Expected Volume

The conversation kicks off with book recommendations that spiral into rethinking the modern workplace. They delve into the idea of 'pathological truth-telling' and its impact on internal thought processes. Exploring rationalist community norms, they question whether a focus on optimization leads to unhappiness. The duo debates the fungibility of money in donation contexts and discusses how privacy, authority, and social expectations shape human behavior. Rounding off, they share practical life tips on balancing work, relationships, and well-being.

In the first episode we actually *recorded* with a girl, Chana’s boss comes on to defy gender stereotypes by focusing on topics like fashion, dating, weddings, crying, but also moths!As always, you can email in questions and comments at mattandchana@gmail.comLINKSr/weddingattireapproval: https://www.reddit.com/r/Weddingattireapproval/Reciprocity pro link: https://buck-reciprocity.herokuapp.com/Matt’s blog about hemming and hawing about the EA label: https://frommatter.substack.com/p/ea-adjacency-as-ftx-traumaKilling the moths: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/Ax5PwjqtrunQJgjsA/killing-the-mothsKilling the ants: https://joecarlsmith.com/2021/02/07/killing-the-antsWe don’t trade with ants: https://worldspiritsockpuppet.substack.com/p/we-dont-trade-with-ants

We resume our popular AI in Context video review series by talking about AIC’s second video on the MechaHitler débâcle. Matt actually thought it was good! It made an argument! But we do need to sort out our relationship to the AI omnicause and figure out what the channel is for. All before we go to the Ren Faire. LINKS:AI in Context MechaHitler Video: https://youtu.be/r_9wkavYt4Y?si=VHjo8zFfouwPDrHSWe Don't Even Have to Try short: https://youtube.com/shorts/Om8KXQt6mDo?si=em3aGLayB08bQdzjScott Dwarkesh clip (in the middle of this long, worth-listening to interview): https://youtu.be/htOvH12T7mU?si=Lb8Mw2ovnuWFX_WBScott list of things he could worry about: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/book-review-if-anyone-builds-it-everyoneAs always, you can email in questions and comments at mattandchana@gmail.com

Matt worries he’s disqualified for being insufficiently util-simped and being too preoccupied with the ideas themselves. Julia comes on and tells cute but harrowing tales of her bright children learning about the world. Everyone tried to avoid osteoporosis.LINKS:Julia’s excellent (and excellently named) blog: https://juliawise.net/I regret that I could not find Chana’s LessWrong Declaration of Independence As always, you can email in questions and comments at mattandchana@gmail.com

Chana discovers anti-elitism is a current theme in US politics in this already extremely dated episode from our brief foray into conflict with Iran, a conflict which, like all others so far, we can now put in the win column of Peter Wildeford’s forecasting record. Oh, and the fire alarm goes off. As always, you can email us with questions and comments at: mattandchana@gmail.com

Matt is sad and grasping at topics and thereby inevitably gets squeezed out of the conversation when two teachers come on to do what they do best: gripe about teaching... and parents and protests and workouts and forecasting. Alex's Reflection on his joke paper going viral: https://lawsen.substack.com/p/when-yo...You can email us with questions and comments at: mattandchana@gmail.com

Chana triumphs at work with the release of her AI 2027 video, but even after two million views and 85,000 subscribers, she still has to win over her biggest critic. But to get there, she’ll have to understand what the hell he’s saying first. Watch 80k’s AI 2027 video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KVDDfAkRgc Read Matt’s lamentations here: https://frommatter.substack.com/p/sadly-80k

Are do gooders getting corrupted by prestige, or just nerdsniped? We explore that question, and, with no hint of irony, what would make good merch for the podcast.Plus! we finally have an email where you can write in with questions: mattandchana@gmail.com Daniel's podcast here: https://axrp.net/Daniel other podcast here: https://thefilancabinet.com/Daniel on Twitter: https://x.com/freed_dfilan

Matt can't resist talking politics and religion, but everything gets better when we pivot to Disney movies (which are allegedly based on books) featuring the great Conor Barnes of 80k Job Board fame!Conor's writing: https://parhelia.conorbarnes.com/ The Daily Show on Shrimp Welfare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNbIKtGMoaA

Phil Trammell, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford's Digital Economy Lab, dives into the intriguing intersection of AI and market economics. He discusses the implications of Kanye's controversies and the evolving norms surrounding risk tolerance in philanthropy. Phil also shares insights on the long-term trends of index returns and the reasoning behind patient investors opting for illiquid assets. The conversation explores moral hazard in insurance markets and raises thought-provoking questions about community norms and the future of economic research in an AI-driven world.