Bits
Small pieces of information I find useful — a term, a quote, a fleeting thought.
term
Apr 05, 2026
Technological maturity
Bostrom (2013)
A condition in which a set of capabilities exist that afford a level of control over nature that is close to the maximum that could be achieved in the fullness of time.
My interpretation: The st...
quote
Apr 05, 2026
Science is suspicious of itself
@analysis2g
Science works because it is suspicious of itself. Every consensus is temporary, every conclusion on probation.
quote
Apr 05, 2026
Learn from your mistakes
Unknown
You cannot learn from your mistakes without owning up to them.
quote
Apr 05, 2026
Knowledge lets small things push big things
Unknown
In most places in the Universe, big things push little things around. Knowledge can change this dynamic so that small things can push big things around. Consider the planet Earth will soon repel an...
quote
Apr 05, 2026
Knots of coordination
Nick Bostrom, Deep Utopia
It is possible that humanity’s destiny is knotty.
We can liken some coordination problems to knots, and technological progress as being akin to pulling a string. Tugging at the ends of the str...
quote
Apr 05, 2026
Hardly virtuous to be a sucker
Nick Bostrom, Deep Utopia
It’s hardly virtuous to be a sucker.
quote
Apr 05, 2026
Civilization as a powder keg
Nick Bostrom, Deep Utopia, ch. 1
For the past few hundred years, with many more humans around than ever before — woven together by commerce and communication into an interconnected world tapestry — inventions have been coming at b...
quote
Apr 05, 2026
Carpentry with your bare hands
Bo Dahlbom
You can’t do carpentry with your bare hands, you can’t do thinking with your bare brain.
quote
Apr 05, 2026
Broad enough for science
Unknown
No one’s back is broad enough to hold up the whole of Science.