The post explores the Far Out Initiative's goal to eliminate suffering through biotechnology, inspired by a pain-free woman and David Pearce's philosophy. Longer summary

This post discusses the Far Out Initiative, a project aimed at eliminating suffering through biotechnology. It begins by introducing Jo Cameron, a woman genetically incapable of feeling pain or anxiety, and explores the philosophical implications of her condition. The post then delves into David Pearce's suffering abolitionism philosophy and his practical approaches to ending suffering. Finally, it describes the Far Out Initiative's current efforts, led by Marcin Kowrygo, to create suffering-free animals through genetic engineering and potentially extend this to humans in the future. Shorter summary

This review analyzes Viktor Frankl's 'Man's Search for Meaning', using it as a framework to explore other narratives of suffering and the search for meaning in various contexts. Longer summary

This review explores Viktor Frankl's 'Man's Search for Meaning' and its implications, using the book as a lens to analyze other narratives. The review is divided into three parts: the first summarizes Frankl's experiences in concentration camps and his theory of logotherapy; the second introduces a fictional French poet as a parallel narrative of finding meaning in suffering; and the third applies Frankl's ideas to analyze the current situation in Russia and Ukraine, exploring the concept of meaning and its absence in different contexts. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines a review of a paper on serotonin receptors, discussing prediction error, suffering, and the effects of different serotonin receptor activations on problem-solving approaches and psychedelic experiences. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews George from CerebraLab's analysis of a paper by Nutt and Carhart-Harris on serotonin receptors. The post explores two main points: the relationship between prediction error and suffering in the context of active inference theory, and the different effects of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptor activation. Scott discusses how these concepts relate to depression, psychedelics, and problem-solving approaches. He also considers George's suggestion that using psychedelics for introspection might be more harmful than using them for fun or practical problem-solving. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews Jordan Peterson's 'Twelve Rules For Life', finding it surprisingly insightful and impactful despite some philosophical criticisms. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Jordan Peterson's book 'Twelve Rules For Life', finding it surprisingly good despite initial skepticism. He compares Peterson's writing to C.S. Lewis in its ability to make clichés feel meaningful and impactful. The review analyzes Peterson's ideas about order vs. chaos, his grounding of morality in the alleviation of suffering, and his approach to psychotherapy. While Scott has some criticisms of Peterson's philosophical foundations, he ultimately sees Peterson's work as a positive force, albeit one he's not personally drawn to join. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander surveys people's preferences between suffering and oblivion, finding split opinions and weak correlations between different scenarios and real-world beliefs. Longer summary

Scott Alexander conducts a survey to explore people's preferences between suffering and oblivion in various scenarios. He presents five hypotheses and tests them using the survey results. The survey includes questions about preferring death over a difficult life, choosing between long unhappy life and short happy life, and population ethics. The results show that people are indeed split on these issues, with strong feelings on both sides. There are weak correlations between answers to different questions, suggesting a general factor of oblivion-preference versus suffering-preference. However, this factor does not strongly predict views on population ethics. The study finds weak correlations between oblivion preference and support for euthanasia, interest in cryonics, and personal happiness. Shorter summary