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chegraon I think you might be fooling yourself with AI

This is where I find it lacking:

1. I am not yet convinced that I am more productive with AI for complex tasks. But, I am fairly certain for trivial tasks, or bureaucratic tasks AI has lessened my cognitive load (data point of one).

2. Does AI run on money, or does it run on energy? Money is the means by which we facilitate exchange. But in reality, the energy in the universe is ginormous. The fundamental thing to keep AI going is available in excess, all other things are negotiation.

3. Is AI bad for the environment or is it the way we obtain energy bad for the environment? The trend seems to be that energy is getting cheaper and cleaner. The world is not static, but will move to accommodate a world with AI.

chegraon Terence Tao's ChatGPT conversation about the Jacobian Conjecture counterexample

Isn't LLM doing something like argmax{x} P(x|context) where x is the next word, and context is the words before including your instructions? Thus, the LLM output is heavily depending on your instructions, and if you input an expert context it would produce an expert result. Consequently, domain expertise has a significant bearing on what you can achieve from LLM.

chegraon Quality non-fiction books are the antithesis of AI slop

If you are interested in a non-fiction book, check out Veritas: Truth Across Cultures[1]. It's a collection of quotes/saying/proverbs that are similar between cultures, which I call truths. I am in interested in long term thinking, things that stood the test of time. This was primarily put together for myself as a lens to view the world.

[1] https://www.chestergrant.com/veritas

chegraon Ask HN: What are your favorite blogs not about AI?

It's one post of many.

Most Viewed:

1. Summary of No by Jim Camp - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-no-the-only-negotiating...

2. Summary of Never eat alone by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz - https://www.chestergrant.com/never-eat-alone-by-keith-ferraz...

3. Summary of Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-fate-of-empires-by-sir-...

4. Summary of Fate of Empires by Sir John Glubb - https://www.chestergrant.com/highlights-from-the-checklist-m...

5. Summary of Don't make me think by Steve Krug - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-dont-make-me-think-revi...

chegraon Ask HN: What are your favorite blogs not about AI?

For a while, I stopped writing. But, I have recently started writing again.[1] My old blog can be found on the wayback machine[2]. These days I am writing about using invariants as a means by which to predict the future[3], before I was doing summaries/notes of books.

[1] https://www.chestergrant.com

[2] https://web.archive.org/web/20260000000000*/chestergrant.pos...

[3] https://www.chestergrant.com/where-is-ai-taking-us

chegraon Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (July 2026)

Hey... Thanks for the interest, but right now, it is being offered exclusively on Amazon as it is a part of the KDP Select programme.

chegraon Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (July 2026)

Just finished Veritas - Truth Across Cultures[1]. The idea is that many different cultures have written sayings that are basically the same. Similar to how one would give more credence to more than one person saying the same thing, the same is true for cultures. So, this is like my catalogue of what diverse cultures agree on. I have been promoting this book. [2][3]

[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H7FLQDYD

[2] https://www.chestergrant.com/7-truths-from-veritas-by-cheste...

[3] https://www.chestergrant.com/what-different-cultures-agree-o...

chegraon Exercise can be nearly as effective as therapy for depression

I did a summary here: https://www.chestergrant.com/highlights-from-spark-how-exerc...

It's in my top 15 books that changed my worldview.

Some key highlights:

1. In 2001 fit kids scored twice as well on academic tests as their unfit peers.

2. German researchers found that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following exercise than they did before exercise, and that the rate of learning correlated directly with levels of BDNF.

3.Specifically, every fifty minutes of weekly exercise correlated to a 50 percent drop in the odds of being depressed.

chegraon All it takes is for one to work out

You still only need one. Keep trying.

chegraon Ask HN: What are you working on (August 2024)?

https://arcprize.org/ I am trying to climb this leaderboard for the arc competition: https://www.kaggle.com/competitions/arc-prize-2024/leaderboa...

chegraon Ask HN: Which non-fiction books had the biggest impact on you?

I will go with Wanting by Luke Burgis. It makes the works of Rene Girard accessible. For me, it made me conscious of how much of our nature is simply copying others. Basically, one should make a conscious effort to select who to copy. Also, because we copy it means we would have a desire for the same object in which conflict can arise. We can realize this and take steps to mitigate possible conflict.

A surprising insight of the book is that having hierarchies reduces conflict. I wrote a summary of the book here: https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-wanting-by-luke-burgis

chegraon Ask HN: Could you share your personal blog here?

https://www.chestergrant.com

-It's like my open notebook. I use it to keep summary of books I have read.

Most Viewed:

1. Summary of No by Jim Camp - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-no-the-only-negotiating...

2. Summary of Never eat alone by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz - https://www.chestergrant.com/never-eat-alone-by-keith-ferraz...

3. Summary of Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande - https://www.chestergrant.com/highlights-from-the-checklist-m...

4. Summary of Fate of Empires by Sir John Glubb - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-fate-of-empires-by-sir-...

5. Summary of Don't make me think by Steve Krug - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-dont-make-me-think-revi...

chegraon Ask HN: How are you using GPT to be productive?

I am teaching a new course this semester. It's helping with the creating of notes, creating exercises and providing a variety of examples of the material to be understood.

chegraon Peter Thiel's Founders Fund pulled cash from SVB before collapse: Report

I recall reading in "Wanting" by Luke Burgis that he was a follower of Rene Girard. "Thiel left the corporate world and co-founded Confinity with Max Levchin in 1998. He began to use his knowledge of mimetic theory to help him manage both the business and his life. "

"When there was risk of an all-out war with Elon Musk’s rival company, X.com, Thiel merged with him to form PayPal. He knew from Girard that when two people (or two companies) take each other as mimetic models, they enter into a rivalry for which there is no end but destruction—unless they are somehow able to see beyond the rivalry."[1]

Maybe he has found a way to identify when things will self-destruct based off of mimetic theory.

[1] I did a summary of the book here : https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-wanting-by-luke-burgis

chegraon Ask HN: What sub $200 product improved your 2022

Surgical Tape. I read Breath by James Nestor[1]. One of the suggestions is to put a one inch tape over your mouth during the night. It prevents mouth breathing and reduce instances of sleep apnea. I tried it; I start feeling refreshed after 3 days. You can give it a try, surgical tape is like $5USD.

1. Point 20 - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-breath-by-james-nestor

chegraon Ask HN: How do you work on your mental health?

Health

  1. Dopamine Nation - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-dopamine-nation-by-dr-anna-lembke

  2. Obesity Code - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-obesity-code-by-dr-jason-fung

  3. Breath - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-breath-by-james-nestor

  4. Willpower Instinct - https://www.chestergrant.com/notes-the-willpower-instinct-by-kelly-mcgonigal

  5. Sleep Smarter - https://www.chestergrant.com/highlights-from-sleep-smarter-by-shawn-stevenson

Productivity

  1. Mini-Habit - https://www.chestergrant.com/26-highlights-from-mini-habits-by-stephen-guise

  2. Checklist Manifesto - https://www.chestergrant.com/highlights-from-the-checklist-manifesto-by-atul-gawande

  3. The rise of superman - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-the-rise-of-superman-by-steven-kotler

Business

  1. Traction - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-traction-by-gabriel-weinberg-and-justin-mares

  2. Contagious - https://www.chestergrant.com/contagious-by-jonah-berger

  3. How to be a power connector - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-how-to-be-a-power-connector-the-5-plus-50-plus-100-rule-by-judy-robinett

  4. The mom test - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-the-mom-test-by-rob-fitzpatrick

  5. Never eat alone - https://www.chestergrant.com/never-eat-alone-by-keith-ferrazzi-with-tahl-raz

  6. Hooked - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-hooked-how-to-build-habit-forming-products-by-nir-eyal

chegraon Ask HN: How do you work on your mental health?

Stuff that boost my mental health:

1. Friends... Typically, when I am around friends, my happiness can increase by 1.5(measured out of 5). This is enough to put me back in the normal range. I used the term friends here loosely. Just being around people provides a lift. Easiest way to gain friends is to join a club (may I suggest chess). Being lonely is as painful as being wildly hungry or thirsty [1]

2. Exercise...Typically, I exercise for 32mins(stairclimbing) daily. Every fifty minutes of weekly exercise corresponds to a 50% drop in the odds of being depressed. [2]

3. Massages - I feel significantly better after a massage.

4. Have a schedule - Typically, I have a routine. First, I brush my teeth in the morning. This might seem simple, but it's an easy habit to form and can form the start of a habit chain [3]. By chaining habits(i.e. creating one habit directly following another), I don't use much energy to get my day going. I Brush my teeth then the rest of my day flows from there. I automatically go on my gallery workout while reading then update my expenses etc.

5. Keep Busy - “A wandering mind is an unhappy mind.” [4] This is probably the most important point. Always keep busy.

[1] - Point 14 - https://www.chestergrant.com/67-highlights-from-susan-pinker...

[2] - Point 26 - https://www.chestergrant.com/highlights-from-spark-how-exerc...

[3] - https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/inspira...

[4] - Read Point 53-57 - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-altered-traits-by-danie...

chegraon Summary: “No: The Only Negotiating System You Need for Work and Home” – Jim Camp

My never split the difference summary: https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-never-split-the-differe...

chegraon Building a walking routine

You can think of self-help books as stocks and you are a venture capitalist. So books may contain zero value and add no benefits to your life, while others might provide information and advice that presents you with new information that adds thousand or even millions of dollars to your life. The winners pay for the losers. Valuable insights I have gotten from reading self help books:

1. The frequency of a habit matters more for the development of a habit than the intensity. My chess coaching motto came from this book: "Consistency over Intensity"[1]

2. Most people are deficient in magnesium. Magnesium is considered the anti-stress mineral. A central symptom of the deficiency is insomnia. Personally, I started taking 250mg of magnesium supplement daily. [2]

3. Similarly, to the fight-or-flight response, there is pause-and-plan response. Your willpower can be increase by slowing down your breathing thus triggering the pause and plan response. This is something I do when I get intense cravings during my fast.[3]

4. Putting some tape over your mouth before bed can stop sleep apnea. Admittedly, I have stopped this(I will restart), but when I did, I had some of the most refreshing sleep.[4]

5. Another of my mottos, progress equals happiness came from reading self-help books. [5]

[1] - https://www.chestergrant.com/26-highlights-from-mini-habits-...

[2] - https://www.chestergrant.com/highlights-from-sleep-smarter-b...

[3] - https://www.chestergrant.com/notes-the-willpower-instinct-by...

[4] - https://www.chestergrant.com/summary-breath-by-james-nestor

[5] - https://www.chestergrant.com/the-progress-principle-by-teres...

chegraon Building a walking routine

I wouldn't doubt that the specifics are incorrect, but the general picture is good. As a chess player, I can tell you I feel the difference between days I work out and days I don't.

chegraon Building a walking routine

From a similar view, the book, "Spark: How Exercise will improve your performance by Dr. John Ratey" has other benefits of exercising:

1. Exercise is better than Zoloft in treating depression

2. Students with higher fitness scores also have higher test scores

3. People learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following exercise than they did before exercise

4. A massive Dutch study of 19,288 twins and their families published in 2006 showed that exercisers are less anxious, less depressed, less neurotic, and also more socially outgoing.

5. A study in London in 2004 showed that even ten minutes of exercise could blunt an alcoholic’s craving.

I wrote a summary/highlight of the key ideas in the book here : https://www.chestergrant.com/highlights-from-spark-how-exerc...

chegraon Placing #1 in Advent of Code with GPT-3

Be the change that change you desire.

chegraon Notes: The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal

This book is now my favorite of all time. I found that Self-Control has physical markers to be a particularly interesting idea, and that the best index of self control is heart rate variability which can be controlled via slowing your breathing.

chegraon Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

Hmm... I am big believer in mini-habits[1] and chaining habits. The way how I structure by day is to start off small with one habit then keep chaining it to other habits. For instance, I would start my day brush my teeth. It is a small easy habit to get going in the morning. Then, I will chain this habit to exercising. With exercising there are two versions... one I call my minimum and the other is my regular training regimen. My minimum is like 2 min or so of working out, something easy to do that can be replicated each day without any problems. Then, I chain my exercise routine with creating a todo list of the day. Which is chained to tracking my spending. My goal right now is to establish some evening habits. Right now I am little reckless with my evenings.

1. https://www.chestergrant.com/26-highlights-from-mini-habits-...

chegraon Ask HN: What Are You Learning?

Reinforcement Learning :-

1. https://courses.dibya.online/courses/1690878/lectures/383852... [done]

2. https://www.deeplearningbook.org/ [currently reading]

chegraon Books I’ve read

Hmm...I got a similar thing going here: https://www.chestergrant.com/

chegraon Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

Are you kidding me? Now is like the most exciting time in tech. 1. You have Dall-E coming out that can draw pictures based on description. Just imagine a AI generated story then followed by AI generated pictures based off of the story aka AI generated movie. 2. You also got Co-pilot by Github with possibility of reducing bug in code and speeding up develop time. 3. AlphaFold for drug development.

Personally, I like where tech is headed. Hope I can be on the frontier of some of these new tech.

chegraon Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

I never read his book, but I have taken a course by him via email. But yes, I believe they are the same thing. I think BJ Fogg has a more academic bent to it while this is a book from someone telling a story about what worked for them. I tend to like personal stories backed up with scientific evidence(I don't know if tiny habit is like that since I never read it). But, I like the practical implementation steps given in a personal story. What this book has over the stuff I was doing via email is that it is less complicated.

chegraon Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?

Mini-Habit by Stephen Guise.

"A mini habit is basically a much smaller version of a new habit you want to form. 100 push-ups daily is minified into one push-up daily. Writing 3,000 words daily becomes writing 50 words daily. Thinking positively all the time becomes thinking two positive thoughts per day. Living an entrepreneurial lifestyle becomes thinking of two ideas per day (among other entrepreneurial things). The foundation of the Mini Habits system is in “stupid small” steps."

I did a summary here : https://www.chestergrant.com/26-highlights-from-mini-habits-...