Open Thread 282

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This is the weekly visible open thread. Post about anything you want, ask random questions, whatever. ACX has an unofficial subreddit, Discord, and bulletin board, and in-person meetups around the world. 95% of content is free, but for the remaining 5% you can subscribe here. Also:

1: Comment of the week: themausch expands on binary junior/senior distinctions in the programmer job market.

2: Also, Woolyai analyzes the “have you cut off family members/been cut off over politics” question from the ACX survey: Who Cancels And Who Gets Cancelled? I don’t love the title, since I think cutting off family members is a noncentral example of “cancellation”. But I do love the data analysis, which is good and thorough.

3: Correction on the review of Programming And Metaprogramming The Human Biocomputer (subscriber only post): I wrote that the game Ecco The Dolphin was based on John Lilly’s bizarre theory of coincidences. Commenter Angela gave strong evidence that this is false - see here and also here, by the game designer - and all the resemblances are, uh, coincidental.

4: Lightcone is a team that operates important AI alignment and rationalist community infrastructure, including the Less Wrong website, the Alignment Forum, and the Rose Garden Inn (a venue for various alignment-related conferences and projects - also where we have Berkeley ACX meetups!) They're running low on money due to Rose Garden renovations being unexpectedly expensive and grants being unexpectedly thin, and are asking for a few 6+ figure grants to help tide them through this difficult period. If you're a wealthy person or grantmaker interested in AI alignment, see here for more information, or contact me at scott@slatestarcodex.com if you have questions, or get in touch with the head of Lightcone directly at habryka@lesswrong.com.