The hottest Theory Substack posts right now

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Top Philosophy Topics

On the limits of utility theory

Sam’s Newsletter • 58 implied HN points • 05 Apr 23
🔬 Science Theory Decision-making Artificial Intelligence Creativity Conflicts
  1. Utility theory is a powerful tool in academic fields like decision theory and economics, explaining human behavior based on preferences and optimization.
  2. Utility theory, while universal in application, has limitations when it comes to conflicting preferences that require creativity to resolve.
  3. Applying utility theory to scenarios like AGIs, which involve conflicting desires and behaviors, may result in unrealistic models and outcomes.

The Violent Rules Based Order

Black Lodges • 39 implied HN points • 18 Oct 23
🌍 World Politics Theory Capitalism Violence Power Propaganda
  1. The concept of bourgeois legality as a facade for ruling class violence is crucial to understanding power dynamics in the 21st century West.
  2. In the face of government crackdowns, it is essential to move beyond illusions of freedom and work towards a strategic response.
  3. Recognizing the true power structures and oppressive nature of the capitalist class is key to offering a meaningful future by acting accordingly.

Horseshoe This!

Black Lodges • 39 implied HN points • 20 Mar 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Ideology Theory Centrism Extremism Authoritarianism
  1. The Horseshoe Theory compares far-left and far-right political extremes, suggesting they are closer together than to the moderate center.
  2. The Radical Center rejects traditional left-right divides, focusing on pragmatic policymaking influenced by corporate interests and market-based solutions.
  3. The Horseshoe Theory oversimplifies complex political ideologies, fails to consider fundamental differences between left and right, and misrepresents political reality.

Iron Cage

Brain Lenses • 19 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Sociology Economics Capitalism Theory Bureaucracy
  1. Max Weber coined the term 'iron cage' to describe how modern humans are enclosed within capitalistic systems with strict structures.
  2. The structures of capitalism and bureaucracies have created an almost indestructible shell that governs social, relational, and resource management aspects of our lives.
  3. Many people operate within this 'iron cage' without realizing the system they are enclosed in.
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Best YouTube Channels to learn about Graph Theory for Software Engineering for free[Math Mondays]

Technology Made Simple • 59 implied HN points • 10 Oct 22
🚌 Education Math Coding Computer Science Theory Algorithms
  1. Focus on using a mix of channels to become an expert in Graph Theory for Software Engineering. Channels vary in their emphasis on math, coding, and computer science.
  2. Utilize the recommended channels like Wrath of Math, David Amos, Trev Tutor, and FreeCodeCamp to sharpen your understanding of Graph Theory.
  3. Engage with the content from different channels to build strong theoretical foundations and improve your performance in coding interviews.

Understanding™, or the computational theory of mind

Silicon Reckoner • 19 implied HN points • 12 Feb 23
📖 Philosophy Mind Understanding Intelligence Science Theory
  1. The computational theory of mind is based on a metaphor and tends to take symbolic logic too seriously.
  2. Trademarked concepts like intelligence™ may limit the full understanding of intelligence by excluding certain human emotions like wonder and anxiety.
  3. Understanding in mathematics involves knowing what to calculate and having the technical skill to make those calculations.

Art Doesn't Lie About Chthonic Human Nature

Holodoxa • 59 implied HN points • 19 Aug 22
🎨 Art & Illustration Criticism Literature Analysis Interpretation Theory
  1. Art reflects the dark truths of human nature, as argued by Camille Paglia in her work Sexual Personae
  2. Paglia's thesis explores the conflict between reason and chaos in Western culture through art
  3. Paglia's provocative approach challenges traditional literary criticism and encourages a more engaging exploration of art and literature

Lessons from a failed experiment

Sunday Letters • 19 implied HN points • 20 Aug 23
🔬 Science Research Innovation Theory Experimentation Education
  1. People often trust the old experts too much, which can block new ideas. It's important to stay open to new possibilities, even if they seem strange.
  2. In science, we tend to only celebrate successful discoveries, while failed experiments often get ignored. Both successes and failures are essential for learning.
  3. Being open minded and willing to be wrong is key to making groundbreaking discoveries. Sometimes, you have to fail many times before you find something that works.

Against the Labor Theory of Science

Never Met a Science • 11 implied HN points • 23 Jan 24
🔬 Science Social Science Theory Machine Learning
  1. New social scientific processes are being developed for more efficiency and improved knowledge production.
  2. Centralization of knowledge production can lead to significant gains in efficiency on both production and consumption sides.
  3. Machine learning algorithms can extract high-dimensional knowledge, reducing the need for human translation and potentially improving accuracy.

2x2 games will change your life

Wyclif's Dust • 7 HN points • 24 Feb 24
🚌 Education Game Theory Mathematics Social Sciences Economics Theory
  1. Mathematics can change the way you think by showing how words correspond to underlying structures.
  2. 2x2 games, like the Prisoner's Dilemma, are simple models that offer powerful insights into cooperation, trade, and decision-making.
  3. Understanding game theory, particularly 2x2 games, can help in analyzing real-world scenarios such as economics, politics, and social interactions.

The golden oldies

Theory Matters • 7 implied HN points • 20 Feb 24
🚌 Education Theory Teaching Learning
  1. It's important to study the foundational thinkers of political theory like Plato, Hobbes, and Locke, even if we don't always agree with them, as their ideas continue to shape contemporary debates about justice and freedom.
  2. Shortcuts in learning and work can lead to a lack of foundational knowledge and reduced quality in outcomes, affecting areas from education to construction.
  3. Putting in the hard work to learn the fundamentals is essential, even in a society where speed and quantity are often prioritized over quality, to avoid producing individuals who lack true understanding and depth of knowledge.

A theory of truth

Infinitely More • 5 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
📖 Philosophy Logic Truth Semantics Theory Structure
  1. Truth in a structure is defined by recursion on sentences, reducing to assertions with temporary assignments of variables
  2. The concept of valuation in a model involves assigning variables to specific individuals, treating them as constants in that context
  3. Tarski's disquotational theory of truth posits that an assertion is true when the proposition it asserts is true, forming the foundation of a compositional theory of truth

Group Theory Crash Course

Quantum Formalism • 19 implied HN points • 20 Dec 21
🚌 Education Mathematics Courses Theory
  1. The crash course on Group Theory will cover essential concepts like cosets, generators, orbits, and stabilizers, catering both beginners and those interested in advanced topics like quantum computing.
  2. Prior to starting Module II on Lie Groups and Representations, it is recommended to review the Topology & Differential Geometry crash course to understand smooth manifolds.
  3. Lie Groups not only have a group structure but also an underlying smooth structure that is crucial in the theory, making it important to grasp these concepts before diving into Module II.

What is Price Theory?

Economic Forces • 7 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
🚌 Education Economics Models Theory Knowledge Opportunity Cost
  1. Price theory focuses on analyzing how real world agents arrive at agreeable prices through a process of exchange.
  2. Price theory emphasizes that competition is omnipresent and considers how firms strategically respond to rivals in a competitive context.
  3. Prices coordinate economic behavior across markets, carry important information, and contribute to resolving the coordination problem through mechanisms beyond price changes.

Lost in Ideology review

Theory Matters • 3 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
📚 Literature Philosophy Ideology Critique Theory Scholarship
  1. Jason Blakely's book 'Lost in Ideology' offers a new and inventive approach to political and philosophical crises, suggesting that understanding differing maps of ideology can lead to better self-awareness and empathy.
  2. The book explores the idea that ideologies are culturally contingent and dives into various philosophical doctrines, pointing out strengths and weaknesses without rigidly advocating for a specific one.
  3. Blakely's work emphasizes precision and clarity in navigating intellectual traditions, avoiding oversimplification, and making valuable distinctions between different ideological schools and thinkers, making the text accessible for scholars and students alike.

Busy Beaver, the current BB(5) conjecture and bbchallenge.org

Fikisipi • 1 HN point • 24 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Computer Science Theory Mathematics Programming Artificial Intelligence
  1. The Busy Beaver function is a mathematical concept related to Turing Machines that aims to find the machine performing the most operations without entering an endless loop. It's a fun way to think about extremely large numbers.
  2. Professor Scott Aaronson made a conjecture that the value of BB(5) is 47,176,870, which is a big number in the context of the Busy Beaver problem. This means trying to determine how many steps the best machine with 5 states can make.
  3. A group called bbchallenge.org is working together to solve this conjecture and make progress on understanding BB(5). They've made some recent updates and are excited about their upcoming findings.

A Space Between Eras: 0

Bit Personality • 2 implied HN points • 14 Feb 24
🚌 Education Philosophy Theory Solutions Love Crisis
  1. There's a crisis in education - dropping test scores, teacher turnover, and school violence. Various solutions are proposed, highlighting the complexity of the issue.
  2. Galacto-Amorous Personism philosophy emphasizes the importance of love (_Amor_) in education. Lack of love in schools is seen as a root cause of the crisis.
  3. The presentation promises to delve into the theory of _Amor_, link it to learning and education woes, discuss its connection to the internet, and present solutions developed by the speaker and colleagues.

The Economics of McCormick

Economic Forces • 3 implied HN points • 07 Sep 23
💼 Business Economics Regulation Crime Demand Theory
  1. Deregulation may not always lead to societal benefits due to factors like rent-seeking and public ignorance of economics.
  2. Increasing the number of referees in college basketball can reduce the rate of fouls, showcasing the impact of policing quality on behavior.
  3. The Alchian-Allen theorem demonstrates how travel costs can impact consumer behavior when it comes to goods of varying quality and transportation modes.

Giving Thanks for Price Theory, 2023 Edition

Economic Forces • 2 implied HN points • 23 Nov 23
🚌 Education Economics Theory Lessons Efficiency Profit
  1. Costs involve more than just money, they include opportunity costs and trade-offs that consider various factors like time and value.
  2. Efficiency in economics refers to Pareto efficiency, where all gains from trade are exhausted, and serves as a tool for understanding real-world allocations.
  3. Profits and losses in market economies act as selection mechanisms, with losses signaling inefficiency and prompting resources to be reallocated effectively.

International Cartels

Economic Forces • 2 implied HN points • 19 Oct 23
🌐 International Cartels Politics Economics Theory Defense
  1. International cartels face challenges in surviving due to incentives to cheat and antitrust laws
  2. One theory suggests that international cartels may be formed to offset wartime distortions and attract investment through higher prices
  3. Another theory proposes that international cartels could serve as a way for countries to prevent alignment with enemies by providing benefits through monopoly profits

Ian Campbell: URL to IRL: Where Does the Funnel End?

Do Not Research • 0 implied HN points • 15 Sep 21
📖 Philosophy Theory Organization Debate
  1. Online radicalization often leads individuals into a rabbit hole of extreme beliefs, but the only way out is through transitioning to real-world engagement.
  2. Reading political theory online can be oversimplified; true understanding comes from studying texts in their historical context and as part of a larger analysis.
  3. Effective political organizations require a strong program to unify members and foster healthy debate, unlike online spaces where disagreements often lead to fragmentation.

Giáo dục và tự do

Thái | Hacker | Kỹ sư tin tặc • 0 implied HN points • 22 Aug 13
🚌 Education Philosophy Theory Teaching System Effectiveness
  1. The ultimate goal of education, according to Einstein, is to stimulate curiosity, creativity, independent thinking, and action in each student.
  2. Einstein emphasizes the importance of creating a love for learning in students, rather than just focusing on how much work they do.
  3. Teachers must also be individuals who are curious, passionate about knowledge, and eager to explore the world, in order to foster freedom and independent thinking in students.

Book Review: Technological Slavery

Symbolic Capital(ism) • 0 implied HN points • 16 Jun 23
📚 Literature Book review Ideologies Social Critique Revolution Theory
  1. Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, was a highly intelligent but ultimately violent individual with a tragic and impactful life story.
  2. Kaczynski's manifesto, _Industrial Society and Its Future_, though not revolutionary, had moments of clarity in critiquing societal rebellion and the co-opting of causes by the System.
  3. Kaczynski's focus on abstractly blaming 'the System' and his lack of concrete solutions or engagement with the realities of society ultimately led him to a violent and futile path.

Jean-Batiste Joseph Fourier: The Analytical Theory of Heat

The Climate Historian • 0 implied HN points • 18 Mar 22
🔬 Science Mathematics Physics Climate History Theory
  1. Joseph Fourier greatly impacted how scientists understand heat transfer and functions. His work introduced new equations that describe how heat moves through solids.
  2. Fourier was not just a mathematician; he was also deeply involved in the political scene during the French Revolution, even ending up in prison for his beliefs.
  3. In his studies, Fourier explained how the Earth gets its heat from the sun, stars, and its own core. He was one of the first to bring attention to the concept of the greenhouse effect.

4. Einstein's Cross

Qissah • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jul 23
🔬 Science Physics Space Theory Light
  1. Despite challenges like heavy rain, life in the city continues as usual.
  2. Gravitational lensing, as predicted by Einstein, explains phenomena like Einstein's Cross.
  3. An intriguing thought: what if all stars we see are repetitive images of one lonely star?

Category theory Q&A Schedule Correction!

Quantum Formalism • 0 implied HN points • 26 Feb 23
🚌 Education Theory
  1. There was a schedule mix-up for the Category theory Q&A session, but it has been corrected.
  2. The Q&A session is rescheduled for 5 pm GMT instead of the initial 3 pm GMT.
  3. Registration for the Q&A session is available on Crowdcast and replays will be on a YouTube playlist.

Influential Mathematicians: Frigyes Riesz

Quantum Formalism • 0 implied HN points • 15 Jul 20
🔬 Science Mathematics Quantum Mechanics Functional Analysis Physics Theory
  1. Frigyes Riesz was a significant mathematician who made key contributions to functional analysis and operator theory, impacting areas like physics and Hilbert spaces.
  2. His work, including the Riesz-Fischer theorem, influenced the development of quantum theory, showing the unitary equivalence of different quantum theories.
  3. Riesz is known for foundational work in Functional Analysis, which is crucial for the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics, and concepts like Dirac's bracket notation make sense thanks to Riesz representation theorem.

Traditional disruption theory and predictions

Joshua Gans' Newsletter • 0 implied HN points • 29 Oct 15
💼 Business Disruption Theory Predictions
  1. Disruption theory can be more than just a tool for research, and some believe it can also predict when a disruptor will succeed.
  2. Views on disruption can vary, with some arguing that companies can actively pursue disruption as part of their innovation or commercialization efforts.
  3. Michael Raynor has put forth theories on disruption and innovation that are influential and open to empirical analysis.

Aspects Of The Theory Of Breakfast

Meaningness • 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.