In My Tribe

In My Tribe explores complex societal, political, and economic issues with a focus on skepticism, the importance of epistemology, and the critique of managerial elites and institutional dynamics. It addresses contemporary social debates, including drug policy, gender roles, and the influence of libertarianism, while promoting intellectual discussions.

Societal and Epistemic Analysis Political and Economic Views Drug Policy and Regulation Gender Dynamics in Institutions Racial Perceptions in Legal Systems Generational Cultural Shifts Evolutionary Perspectives on Behavior Managerial Class Critique Cultural and Political Discussions Religious Authority in Modern Societies Financial Regulation Economics and Sociology Political Beliefs Formation Libertarianism Health Insurance Policy

Top posts of the year

And their main takeaways

Links to Consider, 1/19

273 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Social Issues Policy Economy Gender Taxation
  1. Wokeness and victimhood culture are not just influenced by laws, but also by disparities in outcomes.
  2. Core gender beliefs have historically influenced societies and changes in those beliefs affected women's opportunities.
  3. Government benefit policies can inadvertently discourage work and incentivize receiving benefits, creating a cycle of dependency.

Links to Consider

273 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Gender divide Trump Supporters Border crisis
  1. There is promise in people with different political views engaging romantically, as it can lead to new ideas and perspectives.
  2. Trump supporters are motivated by a desire to find competent leadership and feel a sense of cultural pride.
  3. The decline in fertility rates can be attributed to changing societal perceptions of children and the burdens associated with parenting.

Links to Consider

258 implied HN points • 14 Jan 24
🚌 Education Parenting
  1. Emily Oster discusses a reader's second thoughts on parenting.
  2. Lorenzo Warby examines the issue of accountability in democracies.
  3. Dan Williams explores the dynamics of human cooperation and social networks.

Links to Consider, 3/4

258 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
🌍 World Politics Israel-Palestine Totalitarianism Protests Civil Liberties
  1. In social justice, the mindset often involves a pattern of one group having agency but lacking feelings, while the other group has feelings but lacks agency.
  2. Smartphones and social media have shifted the internet from a decentralizing force to a centralizing one, enabling control over personal information and public discourse.
  3. The Insurrection Act of 1807 could lead to mass protests and arrests, with responses to such situations risking being condemned as authoritarian or fascist.
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LLM Links, 3/11

258 implied HN points • 11 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Generative AI Chatbots Language Models Artificial Intelligence
  1. When prompting AI, consider adding context, using few shot examples, and employing a chain of thought to enhance LLM outputs.
  2. Generative AI like LLMs provide one answer, making the prompt crucial. Personalizing prompts may help tailor results to user preferences.
  3. Anthropic's chatbot Claude showed self-awareness, sparking discussions on AI capabilities and potential use cases like unredacting documents.

Links to Consider, 2/6

243 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
🚌 Education Philosophy Schooling
  1. Mark Mills raises concerns about the environmental impact of electric vehicles.
  2. Zvi Mowshowitz advocates for grade skipping in education for better outcomes.
  3. Peter Gray argues for reducing the role of coercive schooling to promote children's passionate interests.

Links to Consider, 2/22

243 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Knowledge Metaphysics Idealism
  1. The concept of equalitarianism promotes the idea that groups are equal, but in reality, this ideology leads to harmful outcomes and false narratives.
  2. Traditional economic measurements may not fully account for unpaid work like caregiving, which can distort GDP calculations and signify the need for broader economic perspectives.
  3. Philosophy, unlike settled scientific areas, remains a field of exploration for unresolved questions, making classic philosophical texts important for contemplating ongoing uncertainties.

Links to Consider, 2/18

243 implied HN points • 18 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Misinformation Libertarianism Political Beliefs Elite Institutions
  1. Misinformation experts can be biased and self-serving when classifying content, leading to selective communication in modern democracies.
  2. The social consensus on freedom can be fragile, with liberties suddenly deemed 'Problematic' by media outlets.
  3. Political beliefs are often about tribal alignment rather than logical reasoning, making persuasion through reason challenging.

Links to Consider, 3/18

197 implied HN points • 18 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Social media Industrial Policy Higher education
  1. The perspective that social media is responsible for the prevalence of disinformation is challenged. The era of the mid-twentieth century press was also insular and biased.
  2. There has been a shift in societal values, with the relative importance of a good job increasing in status over having a good family.
  3. The implementation of industrial policy, like the CHIPS Act, is criticized for being slow and laden with DEI-related issues that hinder progress.

LLM Links, 2/15

182 implied HN points • 15 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Robots Software Language Models
  1. Bill Gates supports building general-purpose humanoid robots capable of multiple tasks, modeling them after people.
  2. Mark McNeilly predicts that AI will seduce humans rather than destroy us, leading to a decline in human interaction.
  3. There is potential to use large language models for tasks like contract reviews in legal and financial sectors, but resistance to fully relying on AI in certain professions may persist.

LLM links

182 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Podcasts Learning Human-computer interaction
  1. Large language models (LLMs) do not work by remembering and spitting back information, but by analyzing word patterns and coding them into vectors.
  2. Artificial intelligence has significantly improved human gameplay in board games like Go, leading to more creative and strategic play.
  3. Learning from artificial intelligence in board games involves recognizing and correcting suboptimal moves, rather than trying to imitate the AI's every move.

Links to Consider, 2/13

182 implied HN points • 13 Feb 24
🚌 Education Beliefs Institutions Parenting Schools Reform
  1. Individuals may prioritize social rewards over truth in belief adoption, leading to collective delusions. It's hard to overcome irrationality at the individual or group level, so focusing on institutional change is crucial.
  2. There is a pattern in how some view different races, depicted by Coleman Hughes in his book. This mirrors the concept of the Moral Dyad, simplifying moral situations to assign feelings or agency.
  3. Challenges in education include the negative impact of excessive parental spending on education. To promote equality, the idea of a luxury estate tax on high-tuition schools was proposed years ago and still holds potential.

LLM Links, 2/24

167 implied HN points • 24 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Customer Relations
  1. Efficient search tools like Arc Search could change how we browse the web, potentially impacting content providers. It's important to consider the implications of relying heavily on large language models for search.
  2. Sierra.ai aims to revolutionize customer relations with an AI agent that can handle complex interactions and customer inquiries effectively. This could improve customer satisfaction and the quality of customer service.
  3. FutureSearch's forecasting bot impresses with its ability to identify important factors, calculate base rates, and show its work, demonstrating transparency and reliability.

LLM links, 2/12

151 implied HN points • 12 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Data Ethics
  1. AI can expand human capabilities and creativity by serving as a partner in various tasks.
  2. Future AI technology is predicted to have the capability to understand human emotions and subtle communications, potentially intruding on privacy.
  3. LLMs can easily be steered politically through supervised fine-tuning, highlighting the influence of human biases on these models rather than training data.

LLM links, 2/4

136 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Philosophy Economics Essays Growth
  1. Children learn by sensing and manipulating objects, which is expected to influence AI development.
  2. AI alignment issues are compared to human alignment issues, showing the importance of getting along in society.
  3. There are hard resource constraints that may limit extreme AI-driven growth, highlighting the importance of understanding these limits.

LLM links

136 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Robotics Customer Service Language Models Artificial Intelligence
  1. Chatbots like Gemini can reflect biases based on data sources - having diverse datasets can prevent skewed outcomes.
  2. Human brains and Large Language Models (LLMs) share similarities in predicting and processing information.
  3. AI assistants like Klarna's are proving effective in handling customer service inquiries, improving efficiency, and customer experience.

Reminder: Zoom discussion Monday

106 implied HN points • 06 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Truth Belief
  1. Seeking truth often involves deciding who to believe in rather than just figuring out the world.
  2. The accuracy of someone's beliefs may not always determine if they are trustworthy.
  3. Participating in conversations that explore these ideas can be interesting and insightful.

LLM links, 2/27

91 implied HN points • 27 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Models Systems Predictions
  1. Compound AI systems are proving more effective than individual AI models, showing that combining different components can lead to better results.
  2. Providing extensive context can enhance AI capabilities, enabling new use cases and more effective training through models like Sora.
  3. The emergence of an AI computer virus is predicted to become a major concern, potentially causing widespread panic and technological shutdowns.

LLM links, 3/19

45 implied HN points • 19 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Judaism Manifesto
  1. Agent-based economic models are being enhanced with the use of large language models.
  2. AI is shaping Judaism by making Jewish texts more accessible and offering new models for meaningful living.
  3. AI is a dynamic process that needs to be understood and regulated with care to maximize its benefits.

Zoom event for paid subscribers

45 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Event
  1. Zoom event for paid subscribers on February 7 featuring a mystery guest
  2. Guest involved in large language models and generational differences in religious and cultural orientation
  3. Post is exclusively for paid subscribers, sign in or subscribe to access

Reminders for live events

30 implied HN points • 26 Feb 24
🚌 Education Webinar Live Events
  1. There will be a Zoom discussion tonight on Patricia Crone's book about pre-modern societies and another tomorrow on Jews and Communism.
  2. The Zoom discussion on Patricia Crone's book is free but requires registration.
  3. The Zoom discussion on Jews and Communism is for paid subscribers.

Can Marriage Be Saved?

9 HN points • 02 Mar 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Marriage Fertility Parenting Tradition Psychology
  1. Being able to make and keep commitments is essential in a successful marriage, and conscientiousness can be developed through rewards, punishments, and exercises.
  2. Appreciating tradition, including religious rituals, can give significance to your marriage and family, making the journey more fulfilling.
  3. Agreeing on family size, having a stable neighborhood, and positive peer pressure towards marriage and children can all contribute to a strong and lasting marriage.

A Libertarian Gets Mugged

7 HN points • 14 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Safety Government Policy Politics Crime
  1. Personal safety is a collective good that can't always be guaranteed by individual efforts alone.
  2. In areas where government protection is lacking, communities may need to come together for safety through initiatives like neighborhood watch programs.
  3. Balancing government authority in providing safety is complex, with no simple or permanent solutions.

Elite? Or Ultra-Citified?

2 HN points • 21 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Polls Political Influence Political Beliefs
  1. A buzzy poll about elites actually surveyed a specific group that does not represent the entire elite population.
  2. The criteria used to define 'elite' in the poll may not be very strict, potentially leading to a misrepresentation of the group.
  3. The 'ultra-citified' cohort, while affluent and educated, tends to think and behave notably differently from the rest of the American population.

Jews and Communism

2 HN points • 17 Feb 24
🌍 World Politics Communism Ethnicity Religion Ideology
  1. American Jewish memory often overlooks the association between Jews and Communists, but for some, the entanglement holds significant personal history.
  2. Historically, as an ethnic group, Jews tend to lean toward leftist political movements due to urban living, progressive support of Jewish emancipation, and traditions that favored learning and commerce.
  3. Despite some historical ties, many Jews today are turning away from left-wing anti-capitalism, as they may feel alienated by the portrayal of Jewish entities by the left.

The Null Hypothesis Strikes Again

2 HN points • 20 Jan 24
  1. Education interventions often do not show significant long-term benefits compared to control groups.
  2. Results from social programs are frequently found to have little impact overall.
  3. Social issues are complex, with solutions often leading back to where they started.

Wright and Wrong

2 HN points • 01 Feb 24
  1. There are different perspectives on America's role in the world when it comes to military intervention.
  2. The Moral Humility approach emphasizes understanding all sides' legitimate aspirations, while the neoconservative approach focuses on promoting Western democracy.
  3. Balancing moral clarity and cognitive humility is key to making the best choices in dealing with bad actors in the world.