Moving to substack

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 My new posts will appear at https://substack.com/@atomicgalaxy

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2 million $ to the person you love or 1$ anonymously to 200 million poor?

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Here is an ethics thought experiment that explores personal connection in altruism, similar to Peter Singer's thought experiments. Suppose you were given these two choices Choice A: You can give any single person you know (other than yourself) 2 million $ openly. Choice B: You can give 200 million of the poorest people on the earth 1 $ each, anonymously.  If one were a sensing and feeling type of person, then the choice would be obviously A. You could give your loved one 2 million dollars and that would be enough to make them financially independent for the rest of their life (assuming they use the money judiciously). You would be interacting with them regularly, you know them well for a long time and will continue seeing them be happy for the rest of your life. This is similar to the ending in The Last of Us. If one were logical, intuitive and truly selfless then choice B is clearly the better choice. Poor people across the globe would benefit many orders of magnitude more than in...
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Autofunctions

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Autofunctions: Exploring Recursive Utility in Everyday Objects Introduction In a world teeming with multifaceted objects and tools, a curious phenomenon often goes unnoticed: the ability of some objects to perform their primary function on others of their kind. I've coined a term for this fascinating concept: "Autofunctions." This blog post delves into the realm of autofunctions, exploring their presence in our daily lives and their implications in various fields. Defining Autofunctions An autofunction is when an object or tool applies its primary function to another of its kind. Think of a bag carrying other bags, a crane lifting another crane, or a software debugging tool debugging itself. This phenomenon transcends simple utility, reflecting a self-referential or recursive nature in the design and function of these objects. Everyday Examples To truly grasp the concept of autofunctions, let's look at some commonplace examples: Containers Holding Containers: This inc...
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Simple but not easy: Reflections on Personal Finance

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Almost everyone has heard the recommendation to buy index funds, but few truly internalize what that means. I reflect on how I learnt the value of indexing and simplicity.  Darkness I started my career in the USA in mid 2010s. Once I had paid off my education loans I was left with the question of how to invest my money for the future. I remembered that for my parents' generation investing in land and gold was the way to go. They considered stock markets dangerous and equated it to gambling. But I knew I was in a different place and time. Searching the web some articles suggested that I should invest the money in index funds. I found a global equities index fund, but I wasn't sure if that was the right one. I invested in it for a year and it barely moved, rising by a few percentage points. Then I looked at big tech stocks and they were soaring. I also held a large chunk of employer stocks that was part of my compensation and that was rising by more than 30% per year. Since I wa...
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