Meaningness

Meaningness is a Substack that explores a broad spectrum of insights on artificial intelligence, meta-rationality, practical problem-solving, meditation, and Vajrayana Buddhism, alongside personal narratives and experiments in writing and reader engagement. It covers technological trends, personal development, rationality vs meta-rationality debates, and spirituality with a focus on applying these concepts in everyday life.

Artificial Intelligence Meta-Rationality Problem-Solving Meditation Vajrayana Buddhism Reader Engagement Personal Development Writing and Communication Technology Trends Spirituality

The hottest Substack posts of Meaningness

And their main takeaways

Aspects Of The Theory Of Breakfast

0 implied HN points • 21 Nov 20
📖 Philosophy Theory
  1. Part Two of _The Eggplant_ is a meta-rational understanding of effective, practical activity, not an abstract, rational theory of irrationality.
  2. Understanding effective practical activity involves a different approach from cognitive science.
  3. The theory of breakfast is explained in relation to meta-rational understanding of activity.

Working with mostly-truths

0 implied HN points • 21 Aug 20
📖 Philosophy Truth Rationality World
  1. The post discusses working with mostly-truths and the complexities of rationality and rationalism.
  2. It introduces the concept of 'mostly-truths' and provides follow-ups to exercises from the previous week.
  3. The focus is on the relationship between truth, formal rationality, and its application in the real world.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Gradient Dissent

0 implied HN points • 01 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Engineering Neural Networks
  1. Neural networks are criticized for being expensive, unreliable, and potentially harmful, yet continue to be widely used without adequate safeguards.
  2. In the software industry, inferior designs can dominate better alternatives, leading to long-term use of buggy, slow, and complicated programs.
  3. Replacing neural networks with better alternatives is not only possible but important and urgent for creating a safer technological future.

Better without AI

0 implied HN points • 14 Feb 23
🕹 Technology AI Books Ethics Safety Future
  1. AI, like ChatGPT, has rapidly gained popularity, but its risks are severe and real.
  2. The book proposes different strategies from AI ethics and safety to tackle potential bad outcomes.
  3. It suggests that we could achieve the benefits of future AI without facing its dangers.

Halloween special: The dead don't think

0 implied HN points • 31 Oct 22
🎭️ Culture Literature Podcasts Faith & Spirituality Health & Wellness
  1. The newsletter has a new chapter of a serial vampire romance novel that includes meditation instructions, blending horror fiction with unique elements.
  2. The chapter explores the horror of the protagonist's situation, adding loathing and gore, while also providing meditation guidance for readers.
  3. There's a related metablog post explaining the chapter's theme, along with a recommendation for a book of meditation instructions in a different style, and a podcast on meditation and life.

How can you justify flossing your teeth?

0 implied HN points • 26 Dec 21
🏥 Health & Wellness
  1. The importance of justifying flossing your teeth is discussed in a blog post.
  2. The blog post covers topics like objective meaning and objectivity.
  3. The blog post is specific to paid subscribers of the newsletter.

Ancient of Days

0 implied HN points • 20 Nov 21
📖 Philosophy Nihilism
  1. The author has recently completed two short web pages that didn't take much time.
  2. The post mentions lite nihilism as a topic of exploration.
  3. Access to the full post is restricted to paid subscribers.

Evolving Ground

0 implied HN points • 22 Oct 21
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Buddhism Community
  1. The author unexpectedly embraced Buddhism for the past month.
  2. The Evolving Ground Buddhist community was co-founded by the author's spouse and Jared Janes.
  3. After a year of work, the Evolving Ground website is now live.

Hackity hack

0 implied HN points • 14 Nov 20
📚 Literature Essays
  1. The post discusses two chapters of 'In the Cells of the Eggplant', focusing on 'Taking reasonableness seriously' and 'This is not cognitive science'.
  2. The first chapter is a quick and easy introduction, while the second chapter delves into unfamiliar or puzzling concepts.
  3. To access the full post, one needs to be a paid subscriber.

Trick or treat

0 implied HN points • 31 Oct 21
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Belief Meaning Death
  1. The author shared a new page about death called "No meaning for mortals."
  2. The post was a surprise for subscribers, breaking the promise of sending newsletters only once a week.
  3. To access the full content, readers need to be paid subscribers or sign in if they are already paid subscribers.

A whole lot of nothing

0 implied HN points • 24 Sep 21
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Spirituality
  1. The post discusses the concept of 'nihilizing' and how we sometimes pretend not to see meanings we'd rather not deal with.
  2. The content of the post may focus on 'a whole lot of nothing' for the next month or two, potentially differing from the expected topics of meta-rationality or Buddhism.
  3. Although you might not be a nihilist, there may be value in exploring themes related to nothingness even if it deviates from your initial interests.

Oops! It did it again.

0 implied HN points • 05 Feb 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Meditation
  1. The author is writing about meditation safety this week despite intending to do other tasks.
  2. The author's brain is doing what it wants, leading to unexpected writing topics.
  3. The post is for paid subscribers only.

Meaning is here, now

0 implied HN points • 11 Sep 21
📖 Philosophy Meaning Productivity
  1. The importance of finding meaning in the present moment.
  2. Reflecting on productivity levels and the value of consistent effort.
  3. Consideration for how to balance distributing content over time for maximum impact.

Better without AI: now in paperback and Kindle!

0 implied HN points • 30 Dec 23
🕹 Technology AI Books AI Research Publishing Content creation
  1. The book 'Better without AI' explores moderate apocalypses that could result from current and near-future AI technology, providing insights into realistically likely disasters and actions to prevent them.
  2. Despite the rapid pace of progress in AI during 2022, the substance of the book mostly remained relevant in 2023, indicating that the field may be nearing its limit in terms of significant advancements.
  3. The author's decision to publish the book in paperback and Kindle serves as an experiment to gauge the audience's interest in such editions, with the outcome influencing future decisions on book publishing.

The big infodump chapter

0 implied HN points • 02 Dec 23
📚 Literature Novel Narrative Meditation Romance Buddhism
  1. The post discusses the big infodump chapter of a Tantric Buddhist vampire romance novel, where characters compare notes and pieces fall into place, setting the stage for what's to come.
  2. The narrative structure of the post is the final episode of Act II, establishing the relationship with the supernatural mentor.
  3. The author's spouse's guide to a foundational Dzogchen meditation approach, 'Opening Awareness,' is newly available in a Kindle edition, focusing on meditation that leads to vivid perception, interpersonal clarity, and responsible action.