Viewing profile — davidtanner

I highly recommend the book _The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience_ for those interested in serious scholarly research about Ayahuasca a…

I studied mathematics as an undergraduate and it does seem that the very mention of math tends to scare and alienate some people. If you don't mind, I'd be very curious to hear you…

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't feel like you provide enough sample content to convince me that this is worth paying money for. What does this book say that hasn't already…

You should figure out exactly where she went wrong in her estimate and email her - I'm sure she'd be more than happy to correct her article.

I don't think I've seen anyone post this estimate of the transgender population yet: http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/TSprevalence.html The takeaway is that about 1 in 100…

Thank you very, very much! Promoting these sorts of ideas is my main contribution to HN (since I am not a professional programmer, but merely a techie dabbler and lover of mathemat…

Good point on Cicero's political affiliations. I'm sure that must have greatly influenced much of his writing. I'm curious if you are at all familiar with the theories Micheal Hoff…

I've seen some of these claims before and find them interesting. The TM quote is pretty hilarious/strange - "they" either means the government or whatever tryptamine fueled fantasi…

It's true that there were contingent circumstances that led to the modern prohibition of psychedelics back in the 60s. However, you seem to be overlooking the overarching theme of …

Do you mean that there is no real knowledge to be found in computers?

While I certainly believe you, I'd still love to see a reference for my own curiosity.

I've often heard people (in BJJ/MMA culture) say that a relatively large head/hat size makes it harder to get knocked out.

Woefully lacking in the sort of common sense most people acquire just by living.

Edi/Disclaimer: I do feel like I benefited intellectually by reading the original Sequences on LessWrong. The general idea that strong AI might represent a risk to humanity seems p…

I was a lot happier when I stopped reading LessWrong. I'm not even trying to be (overly) snarky - I really did used to read LW and I'm very glad I stopped as it was one of the many…

And then some.

I'm a trans woman and I do agree that anyone who was demanding that all previous written instances of using "he" for Manning be altered is going too far. On the other hand, once sh…

You sound very unlike someone concerned about trans issues and very much like a pedant with poor intentions.

Carrying a loaded gun in your car is perfectly legal in Virginia without a permit. Many other states allow for car carry of loaded handguns - it's really not a big deal.

Your list of phylogenetically familiar things could include DMT and psilocin. These chemicals are biosynthesized in many plants and animals and quite structurally similar to seroto…

As far as I know, yes. Generally speaking, the medical establishment was far more restrictive (overly so) in giving trans people the treatment they needed back then.

Yup, an urban legend designed to exploit the taboo and stigmatized reputation of "sex-change" surgery.

I'd be quite skeptical that she was ever able to successfully trick anyone into undergoing SRS. For one thing, it's fairly expensive. Secondly, no reputable surgeon would perform t…