* The probability that your endeavor will lead somewhere, even if you are able to work productively on it.

Rather than dropping out of the system, start trying to take out small amounts of time to work in the direction of your unusual trajectory. This may involve some neglect of your official mainstream trajectory, but a modest amount of neglect is fine, as long as you make sure you meet some minimum standards, sufficient to bounce back if necessary.

Once you have demonstrated success with the unusual trajectory, consider quitting the mainstream trajectory.

Academia as a career option

2014-10-10T19:39:08Z

Riceissa: typo

{{career option|academia}}

A number of people who have a high level of intellectual curiosity and like intellectual stimulation are attracted to [[academia]] as a career option. On this page, we list a number of considerations for and against academia as a career option (see our general page on [[career selection]]).

This article is written primarily based on the structure of academia in the United States. The situation differs somewhat in other countries. Specifically, the procedures related to tenure and funding are somewhat different in other countries. However, many of the general points apply.

You might also be interested in our page on [[alternatives to academia]].

==Key takeaways==

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Factor !! Summary of the answer for academia
|-
| [[Career preparation cost]] -- How much time, money, and effort is needed to prepare for this career? || The standard route to academia is undergraduate studies, followed by graduate school, culminating in a Ph.D., then getting a post-doctoral or tenure track position. Those who cannot land a post-doctoral position may end up as adjunct faculty. The time cost is much larger than for careers like finance, consulting, and law, but comparable to that for medicine. The assessment of financial cost is mixed: people in graduate school are generally exempt from paying tuition, and may even be able to earn enough money to meet their expenses, but have to live frugally and may not be able to save much.
|-
| [[Job security]] -- How likely is it that you will need to leave a particular job, and/or leave the career as a whole? || Academia runs on a pyramid scheme: the number of positions decreases sharply at each successive stage (from undergraduate to graduate school to post-doctoral to tenure track to tenure). This leads to low job security.
|-
| [[Exit flexibility]] -- How ''easy'' is it for you to switch away ''from'' the career? || This depends on the particular academic discipline. In general, switching out is easy as long as one is willing to take a prestige and stage cut (for instance, a person may end up doing an entry-level job in industry after finishing a Ph.D., along with people who have just acquired undergraduate degrees). A few academic disciplines offer credentials and skill that can help acquire high-prestige jobs outside academia. One important point is that it is hard to ''re-enter'' academia after leaving. Therefore, if in doubt, staying a little longer while weighing options makes more sense than leaving prematurely.
|-
| [[Job location options]] -- What options for location will you have, and how much flexibility will you have in selecting the location? || The intense competitiveness of academic applications, combined with the geographic spread of places, makes it very difficult to predict where you'll end up working. In fact, it might be hard to even predict the sort of place you might end up living in (university in a vibrant city versus isolated university town). Further, academic careers involve frequent moves. All these can make life difficult for your spouse and also for raising children.
|-
| [[Job satisfaction]] -- How much will you enjoy your work? || Academia is a good venue for intellectual curiosity. The main drawbacks are that ''publish or perish'', high specialization, and the likelihood of not being at a top place all conspire to make it hard to rely on academia as a fertile environment for intellectual exploration. It might still be better than the majority of other job options.
|-
| [[Earnings]] -- How much money will you earn, after adjusting for things like cost of schooling, taxes, and retirement benefits? || Earnings in academia are low relative to skill levels. Moreover, the delayed start to earning makes the lifetime earnings even lower. Frequent moves can be costly. Unlike medical or law school, there is no or minimal graduate school tuition. However, if you have to repay tuition for undergraduate school, you'd have to wait till you finish graduate school before you can start repaying it, and the debt could be significant.
|-
| [[Work-life balance]] -- How much time and flexibility will your job leave you to pursue other activities? || Subject to the constraint that you are publishing enough (cf. the publish-or-perish syndrome), you have considerable flexibility and latitude in terms of what you choose to work on and how. Once you have tenure, the pressure to publish regularly is also lower. However, the pressure to publish is highest at the time when you are likely to be getting married and raising young children, and can get significantly in the way of childrearing.
|-
| [[Social value of work]] — How much will society benefit from your work? || Social value from research is high either for academics who are exceptional in their field, or for academics working in fields that have considerable social value. Generating social value through teaching does not require exceptional skill, ''but'' there are a number of reasons to believe that most university teaching does not generate as much social value as you could create in other careers.
|}

==Career preparation cost==

Academic research involves extending the frontiers of human knowledge. Being prepared for this therefore requires fairly thorough mastery of a body of human knowledge to the level of the frontier. That requires several years of learning.

The measure of the time taken to prepare for academia depends on whether we include graduate school in the "preparation" time. Undergraduate studies, where one is learning and neither contributing nor earning, lasts 3-4 years. Graduate studies lasts 4-8 years in most disciplines. This time is spent learning, contributing a small amount of original research, and usually earning enough to meet one's short-run expenses but not enough to save for the future or repay student loans. Details may vary based on the subject and the university.

* Directly taking a job outside academia after undergraduate studies typically means greater immediate earning than going to graduate school. The main cost of academia is therefore the substantial delay before one starts earning enough to save significantly or support a family.
* Doctoral programs generally waive tuition costs, and they offer more opportunities to earn money (either based on one's research or through teaching duties), so they require less upfront investment of large sums of money than professional degrees such as law degrees, medical degrees, MBAs, and Masters degree in other subjects (such as the Masters in Financial Mathematics).
* On the other hand, with the exception of medicine, most of these degrees are short and people can start earning huge sums of money almost immediately upon graduation.
* The huge uncertainty of staying in academia (see the [[#Job security|job security section]]) makes the career preparation costs even worse than they would otherwise appear.

==Job security==

===The pyramid scheme of academia===

The structure of academia has been called a ''pyramid scheme''. The following general points are worth noting:

# At every stage of academia, there is a significant narrowing of positions from earlier stages. The number of undergraduate majors significantly exceeds the number of graduate student positions every year, which in turn significantly exceeds the number of new postdoctoral positions every year, which in turn exceeds the number of tenure track positions every year, which in turn exceeds the number of people awarded tenure every year.
# The fraction of this can be explained by the increasing size of academia is nonzero but very small. Explicitly, the number of people from the current batch of people entering graduate school this year who will eventually earn tenure exceeds the number of people who earn tenure this year, but this difference is quite small compared to the difference alluded to in point (1).
# While part of the contraction arises from people voluntarily leaving academia (rather than leaving because it is very difficult to continue in academia), that is unlikely to explain all the narrowing. However, whether or not people leave voluntarily, the fact that most people who ''initially'' intend to stay within academia leave eventually is a point against academia being a good long-term career choice.
# Despite the fact that a large fraction of the people at any given stage in academia are unlikely to proceed to the next, the discourse and incentives are generally set up in a way that gives people the superficial impression that continuing within academia is the natural option. For this reason, many people who would otherwise find it quite easy to transition out of academia harbor the mistaken impression that they are unemployable outside academia.

===The narrowing of positions within academia===

In any hierarchical organization, there are fewer positions at the top than at the bottom. This is for a variety of reasons -- the functioning of the hierarchy and cost considerations being dominant. Thus, the "narrowing" as we move up the academic ladder is not ''a priori'' surprising.

What makes academia different from promotion systems within organizations is its ''up or out'' system. In a non-academic setting, one can remain in a low-level job for one's whole life. In academia, it is not possible to stay at a low level for too long -- one either moves up or leaves. A student can stay a few extra years in graduate school, but not forever. Somebody may do two or three postdocs instead of one (usually at different places) but cannot keep doing postdocs for his or her whole life. Once somebody gets on the tenure track, they either get accepted for tenure or eventually have to leave academia.

===The increasing size of academia does not explain this===

The number of academics in most academic disciplines is increasing, but the increase is very gradual. (Put numbers here). Explicitly, the number of people from the current batch of people entering graduate school this year who will eventually earn tenure exceeds the number of people who earn tenure this year, but this difference is quite small compared to the narrowing.

===Whether or not people leave voluntarily, it's still an argument against academia===

While part of the contraction arises from people voluntarily leaving academia (rather than leaving because it is very difficult to continue in academia), that is unlikely to explain all the narrowing. However, whether or not people leave voluntarily, the fact that most people who ''initially'' intend to stay within academia leave eventually is a point against academia being a good long-term career choice.

===Discourse within academia can obscure the fact that most people will not continue forever in academia===

Academia is an insular system where the general stated convention is to assume that people are planning to continue to do research, even though many people do not end up staying in academia. Thus, somebody in the first few years of a Ph.D. program may fail to explore options outside academia and develop the contacts and skills that might help him or her transition to such a career after completion of the Ph.D., on the mistaken belief that academia is the only place for him or her. In some cases, people are led not only to overestimate the ease of staying within academia, but also underestimate the ease of moving out -- they may believe that they are unemployable outside academia. See, for instance, [http://qz.com/174811/enroll-in-a-phd-program-but-leave-academia-as-soon-as-you-graduate/ this article].

===Exceptions: academia in developing countries and in obscure places within developed countries===

Some developing countries, such as India, have a rapidly expanding academic sector. For these, the growth effect may outweigh the funnel effect. Further, since many people from these countries leave for other countries in academia, this further reduces the competition for top positions.

In addition, a number of lower-ranked universities even within the developed world can have fairly lax system for promotion and tenure.

The flip side of these is that the faculty peer group may not be sufficiently attractive to make staying in academia worthwhile. However, if you simply want to stay in academia and are not too concerned about pay or the immediate peer environment, this option is worth considering.

==Exit flexibility==

===Entry versus exit asymmetry===

In general, it is easy to leave academia for industry, but hard to join academia from industry. Some cases are discussed below.

===Taking a gap before starting graduate studies===

Some students consider applying to graduate school (for a Ph. D. program) after spending a year or more in industry. Keep the following in mind:

* There is no specific penalty for taking years off before applying to graduate school.
* However, preparing one's application and arranging for recommendation letters can be marginally harder, because graduate school admissions generally depend on the strength of the recommendations of teachers and advisors from one's undergraduate studies.
* There are some subjects where achievements in a work environment can provide an asset to the application. For instance, people who work on specific projects related to machine learning or AI in companies might benefit somewhat from this experience when applying for a graduate program in machine learning. Similarly, certain types of experience with social work might be viewed as an asset in graduate schools on social work. However, as a general rule, work experience in and of itself does not constitute an advantage.

If you are a student in your final year of undergraduate studies who is unsure of whether to begin graduate school, consider the following options:

# Apply to graduate schools while in the final year of undergraduate studies, then, after getting an admission, defer for a year where you can work in industry. A number of graduate programs allow students to defer admission.
# Join a graduate program, and re-evaluate the decision to continue after finishing the equivalent of a Masters degree. Most doctoral programs, even though they admit students directly for the doctoral degree, allow students to leave with a Masters degree.
# Take the relevant tests (such as subject GREs) and get recommendation letters drafted from your advisors so that it is easy to apply to graduate school a year or two later.

===Completing a Masters and then later returning to a Ph.D.===

If you finished a Masters, then took some time off to work (or raise children, or travel the world), it would still be possible to apply for doctoral programs. However, most doctoral programs will not recognize your Masters coursework and you will either need to redo the coursework or take the qualifying examinations again. The Masters is unlikely to give you an edge in admissions.

An exception is worth noting: people who do three-year undergraduate programs (such as those in Europe, based on the Bologna process) may be considered either ineligible or at a significant disadvantage directly applying to graduate programs after that. It might be advisable for them to complete a masters program in their home countries and then apply. Details vary.

===Taking time off after the Ph.D.===

In a number of disciplines, particularly the "pure" ones where experience outside academia rarely helps with making academic progress, it is very difficult to re-enter academia if you take time off after your Ph.D. For this reason, students who want to experience life outside academia generally take a leave of absence for up to a year within graduate school. While it's also possible to take leaves of absence later in academia, the ''tenure clock'' starts ticking once one has completed graduate school, so people with their sights set on tenure generally avoid this.

===Moving out of academia===

{{further|[[Leaving academia after graduate school]]}}

It is relatively easy to move ''out'' of academia, but the following points should be noted:

* For a number of jobs, people may find that they do not get much of a ''premium'' for graduate work or later work. So, they may find themselves assigned to similar jobs and earning similar incomes as people who have just completed undergraduate degrees. This can be somewhat disconcerting.
* There do exist some jobs that pay a premium for Ph.Ds but this is mostly because of the signal of intellectual sophistication conferred by a Ph.D. At the object level, people may find that they are using very little of the skills and knowledge base they painstakingly developed in the course of acquiring a Ph.D.
* There are a few rare jobs in industry that draw on skills honed while doing a Ph.D. An example is jobs at Google and Facebook for people who have done their graduate work in machine learning, artificial intelligence, or some forms of graph theory that are directly used at these companies. The same may be true of some forms of engineering and biomedical research that are directly relevant to factories or industry labs. This is more the exception than the rule, and people who want to have such options in the future should choose their subject of graduate work as one of the rare few that have applications outside academia.

[http://qz.com/174811/enroll-in-a-phd-program-but-leave-academia-as-soon-as-you-graduate/ This article] offers some useful information on the subject, and advises people to quit academia after the Ph.D. unless they are sufficiently interested and are able to land a post-doctoral job.

==Job location options==

===The convention of moving to a different place at each academic stage===

In general, academic departments discriminate against people who have finished the previous stage of their academic life in the same place:

* Graduate schools generally discriminate ''against'' undergraduates from the same university in admissions. The idea is to encourage these people to move elsewhere and obtain students from other universities, to facilitate greater circulation. Effectively, this means that people are required to relocate after their undergraduate studies.
* Departments generally discriminate ''against'' hiring Ph.D.'s from the department for post-doctoral fellowships.
* There is generally less explicit discrimination against hiring post-doctoral fellows to continue for tenure track positions. But the number of people who get to that stage is small in any case. It is still generally the case that a significant fraction of people relocate after completing their post-doctoral fellowship in order to start a tenure track job.

===The huge geographic spread of academic universities and the lack of certainty of where one might get admission or a job offer===

There are not too many top universities in any particularly geographic location. The top universities are geographically spread. Some of them are in isolated university towns. Even in cities, there are usually not more than 2 or 3 top universities. For instance, the Bay Area, a center of intellectual innovation, has only two top universities (Stanford and Berkeley) which are quite a distance from one another.

Even people who are highly academically talented and accomplished can rarely guarantee getting admission or a job offer at a ''specific'' university. So, they can rarely make future plans around where they'll be.

Some ways this can be a challenge:

* If you have a spouse or cohabiting partner, then the frequent move can be difficult. If the spouse works in academia, then at every move, you both need to find jobs at the same or nearby universities. If you're working in different departments, then the departments may not coordinate hiring. If the spouse works in a profession where jobs are only available in big cities, then you need to restrict your job search to universities in or near big cities. For more, see the [[Wikipedia:Two-body problem (career)|two-body problem page on Wikipedia]].
* If you have children, frequent moves can be difficult for the children. Anticipating this, you may delay childbearing until it is much later. This could particularly be an issue if you're interested in having a large number of children.

==Job satisfaction==

There are many different reasons people enter academia, but the most striking ones are deep interest in a particular subject, intellectual curiosity, and a desire for intellectual stimulation. In terms of providing these, academia is a mixed bag. It is arguably preferable to other ''professions'' in these terms, but may not be as good as choosing to do a high-paying day job and seeking intellectual stimulation in one's free time.

Some of the plus points of academia are:

* A dense concentration of smart and intellectually curious people with whom one can discuss issues, both within one's discipline, and in general.
* A large number of events and venues for such discussion.
* Teaching can also be a venue for feeling satisfied at helping people understand intellectually difficult but beautiful material.

However, the following need to be kept in mind:

* The ''publish or perish'' incentive system in academia means that people are often focused more on delivering publishables than intellectual exploration. Even if you personally resist this, people around you may not, and therefore you may not find much of a peer group for intellectual exploration.
* There is a huge degree of specialization ''within'' academia, making it difficult to communicate insights to colleagues outside your specialty.
* For any given university, the undergraduate student body is less strongly selected than the graduate student body, which in turn is less strongly selected than the faculty. If you like teaching mainly because you expect students who are similar in ability and curiosity as you are, you're likely to be disappointed.

==Earnings==

Academics have higher earnings than the median residents of their countries. However, becoming an academic requires a number of qualities not found in median residents. People in a position to consider academia as a serious option are therefore likely to have many of these qualities. The relevant comparison is between academia and other options available to people with these qualities. The rough takeaways are:

* Academia requires a high level of intelligence (general cognitive ability) as well as conscientiousness (dedication, perseverance, organization, willingness to work hard). People outside academia with similar levels of intelligence and conscientiousness significantly out-earn academics.
* There may be other qualities that are harder to measure that academics possess and non-academics lack, or conversely, that non-academics possess and academics lack. For instance, academics probably have higher intellectual curiosity and intrinsic motivation to learn, since academia offers somewhat greater rewards for these. They are also likely to have lower ability to get through material that is tedious but not intellectually stimulating, though this is not universally true (academia often involves a lot of gruntwork, albeit within a context that is more intellectually stimulating overall).
* For the most part, the subject matter knowledge acquired in academia beyond undergraduate studies does not lead to greater earning power (see the discussion at [[#Moving out of academia|the section of this page on moving out of academia]]).

In particular, if earnings matters to you a lot, academia is at a significant disadvantage.

==Work-life balance==

There are mutually contradictory stories about work-life balance in academia. On the one hand, the small number of hours that one has to spend "reporting for duty" leaves considerable flexibility. On the other hand, the workload can be very demanding. The following are some considerations:

* Low absolute number of hours where one's physical presence at a place at a particular time is necessitated by a job, and many months with no such constraints: Academics may have teaching loads ranging from 3 to 15 hours a week, and a few departmental meetings that rarely take more than 2-3 hours a week. This leaves a large amount of flexible time. Moreover, there are no reporting requirements during summer break.
* Absence of a clean separation between work and non-work: Academics often maintain more odd hours than non-academics, carrying work through the evening and even late at night. This may be a simple result of having a flexible schedule, a hangover from their days as students, a result of the high absolute workload, or a consequence of the fact that academia relies on creative insight that often comes at unexpected moments. It is possible for people to maintain a clean separation, but this needs to be enforced through deliberate self-discipline. The absence of clean separation can be both a positive and a negative depending on the sort of life one is leading.
* Opportunities and expectations of significant amounts of travel: Although the job description does not explicitly require travel, and it is possible to travel very little, advancement within many disciplines relies on frequent travel for conferences and workshops. People may also be expected to organize seminars, conferences, and workshops. The travel expectations are maybe around the 80th percentile of jobs with similar intelligence/conscientiousness benchmarks.
* Publish or perish: People who are interested in getting tenure are judged on a combination of measures that is heavily weighted on publication record. This creates an incentive for people to try to publish as many papers as possible after the Ph.D. completion until the point of receiving tenure. This can contribute both to a heavy workload. It can also lead to academic compromises (discussed in the job satisfaction).
* Tenure clock: The "tenure clock" -- the time period relative to which one's publication record is judged -- starts ticking after the completion of the Ph.D. This tenure clock means that taking time off to have children or do other activities can significantly affect one's tenure chances. There have been proposals to ''pause the tenure clock'' for people who want to take some time off to raise children, but the status of these proposals is unclear.

==Social value of work==

{{further|[[social value of academia]]}}

===Research===

Our general conclusion is that research academia passes the social value test only in one of these two cases:

* You are really good at it, so that you can change the paradigm of thinking.
* The discipline you are picking has high social value, so that every minor contribution there counts for a lot. Some disciplines that might pass the second test are AI-related disciplines (particularly machine learning) and biomedical research.

===Teaching===

Low student interest, curriculum rigidity, low relevance of curriculum content to students' later lives, and other factors conspire to make the social value of teaching low in general.

Social value of basic science research

2014-10-10T19:28:23Z

Riceissa: typo

{{social value|basic science research}}

This page discusses the value of doing basic science research that is not geared to immediate application. Almost ''all'' mathematics research is of this sort, and a significant fraction of physics, chemistry, and computer science research also fits this model.

Until the nineteenth century, basic science research was generally done in spare time by people who had other day jobs (examples are mathematician Pierre Fermat, chemist John Dalton, and biologist Gregor Mendel). In the present era, this sort of "science-on-the-side" model has fallen out of favor, and basic scientific research is generally done by people in [[academia]]. Therefore, to some extent, evaluating basic science research is similar to evaluating academia (see more on [[academia as a career option]] and [[social value of academia]]).

There are some areas of research that fall within the realm of science research but are sufficiently close to application that it is inaccurate to characterize them as basic science research. Examples include machine learning and artificial intelligence research (see [[social value of working in artificial intelligence and machine learning]]) and [[biomedical research]] (see [[biomedical research as a career option]] and [[social value of biomedical research]]).

See also:

* [[Social value of mathematics research]]
* [[Social value of physics research]]
* [[Social value of computer science research]]
==Should there be more basic science research?==

===Societies that engage in basic science research===

There seems to be a positive correlation between the wealth of a society and the fraction of money that is spent on basic science research. However, causality could arguably run in any of these ways:

* Wealthier societies have more money to spend on luxuries such as basic science research, in the same way as they have more money to spare for entertainment or art.
* Basic science research makes societies wealthier by producing ideas that feed into technology that improved productivity.
* Both wealth and the fraction of money spent on basic science research have an independent common cause. This cause could be the education level or intelligence of the members, the value they place on intellectual pursuit, the value they place on making long-term investments, or something else.

===The knowledge goods argument===

As a general rule, [[social value of work: income as a proxy|income is a good proxy for social value generated]]. Higher income attracts more people. So, naively, we would expect the "right" number of people in every profession.

However, basic science research produces knowledge goods. Knowledge goods have the property that they have high fixed production costs but, once produced, are free to consume at the margin. The production and dissemination of knowledge goods is non-rival -- one person's knowing something doesn't reduce the amount there is for another person to know. In fact, some forms of knowledge benefit from network effects: the more others know, the greater the value there is to knowing it.

The high production costs and low replication or dissemination costs suggest two possible models for the production and dissemination of knowledge goods:

# People invest in producing knowledge goods and then charge others for access to the knowledge goods. To prevent the knowledge "leaking" they may use measures for secrecy and intellectual property protection.
# The production of knowledge goods is funded philanthropically, and the goods are then disseminated in the widest and lowest-cost manner possible.

It has been argued that for basic science research, model (2) promotes more long-run scientific and technological progress, because:

* It enables the production of ideas that may not have an immediate market to sell to, but may be part of a long chain of ideas that eventually lead to something useful.
* The wider dissemination helps make sure that more people have access to the idea and can build on it.

Note that philanthropically funded basic science research is not the only instance of knowledge goods being disseminated for free. In industry, there are many instances of freemium and ad-supported models used to distribute goods with high fixed production costs but low distribution costs. In the free and open source software (FOSS) world, software code is available for free to use and modify, and people make money either by having foundations that can be donated to, or by partnering with for-profit companies that benefit from the growth of that software ecosystem.

===Bacon's chain===

The standard argument for the social value of basic science research has been dubbed "Bacon's chain" by William Niskanen, a critic of the argument. Niskanen formulates the argument as follows in his article ''[http://www.cato.org/reflections-political-economist Reflections of a Political Economist]'', as quoted by David Henderson in the blog post [http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2012/07/basic_research.html Basic Research Does Not Equal Technology]:

{{quotation|Government financing is necessary to provide the adequate level of basic research, which is necessary to provide the scientific foundation for advanced technology, which accounts for a large part of economic growth.}}

Schematically:

Government funding <math>\to</math> Basic research <math>\to</math> Advanced technology <math>\to</math> Economic growth

However, Niskanen and some others have argued that every link in the chain is flawed. In particular, the link from basic science to advanced technology has been argued to be weak. Henderson quotes David P. Billington's ''The Tower and the Bridge: The New Art of Structural Engineering'' to offer an explanation for the link from basic research to advanced technology being weak:

{{quotation|There is a fundamental difference between science and technology. Engineering or technology is the making of things that did not previously exist, whereas science is the discovering of things that have long existed. Technological results are forms that exist only because people want to make them, whereas scientific results are formulations of what exists independently of human intentions. Technology deals with the artificial, science with the natural.}}

Henderson also quotes Billington quoting Michael Mulkay writing:

{{quotation|[S]cience seems to accumulate mainly on the basis of past science, and technology primarily on the basis of past technology.}}

The Cato Unbound discussion [http://www.cato-unbound.org/issues/august-2013/who-pays-science Who Pays for Science?] (August 2013) is also relevant.

==Basic science and high-impact science==

We look at explorations of the question: How strong is the overlap between basic science and high-impact science? Is all high-impact science the sort that is likely to be immediately applied?

===Nowadays most high-impact science is not basic science===

Consider the following most impressive instances of progress in human health and wealth arising from scientific breakthroughs in the late 19th and early 20th century:

* The development of flight, leading eventually to commercial flight
* The development of vaccines
* The Green Revolution
* Breakthroughs in computing technology (including the ideas of programming languages and compilers)
* Improvements in computer hardware
* The development of nuclear power (the impact here remains to be seen)

Note that:

# In all of the cases, the requisite technological development was directly motivated by the need to solve a real-world problem, rather than a basic scientific urge to understand a phenomenon. This is consistent with the idea that science does not feed into technology too tightly.
# In most cases, the technological development did not depend on cutting-edge science of the time. The basic scientific breakthroughs needed for the technology were generally at least a few decades old.

Point (2) could be interpreted in either of two ways. It could be viewed as saying that basic science has value for the far future, and therefore is likely to be underproduced by our short-sighted society, so it makes sense at the margin to produce basic science. On the other hand, it could be argued that the significant uncertainty and huge time lag before basic science gets used suggest that it's not that high value to produce more basic science at the margin. Moreover, a lot of basic science doesn't get used in any technology ''at all''. Unlike with applied science, it's hard to know in advance what basic science will get used. Unless you believe you have special insight on what basic science will be valuable, this is an argument against basic science research.

===The speedup argument===

In the blog post [http://80000hours.org/blog/5-high-impact-science High Impact Science], Carl Shulman argues that for some forms of high impact science, even speeding up scientific progress by a few seconds can generate huge humanitarian impacts. The examples cited by Shulman are the Green Revolution and the fight against diseases such as malaria: speeding up the process of development of hybrid varieties or the process of malaria eradication by one year can save thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of lives.

Does Shulman's argument extend to basic science research? If there were a ''fixed'' lag between the development of the basic science research and the applied science or technology that used it, then the argument would extend. If making a scientific breakthrough in 2015 instead of 2019 meant that the corresponding technological breakthrough would occur four years earlier, then all the gains from speeding up the technological breakthrough apply to speeding up the scientific breakthrough. But this rarely describes the real world: the constraining factor for the timing of technological breakthroughs is ''not'' the amount of time the required basic science has been in circulation. Rather, demand for that technology, availability of funding, availability of other requisite technologies, and stochastic elements are more important.

==Basic science as a springboard for people to move to other areas==

One argument in favor of supporting the enterprise of basic science research is that even though the research itself has little value, the network of people with basic science knowledge can be leveraged for other purposes. Because they have plenty of free time and can flexibly explore problems, they could switch to an upcoming applied scientific or technological discipline where they can use their basic science training. If, on the other hand, they took up jobs in finance or consulting, they would no longer be in the sort of intellectual environment where they would either be aware of or in the right mental framework to make such a switch.

Consider some examples:

* Richard Stallman, computer scientist at MIT, started the free software movement in the 1980s. This has been highly influential in shaping the world of computers and hence the world at large. The academic environment that Stallman operated in may have been crucial in giving him the flexibility needed in the initial stages of the experiment.
* Donald Knuth, a theoretical computer scientist, is known as the father of the analysis of algorithms. He worked in many applied areas, and also created TeX, one of the earliest typesetting languages that is still used by mathematicians around the world to format their documents.
* A number of science popularizers have day jobs as academics. These include Carl Sagan, Keith Devlin, and others.
* Machine learning researchers have, in recent years, left academia to join companies such as Google and Facebook. Some have taken part-time appointments at these companies while still maintaining some academic connections.
* Many professors have part-time jobs as consultants at companies that are working on products closely related to their area of research.

The most impressive examples above, as you can see, come from people whose work is in areas that are already close enough to application, even if their main research is not itself applied.

==Resources==

* [http://www.vannevargroup.com Vannevar Group] is a group of scientists and former scientists who are interested both in science and social value.

Maintaining your online presence

2014-10-10T19:13:14Z

Riceissa: /* Selecting an appropriate audience */ bullet list

The Internet has a wide plethora of resources that you can leverage well. Many of these can be accessed passively and anonymously, but for some, you can squeeze a lot more value through active participation. This page lists some general tips for creating and maintaining your online presence to minimize later regret.

See also [[Participate in online communities]].

==Look respectable==

===Choose a good name===

Your online handles, including your email address, Facebook URL, Twitter name, or any other online public-facing user identity you have, should preferably be based on your real name. This makes it easy for people to locate you. Preferably do ''not'' choose handles that are related to specific political or religious beliefs or cultural icons. Your beliefs may change over time, and in any case, it's not good practice to make your beliefs and affiliations scream out at people every time they visit your profile. '''Under no circumstances should you use swearwords, exhortations to violence, or controversial cultural terms in your email address or online handles.'''

===Don't post embarrassing photographs===

Decide between two options:

* Not posting a photograph at all (this may be suited in the beginning, when you're mostly lurking, and to protect your identity somewhat).
* Posting a photograph that shows your face clearly and well, in a relatively sober expression (i.e., don't "make faces" to the camera).

It's generally unhelpful to post photographs of somebody else for your profile picture, even if that person is a known model or actor and therefore can't be confused with you. Choosing a photo of yourself while drunk or making funny faces to the camera sends a bad impression.

===Use decent language, spelling, and grammar===

Avoid the use of swear words, derogatory ethnic terms, exhortations to violence, or overtly confrontational language, even in private messages or posts to restricted lists. Unless constrained by space limitations (as in the case of tweets on Twitter) use grammatically correct sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.

===Think hard before raising controversial issues===

Civil discussion of controversial issues is often admirable. But it should be done with care. Even if your original post is civil, the reactions to it (if you allow comments) could be uncivil. Even if you're not personally hurt by such reactions, these could get you into trouble. Colleges and potential employers generally steer clear of people who get enmeshed in controversies, even if those people aren't objectively at fault.

==Privacy==

===Anonymity===

Anonymity through the use of pseudonyms on some forums may be appropriate. However, the general naming rules apply to pseudonyms: do not choose pseudonyms that are perceived as offensive or insensitive. Choose pseudonyms only on fora where pseudonym use is encouraged, and follow the general naming conventions of the forum.

Do ''not'' trust that the use of pseudonyms will be a foolproof guarantee of anonymity. ''Always'' write with expectation that some of what you write may later be associated with your real name.

===Do not reveal "real-life" information===

Avoid revealing the following outside of restricted-access friend lists:

* The names of your family members.
* Your home address.
* Your phone number (keep contact information restricted to an email address and social media accounts).
* The names of employers for part-time or full-time jobs that you are doing (unless the employer gives consent, or your public persona ''requires'' you to associate yourself with a particular employer).
* Information explicitly attributed to others that is conveyed by them to you in private fora (online or offline), unless they give you consent.

Basically, your online persona should reveal those parts of you that help people get an idea of what you're thinking about and your opinions on specific issues, but should not be a way for them to track you down or get information about your real-life friends (except if they contact you personally).

=== Selecting an appropriate audience ===

There exists a spectrum for sharing information about oneself; i.e. there is no dichotomy of either complete privacy or complete release of information. Consider the gradual increase in visibility in the following:

# Keeping one's data local (on one's own hard drive)
# Keeping data on a cloud service but available only to oneself (so that the service provider, such as Google, can potentially view or use the data)
# Keeping data on a cloud service but with the ability to invite other authorized users to view the data (e.g. restricted Facebook posts)
# Making the data public, but not locatable by search engines, so that effectively only people with the link can view the data (this is, for instance, what [https://github.com/ GitHub] does with its [https://help.github.com/articles/about-gists#secret-gists secret gists])
# Releasing the data publicly and making it locatable by search engines

Additionally, in each case, one has the option of using one's real name or a pseudonym (or, in some cases, staying anonymous). It is important to know, then, that some of the pros and cons of privacy will only apply to a certain part of this spectrum.

In terms of content sharing online, this means that one can attempt to restrict the audience that receives specific content. Since your interests are likely to not overlap completely with that of most people, targeting content to an audience who shares a particular interest will likely mean that (1) they will be happier seeing content that applies to them, and (2) you will receive better feedback on what you post. Restriction of the whole discussion may also mean that people will give you more candid responses.

=== Concerns about privacy ===

[[Wikipedia:Internet privacy|Privacy on the internet]] has received a lot of attention over the years, with for instance some, like free software activist [[Wikipedia:Richard Stallman|Richard Stallman]], [https://stallman.org/facebook.html#privacy advising people not to use Facebook on grounds of privacy] (among other reasons). See [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-making-information-about-oneself-available-online-through-for-example-smart-phone-apps-and-social-media-posts the Quora question "What are the advantages and disadvantages of making information about oneself available online through for example smart phone apps and social media posts?"] for more on this topic.

==Join online communities==

===Lurk for a while===

Each community has its own rules for engagement. Spend some time reading their formally codified rules, plus more time reading discussions of the sort you eventually intend to participate in. Doing this for a while gives you a sense for what sort of discussions work well and what sort generate controversy. You can then start participating in an informed manner.

===Be polite and deferential to begin with, and don't try to "take over" the forum===

It's better to err initially in the direction of being deferential and polite. Some concrete tips:

* Avoid participation in flame wars or in threads where there's trolling or trollbaiting.
* Don't make posts too short or too long.
* Don't post too frequently in the beginning.
* If you're uncertain of whether the post is appropriate for the forum, briefly indicate this at the beginning of the post, preemptively apologizing in the event that the post is inappropriate.
* When framing views that you think others might disagree with, preface with "I think ..." or "In my view ..." and end by asking others what they think. Show that you're eager to learn and exchange ideas, rather than just there to preach your views. If the forum penalizes such language, it may not be worth participating in.
* Always disclose conflicts of interest. If you're trying to stay anonymous, then do ''not'' post anything linking to work done by you under your real name, because that leaves two unpleasant options: (a) disclosing your identity due to conflict of interest (and defeat the purpose of anonymity), or (b) do not disclose your identity, and violate the conflict of interest disclosure norm.

===Pay your dues===

Online communities are generally insular to ''external'' credentials or work, but reward effort ''within'' the community. Some of them have explicit karma systems and credits that give you more privilege as you participate more. In some, informal norms do a similar job. Be useful to the community and its members over an extended period of time, and you'll find your opportunities growing.

==Communities to consider joining==

Most websites state a minimum age of 13, due to the COPPA in the United States for child privacy. The norm may not be strictly enforced by websites. But we strongly recommend not joining such a website if you're not yet 13, unless you check ''both'' with your parents ''and'' with the website administrators that it is okay for you to join the website. If you join too early, you might get kicked out.

===Email and messaging===

* Get an email account with a service such as Gmail. The Google ID can also be used for other Google services. Keep the username suggestions in mind.
* Get a Skype account. Some people you want to communicate with may be more comfortable using Skype than Google's voice services.

===Social networks===

Joining does not mean that you are required to regularly participate. In fact, unless you find a good reason to participate actively, it's preferable that you don't. But joining still has benefits: you acquire an online presence, you can connect with more people, and you can search within the networks for specific people or things.

* [http://www.facebook.com Facebook]: Join early. Keep your profile serious. Start building your network of friends and pages -- building friend networks, particularly networks of friends outside your immediate surroundings, takes time. It's okay to keep your Facebook activity to a minimum other than that, but if you do find communities on Facebook that you like participating in, you can participate in those. For more, see [[using Facebook effectively]].
* [http://www.twitter.com Twitter]: There aren't compelling arguments to join Twitter, but you might as well snag a good username when it's free and start building your Twitter network.
* [http://www.linkedin.com LinkedIn]: Again, a minimal LinkedIn profile can provide an online identity for you that others, including potential employers for jobs or internships can refer to. You can also start building connections and obtaining endorsements.

There are many other social network-based websites, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest. But none of these have the property that people are ''expected'' to have online accounts on the website, and they generally don't have a sufficiently large network of users already, so joining in order to connect with others may not work out well.

===Websites for content creation===

* [http://www.quora.com Quora] (question-and-answer website): This is a great place both for getting information and for honing your craft of communicating your thoughts through writing. You can also set up your blog on Quora (you can cross-post there with an off-Quora blog). In general, we'd recommend getting a start with writing practice on Quora before you start blogging on your own. See our [[join Quora]] page for more.
* [http://www.stackexchange.com StackExchange] (question-and-answer website): Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer websites devoted to specific topics. It's less freewheeling than Quora, and allows you to develop your topical knowledge and communication skills for the topics where the Stack Exchanges are high-quality and active.
* [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]: Wikipedia's a great resource to read, but you can also edit Wikipedia. Admittedly, it's a little more effort to get ''started'' editing Wikipedia: you need to understand the MediaWiki markup language and also the etiquette of Wikipedia, and you need to be prepared for your work getting ruthlessly rejected. Unlike Quora, we don't think ''all'' people reading this page should get on Wikipedia and start contributing. But it's something worth looking at.
* Some websites, like [http://www.reddit.com/ Reddit], can be [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_Reddit|rather controversial]], but it may still be worth looking into these. Reddit in particular can seemingly have a low signal-to-noise ratio, but developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful. Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, one might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research). Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving].

== Transferring connections ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real-life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

{{further|[[Transferring connections from online to real-life]]}}

==Personal website==

{{further|[[creating your personal website]]}}

Maintaining your online presence

2014-10-03T07:41:49Z

Riceissa: add related article

The Internet has a wide plethora of resources that you can leverage well. Many of these can be accessed passively and anonymously, but for some, you can squeeze a lot more value through active participation. This page lists some general tips for creating and maintaining your online presence to minimize later regret.

See also [[Participate in online communities]].

==Look respectable==

===Choose a good name===

Your online handles, including your email address, Facebook URL, Twitter name, or any other online public-facing user identity you have, should preferably be based on your real name. This makes it easy for people to locate you. Preferably do ''not'' choose handles that are related to specific political or religious beliefs or cultural icons. Your beliefs may change over time, and in any case, it's not good practice to make your beliefs and affiliations scream out at people every time they visit your profile. '''Under no circumstances should you use swearwords, exhortations to violence, or controversial cultural terms in your email address or online handles.'''

===Don't post embarrassing photographs===

Decide between two options:

* Not posting a photograph at all (this may be suited in the beginning, when you're mostly lurking, and to protect your identity somewhat).
* Posting a photograph that shows your face clearly and well, in a relatively sober expression (i.e., don't "make faces" to the camera).

It's generally unhelpful to post photographs of somebody else for your profile picture, even if that person is a known model or actor and therefore can't be confused with you. Choosing a photo of yourself while drunk or making funny faces to the camera sends a bad impression.

===Use decent language, spelling, and grammar===

Avoid the use of swear words, derogatory ethnic terms, exhortations to violence, or overtly confrontational language, even in private messages or posts to restricted lists. Unless constrained by space limitations (as in the case of tweets on Twitter) use grammatically correct sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.

===Think hard before raising controversial issues===

Civil discussion of controversial issues is often admirable. But it should be done with care. Even if your original post is civil, the reactions to it (if you allow comments) could be uncivil. Even if you're not personally hurt by such reactions, these could get you into trouble. Colleges and potential employers generally steer clear of people who get enmeshed in controversies, even if those people aren't objectively at fault.

==Privacy==

===Anonymity===

Anonymity through the use of pseudonyms on some forums may be appropriate. However, the general naming rules apply to pseudonyms: do not choose pseudonyms that are perceived as offensive or insensitive. Choose pseudonyms only on fora where pseudonym use is encouraged, and follow the general naming conventions of the forum.

Do ''not'' trust that the use of pseudonyms will be a foolproof guarantee of anonymity. ''Always'' write with expectation that some of what you write may later be associated with your real name.

===Do not reveal "real-life" information===

Avoid revealing the following outside of restricted-access friend lists:

* The names of your family members.
* Your home address.
* Your phone number (keep contact information restricted to an email address and social media accounts).
* The names of employers for part-time or full-time jobs that you are doing (unless the employer gives consent, or your public persona ''requires'' you to associate yourself with a particular employer).
* Information explicitly attributed to others that is conveyed by them to you in private fora (online or offline), unless they give you consent.

Basically, your online persona should reveal those parts of you that help people get an idea of what you're thinking about and your opinions on specific issues, but should not be a way for them to track you down or get information about your real-life friends (except if they contact you personally).

=== Selecting an appropriate audience ===

There exists a spectrum for sharing information about oneself; i.e. there is no dichotomy of either complete privacy or complete release of information. Consider the gradual increase in visibility in going from keeping one's data local (on one's own hard drive), to keeping data on a cloud service but available only to oneself (so that the service provider, such as Google, can potentially view or use the data), to keeping data on a cloud service but with the ability to invite other authorized users to view the data, to making the data public, but not locatable by search engines, so that effectively only people with the link can view the data (this is, for instance, what [https://github.com/ GitHub] does with its [https://help.github.com/articles/about-gists#secret-gists secret gists]), to releasing the data publicly and making it locatable by search engines. Additionally, in each case, one has the option of using one's real name or a pseudonym (or, in some cases, staying anonymous). It is important to know, then, that some of the pros and cons of privacy will only apply to a certain part of this spectrum.

In terms of content sharing online, this means that one can attempt to restrict the audience that receives specific content. Since your interests are likely to not overlap completely with that of most people, targeting content to an audience who shares a particular interest will likely mean that (1) they will be happier seeing content that applies to them, and (2) you will receive better feedback on what you post. Restriction of the whole discussion may also mean that people will give you more candid responses.

=== Concerns about privacy ===

[[Wikipedia:Internet privacy|Privacy on the internet]] has received a lot of attention over the years, with for instance some, like free software activist [[Wikipedia:Richard Stallman|Richard Stallman]], [https://stallman.org/facebook.html#privacy advising people not to use Facebook on grounds of privacy] (among other reasons). See [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-making-information-about-oneself-available-online-through-for-example-smart-phone-apps-and-social-media-posts the Quora question "What are the advantages and disadvantages of making information about oneself available online through for example smart phone apps and social media posts?"] for more on this topic.

==Join online communities==

===Lurk for a while===

Each community has its own rules for engagement. Spend some time reading their formally codified rules, plus more time reading discussions of the sort you eventually intend to participate in. Doing this for a while gives you a sense for what sort of discussions work well and what sort generate controversy. You can then start participating in an informed manner.

===Be polite and deferential to begin with, and don't try to "take over" the forum===

It's better to err initially in the direction of being deferential and polite. Some concrete tips:

* Avoid participation in flame wars or in threads where there's trolling or trollbaiting.
* Don't make posts too short or too long.
* Don't post too frequently in the beginning.
* If you're uncertain of whether the post is appropriate for the forum, briefly indicate this at the beginning of the post, preemptively apologizing in the event that the post is inappropriate.
* When framing views that you think others might disagree with, preface with "I think ..." or "In my view ..." and end by asking others what they think. Show that you're eager to learn and exchange ideas, rather than just there to preach your views. If the forum penalizes such language, it may not be worth participating in.
* Always disclose conflicts of interest. If you're trying to stay anonymous, then do ''not'' post anything linking to work done by you under your real name, because that leaves two unpleasant options: (a) disclosing your identity due to conflict of interest (and defeat the purpose of anonymity), or (b) do not disclose your identity, and violate the conflict of interest disclosure norm.

===Pay your dues===

Online communities are generally insular to ''external'' credentials or work, but reward effort ''within'' the community. Some of them have explicit karma systems and credits that give you more privilege as you participate more. In some, informal norms do a similar job. Be useful to the community and its members over an extended period of time, and you'll find your opportunities growing.

==Communities to consider joining==

Most websites state a minimum age of 13, due to the COPPA in the United States for child privacy. The norm may not be strictly enforced by websites. But we strongly recommend not joining such a website if you're not yet 13, unless you check ''both'' with your parents ''and'' with the website administrators that it is okay for you to join the website. If you join too early, you might get kicked out.

===Email and messaging===

* Get an email account with a service such as Gmail. The Google ID can also be used for other Google services. Keep the username suggestions in mind.
* Get a Skype account. Some people you want to communicate with may be more comfortable using Skype than Google's voice services.

===Social networks===

Joining does not mean that you are required to regularly participate. In fact, unless you find a good reason to participate actively, it's preferable that you don't. But joining still has benefits: you acquire an online presence, you can connect with more people, and you can search within the networks for specific people or things.

* [http://www.facebook.com Facebook]: Join early. Keep your profile serious. Start building your network of friends and pages -- building friend networks, particularly networks of friends outside your immediate surroundings, takes time. It's okay to keep your Facebook activity to a minimum other than that, but if you do find communities on Facebook that you like participating in, you can participate in those. For more, see [[using Facebook effectively]].
* [http://www.twitter.com Twitter]: There aren't compelling arguments to join Twitter, but you might as well snag a good username when it's free and start building your Twitter network.
* [http://www.linkedin.com LinkedIn]: Again, a minimal LinkedIn profile can provide an online identity for you that others, including potential employers for jobs or internships can refer to. You can also start building connections and obtaining endorsements.

There are many other social network-based websites, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest. But none of these have the property that people are ''expected'' to have online accounts on the website, and they generally don't have a sufficiently large network of users already, so joining in order to connect with others may not work out well.

===Websites for content creation===

* [http://www.quora.com Quora] (question-and-answer website): This is a great place both for getting information and for honing your craft of communicating your thoughts through writing. You can also set up your blog on Quora (you can cross-post there with an off-Quora blog). In general, we'd recommend getting a start with writing practice on Quora before you start blogging on your own. See our [[join Quora]] page for more.
* [http://www.stackexchange.com StackExchange] (question-and-answer website): Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer websites devoted to specific topics. It's less freewheeling than Quora, and allows you to develop your topical knowledge and communication skills for the topics where the Stack Exchanges are high-quality and active.
* [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]: Wikipedia's a great resource to read, but you can also edit Wikipedia. Admittedly, it's a little more effort to get ''started'' editing Wikipedia: you need to understand the MediaWiki markup language and also the etiquette of Wikipedia, and you need to be prepared for your work getting ruthlessly rejected. Unlike Quora, we don't think ''all'' people reading this page should get on Wikipedia and start contributing. But it's something worth looking at.
* Some websites, like [http://www.reddit.com/ Reddit], can be [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_Reddit|rather controversial]], but it may still be worth looking into these. Reddit in particular can seemingly have a low signal-to-noise ratio, but developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful. Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, one might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research). Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving].

== Transferring connections ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real-life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

{{further|[[Transferring connections from online to real-life]]}}

==Personal website==

{{further|[[creating your personal website]]}}

Statements by mathematicians about contest math

2014-10-03T07:10:04Z

Riceissa: add LW article

This page collects statements by people who have had exposure to [[contest math]], [[higher math]], or both, regarding their experience with or views about contest math.

==Statements by distinguished mathematicians who participated in contest math while in school==

===Terry Tao, pre-teen IMO participant and Fields Medalist===

[http://terrytao.wordpress.com Terence Tao] was a child prodigy who represented Australia at the International Mathematical Olympiad at the ages of 11, 12, and 13. He joined college and finished his Ph.D. at a young age and is now a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research has earned him a Fields Medal, the highest honor for mathematical research.

Tao has written an advice article for high school students considering contest math [http://terrytao.wordpress.com/career-advice/advice-on-mathematics-competitions/ here]. Relevant passage:

<blockquote>But mathematical competitions are very different activities from mathematical learning or mathematical research; don’t expect the problems you get in, say, graduate study, to have the same cut-and-dried, neat flavour that an Olympiad problem does.(While individual steps in the solution might be able to be finished off quickly by someone with Olympiad training, the majority of the solution is likely to require instead the much more patient and lengthy process of reading the literature, applying known techniques, trying model problems or special cases, looking for counterexamples, and so forth.)

Also, the “classical” type of mathematics you learn while doing Olympiad problems (e.g. Euclidean geometry, elementary number theory, etc.) can seem dramatically different from the “modern” mathematics you learn in undergraduate and graduate school, though if you dig a little deeper you will see that the classical is still hidden within the foundation of the modern. For instance, classical theorems in Euclidean geometry provide excellent examples to inform modern algebraic or differential geometry, while classical number theory similarly informs modern algebra and number theory, and so forth. So be prepared for a significant change in mathematical perspective when one studies the modern aspects of the subject. (One exception to this is perhaps the field of combinatorics, which still has large areas which closely resemble its classical roots, though this is changing also.)

In summary: enjoy these competitions, but don’t neglect the more “boring” aspects of your mathematical education, as those turn out to be ultimately more useful.</blockquote>

See also an interview with Tao [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rinL25rC8LnMTzZcGjg1axT-0r-oiCnoKKH1DLQlmVA/edit here].

== See also ==

* There is a Less Wrong post titled [http://lesswrong.com/lw/2v1/great_mathematicians_on_math_competitions_and/ 'Great Mathematicians on Math Competitions and "Genius"'].

Statements by mathematicians about contest math

2014-10-03T07:08:32Z

Riceissa: /* Terry Tao, pre-teen IMO participant and Fields Medalist */ add tao interview

Effective altruism learning resources

2014-10-03T05:43:31Z

Riceissa: /* Organizations or group websites interested in effective altruism */ more description update for EA forum

Since the mid-2000s, [[wikipedia:effective altruism|effective altruism]] has grown considerably as a movement. The goal is to choose one's altruistic actions with the goal of doing as much good as possible and as effectively as possible. There are a number of different groups promoting effective altruism, and their websites provide information that can help you get started on understanding the general principles.

==Trello list of starting points==

See [https://trello.com/b/rm3da7HZ/effective-altruist-introductory-resources Effective Altruist Introductory Resources] for a list of books, videos, and blogs intended to introduce people to effective altruist ideas. The list is not created or maintained by us.

==Organizations or group websites interested in effective altruism==

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization/website !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://www.effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum] || A discussion forum for topics related to effective altruism. Formerly the effective altruism blog. || Some posts linked on their [http://effective-altruism.com/ea/6x/introduction_to_effective_altruism/ introduction page]: [http://www.effective-altruism.com/what-effective-altruism/ What is Effective Altruism?] by William MacAskill, [http://www.effective-altruism.com/effective-altruism/ Effective Altruism] by Holden Karnofsky, and [http://www.effective-altruism.com/four-focus-areas-effective-altruism/ Four Focus Areas of Effective Altruism] by Luke Muehlhauser. || It might be worth reading the discussions.
|-
| [http://www.givewell.org GiveWell] || Non-profit dedicated to doing the most good possible. Their primary consumer-facing product is recommendations for top charities to donate to, across all causes (rather than providing a top charity separately for each cause). In addition, they evaluate claims about a diverse range of activities (such as scientific research and political advocacy) that people have claimed might be highly effective ways of improving the world. || [http://www.givewell.org/giving101 Giving 101: the basics] is a useful primer that reviews many basic effective altruism ideas, such as differences between standards of living in different parts of the world, [[wikipedia:room for more funding|room for more funding]] and triage (the one-charity argument). || Follow their [http://blog.givewell.org blog] and skim through their detailed reviews of [http://givewell.org/top-charities top charities] as well as their [http://www.givewell.org/shallow shallow cause overviews].
|-
| [http://givingwhatwecan.org Giving What We Can] || Non-profit dedicated to advocating that people donate more money to charity, as well as providing suggestions about top charities to donate to. They rely on GiveWell's research plus some in-house research to make recommendations. || The [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give/methodology charity evaluation methodology] might be the most educational and informative place to start, but it may be fruitful to check out the [http://givingwhatwecan.org/why-give why give?] and [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give where to give] pages first to get some background and context. || Follow their [http://givingwhatwecan.org/blog blog]
|}

==Courses==

* [https://www.coursera.org/course/practicalethics Practical Ethics] by Peter Singer on Coursera
* [https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-jpal101x-evaluating-social-programs-1532 Evaluating social programs] by the Poverty Action Lab on EdX

==Effective altruism in connection with career choice and life trajectory==

{{further|[[Choosing a career with effective altruism as a dominant consideration]]}}
{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://80000hours.org/ 80,000 Hours] || Combine publicly available research as well as personalized career guidance to guide people on career choice, where the people they guide have effective altruism as a primary consideration in career choice. || [http://80000hours.org/research Research page] || Their [http://80000hours.org/blog blog] is worth following if this topic interests you.
|}

==Personal blogs of individuals interested in effective altruism==

* Brian Tomasik is an effective altruist writer who maintains a website [http://www.utilitarian-essays.com/ here].
* Ryan Carey is an effective altruism movement-builder who is interested in guiding young people interested in effective altruism. His website is [http://careyryan.com/ here]
* Peter Hurford blogs regularly about topics closely related to effective altruism and utilitarian ethics [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/ here].
* Bastian Stern's website [http://utilitarianism.bastianstern.com/ compiles resources on utilitarianism and effective altruism].
* Paul Christiano maintains a [http://rationalaltruist.com/ blog on rational altruism].

==Other useful starting points==

* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/37f/efficient_charity/ Efficient Charity] by multifoliaterose
* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/3gj/efficient_charity_do_unto_others/ Efficient Charity: Do Unto Others...] by Yvain

==Combined feeds==

* [http://www.rssmix.com/u/3890223/rss.xml EA Medley] maintained by Peter Hurford is a RSS feed combining many effective altruism-related blogs.

==Online communities for general discussion==

* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/effective.altruists/ Effective Altruists Facebook group] (read [http://effectivealtruism.info/?page_id=10 here] for the group guidelines)
* [http://effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum]
* The comments sections of some of the blogs linked above.
* [http://www.lesswrong.com LessWrong] often has blog posts on effective altruism and many people in the LessWrong community are interested in effective altruism.
* You might also be interested in forums related to utilitarianism, including [http://www.felicifia.com Felicifia] and many Facebook groups.

==Key terminology==

Links are to Wikipedia pages or other canonical sources:

* [[Wikipedia:Earning to give|Earning to give]]
* [[Wikipedia:Room for more funding|Room for more funding]]

==See also==

* [[Development economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics learning recommendations]]

Effective altruism learning resources

2014-10-03T05:40:53Z

Riceissa: /* Organizations or group websites interested in effective altruism */ update description

Since the mid-2000s, [[wikipedia:effective altruism|effective altruism]] has grown considerably as a movement. The goal is to choose one's altruistic actions with the goal of doing as much good as possible and as effectively as possible. There are a number of different groups promoting effective altruism, and their websites provide information that can help you get started on understanding the general principles.

==Trello list of starting points==

See [https://trello.com/b/rm3da7HZ/effective-altruist-introductory-resources Effective Altruist Introductory Resources] for a list of books, videos, and blogs intended to introduce people to effective altruist ideas. The list is not created or maintained by us.

==Organizations or group websites interested in effective altruism==

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization/website !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://www.effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism blog] || A discussion forum for topics related to EA. Formerly the effective altruism blog. || Blog posts linked on their [http://effective-altruism.com/ea/6x/introduction_to_effective_altruism/ introduction page]: [http://www.effective-altruism.com/what-effective-altruism/ What is Effective Altruism?] by William MacAskill, [http://www.effective-altruism.com/effective-altruism/ Effective Altruism] by Holden Karnofsky, and [http://www.effective-altruism.com/four-focus-areas-effective-altruism/ Four Focus Areas of Effective Altruism] by Luke Muehlhauser. || The blog might be worth following.
|-
| [http://www.givewell.org GiveWell] || Non-profit dedicated to doing the most good possible. Their primary consumer-facing product is recommendations for top charities to donate to, across all causes (rather than providing a top charity separately for each cause). In addition, they evaluate claims about a diverse range of activities (such as scientific research and political advocacy) that people have claimed might be highly effective ways of improving the world. || [http://www.givewell.org/giving101 Giving 101: the basics] is a useful primer that reviews many basic effective altruism ideas, such as differences between standards of living in different parts of the world, [[wikipedia:room for more funding|room for more funding]] and triage (the one-charity argument). || Follow their [http://blog.givewell.org blog] and skim through their detailed reviews of [http://givewell.org/top-charities top charities] as well as their [http://www.givewell.org/shallow shallow cause overviews].
|-
| [http://givingwhatwecan.org Giving What We Can] || Non-profit dedicated to advocating that people donate more money to charity, as well as providing suggestions about top charities to donate to. They rely on GiveWell's research plus some in-house research to make recommendations. || The [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give/methodology charity evaluation methodology] might be the most educational and informative place to start, but it may be fruitful to check out the [http://givingwhatwecan.org/why-give why give?] and [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give where to give] pages first to get some background and context. || Follow their [http://givingwhatwecan.org/blog blog]
|}

==Courses==

* [https://www.coursera.org/course/practicalethics Practical Ethics] by Peter Singer on Coursera
* [https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-jpal101x-evaluating-social-programs-1532 Evaluating social programs] by the Poverty Action Lab on EdX

==Effective altruism in connection with career choice and life trajectory==

{{further|[[Choosing a career with effective altruism as a dominant consideration]]}}
{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://80000hours.org/ 80,000 Hours] || Combine publicly available research as well as personalized career guidance to guide people on career choice, where the people they guide have effective altruism as a primary consideration in career choice. || [http://80000hours.org/research Research page] || Their [http://80000hours.org/blog blog] is worth following if this topic interests you.
|}

==Personal blogs of individuals interested in effective altruism==

* Brian Tomasik is an effective altruist writer who maintains a website [http://www.utilitarian-essays.com/ here].
* Ryan Carey is an effective altruism movement-builder who is interested in guiding young people interested in effective altruism. His website is [http://careyryan.com/ here]
* Peter Hurford blogs regularly about topics closely related to effective altruism and utilitarian ethics [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/ here].
* Bastian Stern's website [http://utilitarianism.bastianstern.com/ compiles resources on utilitarianism and effective altruism].
* Paul Christiano maintains a [http://rationalaltruist.com/ blog on rational altruism].

==Other useful starting points==

* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/37f/efficient_charity/ Efficient Charity] by multifoliaterose
* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/3gj/efficient_charity_do_unto_others/ Efficient Charity: Do Unto Others...] by Yvain

==Combined feeds==

* [http://www.rssmix.com/u/3890223/rss.xml EA Medley] maintained by Peter Hurford is a RSS feed combining many effective altruism-related blogs.

==Online communities for general discussion==

* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/effective.altruists/ Effective Altruists Facebook group] (read [http://effectivealtruism.info/?page_id=10 here] for the group guidelines)
* [http://effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum]
* The comments sections of some of the blogs linked above.
* [http://www.lesswrong.com LessWrong] often has blog posts on effective altruism and many people in the LessWrong community are interested in effective altruism.
* You might also be interested in forums related to utilitarianism, including [http://www.felicifia.com Felicifia] and many Facebook groups.

==Key terminology==

Links are to Wikipedia pages or other canonical sources:

* [[Wikipedia:Earning to give|Earning to give]]
* [[Wikipedia:Room for more funding|Room for more funding]]

==See also==

* [[Development economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics learning recommendations]]

Effective altruism learning resources

2014-10-03T05:36:14Z

Riceissa: /* Organizations or group websites interested in effective altruism */ about page link was broken after the new EA forum became live

Since the mid-2000s, [[wikipedia:effective altruism|effective altruism]] has grown considerably as a movement. The goal is to choose one's altruistic actions with the goal of doing as much good as possible and as effectively as possible. There are a number of different groups promoting effective altruism, and their websites provide information that can help you get started on understanding the general principles.

==Trello list of starting points==

See [https://trello.com/b/rm3da7HZ/effective-altruist-introductory-resources Effective Altruist Introductory Resources] for a list of books, videos, and blogs intended to introduce people to effective altruist ideas. The list is not created or maintained by us.

==Organizations or group websites interested in effective altruism==

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization/website !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://www.effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism blog] || People directly involved with effective altruism blog their thoughts on the subject. || Blog posts linked on their [http://effective-altruism.com/ea/6x/introduction_to_effective_altruism/ introduction page]: [http://www.effective-altruism.com/what-effective-altruism/ What is Effective Altruism?] by William MacAskill, [http://www.effective-altruism.com/effective-altruism/ Effective Altruism] by Holden Karnofsky, and [http://www.effective-altruism.com/four-focus-areas-effective-altruism/ Four Focus Areas of Effective Altruism] by Luke Muehlhauser. || The blog might be worth following.
|-
| [http://www.givewell.org GiveWell] || Non-profit dedicated to doing the most good possible. Their primary consumer-facing product is recommendations for top charities to donate to, across all causes (rather than providing a top charity separately for each cause). In addition, they evaluate claims about a diverse range of activities (such as scientific research and political advocacy) that people have claimed might be highly effective ways of improving the world. || [http://www.givewell.org/giving101 Giving 101: the basics] is a useful primer that reviews many basic effective altruism ideas, such as differences between standards of living in different parts of the world, [[wikipedia:room for more funding|room for more funding]] and triage (the one-charity argument). || Follow their [http://blog.givewell.org blog] and skim through their detailed reviews of [http://givewell.org/top-charities top charities] as well as their [http://www.givewell.org/shallow shallow cause overviews].
|-
| [http://givingwhatwecan.org Giving What We Can] || Non-profit dedicated to advocating that people donate more money to charity, as well as providing suggestions about top charities to donate to. They rely on GiveWell's research plus some in-house research to make recommendations. || The [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give/methodology charity evaluation methodology] might be the most educational and informative place to start, but it may be fruitful to check out the [http://givingwhatwecan.org/why-give why give?] and [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give where to give] pages first to get some background and context. || Follow their [http://givingwhatwecan.org/blog blog]
|}

==Courses==

* [https://www.coursera.org/course/practicalethics Practical Ethics] by Peter Singer on Coursera
* [https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-jpal101x-evaluating-social-programs-1532 Evaluating social programs] by the Poverty Action Lab on EdX

==Effective altruism in connection with career choice and life trajectory==

{{further|[[Choosing a career with effective altruism as a dominant consideration]]}}
{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://80000hours.org/ 80,000 Hours] || Combine publicly available research as well as personalized career guidance to guide people on career choice, where the people they guide have effective altruism as a primary consideration in career choice. || [http://80000hours.org/research Research page] || Their [http://80000hours.org/blog blog] is worth following if this topic interests you.
|}

==Personal blogs of individuals interested in effective altruism==

* Brian Tomasik is an effective altruist writer who maintains a website [http://www.utilitarian-essays.com/ here].
* Ryan Carey is an effective altruism movement-builder who is interested in guiding young people interested in effective altruism. His website is [http://careyryan.com/ here]
* Peter Hurford blogs regularly about topics closely related to effective altruism and utilitarian ethics [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/ here].
* Bastian Stern's website [http://utilitarianism.bastianstern.com/ compiles resources on utilitarianism and effective altruism].
* Paul Christiano maintains a [http://rationalaltruist.com/ blog on rational altruism].

==Other useful starting points==

* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/37f/efficient_charity/ Efficient Charity] by multifoliaterose
* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/3gj/efficient_charity_do_unto_others/ Efficient Charity: Do Unto Others...] by Yvain

==Combined feeds==

* [http://www.rssmix.com/u/3890223/rss.xml EA Medley] maintained by Peter Hurford is a RSS feed combining many effective altruism-related blogs.

==Online communities for general discussion==

* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/effective.altruists/ Effective Altruists Facebook group] (read [http://effectivealtruism.info/?page_id=10 here] for the group guidelines)
* [http://effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum]
* The comments sections of some of the blogs linked above.
* [http://www.lesswrong.com LessWrong] often has blog posts on effective altruism and many people in the LessWrong community are interested in effective altruism.
* You might also be interested in forums related to utilitarianism, including [http://www.felicifia.com Felicifia] and many Facebook groups.

==Key terminology==

Links are to Wikipedia pages or other canonical sources:

* [[Wikipedia:Earning to give|Earning to give]]
* [[Wikipedia:Room for more funding|Room for more funding]]

==See also==

* [[Development economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics learning recommendations]]

Effective altruism learning resources

2014-10-03T05:32:37Z

Riceissa: /* Online communities for general discussion */ add the new EA forum

Since the mid-2000s, [[wikipedia:effective altruism|effective altruism]] has grown considerably as a movement. The goal is to choose one's altruistic actions with the goal of doing as much good as possible and as effectively as possible. There are a number of different groups promoting effective altruism, and their websites provide information that can help you get started on understanding the general principles.

==Trello list of starting points==

See [https://trello.com/b/rm3da7HZ/effective-altruist-introductory-resources Effective Altruist Introductory Resources] for a list of books, videos, and blogs intended to introduce people to effective altruist ideas. The list is not created or maintained by us.

==Organizations or group websites interested in effective altruism==

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization/website !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://www.effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism blog] || People directly involved with effective altruism blog their thoughts on the subject. || Blog posts linked on their [http://www.effective-altruism.com/about-2/ about page]: [http://www.effective-altruism.com/what-effective-altruism/ What is Effective Altruism?] by William MacAskill, [http://www.effective-altruism.com/effective-altruism/ Effective Altruism] by Holden Karnofsky, and [http://www.effective-altruism.com/four-focus-areas-effective-altruism/ Four Focus Areas of Effective Altruism] by Luke Muehlhauser. || The blog might be worth following.
|-
| [http://www.givewell.org GiveWell] || Non-profit dedicated to doing the most good possible. Their primary consumer-facing product is recommendations for top charities to donate to, across all causes (rather than providing a top charity separately for each cause). In addition, they evaluate claims about a diverse range of activities (such as scientific research and political advocacy) that people have claimed might be highly effective ways of improving the world. || [http://www.givewell.org/giving101 Giving 101: the basics] is a useful primer that reviews many basic effective altruism ideas, such as differences between standards of living in different parts of the world, [[wikipedia:room for more funding|room for more funding]] and triage (the one-charity argument). || Follow their [http://blog.givewell.org blog] and skim through their detailed reviews of [http://givewell.org/top-charities top charities] as well as their [http://www.givewell.org/shallow shallow cause overviews].
|-
| [http://givingwhatwecan.org Giving What We Can] || Non-profit dedicated to advocating that people donate more money to charity, as well as providing suggestions about top charities to donate to. They rely on GiveWell's research plus some in-house research to make recommendations. || The [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give/methodology charity evaluation methodology] might be the most educational and informative place to start, but it may be fruitful to check out the [http://givingwhatwecan.org/why-give why give?] and [http://givingwhatwecan.org/where-to-give where to give] pages first to get some background and context. || Follow their [http://givingwhatwecan.org/blog blog]
|}

==Courses==

* [https://www.coursera.org/course/practicalethics Practical Ethics] by Peter Singer on Coursera
* [https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-jpal101x-evaluating-social-programs-1532 Evaluating social programs] by the Poverty Action Lab on EdX

==Effective altruism in connection with career choice and life trajectory==

{{further|[[Choosing a career with effective altruism as a dominant consideration]]}}
{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Organization !! What they do !! Starting point for learners !! Things to follow and read
|-
| [http://80000hours.org/ 80,000 Hours] || Combine publicly available research as well as personalized career guidance to guide people on career choice, where the people they guide have effective altruism as a primary consideration in career choice. || [http://80000hours.org/research Research page] || Their [http://80000hours.org/blog blog] is worth following if this topic interests you.
|}

==Personal blogs of individuals interested in effective altruism==

* Brian Tomasik is an effective altruist writer who maintains a website [http://www.utilitarian-essays.com/ here].
* Ryan Carey is an effective altruism movement-builder who is interested in guiding young people interested in effective altruism. His website is [http://careyryan.com/ here]
* Peter Hurford blogs regularly about topics closely related to effective altruism and utilitarian ethics [http://www.everydayutilitarian.com/ here].
* Bastian Stern's website [http://utilitarianism.bastianstern.com/ compiles resources on utilitarianism and effective altruism].
* Paul Christiano maintains a [http://rationalaltruist.com/ blog on rational altruism].

==Other useful starting points==

* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/37f/efficient_charity/ Efficient Charity] by multifoliaterose
* [http://lesswrong.com/lw/3gj/efficient_charity_do_unto_others/ Efficient Charity: Do Unto Others...] by Yvain

==Combined feeds==

* [http://www.rssmix.com/u/3890223/rss.xml EA Medley] maintained by Peter Hurford is a RSS feed combining many effective altruism-related blogs.

==Online communities for general discussion==

* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/effective.altruists/ Effective Altruists Facebook group] (read [http://effectivealtruism.info/?page_id=10 here] for the group guidelines)
* [http://effective-altruism.com/ Effective Altruism Forum]
* The comments sections of some of the blogs linked above.
* [http://www.lesswrong.com LessWrong] often has blog posts on effective altruism and many people in the LessWrong community are interested in effective altruism.
* You might also be interested in forums related to utilitarianism, including [http://www.felicifia.com Felicifia] and many Facebook groups.

==Key terminology==

Links are to Wikipedia pages or other canonical sources:

* [[Wikipedia:Earning to give|Earning to give]]
* [[Wikipedia:Room for more funding|Room for more funding]]

==See also==

* [[Development economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics reading recommendations]]
* [[Economics learning recommendations]]

User:Riceissa

2014-10-03T04:15:01Z

Riceissa: add personal licensing info

== Licensing ==

All of the content I contribute to this wiki is released to the public domain according to the [http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication].

Transferring connections from online to real-life

2014-10-03T03:22:54Z

Riceissa: add introductory remarks

This page discusses transferring online connections into a real-life setting. In other words, it discusses interacting face-to-face with people you have already interacted with online.

== Basic idea ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

Here are some further considerations:

* Obviously personal safety must be taken into account.
* Some of the topics discussed on this wiki, such as [[Rationality_learning_resources|rationality]], [[Effective_altruism|effective altruism]], and [[Quora]], already have local meetup groups; see [http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong_meetup_groups Less Wrong meetup groups], [http://effective-altruism.com/meetups/ effective altruism meetups], and [https://www.quora.com/Quora-Meetups Quora meetups]. Other potentially useful meetups can be found on e.g. [http://www.meetup.com/ Meetup.com].
* Remember that meeting up in person will become easier once one is older and can drive to meetups, live on a college campus where these take place, and so on.
** A corollary to this is that if you are young, going to meetups will allow you to interact with older people who share your interests. This can be useful for both sides; see the questions [https://www.facebook.com/riceissa/posts/1475882736024012 "In what ways do you think older people benefit from interacting with younger people, besides feeling good about helping?"] (Facebook) and [https://www.quora.com/For-high-school-and-early-college-or-equivalent-students-how-has-regular-casual-interaction-with-people-in-their-mid-to-late-20s-influenced-you "For high school and early college (or equivalent) students, how has regular casual interaction with people in their mid-to-late 20s influenced you?"] (Quora).

Maintaining your online presence

2014-10-03T03:09:59Z

Riceissa: /* Transferring connections */ real life => real-life, for consistency

The Internet has a wide plethora of resources that you can leverage well. Many of these can be accessed passively and anonymously, but for some, you can squeeze a lot more value through active participation. This page lists some general tips for creating and maintaining your online presence to minimize later regret.

==Look respectable==

===Choose a good name===

Your online handles, including your email address, Facebook URL, Twitter name, or any other online public-facing user identity you have, should preferably be based on your real name. This makes it easy for people to locate you. Preferably do ''not'' choose handles that are related to specific political or religious beliefs or cultural icons. Your beliefs may change over time, and in any case, it's not good practice to make your beliefs and affiliations scream out at people every time they visit your profile. '''Under no circumstances should you use swearwords, exhortations to violence, or controversial cultural terms in your email address or online handles.'''

===Don't post embarrassing photographs===

Decide between two options:

* Not posting a photograph at all (this may be suited in the beginning, when you're mostly lurking, and to protect your identity somewhat).
* Posting a photograph that shows your face clearly and well, in a relatively sober expression (i.e., don't "make faces" to the camera).

It's generally unhelpful to post photographs of somebody else for your profile picture, even if that person is a known model or actor and therefore can't be confused with you. Choosing a photo of yourself while drunk or making funny faces to the camera sends a bad impression.

===Use decent language, spelling, and grammar===

Avoid the use of swear words, derogatory ethnic terms, exhortations to violence, or overtly confrontational language, even in private messages or posts to restricted lists. Unless constrained by space limitations (as in the case of tweets on Twitter) use grammatically correct sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.

===Think hard before raising controversial issues===

Civil discussion of controversial issues is often admirable. But it should be done with care. Even if your original post is civil, the reactions to it (if you allow comments) could be uncivil. Even if you're not personally hurt by such reactions, these could get you into trouble. Colleges and potential employers generally steer clear of people who get enmeshed in controversies, even if those people aren't objectively at fault.

==Privacy==

===Anonymity===

Anonymity through the use of pseudonyms on some forums may be appropriate. However, the general naming rules apply to pseudonyms: do not choose pseudonyms that are perceived as offensive or insensitive. Choose pseudonyms only on fora where pseudonym use is encouraged, and follow the general naming conventions of the forum.

Do ''not'' trust that the use of pseudonyms will be a foolproof guarantee of anonymity. ''Always'' write with expectation that some of what you write may later be associated with your real name.

===Do not reveal "real-life" information===

Avoid revealing the following outside of restricted-access friend lists:

* The names of your family members.
* Your home address.
* Your phone number (keep contact information restricted to an email address and social media accounts).
* The names of employers for part-time or full-time jobs that you are doing (unless the employer gives consent, or your public persona ''requires'' you to associate yourself with a particular employer).
* Information explicitly attributed to others that is conveyed by them to you in private fora (online or offline), unless they give you consent.

Basically, your online persona should reveal those parts of you that help people get an idea of what you're thinking about and your opinions on specific issues, but should not be a way for them to track you down or get information about your real-life friends (except if they contact you personally).

=== Selecting an appropriate audience ===

There exists a spectrum for sharing information about oneself; i.e. there is no dichotomy of either complete privacy or complete release of information. Consider the gradual increase in visibility in going from keeping one's data local (on one's own hard drive), to keeping data on a cloud service but available only to oneself (so that the service provider, such as Google, can potentially view or use the data), to keeping data on a cloud service but with the ability to invite other authorized users to view the data, to making the data public, but not locatable by search engines, so that effectively only people with the link can view the data (this is, for instance, what [https://github.com/ GitHub] does with its [https://help.github.com/articles/about-gists#secret-gists secret gists]), to releasing the data publicly and making it locatable by search engines. Additionally, in each case, one has the option of using one's real name or a pseudonym (or, in some cases, staying anonymous). It is important to know, then, that some of the pros and cons of privacy will only apply to a certain part of this spectrum.

In terms of content sharing online, this means that one can attempt to restrict the audience that receives specific content. Since your interests are likely to not overlap completely with that of most people, targeting content to an audience who shares a particular interest will likely mean that (1) they will be happier seeing content that applies to them, and (2) you will receive better feedback on what you post. Restriction of the whole discussion may also mean that people will give you more candid responses.

=== Concerns about privacy ===

[[Wikipedia:Internet privacy|Privacy on the internet]] has received a lot of attention over the years, with for instance some, like free software activist [[Wikipedia:Richard Stallman|Richard Stallman]], [https://stallman.org/facebook.html#privacy advising people not to use Facebook on grounds of privacy] (among other reasons). See [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-making-information-about-oneself-available-online-through-for-example-smart-phone-apps-and-social-media-posts the Quora question "What are the advantages and disadvantages of making information about oneself available online through for example smart phone apps and social media posts?"] for more on this topic.

==Join online communities==

===Lurk for a while===

Each community has its own rules for engagement. Spend some time reading their formally codified rules, plus more time reading discussions of the sort you eventually intend to participate in. Doing this for a while gives you a sense for what sort of discussions work well and what sort generate controversy. You can then start participating in an informed manner.

===Be polite and deferential to begin with, and don't try to "take over" the forum===

It's better to err initially in the direction of being deferential and polite. Some concrete tips:

* Avoid participation in flame wars or in threads where there's trolling or trollbaiting.
* Don't make posts too short or too long.
* Don't post too frequently in the beginning.
* If you're uncertain of whether the post is appropriate for the forum, briefly indicate this at the beginning of the post, preemptively apologizing in the event that the post is inappropriate.
* When framing views that you think others might disagree with, preface with "I think ..." or "In my view ..." and end by asking others what they think. Show that you're eager to learn and exchange ideas, rather than just there to preach your views. If the forum penalizes such language, it may not be worth participating in.
* Always disclose conflicts of interest. If you're trying to stay anonymous, then do ''not'' post anything linking to work done by you under your real name, because that leaves two unpleasant options: (a) disclosing your identity due to conflict of interest (and defeat the purpose of anonymity), or (b) do not disclose your identity, and violate the conflict of interest disclosure norm.

===Pay your dues===

Online communities are generally insular to ''external'' credentials or work, but reward effort ''within'' the community. Some of them have explicit karma systems and credits that give you more privilege as you participate more. In some, informal norms do a similar job. Be useful to the community and its members over an extended period of time, and you'll find your opportunities growing.

==Communities to consider joining==

Most websites state a minimum age of 13, due to the COPPA in the United States for child privacy. The norm may not be strictly enforced by websites. But we strongly recommend not joining such a website if you're not yet 13, unless you check ''both'' with your parents ''and'' with the website administrators that it is okay for you to join the website. If you join too early, you might get kicked out.

===Email and messaging===

* Get an email account with a service such as Gmail. The Google ID can also be used for other Google services. Keep the username suggestions in mind.
* Get a Skype account. Some people you want to communicate with may be more comfortable using Skype than Google's voice services.

===Social networks===

Joining does not mean that you are required to regularly participate. In fact, unless you find a good reason to participate actively, it's preferable that you don't. But joining still has benefits: you acquire an online presence, you can connect with more people, and you can search within the networks for specific people or things.

* [http://www.facebook.com Facebook]: Join early. Keep your profile serious. Start building your network of friends and pages -- building friend networks, particularly networks of friends outside your immediate surroundings, takes time. It's okay to keep your Facebook activity to a minimum other than that, but if you do find communities on Facebook that you like participating in, you can participate in those. For more, see [[using Facebook effectively]].
* [http://www.twitter.com Twitter]: There aren't compelling arguments to join Twitter, but you might as well snag a good username when it's free and start building your Twitter network.
* [http://www.linkedin.com LinkedIn]: Again, a minimal LinkedIn profile can provide an online identity for you that others, including potential employers for jobs or internships can refer to. You can also start building connections and obtaining endorsements.

There are many other social network-based websites, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest. But none of these have the property that people are ''expected'' to have online accounts on the website, and they generally don't have a sufficiently large network of users already, so joining in order to connect with others may not work out well.

===Websites for content creation===

* [http://www.quora.com Quora] (question-and-answer website): This is a great place both for getting information and for honing your craft of communicating your thoughts through writing. You can also set up your blog on Quora (you can cross-post there with an off-Quora blog). In general, we'd recommend getting a start with writing practice on Quora before you start blogging on your own. See our [[join Quora]] page for more.
* [http://www.stackexchange.com StackExchange] (question-and-answer website): Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer websites devoted to specific topics. It's less freewheeling than Quora, and allows you to develop your topical knowledge and communication skills for the topics where the Stack Exchanges are high-quality and active.
* [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]: Wikipedia's a great resource to read, but you can also edit Wikipedia. Admittedly, it's a little more effort to get ''started'' editing Wikipedia: you need to understand the MediaWiki markup language and also the etiquette of Wikipedia, and you need to be prepared for your work getting ruthlessly rejected. Unlike Quora, we don't think ''all'' people reading this page should get on Wikipedia and start contributing. But it's something worth looking at.
* Some websites, like [http://www.reddit.com/ Reddit], can be [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_Reddit|rather controversial]], but it may still be worth looking into these. Reddit in particular can seemingly have a low signal-to-noise ratio, but developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful. Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, one might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research). Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving].

== Transferring connections ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real-life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

{{further|[[Transferring connections from online to real-life]]}}

==Personal website==

{{further|[[creating your personal website]]}}

Maintaining your online presence

2014-10-03T03:09:18Z

Riceissa: /* Transferring connections */ modularize

The Internet has a wide plethora of resources that you can leverage well. Many of these can be accessed passively and anonymously, but for some, you can squeeze a lot more value through active participation. This page lists some general tips for creating and maintaining your online presence to minimize later regret.

==Look respectable==

===Choose a good name===

Your online handles, including your email address, Facebook URL, Twitter name, or any other online public-facing user identity you have, should preferably be based on your real name. This makes it easy for people to locate you. Preferably do ''not'' choose handles that are related to specific political or religious beliefs or cultural icons. Your beliefs may change over time, and in any case, it's not good practice to make your beliefs and affiliations scream out at people every time they visit your profile. '''Under no circumstances should you use swearwords, exhortations to violence, or controversial cultural terms in your email address or online handles.'''

===Don't post embarrassing photographs===

Decide between two options:

* Not posting a photograph at all (this may be suited in the beginning, when you're mostly lurking, and to protect your identity somewhat).
* Posting a photograph that shows your face clearly and well, in a relatively sober expression (i.e., don't "make faces" to the camera).

It's generally unhelpful to post photographs of somebody else for your profile picture, even if that person is a known model or actor and therefore can't be confused with you. Choosing a photo of yourself while drunk or making funny faces to the camera sends a bad impression.

===Use decent language, spelling, and grammar===

Avoid the use of swear words, derogatory ethnic terms, exhortations to violence, or overtly confrontational language, even in private messages or posts to restricted lists. Unless constrained by space limitations (as in the case of tweets on Twitter) use grammatically correct sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.

===Think hard before raising controversial issues===

Civil discussion of controversial issues is often admirable. But it should be done with care. Even if your original post is civil, the reactions to it (if you allow comments) could be uncivil. Even if you're not personally hurt by such reactions, these could get you into trouble. Colleges and potential employers generally steer clear of people who get enmeshed in controversies, even if those people aren't objectively at fault.

==Privacy==

===Anonymity===

Anonymity through the use of pseudonyms on some forums may be appropriate. However, the general naming rules apply to pseudonyms: do not choose pseudonyms that are perceived as offensive or insensitive. Choose pseudonyms only on fora where pseudonym use is encouraged, and follow the general naming conventions of the forum.

Do ''not'' trust that the use of pseudonyms will be a foolproof guarantee of anonymity. ''Always'' write with expectation that some of what you write may later be associated with your real name.

===Do not reveal "real-life" information===

Avoid revealing the following outside of restricted-access friend lists:

* The names of your family members.
* Your home address.
* Your phone number (keep contact information restricted to an email address and social media accounts).
* The names of employers for part-time or full-time jobs that you are doing (unless the employer gives consent, or your public persona ''requires'' you to associate yourself with a particular employer).
* Information explicitly attributed to others that is conveyed by them to you in private fora (online or offline), unless they give you consent.

Basically, your online persona should reveal those parts of you that help people get an idea of what you're thinking about and your opinions on specific issues, but should not be a way for them to track you down or get information about your real-life friends (except if they contact you personally).

=== Selecting an appropriate audience ===

There exists a spectrum for sharing information about oneself; i.e. there is no dichotomy of either complete privacy or complete release of information. Consider the gradual increase in visibility in going from keeping one's data local (on one's own hard drive), to keeping data on a cloud service but available only to oneself (so that the service provider, such as Google, can potentially view or use the data), to keeping data on a cloud service but with the ability to invite other authorized users to view the data, to making the data public, but not locatable by search engines, so that effectively only people with the link can view the data (this is, for instance, what [https://github.com/ GitHub] does with its [https://help.github.com/articles/about-gists#secret-gists secret gists]), to releasing the data publicly and making it locatable by search engines. Additionally, in each case, one has the option of using one's real name or a pseudonym (or, in some cases, staying anonymous). It is important to know, then, that some of the pros and cons of privacy will only apply to a certain part of this spectrum.

In terms of content sharing online, this means that one can attempt to restrict the audience that receives specific content. Since your interests are likely to not overlap completely with that of most people, targeting content to an audience who shares a particular interest will likely mean that (1) they will be happier seeing content that applies to them, and (2) you will receive better feedback on what you post. Restriction of the whole discussion may also mean that people will give you more candid responses.

=== Concerns about privacy ===

[[Wikipedia:Internet privacy|Privacy on the internet]] has received a lot of attention over the years, with for instance some, like free software activist [[Wikipedia:Richard Stallman|Richard Stallman]], [https://stallman.org/facebook.html#privacy advising people not to use Facebook on grounds of privacy] (among other reasons). See [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-making-information-about-oneself-available-online-through-for-example-smart-phone-apps-and-social-media-posts the Quora question "What are the advantages and disadvantages of making information about oneself available online through for example smart phone apps and social media posts?"] for more on this topic.

==Join online communities==

===Lurk for a while===

Each community has its own rules for engagement. Spend some time reading their formally codified rules, plus more time reading discussions of the sort you eventually intend to participate in. Doing this for a while gives you a sense for what sort of discussions work well and what sort generate controversy. You can then start participating in an informed manner.

===Be polite and deferential to begin with, and don't try to "take over" the forum===

It's better to err initially in the direction of being deferential and polite. Some concrete tips:

* Avoid participation in flame wars or in threads where there's trolling or trollbaiting.
* Don't make posts too short or too long.
* Don't post too frequently in the beginning.
* If you're uncertain of whether the post is appropriate for the forum, briefly indicate this at the beginning of the post, preemptively apologizing in the event that the post is inappropriate.
* When framing views that you think others might disagree with, preface with "I think ..." or "In my view ..." and end by asking others what they think. Show that you're eager to learn and exchange ideas, rather than just there to preach your views. If the forum penalizes such language, it may not be worth participating in.
* Always disclose conflicts of interest. If you're trying to stay anonymous, then do ''not'' post anything linking to work done by you under your real name, because that leaves two unpleasant options: (a) disclosing your identity due to conflict of interest (and defeat the purpose of anonymity), or (b) do not disclose your identity, and violate the conflict of interest disclosure norm.

===Pay your dues===

Online communities are generally insular to ''external'' credentials or work, but reward effort ''within'' the community. Some of them have explicit karma systems and credits that give you more privilege as you participate more. In some, informal norms do a similar job. Be useful to the community and its members over an extended period of time, and you'll find your opportunities growing.

==Communities to consider joining==

Most websites state a minimum age of 13, due to the COPPA in the United States for child privacy. The norm may not be strictly enforced by websites. But we strongly recommend not joining such a website if you're not yet 13, unless you check ''both'' with your parents ''and'' with the website administrators that it is okay for you to join the website. If you join too early, you might get kicked out.

===Email and messaging===

* Get an email account with a service such as Gmail. The Google ID can also be used for other Google services. Keep the username suggestions in mind.
* Get a Skype account. Some people you want to communicate with may be more comfortable using Skype than Google's voice services.

===Social networks===

Joining does not mean that you are required to regularly participate. In fact, unless you find a good reason to participate actively, it's preferable that you don't. But joining still has benefits: you acquire an online presence, you can connect with more people, and you can search within the networks for specific people or things.

* [http://www.facebook.com Facebook]: Join early. Keep your profile serious. Start building your network of friends and pages -- building friend networks, particularly networks of friends outside your immediate surroundings, takes time. It's okay to keep your Facebook activity to a minimum other than that, but if you do find communities on Facebook that you like participating in, you can participate in those. For more, see [[using Facebook effectively]].
* [http://www.twitter.com Twitter]: There aren't compelling arguments to join Twitter, but you might as well snag a good username when it's free and start building your Twitter network.
* [http://www.linkedin.com LinkedIn]: Again, a minimal LinkedIn profile can provide an online identity for you that others, including potential employers for jobs or internships can refer to. You can also start building connections and obtaining endorsements.

There are many other social network-based websites, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest. But none of these have the property that people are ''expected'' to have online accounts on the website, and they generally don't have a sufficiently large network of users already, so joining in order to connect with others may not work out well.

===Websites for content creation===

* [http://www.quora.com Quora] (question-and-answer website): This is a great place both for getting information and for honing your craft of communicating your thoughts through writing. You can also set up your blog on Quora (you can cross-post there with an off-Quora blog). In general, we'd recommend getting a start with writing practice on Quora before you start blogging on your own. See our [[join Quora]] page for more.
* [http://www.stackexchange.com StackExchange] (question-and-answer website): Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer websites devoted to specific topics. It's less freewheeling than Quora, and allows you to develop your topical knowledge and communication skills for the topics where the Stack Exchanges are high-quality and active.
* [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]: Wikipedia's a great resource to read, but you can also edit Wikipedia. Admittedly, it's a little more effort to get ''started'' editing Wikipedia: you need to understand the MediaWiki markup language and also the etiquette of Wikipedia, and you need to be prepared for your work getting ruthlessly rejected. Unlike Quora, we don't think ''all'' people reading this page should get on Wikipedia and start contributing. But it's something worth looking at.
* Some websites, like [http://www.reddit.com/ Reddit], can be [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_Reddit|rather controversial]], but it may still be worth looking into these. Reddit in particular can seemingly have a low signal-to-noise ratio, but developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful. Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, one might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research). Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving].

== Transferring connections ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

{{further|[[Transferring connections from online to real-life]]}}

==Personal website==

{{further|[[creating your personal website]]}}

Transferring connections from online to real-life

2014-10-03T03:01:22Z

Riceissa: copy from Maintaining your online presence

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

Here are some further considerations:

* Obviously personal safety must be taken into account.
* Some of the topics discussed on this wiki, such as [[Rationality_learning_resources|rationality]], [[Effective_altruism|effective altruism]], and [[Quora]], already have local meetup groups; see [http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong_meetup_groups Less Wrong meetup groups], [http://effective-altruism.com/meetups/ effective altruism meetups], and [https://www.quora.com/Quora-Meetups Quora meetups]. Other potentially useful meetups can be found on e.g. [http://www.meetup.com/ Meetup.com].
* Remember that meeting up in person will become easier once one is older and can drive to meetups, live on a college campus where these take place, and so on.
** A corollary to this is that if you are young, going to meetups will allow you to interact with older people who share your interests. This can be useful for both sides; see the questions [https://www.facebook.com/riceissa/posts/1475882736024012 "In what ways do you think older people benefit from interacting with younger people, besides feeling good about helping?"] (Facebook) and [https://www.quora.com/For-high-school-and-early-college-or-equivalent-students-how-has-regular-casual-interaction-with-people-in-their-mid-to-late-20s-influenced-you "For high school and early college (or equivalent) students, how has regular casual interaction with people in their mid-to-late 20s influenced you?"] (Quora).

Maintaining your online presence

2014-10-02T20:00:40Z

Riceissa: /* Transferring connections */ add benefits to age-different interactions

The Internet has a wide plethora of resources that you can leverage well. Many of these can be accessed passively and anonymously, but for some, you can squeeze a lot more value through active participation. This page lists some general tips for creating and maintaining your online presence to minimize later regret.

==Look respectable==

===Choose a good name===

Your online handles, including your email address, Facebook URL, Twitter name, or any other online public-facing user identity you have, should preferably be based on your real name. This makes it easy for people to locate you. Preferably do ''not'' choose handles that are related to specific political or religious beliefs or cultural icons. Your beliefs may change over time, and in any case, it's not good practice to make your beliefs and affiliations scream out at people every time they visit your profile. '''Under no circumstances should you use swearwords, exhortations to violence, or controversial cultural terms in your email address or online handles.'''

===Don't post embarrassing photographs===

Decide between two options:

* Not posting a photograph at all (this may be suited in the beginning, when you're mostly lurking, and to protect your identity somewhat).
* Posting a photograph that shows your face clearly and well, in a relatively sober expression (i.e., don't "make faces" to the camera).

It's generally unhelpful to post photographs of somebody else for your profile picture, even if that person is a known model or actor and therefore can't be confused with you. Choosing a photo of yourself while drunk or making funny faces to the camera sends a bad impression.

===Use decent language, spelling, and grammar===

Avoid the use of swear words, derogatory ethnic terms, exhortations to violence, or overtly confrontational language, even in private messages or posts to restricted lists. Unless constrained by space limitations (as in the case of tweets on Twitter) use grammatically correct sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.

===Think hard before raising controversial issues===

Civil discussion of controversial issues is often admirable. But it should be done with care. Even if your original post is civil, the reactions to it (if you allow comments) could be uncivil. Even if you're not personally hurt by such reactions, these could get you into trouble. Colleges and potential employers generally steer clear of people who get enmeshed in controversies, even if those people aren't objectively at fault.

==Privacy==

===Anonymity===

Anonymity through the use of pseudonyms on some forums may be appropriate. However, the general naming rules apply to pseudonyms: do not choose pseudonyms that are perceived as offensive or insensitive. Choose pseudonyms only on fora where pseudonym use is encouraged, and follow the general naming conventions of the forum.

Do ''not'' trust that the use of pseudonyms will be a foolproof guarantee of anonymity. ''Always'' write with expectation that some of what you write may later be associated with your real name.

===Do not reveal "real-life" information===

Avoid revealing the following outside of restricted-access friend lists:

* The names of your family members.
* Your home address.
* Your phone number (keep contact information restricted to an email address and social media accounts).
* The names of employers for part-time or full-time jobs that you are doing (unless the employer gives consent, or your public persona ''requires'' you to associate yourself with a particular employer).
* Information explicitly attributed to others that is conveyed by them to you in private fora (online or offline), unless they give you consent.

Basically, your online persona should reveal those parts of you that help people get an idea of what you're thinking about and your opinions on specific issues, but should not be a way for them to track you down or get information about your real-life friends (except if they contact you personally).

=== Selecting an appropriate audience ===

There exists a spectrum for sharing information about oneself; i.e. there is no dichotomy of either complete privacy or complete release of information. Consider the gradual increase in visibility in going from keeping one's data local (on one's own hard drive), to keeping data on a cloud service but available only to oneself (so that the service provider, such as Google, can potentially view or use the data), to keeping data on a cloud service but with the ability to invite other authorized users to view the data, to making the data public, but not locatable by search engines, so that effectively only people with the link can view the data (this is, for instance, what [https://github.com/ GitHub] does with its [https://help.github.com/articles/about-gists#secret-gists secret gists]), to releasing the data publicly and making it locatable by search engines. Additionally, in each case, one has the option of using one's real name or a pseudonym (or, in some cases, staying anonymous). It is important to know, then, that some of the pros and cons of privacy will only apply to a certain part of this spectrum.

In terms of content sharing online, this means that one can attempt to restrict the audience that receives specific content. Since your interests are likely to not overlap completely with that of most people, targeting content to an audience who shares a particular interest will likely mean that (1) they will be happier seeing content that applies to them, and (2) you will receive better feedback on what you post. Restriction of the whole discussion may also mean that people will give you more candid responses.

=== Concerns about privacy ===

[[Wikipedia:Internet privacy|Privacy on the internet]] has received a lot of attention over the years, with for instance some, like free software activist [[Wikipedia:Richard Stallman|Richard Stallman]], [https://stallman.org/facebook.html#privacy advising people not to use Facebook on grounds of privacy] (among other reasons). See [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-making-information-about-oneself-available-online-through-for-example-smart-phone-apps-and-social-media-posts the Quora question "What are the advantages and disadvantages of making information about oneself available online through for example smart phone apps and social media posts?"] for more on this topic.

==Join online communities==

===Lurk for a while===

Each community has its own rules for engagement. Spend some time reading their formally codified rules, plus more time reading discussions of the sort you eventually intend to participate in. Doing this for a while gives you a sense for what sort of discussions work well and what sort generate controversy. You can then start participating in an informed manner.

===Be polite and deferential to begin with, and don't try to "take over" the forum===

It's better to err initially in the direction of being deferential and polite. Some concrete tips:

* Avoid participation in flame wars or in threads where there's trolling or trollbaiting.
* Don't make posts too short or too long.
* Don't post too frequently in the beginning.
* If you're uncertain of whether the post is appropriate for the forum, briefly indicate this at the beginning of the post, preemptively apologizing in the event that the post is inappropriate.
* When framing views that you think others might disagree with, preface with "I think ..." or "In my view ..." and end by asking others what they think. Show that you're eager to learn and exchange ideas, rather than just there to preach your views. If the forum penalizes such language, it may not be worth participating in.
* Always disclose conflicts of interest. If you're trying to stay anonymous, then do ''not'' post anything linking to work done by you under your real name, because that leaves two unpleasant options: (a) disclosing your identity due to conflict of interest (and defeat the purpose of anonymity), or (b) do not disclose your identity, and violate the conflict of interest disclosure norm.

===Pay your dues===

Online communities are generally insular to ''external'' credentials or work, but reward effort ''within'' the community. Some of them have explicit karma systems and credits that give you more privilege as you participate more. In some, informal norms do a similar job. Be useful to the community and its members over an extended period of time, and you'll find your opportunities growing.

==Communities to consider joining==

Most websites state a minimum age of 13, due to the COPPA in the United States for child privacy. The norm may not be strictly enforced by websites. But we strongly recommend not joining such a website if you're not yet 13, unless you check ''both'' with your parents ''and'' with the website administrators that it is okay for you to join the website. If you join too early, you might get kicked out.

===Email and messaging===

* Get an email account with a service such as Gmail. The Google ID can also be used for other Google services. Keep the username suggestions in mind.
* Get a Skype account. Some people you want to communicate with may be more comfortable using Skype than Google's voice services.

===Social networks===

Joining does not mean that you are required to regularly participate. In fact, unless you find a good reason to participate actively, it's preferable that you don't. But joining still has benefits: you acquire an online presence, you can connect with more people, and you can search within the networks for specific people or things.

* [http://www.facebook.com Facebook]: Join early. Keep your profile serious. Start building your network of friends and pages -- building friend networks, particularly networks of friends outside your immediate surroundings, takes time. It's okay to keep your Facebook activity to a minimum other than that, but if you do find communities on Facebook that you like participating in, you can participate in those. For more, see [[using Facebook effectively]].
* [http://www.twitter.com Twitter]: There aren't compelling arguments to join Twitter, but you might as well snag a good username when it's free and start building your Twitter network.
* [http://www.linkedin.com LinkedIn]: Again, a minimal LinkedIn profile can provide an online identity for you that others, including potential employers for jobs or internships can refer to. You can also start building connections and obtaining endorsements.

There are many other social network-based websites, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest. But none of these have the property that people are ''expected'' to have online accounts on the website, and they generally don't have a sufficiently large network of users already, so joining in order to connect with others may not work out well.

===Websites for content creation===

* [http://www.quora.com Quora] (question-and-answer website): This is a great place both for getting information and for honing your craft of communicating your thoughts through writing. You can also set up your blog on Quora (you can cross-post there with an off-Quora blog). In general, we'd recommend getting a start with writing practice on Quora before you start blogging on your own. See our [[join Quora]] page for more.
* [http://www.stackexchange.com StackExchange] (question-and-answer website): Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer websites devoted to specific topics. It's less freewheeling than Quora, and allows you to develop your topical knowledge and communication skills for the topics where the Stack Exchanges are high-quality and active.
* [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]: Wikipedia's a great resource to read, but you can also edit Wikipedia. Admittedly, it's a little more effort to get ''started'' editing Wikipedia: you need to understand the MediaWiki markup language and also the etiquette of Wikipedia, and you need to be prepared for your work getting ruthlessly rejected. Unlike Quora, we don't think ''all'' people reading this page should get on Wikipedia and start contributing. But it's something worth looking at.
* Some websites, like [http://www.reddit.com/ Reddit], can be [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_Reddit|rather controversial]], but it may still be worth looking into these. Reddit in particular can seemingly have a low signal-to-noise ratio, but developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful. Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, one might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research). Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving].

== Transferring connections ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

Here are some further considerations:

* Obviously personal safety must be taken into account.
* Some of the topics discussed on this wiki, such as [[Rationality_learning_resources|rationality]], [[Effective_altruism|effective altruism]], and [[Quora]], already have local meetup groups; see [http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong_meetup_groups Less Wrong meetup groups], [http://effective-altruism.com/meetups/ effective altruism meetups], and [https://www.quora.com/Quora-Meetups Quora meetups]. Other potentially useful meetups can be found on e.g. [http://www.meetup.com/ Meetup.com].
* Remember that meeting up in person will become easier once one is older and can drive to meetups, live on a college campus where these take place, and so on.
** A corollary to this is that if you are young, going to meetups will allow you to interact with older people who share your interests. This can be useful for both sides; see the questions [https://www.facebook.com/riceissa/posts/1475882736024012 "In what ways do you think older people benefit from interacting with younger people, besides feeling good about helping?"] (Facebook) and [https://www.quora.com/For-high-school-and-early-college-or-equivalent-students-how-has-regular-casual-interaction-with-people-in-their-mid-to-late-20s-influenced-you "For high school and early college (or equivalent) students, how has regular casual interaction with people in their mid-to-late 20s influenced you?"] (Quora).

==Personal website==

{{further|[[creating your personal website]]}}

Maintaining your online presence

2014-10-02T19:50:55Z

Riceissa: /* Websites for content creation */ external link => internal wikipedia link

The Internet has a wide plethora of resources that you can leverage well. Many of these can be accessed passively and anonymously, but for some, you can squeeze a lot more value through active participation. This page lists some general tips for creating and maintaining your online presence to minimize later regret.

==Look respectable==

===Choose a good name===

Your online handles, including your email address, Facebook URL, Twitter name, or any other online public-facing user identity you have, should preferably be based on your real name. This makes it easy for people to locate you. Preferably do ''not'' choose handles that are related to specific political or religious beliefs or cultural icons. Your beliefs may change over time, and in any case, it's not good practice to make your beliefs and affiliations scream out at people every time they visit your profile. '''Under no circumstances should you use swearwords, exhortations to violence, or controversial cultural terms in your email address or online handles.'''

===Don't post embarrassing photographs===

Decide between two options:

* Not posting a photograph at all (this may be suited in the beginning, when you're mostly lurking, and to protect your identity somewhat).
* Posting a photograph that shows your face clearly and well, in a relatively sober expression (i.e., don't "make faces" to the camera).

It's generally unhelpful to post photographs of somebody else for your profile picture, even if that person is a known model or actor and therefore can't be confused with you. Choosing a photo of yourself while drunk or making funny faces to the camera sends a bad impression.

===Use decent language, spelling, and grammar===

Avoid the use of swear words, derogatory ethnic terms, exhortations to violence, or overtly confrontational language, even in private messages or posts to restricted lists. Unless constrained by space limitations (as in the case of tweets on Twitter) use grammatically correct sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.

===Think hard before raising controversial issues===

Civil discussion of controversial issues is often admirable. But it should be done with care. Even if your original post is civil, the reactions to it (if you allow comments) could be uncivil. Even if you're not personally hurt by such reactions, these could get you into trouble. Colleges and potential employers generally steer clear of people who get enmeshed in controversies, even if those people aren't objectively at fault.

==Privacy==

===Anonymity===

Anonymity through the use of pseudonyms on some forums may be appropriate. However, the general naming rules apply to pseudonyms: do not choose pseudonyms that are perceived as offensive or insensitive. Choose pseudonyms only on fora where pseudonym use is encouraged, and follow the general naming conventions of the forum.

Do ''not'' trust that the use of pseudonyms will be a foolproof guarantee of anonymity. ''Always'' write with expectation that some of what you write may later be associated with your real name.

===Do not reveal "real-life" information===

Avoid revealing the following outside of restricted-access friend lists:

* The names of your family members.
* Your home address.
* Your phone number (keep contact information restricted to an email address and social media accounts).
* The names of employers for part-time or full-time jobs that you are doing (unless the employer gives consent, or your public persona ''requires'' you to associate yourself with a particular employer).
* Information explicitly attributed to others that is conveyed by them to you in private fora (online or offline), unless they give you consent.

Basically, your online persona should reveal those parts of you that help people get an idea of what you're thinking about and your opinions on specific issues, but should not be a way for them to track you down or get information about your real-life friends (except if they contact you personally).

=== Selecting an appropriate audience ===

There exists a spectrum for sharing information about oneself; i.e. there is no dichotomy of either complete privacy or complete release of information. Consider the gradual increase in visibility in going from keeping one's data local (on one's own hard drive), to keeping data on a cloud service but available only to oneself (so that the service provider, such as Google, can potentially view or use the data), to keeping data on a cloud service but with the ability to invite other authorized users to view the data, to making the data public, but not locatable by search engines, so that effectively only people with the link can view the data (this is, for instance, what [https://github.com/ GitHub] does with its [https://help.github.com/articles/about-gists#secret-gists secret gists]), to releasing the data publicly and making it locatable by search engines. Additionally, in each case, one has the option of using one's real name or a pseudonym (or, in some cases, staying anonymous). It is important to know, then, that some of the pros and cons of privacy will only apply to a certain part of this spectrum.

In terms of content sharing online, this means that one can attempt to restrict the audience that receives specific content. Since your interests are likely to not overlap completely with that of most people, targeting content to an audience who shares a particular interest will likely mean that (1) they will be happier seeing content that applies to them, and (2) you will receive better feedback on what you post. Restriction of the whole discussion may also mean that people will give you more candid responses.

=== Concerns about privacy ===

[[Wikipedia:Internet privacy|Privacy on the internet]] has received a lot of attention over the years, with for instance some, like free software activist [[Wikipedia:Richard Stallman|Richard Stallman]], [https://stallman.org/facebook.html#privacy advising people not to use Facebook on grounds of privacy] (among other reasons). See [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-making-information-about-oneself-available-online-through-for-example-smart-phone-apps-and-social-media-posts the Quora question "What are the advantages and disadvantages of making information about oneself available online through for example smart phone apps and social media posts?"] for more on this topic.

==Join online communities==

===Lurk for a while===

Each community has its own rules for engagement. Spend some time reading their formally codified rules, plus more time reading discussions of the sort you eventually intend to participate in. Doing this for a while gives you a sense for what sort of discussions work well and what sort generate controversy. You can then start participating in an informed manner.

===Be polite and deferential to begin with, and don't try to "take over" the forum===

It's better to err initially in the direction of being deferential and polite. Some concrete tips:

* Avoid participation in flame wars or in threads where there's trolling or trollbaiting.
* Don't make posts too short or too long.
* Don't post too frequently in the beginning.
* If you're uncertain of whether the post is appropriate for the forum, briefly indicate this at the beginning of the post, preemptively apologizing in the event that the post is inappropriate.
* When framing views that you think others might disagree with, preface with "I think ..." or "In my view ..." and end by asking others what they think. Show that you're eager to learn and exchange ideas, rather than just there to preach your views. If the forum penalizes such language, it may not be worth participating in.
* Always disclose conflicts of interest. If you're trying to stay anonymous, then do ''not'' post anything linking to work done by you under your real name, because that leaves two unpleasant options: (a) disclosing your identity due to conflict of interest (and defeat the purpose of anonymity), or (b) do not disclose your identity, and violate the conflict of interest disclosure norm.

===Pay your dues===

Online communities are generally insular to ''external'' credentials or work, but reward effort ''within'' the community. Some of them have explicit karma systems and credits that give you more privilege as you participate more. In some, informal norms do a similar job. Be useful to the community and its members over an extended period of time, and you'll find your opportunities growing.

==Communities to consider joining==

Most websites state a minimum age of 13, due to the COPPA in the United States for child privacy. The norm may not be strictly enforced by websites. But we strongly recommend not joining such a website if you're not yet 13, unless you check ''both'' with your parents ''and'' with the website administrators that it is okay for you to join the website. If you join too early, you might get kicked out.

===Email and messaging===

* Get an email account with a service such as Gmail. The Google ID can also be used for other Google services. Keep the username suggestions in mind.
* Get a Skype account. Some people you want to communicate with may be more comfortable using Skype than Google's voice services.

===Social networks===

Joining does not mean that you are required to regularly participate. In fact, unless you find a good reason to participate actively, it's preferable that you don't. But joining still has benefits: you acquire an online presence, you can connect with more people, and you can search within the networks for specific people or things.

* [http://www.facebook.com Facebook]: Join early. Keep your profile serious. Start building your network of friends and pages -- building friend networks, particularly networks of friends outside your immediate surroundings, takes time. It's okay to keep your Facebook activity to a minimum other than that, but if you do find communities on Facebook that you like participating in, you can participate in those. For more, see [[using Facebook effectively]].
* [http://www.twitter.com Twitter]: There aren't compelling arguments to join Twitter, but you might as well snag a good username when it's free and start building your Twitter network.
* [http://www.linkedin.com LinkedIn]: Again, a minimal LinkedIn profile can provide an online identity for you that others, including potential employers for jobs or internships can refer to. You can also start building connections and obtaining endorsements.

There are many other social network-based websites, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest. But none of these have the property that people are ''expected'' to have online accounts on the website, and they generally don't have a sufficiently large network of users already, so joining in order to connect with others may not work out well.

===Websites for content creation===

* [http://www.quora.com Quora] (question-and-answer website): This is a great place both for getting information and for honing your craft of communicating your thoughts through writing. You can also set up your blog on Quora (you can cross-post there with an off-Quora blog). In general, we'd recommend getting a start with writing practice on Quora before you start blogging on your own. See our [[join Quora]] page for more.
* [http://www.stackexchange.com StackExchange] (question-and-answer website): Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer websites devoted to specific topics. It's less freewheeling than Quora, and allows you to develop your topical knowledge and communication skills for the topics where the Stack Exchanges are high-quality and active.
* [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]: Wikipedia's a great resource to read, but you can also edit Wikipedia. Admittedly, it's a little more effort to get ''started'' editing Wikipedia: you need to understand the MediaWiki markup language and also the etiquette of Wikipedia, and you need to be prepared for your work getting ruthlessly rejected. Unlike Quora, we don't think ''all'' people reading this page should get on Wikipedia and start contributing. But it's something worth looking at.
* Some websites, like [http://www.reddit.com/ Reddit], can be [[Wikipedia:Reddit#Controversies_involving_Reddit|rather controversial]], but it may still be worth looking into these. Reddit in particular can seemingly have a low signal-to-noise ratio, but developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful. Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, one might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research). Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving].

== Transferring connections ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

Here are some further considerations:

* Obviously personal safety must be taken into account.
* Some of the topics discussed on this wiki, such as [[Rationality_learning_resources|rationality]], [[Effective_altruism|effective altruism]], and [[Quora]], already have local meetup groups; see [http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong_meetup_groups Less Wrong meetup groups], [http://effective-altruism.com/meetups/ effective altruism meetups], and [https://www.quora.com/Quora-Meetups Quora meetups]. Other potentially useful meetups can be found on e.g. [http://www.meetup.com/ Meetup.com].
* Remember that meeting up in person will become easier once one is older and can drive to meetups, live on a college campus where these take place, and so on.
** A corollary to this is that if you are young, going to meetups will allow you to interact with older people who share your interests.

==Personal website==

{{further|[[creating your personal website]]}}

Maintaining your online presence

2014-10-02T19:37:15Z

Riceissa: /* Privacy */ reorganize section; phrase in terms of content sharing

The Internet has a wide plethora of resources that you can leverage well. Many of these can be accessed passively and anonymously, but for some, you can squeeze a lot more value through active participation. This page lists some general tips for creating and maintaining your online presence to minimize later regret.

==Look respectable==

===Choose a good name===

Your online handles, including your email address, Facebook URL, Twitter name, or any other online public-facing user identity you have, should preferably be based on your real name. This makes it easy for people to locate you. Preferably do ''not'' choose handles that are related to specific political or religious beliefs or cultural icons. Your beliefs may change over time, and in any case, it's not good practice to make your beliefs and affiliations scream out at people every time they visit your profile. '''Under no circumstances should you use swearwords, exhortations to violence, or controversial cultural terms in your email address or online handles.'''

===Don't post embarrassing photographs===

Decide between two options:

* Not posting a photograph at all (this may be suited in the beginning, when you're mostly lurking, and to protect your identity somewhat).
* Posting a photograph that shows your face clearly and well, in a relatively sober expression (i.e., don't "make faces" to the camera).

It's generally unhelpful to post photographs of somebody else for your profile picture, even if that person is a known model or actor and therefore can't be confused with you. Choosing a photo of yourself while drunk or making funny faces to the camera sends a bad impression.

===Use decent language, spelling, and grammar===

Avoid the use of swear words, derogatory ethnic terms, exhortations to violence, or overtly confrontational language, even in private messages or posts to restricted lists. Unless constrained by space limitations (as in the case of tweets on Twitter) use grammatically correct sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.

===Think hard before raising controversial issues===

Civil discussion of controversial issues is often admirable. But it should be done with care. Even if your original post is civil, the reactions to it (if you allow comments) could be uncivil. Even if you're not personally hurt by such reactions, these could get you into trouble. Colleges and potential employers generally steer clear of people who get enmeshed in controversies, even if those people aren't objectively at fault.

==Privacy==

===Anonymity===

Anonymity through the use of pseudonyms on some forums may be appropriate. However, the general naming rules apply to pseudonyms: do not choose pseudonyms that are perceived as offensive or insensitive. Choose pseudonyms only on fora where pseudonym use is encouraged, and follow the general naming conventions of the forum.

Do ''not'' trust that the use of pseudonyms will be a foolproof guarantee of anonymity. ''Always'' write with expectation that some of what you write may later be associated with your real name.

===Do not reveal "real-life" information===

Avoid revealing the following outside of restricted-access friend lists:

* The names of your family members.
* Your home address.
* Your phone number (keep contact information restricted to an email address and social media accounts).
* The names of employers for part-time or full-time jobs that you are doing (unless the employer gives consent, or your public persona ''requires'' you to associate yourself with a particular employer).
* Information explicitly attributed to others that is conveyed by them to you in private fora (online or offline), unless they give you consent.

Basically, your online persona should reveal those parts of you that help people get an idea of what you're thinking about and your opinions on specific issues, but should not be a way for them to track you down or get information about your real-life friends (except if they contact you personally).

=== Selecting an appropriate audience ===

There exists a spectrum for sharing information about oneself; i.e. there is no dichotomy of either complete privacy or complete release of information. Consider the gradual increase in visibility in going from keeping one's data local (on one's own hard drive), to keeping data on a cloud service but available only to oneself (so that the service provider, such as Google, can potentially view or use the data), to keeping data on a cloud service but with the ability to invite other authorized users to view the data, to making the data public, but not locatable by search engines, so that effectively only people with the link can view the data (this is, for instance, what [https://github.com/ GitHub] does with its [https://help.github.com/articles/about-gists#secret-gists secret gists]), to releasing the data publicly and making it locatable by search engines. Additionally, in each case, one has the option of using one's real name or a pseudonym (or, in some cases, staying anonymous). It is important to know, then, that some of the pros and cons of privacy will only apply to a certain part of this spectrum.

In terms of content sharing online, this means that one can attempt to restrict the audience that receives specific content. Since your interests are likely to not overlap completely with that of most people, targeting content to an audience who shares a particular interest will likely mean that (1) they will be happier seeing content that applies to them, and (2) you will receive better feedback on what you post. Restriction of the whole discussion may also mean that people will give you more candid responses.

=== Concerns about privacy ===

[[Wikipedia:Internet privacy|Privacy on the internet]] has received a lot of attention over the years, with for instance some, like free software activist [[Wikipedia:Richard Stallman|Richard Stallman]], [https://stallman.org/facebook.html#privacy advising people not to use Facebook on grounds of privacy] (among other reasons). See [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-making-information-about-oneself-available-online-through-for-example-smart-phone-apps-and-social-media-posts the Quora question "What are the advantages and disadvantages of making information about oneself available online through for example smart phone apps and social media posts?"] for more on this topic.

==Join online communities==

===Lurk for a while===

Each community has its own rules for engagement. Spend some time reading their formally codified rules, plus more time reading discussions of the sort you eventually intend to participate in. Doing this for a while gives you a sense for what sort of discussions work well and what sort generate controversy. You can then start participating in an informed manner.

===Be polite and deferential to begin with, and don't try to "take over" the forum===

It's better to err initially in the direction of being deferential and polite. Some concrete tips:

* Avoid participation in flame wars or in threads where there's trolling or trollbaiting.
* Don't make posts too short or too long.
* Don't post too frequently in the beginning.
* If you're uncertain of whether the post is appropriate for the forum, briefly indicate this at the beginning of the post, preemptively apologizing in the event that the post is inappropriate.
* When framing views that you think others might disagree with, preface with "I think ..." or "In my view ..." and end by asking others what they think. Show that you're eager to learn and exchange ideas, rather than just there to preach your views. If the forum penalizes such language, it may not be worth participating in.
* Always disclose conflicts of interest. If you're trying to stay anonymous, then do ''not'' post anything linking to work done by you under your real name, because that leaves two unpleasant options: (a) disclosing your identity due to conflict of interest (and defeat the purpose of anonymity), or (b) do not disclose your identity, and violate the conflict of interest disclosure norm.

===Pay your dues===

Online communities are generally insular to ''external'' credentials or work, but reward effort ''within'' the community. Some of them have explicit karma systems and credits that give you more privilege as you participate more. In some, informal norms do a similar job. Be useful to the community and its members over an extended period of time, and you'll find your opportunities growing.

==Communities to consider joining==

Most websites state a minimum age of 13, due to the COPPA in the United States for child privacy. The norm may not be strictly enforced by websites. But we strongly recommend not joining such a website if you're not yet 13, unless you check ''both'' with your parents ''and'' with the website administrators that it is okay for you to join the website. If you join too early, you might get kicked out.

===Email and messaging===

* Get an email account with a service such as Gmail. The Google ID can also be used for other Google services. Keep the username suggestions in mind.
* Get a Skype account. Some people you want to communicate with may be more comfortable using Skype than Google's voice services.

===Social networks===

Joining does not mean that you are required to regularly participate. In fact, unless you find a good reason to participate actively, it's preferable that you don't. But joining still has benefits: you acquire an online presence, you can connect with more people, and you can search within the networks for specific people or things.

* [http://www.facebook.com Facebook]: Join early. Keep your profile serious. Start building your network of friends and pages -- building friend networks, particularly networks of friends outside your immediate surroundings, takes time. It's okay to keep your Facebook activity to a minimum other than that, but if you do find communities on Facebook that you like participating in, you can participate in those. For more, see [[using Facebook effectively]].
* [http://www.twitter.com Twitter]: There aren't compelling arguments to join Twitter, but you might as well snag a good username when it's free and start building your Twitter network.
* [http://www.linkedin.com LinkedIn]: Again, a minimal LinkedIn profile can provide an online identity for you that others, including potential employers for jobs or internships can refer to. You can also start building connections and obtaining endorsements.

There are many other social network-based websites, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest. But none of these have the property that people are ''expected'' to have online accounts on the website, and they generally don't have a sufficiently large network of users already, so joining in order to connect with others may not work out well.

===Websites for content creation===

* [http://www.quora.com Quora] (question-and-answer website): This is a great place both for getting information and for honing your craft of communicating your thoughts through writing. You can also set up your blog on Quora (you can cross-post there with an off-Quora blog). In general, we'd recommend getting a start with writing practice on Quora before you start blogging on your own. See our [[join Quora]] page for more.
* [http://www.stackexchange.com StackExchange] (question-and-answer website): Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer websites devoted to specific topics. It's less freewheeling than Quora, and allows you to develop your topical knowledge and communication skills for the topics where the Stack Exchanges are high-quality and active.
* [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]: Wikipedia's a great resource to read, but you can also edit Wikipedia. Admittedly, it's a little more effort to get ''started'' editing Wikipedia: you need to understand the MediaWiki markup language and also the etiquette of Wikipedia, and you need to be prepared for your work getting ruthlessly rejected. Unlike Quora, we don't think ''all'' people reading this page should get on Wikipedia and start contributing. But it's something worth looking at.
* Some websites, like [http://www.reddit.com/ Reddit], can be [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddit#Controversies_involving_Reddit rather controversial], but it may still be worth looking into these. Reddit in particular can seemingly have a low signal-to-noise ratio, but developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful. Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, one might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research). Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving].

== Transferring connections ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

Here are some further considerations:

* Obviously personal safety must be taken into account.
* Some of the topics discussed on this wiki, such as [[Rationality_learning_resources|rationality]], [[Effective_altruism|effective altruism]], and [[Quora]], already have local meetup groups; see [http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong_meetup_groups Less Wrong meetup groups], [http://effective-altruism.com/meetups/ effective altruism meetups], and [https://www.quora.com/Quora-Meetups Quora meetups]. Other potentially useful meetups can be found on e.g. [http://www.meetup.com/ Meetup.com].
* Remember that meeting up in person will become easier once one is older and can drive to meetups, live on a college campus where these take place, and so on.
** A corollary to this is that if you are young, going to meetups will allow you to interact with older people who share your interests.

==Personal website==

{{further|[[creating your personal website]]}}

Maintaining your online presence

2014-10-02T19:07:16Z

Riceissa: add info about transferring connections

The Internet has a wide plethora of resources that you can leverage well. Many of these can be accessed passively and anonymously, but for some, you can squeeze a lot more value through active participation. This page lists some general tips for creating and maintaining your online presence to minimize later regret.

==Look respectable==

===Choose a good name===

Your online handles, including your email address, Facebook URL, Twitter name, or any other online public-facing user identity you have, should preferably be based on your real name. This makes it easy for people to locate you. Preferably do ''not'' choose handles that are related to specific political or religious beliefs or cultural icons. Your beliefs may change over time, and in any case, it's not good practice to make your beliefs and affiliations scream out at people every time they visit your profile. '''Under no circumstances should you use swearwords, exhortations to violence, or controversial cultural terms in your email address or online handles.'''

===Don't post embarrassing photographs===

Decide between two options:

* Not posting a photograph at all (this may be suited in the beginning, when you're mostly lurking, and to protect your identity somewhat).
* Posting a photograph that shows your face clearly and well, in a relatively sober expression (i.e., don't "make faces" to the camera).

It's generally unhelpful to post photographs of somebody else for your profile picture, even if that person is a known model or actor and therefore can't be confused with you. Choosing a photo of yourself while drunk or making funny faces to the camera sends a bad impression.

===Use decent language, spelling, and grammar===

Avoid the use of swear words, derogatory ethnic terms, exhortations to violence, or overtly confrontational language, even in private messages or posts to restricted lists. Unless constrained by space limitations (as in the case of tweets on Twitter) use grammatically correct sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling.

===Think hard before raising controversial issues===

Civil discussion of controversial issues is often admirable. But it should be done with care. Even if your original post is civil, the reactions to it (if you allow comments) could be uncivil. Even if you're not personally hurt by such reactions, these could get you into trouble. Colleges and potential employers generally steer clear of people who get enmeshed in controversies, even if those people aren't objectively at fault.

==Privacy==

[[Wikipedia:Internet privacy|Privacy on the internet]] has received a lot of attention over the years, with for instance some, like free software activist [[Wikipedia:Richard Stallman|Richard Stallman]], [https://stallman.org/facebook.html#privacy advising people not to use Facebook on grounds of privacy] (among other reasons). One thing to keep in mind is that there exists a spectrum for sharing information about oneself; i.e. there is no dichotomy of either complete privacy or complete release of information. Consider the gradual decrease in privacy in going from keeping one's data local (on one's own hard drive), to keeping data on a cloud service but available only to oneself (so that the service provider, such as Google, can potentially view or use the data), to keeping data on a cloud service but with the ability to invite other authorized users to view the data, to making the data public, but not locatable by search engines, so that effectively only people with the link can view the data (this is, for instance, what [https://github.com/ GitHub] does with its [https://help.github.com/articles/about-gists#secret-gists secret gists]), to releasing the data publicly and making it locatable by search engines. Additionally, in each case, one has the option of using one's real name or a pseudonym (or, in some cases, staying anonymous). It is important to know, then, that some of the pros and cons of privacy will only apply to a certain part of this spectrum. See [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-making-information-about-oneself-available-online-through-for-example-smart-phone-apps-and-social-media-posts the Quora question "What are the advantages and disadvantages of making information about oneself available online through for example smart phone apps and social media posts?"] for more on this topic.

===Anonymity===

Anonymity through the use of pseudonyms on some forums may be appropriate. However, the general naming rules apply to pseudonyms: do not choose pseudonyms that are perceived as offensive or insensitive. Choose pseudonyms only on fora where pseudonym use is encouraged, and follow the general naming conventions of the forum.

Do ''not'' trust that the use of pseudonyms will be a foolproof guarantee of anonymity. ''Always'' write with expectation that some of what you write may later be associated with your real name.

===Do not reveal "real-life" information===

Avoid revealing the following outside of restricted-access friend lists:

* The names of your family members.
* Your home address.
* Your phone number (keep contact information restricted to an email address and social media accounts).
* The names of employers for part-time or full-time jobs that you are doing (unless the employer gives consent, or your public persona ''requires'' you to associate yourself with a particular employer).
* Information explicitly attributed to others that is conveyed by them to you in private fora (online or offline), unless they give you consent.

Basically, your online persona should reveal those parts of you that help people get an idea of what you're thinking about and your opinions on specific issues, but should not be a way for them to track you down or get information about your real-life friends (except if they contact you personally).

==Join online communities==

===Lurk for a while===

Each community has its own rules for engagement. Spend some time reading their formally codified rules, plus more time reading discussions of the sort you eventually intend to participate in. Doing this for a while gives you a sense for what sort of discussions work well and what sort generate controversy. You can then start participating in an informed manner.

===Be polite and deferential to begin with, and don't try to "take over" the forum===

It's better to err initially in the direction of being deferential and polite. Some concrete tips:

* Avoid participation in flame wars or in threads where there's trolling or trollbaiting.
* Don't make posts too short or too long.
* Don't post too frequently in the beginning.
* If you're uncertain of whether the post is appropriate for the forum, briefly indicate this at the beginning of the post, preemptively apologizing in the event that the post is inappropriate.
* When framing views that you think others might disagree with, preface with "I think ..." or "In my view ..." and end by asking others what they think. Show that you're eager to learn and exchange ideas, rather than just there to preach your views. If the forum penalizes such language, it may not be worth participating in.
* Always disclose conflicts of interest. If you're trying to stay anonymous, then do ''not'' post anything linking to work done by you under your real name, because that leaves two unpleasant options: (a) disclosing your identity due to conflict of interest (and defeat the purpose of anonymity), or (b) do not disclose your identity, and violate the conflict of interest disclosure norm.

===Pay your dues===

Online communities are generally insular to ''external'' credentials or work, but reward effort ''within'' the community. Some of them have explicit karma systems and credits that give you more privilege as you participate more. In some, informal norms do a similar job. Be useful to the community and its members over an extended period of time, and you'll find your opportunities growing.

==Communities to consider joining==

Most websites state a minimum age of 13, due to the COPPA in the United States for child privacy. The norm may not be strictly enforced by websites. But we strongly recommend not joining such a website if you're not yet 13, unless you check ''both'' with your parents ''and'' with the website administrators that it is okay for you to join the website. If you join too early, you might get kicked out.

===Email and messaging===

* Get an email account with a service such as Gmail. The Google ID can also be used for other Google services. Keep the username suggestions in mind.
* Get a Skype account. Some people you want to communicate with may be more comfortable using Skype than Google's voice services.

===Social networks===

Joining does not mean that you are required to regularly participate. In fact, unless you find a good reason to participate actively, it's preferable that you don't. But joining still has benefits: you acquire an online presence, you can connect with more people, and you can search within the networks for specific people or things.

* [http://www.facebook.com Facebook]: Join early. Keep your profile serious. Start building your network of friends and pages -- building friend networks, particularly networks of friends outside your immediate surroundings, takes time. It's okay to keep your Facebook activity to a minimum other than that, but if you do find communities on Facebook that you like participating in, you can participate in those. For more, see [[using Facebook effectively]].
* [http://www.twitter.com Twitter]: There aren't compelling arguments to join Twitter, but you might as well snag a good username when it's free and start building your Twitter network.
* [http://www.linkedin.com LinkedIn]: Again, a minimal LinkedIn profile can provide an online identity for you that others, including potential employers for jobs or internships can refer to. You can also start building connections and obtaining endorsements.

There are many other social network-based websites, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest. But none of these have the property that people are ''expected'' to have online accounts on the website, and they generally don't have a sufficiently large network of users already, so joining in order to connect with others may not work out well.

===Websites for content creation===

* [http://www.quora.com Quora] (question-and-answer website): This is a great place both for getting information and for honing your craft of communicating your thoughts through writing. You can also set up your blog on Quora (you can cross-post there with an off-Quora blog). In general, we'd recommend getting a start with writing practice on Quora before you start blogging on your own. See our [[join Quora]] page for more.
* [http://www.stackexchange.com StackExchange] (question-and-answer website): Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer websites devoted to specific topics. It's less freewheeling than Quora, and allows you to develop your topical knowledge and communication skills for the topics where the Stack Exchanges are high-quality and active.
* [http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]: Wikipedia's a great resource to read, but you can also edit Wikipedia. Admittedly, it's a little more effort to get ''started'' editing Wikipedia: you need to understand the MediaWiki markup language and also the etiquette of Wikipedia, and you need to be prepared for your work getting ruthlessly rejected. Unlike Quora, we don't think ''all'' people reading this page should get on Wikipedia and start contributing. But it's something worth looking at.
* Some websites, like [http://www.reddit.com/ Reddit], can be [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddit#Controversies_involving_Reddit rather controversial], but it may still be worth looking into these. Reddit in particular can seemingly have a low signal-to-noise ratio, but developing the ability to [https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-most-underrated-life-skills/answer/Alex-K-Chen sort through low-quality content for good information] may prove useful. Particular subreddits, combined with even rudimentary searching, can turn up surprisingly useful information. For instance, one might search for the keyword "AMA" (an abbreviation for "Ask Me Anything") on the AskScience subreddit to find [http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/search?q=AMA&sort=top&restrict_sr=on&t=all all the threads in the AskScience AMA series] (a series where users pose questions to real scientists about their research). Sometimes it is simply a matter of knowing what subreddits exist. For example, the subreddit for [[Effective altruism learning resources|effective altruism]] is called [http://www.reddit.com/r/smartgiving smartgiving].

== Transferring connections ==

After you have some experience interacting within a community online, it may be worth investigating whether these connections can be transferred to a real life (i.e. non-online) setting. For some, this type of transfer may be especially fruitful.

Here are some further considerations:

* Obviously personal safety must be taken into account.
* Some of the topics discussed on this wiki, such as [[Rationality_learning_resources|rationality]], [[Effective_altruism|effective altruism]], and [[Quora]], already have local meetup groups; see [http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Less_Wrong_meetup_groups Less Wrong meetup groups], [http://effective-altruism.com/meetups/ effective altruism meetups], and [https://www.quora.com/Quora-Meetups Quora meetups]. Other potentially useful meetups can be found on e.g. [http://www.meetup.com/ Meetup.com].
* Remember that meeting up in person will become easier once one is older and can drive to meetups, live on a college campus where these take place, and so on.
** A corollary to this is that if you are young, going to meetups will allow you to interact with older people who share your interests.

==Personal website==

{{further|[[creating your personal website]]}}

Applying to college as an older student

2014-09-16T08:26:25Z

Riceissa: /* Alternatives within and to college */ typo?

This page is for people who are notably older (at least 2-3 years) than the typical college applicant, have finished high school (or obtained equivalent certification) but have been out of formal schooling environments for a few years.

==Should you go to college at all?==

In general, going to college is advised for smart and intellectually curious people because it is a mainstream option, and it's advisable to [[stay mainstream until you have demonstrated success doing unusual stuff]].

===Recall of generic reasons to go to college===

* Human capital (you learn valuable stuff).
* Signaling to potential employers and others that you have the relevant abilities or acquired the relevant knowledge.
* Consumption: The college experience is rewarding.
* Networking: You get to network with other people.

===How your situation differs===

See also the page [[school ethic versus work ethic]].

Some ways your situation differs:

* If you've already started earning money, and have got on a career track, going to college has greater immediate opportunity cost.
* The very fact that you didn't go to college straight out of high school could be indicative of problems. The details depend on the ''reason'' you didn't go to college. If the constraints were purely financial or circumstantial, and the situation has changed since then, there is not much to worry about. On the other hand, if the constraints were based on behavioral problems or academic difficulties, you should consider whether things have changed since then.
* You've spent several years not studying, so you may be more out of touch with [[good study habits]]. However, it's worth noting that many students don't develop these habits in high school, so you may not be at much of a relative
* Since you are older and have a different profile and history compared to many of the other students in college, you will have a more difficult time connecting with other people.
* Your greater age and maturity, and the fact that you are more likely to be paying your own way than relying on parents, could make you take the college experience more seriously than most students do, and therefore derive more value.
* Your greater age may also make you less likely to accept the strictures of school. It's often been found that older people who return to college have trouble adjusting to the rigid behavioral norms of the classroom.

On the last point, this quote is relevant:

<blockquote>"Another interesting aspect of Lovell’s and Rosenbloom’s cases is that both involved students of “nontraditional age,” a little older than their peers. In my experience, older students have a greater tendency to get into trouble in college, in no small part because, having lived in the “real world,” they are far less prone to accept the patronizing, infantilizing, and unconstitutional behavior of college administrators. They know their rights and are willing to expose the violations enacted by the campus judiciary, unlike younger students who have never learned these valuable lessons in high school or college."

Lukianoff, Greg (2012-10-23). Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate (Kindle Locations 2876-2880). Encounter Books. Kindle Edition.</blockquote>

===How to determine if college is your cup of tea===

The following approaches might help you determine if college is appropriate. Note that some of these are valuable even for high school students on track for college. But most such students are already immersed in the academic experience and the decision to go to college doesn't have huge downsides or opportunity costs. As an older student, you have to make the college-going decision in a more considered manner. So the suggestions apply more to you.

* Start by watching opencourseware videos such as [http://ocw.mit.edu MIT Open Course Ware] or [[Khan Academy]] (or some of our [[online mathematics learning resources]]). Can you sit through the entire video? Can you understand the basic material? Can you answer questions after watching a lecture?
* Consider signing up for massive online open courses such as those at [[Coursera]]. See how far you can push yourself to learn, and the extent to which you enjoy it as well as learn from it. Try to take a few courses with certification.
* Consider [[auditing courses|sitting in on college classes]] at a college in your geographical location. You may often be able to do so for free, and can use this to judge how well you would do in a college environment.

==Getting your application ready==

===Typical materials to get ready===

* It is probably advisable to retake [[standardized tests]] (the SAT and ACT) even if you took them earlier. Your scores may not be valid any more, you may be able to do better now, and colleges may consider your application more seriously if you show you've taken the tests more recently. Formally, colleges simply take the best of your test scores that are still valid, so you do not need to worry about doing poorer than last time.
* You probably need to get recommendations from your past high school teachers, and preferably also a recommendation from somebody that can explain the "gap" in your education.
* You need to get your transcripts and other materials ready.

===Activities to do to have more credentials===

We do not have reliable sources that colleges take these credentials seriously, but they are worth considering. You should consider calling or contacting your college admissions offices or using other means (such as Quora or College Confidential) to evaluate the desirability and suitability of these credential-getting approaches.

* Consider taking MOOCs with [[Coursera]] that offer certification.
* Consider taking Advanced Placement tests. These tests can be taken only through a high school that offers Advanced Placement classes. However, some high schools allow you to take these tests without enrolling in their courses.
* Consider [[sit in on classes|sitting in on college classes]] and using the opportunity to interact with professors and students. This could give you potential sources for the additional recommendation that could explain your post-school gap.

==Alternatives within and to college==

* Rather than directly applying to four-year colleges, consider going to a community college and then transferring to a four-year college from there.
* Consider applying to easier colleges within a state college system where the best colleges are good.
* Consider going to a coding bootcamp or some other sort of trade school to learn relevant skills quickly and acquire the [[human capital]] without all the overhead of college.

==See also==

* [[College: deciding whether to go]]
* [[Taking a gap year between high school and college]]
* [[Applying to college with weak academic credentials]]

Signaling

2014-09-16T08:15:33Z

Riceissa: add link to yvain's post

A ''signal'' is a visible trait that conveys information about someone. ''Signaling'' refers to taking an action to convey information to someone or some entity.

See also the post "[http://lesswrong.com/lw/did/what_is_signaling_really/ What Is Signaling, Really? ]" on Less Wrong, written by Scott Alexander (Yvain), author of [http://slatestarcodex.com/ Slate Star Codex].

Rationality learning resources

2014-09-16T08:00:15Z

Riceissa: /* Websites that promote rationality, with a focus on epistemic rationality */ add more links

==Websites that promote rationality, with a focus on epistemic rationality==

* [http://www.lesswrong.com LessWrong], which describes itself as a "community blog devoted to refining the art of human rationality." Less Wrong additionally has its own [http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/LessWrong_Wiki wiki], which often contains quick summaries of rationality concepts and tends to do a good job of grouping together related posts.
* [http://slatestarcodex.com/ Slate Star Codex], a blog that applies the principles of rationality to the analysis of many questions of philosophy, psychology, culture, and society. Scott Alexander ([http://lesswrong.com/user/Yvain/ Yvain] on Less Wrong), the author of Slate Star Codex, has also created a [http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/05/mapmaker-mapmaker-make-me-a-map/ map of the rationalist community] which groups different websites/blogs/Twitter accounts by subject, and may be useful for finding more resources in an area of one's interest.
* [http://rationality.org/ Center for Applied Rationality] website
* [http://www.overcomingbias.com Overcoming Bias], a blog primarily written by Robin Hanson, that strives to uncover and correct for human bias and discover the truth.

==Other websites that discuss issues related to rationality==

* Bryan Caplan's blog posts on [http://econlog.econlib.org EconLog] often discuss issues related to rationality and philosophy, although the blog is primarily focused on economics
* [http://www.gwern.net/ Gwern's website]
* See the [[effective altruism learning resources]] page. Many learning resources for effective altruism use rationalist ideas. In particular, [http://rationalaltruist.com Paul Christiano's blog] does.

Quarter versus semester system

2014-09-16T07:41:30Z

Riceissa: /* Basic comparison */ typo

This page compares the quarter and semester systems as found in US universities. These are two different systems for organizing academic terms. See also the Wikipedia page [[Wikipedia:Academic term|Academic term]].

==Alternate sources==

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Source !! Best links
|-
| [[Quora]] || [http://www.quora.com/Do-you-prefer-colleges-with-trimesters-semesters-or-quarter-schedules Do you prefer colleges with trimesters, semesters, or quarter schedules?] [http://www.quora.com/The-College-and-University-Experience/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-the-quarter-system-over-the-semester-system-for-college-education What are the advantages and disadvantages of the quarter system over the semester system (for college education)?]
|-
| [[College Confidential]] || Nothing of high quality, but consider [https://www.google.com/search?q=quarter+semester+site%3Acollegeconfidential.com Google Search on quarter and semester on College Confidential]
|-
| [[About.com]] || On Young Adults: [http://youngadults.about.com/od/collegelife/g/QuarterSystem.htm Quarter System] and [http://youngadults.about.com/od/collegelife/g/SemesterSystem.htm Semester System]
|}

==Basic comparison==

{| class="sortable" border="1"
! Criterion !! Quarter system !! Semester system
|-
| Example universities || University of Chicago, Stanford, Northwestern || MIT, Princeton, Harvard (note that MIT has a somewhat unusual structure because they have a separate Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January).
|-
| Number and timing of terms || Three major academic terms (called quarters): Fall or Autumn (late September-December), Winter (January-March), and Spring (March-June). An additional Summer Quarter late June-August. || Two major academic terms (called semesters): Fall (August-December or September-January), Spring (January or February to May). An additional summer term May-July or June-August
|-
| Duration of terms || Typically, the quarter has ten weeks of academic study and one week of final exams. Summer Quarter may be somewhat shorter, at 8-10 weeks.|| Typically, the semester has fifteen weeks of academic study and one week of final exams. See [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080320191601AADv1ov here] for more.
|}

==Quora questions and answers==

* [http://www.quora.com/Do-you-prefer-colleges-with-trimesters-semesters-or-quarter-schedules Do you prefer colleges with trimesters, semesters, or quarter schedules?]
* [http://www.quora.com/The-College-and-University-Experience/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-the-quarter-system-over-the-semester-system-for-college-education What are the advantages and disadvantages of the quarter system over the semester system (for college education)?]