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2026-02-07

I am learning fast actually

Disclaimer

Quick Note
See also: Unhappiness since 2023. AI gave me advice that I should track my rate of new learnings from projects, separate from the actual success metrics of those projects.
Writing this as a reminder to myself

Main

(as of 2026-02) Over past few months trying to work on ASI risks, I seem to have spent a lot of time neurotically obsessed with topics like morality, trust, politics etc, and then also neurotically obsessed with whether this is actually a good use of my time or not.
Over past few months I have definitely also spent a lot of time consuming substances or just sitting unhappy, instead of doing any actual work. And then obsessing over how to stop or reduce this behaviour of mine, because there are multiple downsides to it, including lost time.
It is worth reminding myself that yes, I have actually learned a lot in the past few months. It is hard to track progress like "I have gotten a little less bad at cold emails" or "I have a slightly better understanding of what fraction of people agree or disagree with some specific opinion" or "I have slightly downrated the importance of protests for ASI risk, as compared to earlier".
Ofcourse, maybe there are ways I can learn even faster. Maybe I do need to figure out which lines of thought are unproductive and hence to be terminated. Maybe I do need to actually solve my substance use issues instead of just tolerate them. Maybe I do need to eventually figure out people to give me good feedback, instead of doing everything alone. But also, it is worth reminding myself that even at the current rate of progress, I seem to have learned a lot.

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