Category Archives: Uncategorized

There is no greater criminal than the government. The FDA takes their sweet time to approve various drugs. Meanwhile, people are dying. There are people on their deathbeds, willing to try anything to keep living. Grandparents, adults, kids with rare cancers. These people can’t try experimental drugs, even if they wanted to. What do theyContinue reading “Meanwhile, People Are Dying”

I dress up for work. Even though I don’t have to, I do it. It’s important to me always to look good. People look at me quizzically and say “When’s the interview?” as if the only time to dress up is for interviews. For me, the interview is right now and all the time. IContinue reading “When’s the Interview?”

As you most likely haven’t noticed, I deleted my Facebook one month ago. It was the best decision of 2017. It all started back in March when I decided that I should also get an Instagram. I would post photos that I thought represented me. I would like photos that I wanted people to seeContinue reading “1 Month Without Facebook”

I woke up this morning and thought, “I need a challenge for breakfast.” Because the only thing more tasty than oatmeal, is a challenge. This tutorial is only for the advanced users. I honestly don’t think you can make a dodecahedron in Solidworks without knowing the exact coordinates of each point before hand. When you’reContinue reading “The Dodecahedron of Doom (Onshape Tutorial)”

Tor is a system of encrypting messages from one person to the next. The internet is essentially like sending snail mail. You write a letter to an acquaintance with a request for a package, and they send you the package. We would be freaked out if someone was reading our mail and looking through ourContinue reading “Tor, Not Just For Criminals Anymore”

Gryffindors are good at one thing, above all others. They have the unique ability to act, regardless of the consequences. This could take the form of standing-up to a bully, even if it means getting beaten up. It could be helping an outcast, even if it means humiliation from the group. The ultimate example isContinue reading “The Gryffindor Dilemma”

Hello beautiful Onshape users. Today I’m going to teach you how to make a bowling ball. If you’re a Fusion 360 user and you’re reading this, switch to Onshape. You can thank me later. A bowling ball is one of those things that doesn’t sound hard until you start trying to make one. You canContinue reading “Stick your finger in the holes (Onshape Tutorial)”

If you want to teach someone a lesson, look no further than this mace I made. Want one too? It’s as easy to use reason as it is to create one. The best part? It only requires one sketch. I’ve split it into two sketches for demonstration purposes. Make this sketch. Confirm the sketch whenContinue reading “The Mace Called “Reason” (Onshape Tutorial)”

Today I will teach you how to make a whip in Onshape, the most beautiful and glorious of all CAD systems. When I’m done with you, you’ll have one of these to share with your loved one:   Just a disclaimer, this one is quite advanced. It requires almost no dimensions, lots of eyeballing it,Continue reading “Whip it good (Onshape Tutorial)”

I am in love with this software called Onshape. I don’t think I’ve ever used software that I love as much as Onshape. I’m overjoyed that it happens to be for CAD and I get to use it on a daily basis. How I love Onshape, let me count the ways: Everything is cloud basedContinue reading “Do you want to build a snowman? (Onshape Tutorial)”

I’m not in the market for buying a 3D printer right now. Someone tried to give me advice and I want to make it clear why I’m not taking their advice. First of all, I don’t accept 99% of the advice I hear. Most importantly, I already know I’m going to buy a low qualityContinue reading “What 3D Printer Should I Buy Next?”

The Hunger Games trilogy has literally changed my life. I don’t say that lightly. My whole worldview is radically changed since reading them 4 years ago. The lessons I’ve learned have stayed with me until this day Survival is always about more than survival Katniss lives on the verge of death for most her teenContinue reading “Everything I Learned From the Hunger Games”

As a die hard Capitalist, I’m comforted by the ease and effectiveness of my philosophy. I know many capitalists are worried that socialists taking over, or Nazis taking over. Rest assured, they’ve already taken over. The worst part has already happened. For at least 2500 years we’ve been ruled by the various cruel and wellContinue reading “Why I don’t fear Socialists or National Socialists”

Every year thousands of ambitious wordsmiths are crushed. I’m talking about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), of course. The biggest online writing-palooza in the world. The rules are very simple: 1. You must write 50,000 words 2. You cannot start sooner than November 1st and you must finish by November 30th. 3. You must beginContinue reading “A Fear of Words, Words, Words”

There are two kinds of people: deontologists and utilitarians. Deontologists care about so-called “rights”. While utilitarians care about maximizing a particular metric. Possible metrics include minimize suffering, maximizing human happiness, minimizing human death, etc. Anarchy is probably the best at all three, but particularly at minimizing human death. To start with, you might think about how toContinue reading “A Utilitarian Guide to Anarchy”

One trait of the Rationality movement that I find admirable, not only do they have the ability to admit when they are wrong, but they actively search for where they are wrong. Most religious people I know are too content with their understanding. They have a hard time imagining that they might be wrong. It’sContinue reading “David Richelson and the Search For the Null Hypothesis”

Every time I hear a love song, I want to replace the word “love” with “meaning”. I’ve come to a conclusion about what a “meaningful life” is. A life has meaning if, and only if, the following condition are met: You are a distinct entity The world is objective and predictable You have the cognitiveContinue reading “Looking for meaning in all the wrong places”

Dear 16 Year-Old David, There’s so much I want to tell you. Let me start by saying that I understand the futility of giving you advice. I understand full well that some of what I tell you will be unbelievable and that you’ll just have to figure it out for yourself- part of knowing isContinue reading “A Letter To My 16 Year-Old Self”

I’ve encountered a writer’s demon: writer’s block. I’ve taken a break from writing because I succumbed to the feeling of “been there, done that, got the t-shirt”. I lost enthusiasm for writing because I accidentally listened to advice. I read that the best writers have at least 1 of 3 things going for them: theyContinue reading “How to Keep Your Fiction Fresh”

In Capitan America Civil War, the Avengers are plagued with a bad case of bureaucrats. I haven’t finished the movie, but at this point, the heroes are given an ultimatum by the UN. Either they can submit to the jurisdiction of the UN, or they have to renounce their vigilante activities. This dilemma has reallyContinue reading “The Rights and Utilities of Avengers”

One of the hardest parts about dance for me, is getting over the embarrassment of being a beginner. In other areas of life, I cut myself and everyone else slack. I say “You gotta start somewhere.” Or “Everyone starts as a beginner, no one is born an expert.” But with dance, I’ve experienced embarrassment. IContinue reading “In Defense of the Noobs”

I am obsessed with Rationality. I know there was a philosophical movement in the 1800s called Rationality that focused on coming to new information through pure thought, instead of empirical evidence. I don’t know more about it than that. The rationality I’m obsessed with is called Bayesian Rationality. I just watched this wonderful video whichContinue reading “The Sun Always Rises in the East”

I want to die at 100 years old, and I want to die by eating the following meal. These are all of my favorite foods, and now that I’m dieting, they’re all I can think about. Breakfast: a big pile of crispy hash browns 2 jumbo eggs over medium a slab of ham a pileContinue reading “What I Want For My Last Meal”

Here’s the triggers I get that light up my pleasure centers in my brain: chewing having my mouth full gulping flavor feeling full Now that I’m foregoing those pleasures, I’ve noticed them. When I have broccoli, I can chew and have my mouth full, but I miss flavor. When I have gum, I can chewContinue reading “What I Like About Eating, and What I Miss”

First they came for the LGBTQ community, and I screamed in dissent — Even though I am not LGBTQ. Then they came for the Mexicans, and I bought and proliferated Bitcoin so that we could still trade with them across borders — Even though I am not Mexican. Then they came for the Iranians, andContinue reading “First they came”

I used to scoff at Catholics because of their practice of taking communion. I used to joke that they were like the Borg. A sad droll life of drudgery for other lifeless sods. But since adopting a cute little brain slug, I’ve changed my mind! I was contemplating why I encourage people to have correctContinue reading “I want a hive mind, and you will too”

Humans have this tendency to make stuff up. We’re uncomfortable with not knowing something. We feel the need to not only come up with a best guess, but also assume that it is correct. When we did not know how the earth was created, we wove our own stories that involved benevolent and angry gods,Continue reading “Sometimes, “I Don’t Know” is the Right Answer”

9/15 10:06pm There was some sort of commotion down at the SciCo Laboratories downtown. They sent me. Of course they sent me. One of the perks of being Lead Detective, with over 20 years on the force is that they send me to all the interesting stuff. Well, interesting by their standards. I’ve been aroundContinue reading “Hurt people, hurt people”

The Epicurean Diet is just eating less and enjoying what you have more. Epicurus was a hedonist (the original kind)! He believed there were two kinds of pleasures. Necessary pleasures, and unnecessary pleasures. Necessary pleasures are food, water, shelter etc. Unnecessary pleasures are variety. Lentils are good, but having 100 kinds of lentils is unnecessary.Continue reading “The Epicurean Diet”

I’ve been dieting since January. I was trying to lose 15 pounds in 3 months. I lost 8 pounds in 8 weeks which was exactly on target for me. Then I lost 0 pounds in 2 weeks. A couple of things went wrong: I stopped tracking my calories I compensated my eating healthier by eatingContinue reading “You Can’t Get There From Here (A Weight Loss Journey)”

Hi, my Life™ isn’t working. Any idea what’s wrong? Yes, make sure that your Life™ is turned to the “On” position. Lives are shipped in the “Off” position by default.   I think my Life™ is in the “On” position, but it still isn’t working for me. It’s possible that your unit has gone toContinue reading “Life™ FAQ”

*Spoilers for Harry Potter 7* In the Harry Potter series, Harry and friends are constantly thwarted by literal and figurative rats. Double agents have infiltrated the Harry Potter support group. All of these rats are from the Slytherin house because everyone from the other houses feels that misrepresentation is icky. It’s like wearing a mask.Continue reading “Sheep In Wolves’ Clothing”

The only 4 letter c-word is “can’t”. Oh that is a dirty word indeed. That’s the word we use when we feel lazy. When we don’t want to take responsibility for our actions. When we don’t want to test our boundaries. When we don’t know what happens if we succeed. When we don’t know whatContinue reading “The Only 4 Letter C-word”

The movie Inception was fantastic. I recommend everyone see it if they haven’t already. I just watched it a second time. It’s finally clear why I was confused before. I’m still confused, but now for different reasons. The first time I watched it, the audio quality was bad. It was hard to pick up allContinue reading “I Think I Figured Out How Inception Works”

There are some people who feel that persuasion is “icky”. It certainly appears to be the slimly slithery tactic that bad guys use. These people are clearly not Slytherins. I am now going to attempt to persuade you that persuasion is not so bad after all. The argument against persuasion goes as such: We haveContinue reading “How I Justify Persuasion”

I rely on other people to know things with certainty. I talk to all sorts of people and I learn all sorts of things. It does me little good if these people are mistaken. There are numerous benefits to having correct beliefs about the world. The foremost one is that you get to be aContinue reading “Epistemic Hygiene: It’s Not Just For Kids Anymore”

Wow! I’ve never gotten so much great feedback from one of my blog posts as I did on my post on faith. I am honored and tickled that I have such great friends who spend the time to read what I have to say and take the extra time to respond. I love it. FeelContinue reading “Come All Ye Reasoners”

I read this post about dating but I want to extrapolate it further: http://realkylemilligan.com/how-to-get-a-girl-on-tinder-in-9-messages-flat/ The idea is that if a girl shows interest in you, you don’t need to stress out about impressing her. She’s already at least a little impressed. The first step is already done. It’s automatic. It’s passive. It’s the culmination ofContinue reading “Assume they like you (and then they will)”

There’s a great explanation of rationality here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iloTS0wU9qM In summary there are 2.5 legs of rationality. The 1.5th leg is called Epistemic Rationality, which is: “What do you know, and how do you know it?”. The 2nd leg is Instrumental Rationality, which is: “How should your behavior reflect your beliefs?”. For example, if you believeContinue reading “What does rationality look like, anyway?”

Is there randomness, or is everything predetermined by chemistry, biology, physics, and psychology? Even if randomness exists, do we have free will? How would we know? Is there meaning in life beyond what we make of it? If we have free will, what % influence does genetics have? 50%? 30%? Is persuasion wrong? If peopleContinue reading “Questions That Keep Me Up at Night”

I was challenged on my stance on faith. I think it came down to a difference of definitions. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/faith The two main definitions I’m concerned with are: accepting a belief without evidence, and trust. I have no problem with trust. I think it’s one of the pillars of society. You need to trust Amazon toContinue reading “What’s Faith got to do (got to do) with it?”

If I had a daytime talk show, like Oprah, I’d hand out megaphones. You get a megaphone, and you get a megaphone! EVERYONE GETS A MEGAPHONE!   There was a time when we lived in small villages. If we wanted to be heard, we had to find a time that was convenient for someone else.Continue reading “I’m handing out megaphones”

I have some friends who have already picked out what they want on their tombstone, so I figured I would pick something for myself. I’ve decided on “Here lies David. He knew what he was doing” I don’t always know what I’m doing. I’d say 50% of the time, things work out in my favor, butContinue reading “Here lies David. He knew what he was doing”

http://www.philosophyexperiments.com/fatman/ There are 4 fundamental trolley problems. I’ll let you go through the link, it should only take 10 minutes tops. Here’s what I chose: Don’t pull the lever I don’t believe that every life is sacred, however, I don’t try to calculate the number of lives. I wouldn’t pull the lever even if thereContinue reading “Trolley problems”

In this clip Aziz describes an event when he made the first move, and got cricket chirps in reply. What happened? In dating, ideally you both love* each other. Sometimes neither person loves each other at all. Often times, one person loves the other but not vice versa. Not loving someone isn’t a problem. BeingContinue reading “Why is there ambiguity in dating? (as explained by Game Theory)”

When is ignorance bliss? I tell people I’ve given up watching the news and people give me a “tsk tsk, now you’re ignorant”. My main problem is that I can’t know everything. There is an opportunity cost on the time it takes to learn. Is it better to spend that time watching the news, orContinue reading “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you depressed for a little while”

As we get older, something happens to our way of thinking. For a long time, this perplexed me. I felt that I couldn’t trust anyone over 30. What was even more disturbing was that my sisters were turning 30 soon. Could I not trust them? As I got older, I learned what this phenomenon was.Continue reading “We don’t get righter, just more confident”

When I started this website, I waffled between super serious and super playful. I wanted it to be inviting so people would want to come to my site. On the other hand, I wanted future employers to look at it and be impressed with my professionalism. I decided to compromise. I would make the websiteContinue reading “What’s the deal with .coffee?”

I’ve changed what I think…. I made a bit of a snafu recently. A year ago, I was in a bad mood and I wrote a blog post about how I’m giving up helping people. I elaborated that I would just try to help people in a different way by listening instead of offering advice.Continue reading “I think I’ve changed what I think I’ve changed what I think I’ve changed…”

I just saw this play last week which was truly fabulous. It’s about, yes, love, but also about women’s and men’s rights. It’s about tradition and progress. But what I took away, was the message of freedom. The premise is that 50 sisters have been promised by their father (before their birth) that they wouldContinue reading “Big Love and Big Libertarian Ideas”

(reposted from facebook) My fellow Praxians, It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you that I am quitting Praxis. This was one the hardest decisions of my life. Over the past 6 months, I’ve fallen deeply in love with my job. There’s nothing I’d rather do with my time than work.Continue reading “My Fellow Praxians”

I met one of my old friends and found out they believe the earth is less than 10,000 years old. I tried my best not to be judgemental, but I don’t think I did a very good job. I appreciate Young Earthers because they keep me on my toes. I CANNOT pat myself on theContinue reading “Thank Goodness for Young Earthers”

I want to communicate this in a way that instills a sense of urgency, but not panic… If you are losing, then time is not on your side. The longer you wait, the more likely you are to lose. If you are going to act, act now. We don’t have the luxury of waiting. InContinue reading “Time is of the Essence”

If you had a laboratory with a perfectly smooth table and perfectly smooth and rigid billiard balls, you should be able to make perfect predictions. If you had just 2 such balls you could  predictions with 99.999999% accuracy. If you had to bet money on these predictions, you’d make money on 99.999999% of the time.Continue reading “The case against chance”

I’m right and I can prove it, but I’m not going to. I’m going to let you figure it out for yourself. I’m so confident, that I’ll actually help you in your endeavors, even though I think you’ll regret it. I’ll say, I told you so. Then, I’ll have myself a laugh when you finallyContinue reading “I’m right and I can prove it”

Part of my job at work is coming up with clever solutions to complex problems. We always want our ideas to be elegant, simple, and robust. Unfortunately, I only get 10 ideas per day. It’s a lot like mining for diamonds. I can mine 10 chunks of ore and then I have to rest forContinue reading “I only have 10 ideas per day, and only 1 good one”

“That will be $1.47 for the bag of chips, please.” said the convenience store clerk. “Oh sure. Here you go, $1.47 exactly.” said the nervous customer. “So… are you going to pay for that box of Success that you’re hiding under your jacket?” asked the clerk. “Wha?… ha… ha! Oh! This box? Haha… I uh…Continue reading “Are you going to pay for that success?”

The Litany of Tarski If the box contains a diamond, I desire to believe that the box contains a diamond; If the box does not contain a diamond, I desire to believe that the box does not contain a diamond; Let me not become attached to beliefs I may not want. What’s the big idea?Continue reading “The Litany of Tarski and Me”

I’ve been running low and sleep which causes me to run low on self-esteem. I needed a temporary fix and I found one when talking with a fellow Praxis participant: intentional breathing. When I breath on purpose, not on automatic, I become re-focused on why I’m here. When I become aware of my breathing, IContinue reading “Breaking the loop of bad thoughts”

I’m going to pop some bubbles with this blog post. The only thing worse than no hope; is false hope. You’re better off not chasing a carrot and running from a stick. It’s best to just go after whomever is holing the carrot and stick. Don’t get me wrong. Chasing is good. Running is good.Continue reading “How to defeat an anarchist (and how to remain undefeated)”

I know it’s tempting to shoulder your burden by yourself. I know that admitting you need help can be seen as a weakness. But the reality is that 1 out of 5 people suffer needlessly. Not everything goes right all the time. It says in the bible Matthew 6:16-18: 16 “And when you fast, do notContinue reading “Don’t suffer silently, suffer out loud”

I can’t comment on all relationships everywhere, or all men and women everywhere, but I have observed this one phenomenon which I find hilarious and depressing. I can speak from experience. The girl will be upset with the guy. But instead of bringing it up, she will keep quiet and wait for the guy toContinue reading “Communication for the common man”

When it comes to utilitarianism vs deontology, one example that gets brought up time and time again is the case of someone in the desert who is thirsty and needs to steal water from a water vendor in order to live. That violates common rules among men, but the cost benefit analysis says that thisContinue reading “Why markets are a replacement for violence”

It’s common knowledge that you shouldn’t sign any important documents while drunk. It’s understood that you while on medication, that you shouldn’t make any legally binding agreements. That’s because you are not in a reliable state of mind. The same should be said of getting out of bed while tired. Don’t decide to sleep inContinue reading “Don’t commit while drunk or tired”

Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo Did it catch you off guard? Did you count the throws, or did you notice the gorilla? If this is the first time you’ve seen this video, I’m guessing you didn’t notice the gorilla. I know I didn’t when I first watched it. I rewound the video because I thought maybeContinue reading “Why I can’t trust eye witnesses”

Philosophy is about understanding “X” on a fundamental level. X can be anything from how to live a good life, to the mundane pleasure of of hot sauce. Fundamentally, how do these things work and interact, and fundamentally what should we do about it. If I say, “we should be kind”. That’s pretty poetic. ToContinue reading “What is philosophy”

There’s this clip from a show that I love to to watch called “Rick and Morty.” In this episode, Rick has just dropped a chemical bomb on his town in order to save everyone. Long story short, his scientific invention didn’t go as planned. To dodge responsibility for his shoddy work, he says “Science isContinue reading “Science is more of an art than science”

People always think of hedonism as this awful practice of sex, drugs, rock & roll, fortune, and fame. That might be what the word means now. Certainly the people who came up with the idea would actually detest that type of life style. See, back in the day, around 400 BCE, there lived a manContinue reading “Hedonism, it’s more fun than you think”

http://feldmancreative.com/2013/10/copywriting-tips-effective-landing-page/ I’m now going to Perform a delicate dissection of a blog post that I admire, and develop my own formula Plug in my own content Step 1. Fundamental attributes of a good blog post: Headline “Copywriting Tips for a More Effective Landing Page” implies a benefit that the reader is interested in (the payContinue reading “Dissecting Copywriting”

I will never forget one of my worst memories in Europe. I was in Switzerland, in the gorgeous land of Zürich. I loved all of Switzerland, which might be why this memory sticks out so much. It was the first night I was spending in the town. The first thing I do in every cityContinue reading “Being poor in Switzerland”

A long time ago a friend of a friend, was confused. He made a logical error. It happens. He was trying to convince us that for every instance where there is two options, there is a 50/50 chance of either one happening. “In particular, soccer games are a toss up. Both teams have an equalContinue reading “It’s not a sin to be wrong”

There once was a great and glorious king, named Alexander the Great. His enemies feared him and his people revered him. He wore the most expensive clothes and made love to the most beautiful women. He need only snap his fingers and one of his many servants would do his bidding. It was indeed, goodContinue reading “How Alexander the Great Learned About Subjective Value”

I have a lot of trouble with what most people call “miracles”. My instinct tells me that everything is explainable. There are no inherent mysteries of the universe. The whole universe operates by a set of rules without exceptions. When I did physics problems in high school, we ignored friction. Our results mostly matched whatContinue reading “Miracle? Or just cool science?”

“Hello dear, take a seat.” Said Auntie Barbara The man stiffly sat down. His movements were rigid and unnatural. “What is the matter, dear? Why do you grunt when you sit down?” “Oh my knees. I messed them up while I was on duty.” said Charles. “Oh lord! What happened? What befell you that causedContinue reading “In defense of Black Friday”

I have a friend who went to a coffee shop and asked if their dark roast was really bitter and if he should try it. The barista hummed and hawed because she didn’t want to mislead him. The reason the barista didn’t want to advise my friend, is because she didn’t want to be wrongContinue reading “The subjective value of giving advice”

I read this book called “The War of Art” by this guy. He’s a failed writer trying to give writing advice. I say skip it. Ultimately, the #1 reason why people don’t write, is because they are afraid of the context. The book “The War of Art” makes up all this woo-woo mysticism about anglesContinue reading “Resistence is a myth”

If you do it, you are a do-er. There was a tune when you needed permission to do things. You needed to get signed to a label in order to be a professional singer. Those were the good ol’ days. Back when it was more important who you knew than what you knew. It’s notContinue reading “There are no more barriers to entry”

In the gym, there are two kinds of people. The first kind of person is the one who is serious about getting stronger. They have done the research and are now putting it into practice. It’s all about self-improvement, and with self-improvement, there are no shortcuts. The other kind of person is the one thatContinue reading “Are you practicing (creative) lockouts?”

The test: Find facts that will help you accomplish your goals. The test has now begun. Heres the rules of the test: The truth is out there. There exists a set of facts that will allow you to lead the life you’ve always wanted. They are not secrets. They hide in plain sight. Although theyContinue reading “Here’s a test for you…”

I love my friends and family. I am forever grateful for everything you’ve done to get me to where I am. Thank you. You know who you are.

At work, I’m making a presentation on how to think of new ideas. While doing research, I came across this junk article: http://www.businessinsider.com/10-ways-to-find-out-if-your-idea-is-actually-brilliant-2011-3 It’s very conventional wisdom. If you want to be your idea to be conventional, then I guess this is ok. But who wants to settle for ok? Be phenomenal! There’s a sayingContinue reading “How to think outside the box (by thinking unconventionally)”

My car was recently totaled and taken to the junk yard. I had to drive down there and pick up my personal belongings that were still in it. Among the missing things were: my beanie, the suction cup mount for my GPS (the GPS was still there), some important papers in the glove box, myContinue reading “Thanks for stealing from me, jerks”

  The first distinction to make is: do you mean that everything is currently effed? Or that things are going to be effed? Assuming you mean that everything is currently effed, that’s great news. I don’t mean to belittle tragedy. Bad things are bad. But, as much as it is a crime to ignore theContinue reading “Everything’s Effed (Horay!)”