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Ok, so you burned out (maybe not for the first time) and you took an unpaid leave from work. As more time goes on, you convince yourself that your brain is atrophying as you fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.

The time comes where you have to go back. How do you do it? How do you shed this feeling of being broken goods in the eyes of yourself and (most likely) others? How do you heal the infected wounds of burnout? I can’t figure it out.

For example, these Fox News voter analysis results (and the screenshots themselves) are really something. Relatively major consensus on things like climate, renewable energy, healthcare, etc.

https://twitter.com/existentialfish/status/13237520320004505...

They’ve used Ritalin as well, since it has obvious psychoactive properties and also causes some of the same physical effects as psilocybin (increase in heart rate, sweating, etc).

https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/do-magic-mushrooms-mak...

Stars are formed in nebulas of gas and dust via gravitational collapse (accretion).

The remaining gas and dust that is swirling around the star flattens out into a disk (because of angular momentum). Planets gradually form in this disk, again via accretion (snowball effect).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protoplanetary_disk

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accretion_(astrophysics)

It varies and you can navigate around it by finding your niche (in small groups or one-on-one, people are more pleasant). But the ambient feeling of uptightness comes from a few things:

- Guarded, anxious personalities. It’s very rare to have random conversations with people, especially without them acting uncomfortable like you have an ulterior motive. Maybe this is part of city living, but on the west coast I regularly talked to people (something as simple as: in Portland, making small talk about the weather with another guy my age was somewhat jarring for me).

- People drive (and even walk) like they are the only person in the world that matters and that their head will explode if you delay them for 2 seconds. Be ready to have people aggressively tailgate you, prevent you from merging for no reason, etc. every single time you go anywhere.

- Intellectual snootiness / inflated egos / overindexing on status. I think living in the center of the political universe goes to peoples’ heads. The reality is that almost everyone is a cog that is trying in vain (almost always with good intentions) to improve the world.

- Conservative work/life norms. Like, people caring way too much about dress/appearances/etc. People behave like they’re being watched because, well, they probably are (so they don’t want to step out of line). Sometimes it feels like a pissing contest to see who can give off appearances of working harder (midnight emails, etc.)

- Insane heat and humidity in the summer understandably makes people agitated.

All that said, there are a huge number of things that are great about living there. And my views are tinted by the lens of social anxiety and the burnout I experienced there. Someone less sensitive than me may feel much differently.

I hope you enjoy your new city!

Can you elaborate on how Michiganders are uptight? I grew up there and I usually think of people here as genuinely friendly (excluding people mentioned in your first paragraph). It seems like a fairly balanced mix of cultures here overall (relative to the US on average).

Now the DC area...that is an uptight place.

Where’s the Chicago requirement? Here are “the details” from your link:

> Up to $15,000 forgivable grant with the purchase of a new home with a cost of at least $200,000

> Not current Michigan resident Must purchase a home in zip codes 49022, 49085, 49106, 49103, 49127

> Must be considered a fulltime Michigan resident (obtain Michigan driver’s license and claim Michigan home as primary residence)

> Must prove full-time employment and are working remotely for a company outside of Southwest Michigan

> Consider volunteering on a non-profit board, in local schools or participating in a civic organization in Berrien County

> $5,000 forgiven after each year of residency

Those zip codes are for Benton Harbor / St. Joseph. If you like the beach (Lake Michigan is practically a freshwater ocean), it’s not a half bad area. First time homebuyer programs like this are nice, because the down payment is a huge hurdle for people.

If you want free college for your kids (value >> $15K), then take a look at Kalamazoo: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo_Promise

I’m not an expert but I don’t think this is true. The dark streak in the Milky Way (the “Great Rift”) is actually dust clouds that obscure our view of stars.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Rift_(astronomy)

Another factor is the indirect effects of climate change that can cause nonlinear impacts. E.g. a single unusually warm winter could cause the population of bark beetles to swell, weakening or wiping out large swaths of trees (this has happened in Yosemite for example).

Source: https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/60/8/602/305152

Nice comment, but one nit: I think awareness + acceptance + gratitude is a better path than ignoring an illness. I say this as someone that has a lot of deeply ingrained avoidance behaviors (e.g. smoking weed 24/7 to mask anxiety and pain, isolating myself to avoid social anxiety). Obviously, ignoring problems can often make them worse, and sometimes simple solutions do exist (e.g. I have had disabling IBS off and on for 20+ years that is improved significantly by avoiding alcohol and taking fiber). That said, everyone needs relief at times, so be kind to yourself about avoidance patterns.

Awareness is simply noticing how I feel without judgment or reaction, but with the attitude of a curious observer. So instead of A: (feel pain —> “I’m fucked up / disabled” narrative) or B: (feel pain —> <ignore> —> <subconscious avoidance behaviors>), it’s like C: (feel pain —> “this is a sensation I’m experiencing” —> <no action>). Needless to say, this is not an easy thing to do and takes practice.

Acceptance to me means not defining myself or my self-worth in terms of my illness(es), or comparing myself to others. However, it does not mean accepting defeat or relinquishing hope that things can improve.

Gratitude looks like being aware of and thankful for the wide world of things that you can do and experience, the people that love you (even if you can’t think of any, they’re out there), and remembering the “fact” that being a conscious creature in this strange and beautiful universe is an infinitely valuable gift.

See my reply above. Here’s an expanded quote of the harm principle by JSM (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harm_principle):

> “He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinion of others, to do so would be wise, or even right... The only part of the conduct of anyone, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute.”

In accordance with this principle, I believe in the sacred right for an individual to smoke/chew/snort/whatever tobacco and chug high fructose corn syrup to their heart’s content (or more accurately, until their heart fails). But you don’t have the right to expose others to second-hand tobacco smoke (a new development in my lifetime!), since abundant scientific evidence says that this harms others. You can drink yourself into a coma, but you can’t get blitzed and operate a vehicle even if you insist that you’re safe driving under the influence.

This has been a fundamental organizing principle of society since at least the Code of Hammurabi.

You’re right that majority rule is not sufficient by itself, but public opinion should be given at least some weight in a representative democracy.

The US Constitution grants states the right to enact laws that protect the general welfare, and of course gives courts the authority to interpret the law. More specifically regarding public health, the 1905 Supreme Court case Jacobson vs. Massachusetts upheld the power of states to enforce mandatory vaccination laws (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobson_v._Massachusetts):

> ”real liberty for all could not exist under the operation of a principle which recognizes the right of each individual person to use his own, whether in respect of his person or his property, regardless of the injury that may be done to others”

In general, John Stuart Mill’s harm principle is “far and away the best known proposal for a principled limit to the law” (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/law-limits/#cand), and it is a core tenet of liberalism. The famous bit is:

> ”That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”

This principle is echoed in the party platform of the US Libertarian Party:

> ”Criminal laws should be limited in their application to violations of the rights of others through force or fraud, or to deliberate actions that place others involuntarily at significant risk of harm.”

So if masks only protected the wearer, then a case could be made that mask laws are in violation of this principle. But because masks help limit the spread of a (frequently asymptomatic) disease from myself to others, it’s reasonable that states can require me to wear one in situations where it protects others.

As for the enforcement question, I’d draw a comparison to speed limits. These laws tend to be loosely enforced, yet they guide the general expectations/behavior of drivers. In practice, enforcement is reserved for repeat and extreme offenders. Partial enforcement can induce optimal behavior in an economic/game theoretic sense (if probability of being caught * cost of being caught - cost of following the law > 0, then compliance is optimal). Since the “cost” of wearing a mask is negligible (everyone has one already since you can use any face covering, and the only cost is minor inconvenience or embarrassment), enforcement does not have to be very consistent to induce compliance. That said, uneven enforcement of laws is clearly a major problem in our society (that disproportionately affects minorities).

For mask laws, I also think it gives air cover to both business and individuals. You’ll notice businesses pointing to mask ordinances (“welp, thems the rules” etc.) on their signage and such. Then, enough people comply such that it becomes socially enforced—people generally don’t like to be the odd one out. But in practice, I think you can go virtually anywhere in America right now without a mask and the worst thing that is likely to happen is that someone will politely ask you to wear one and come back.

So if you are not anti-mask but are concerned about genuinely authoritarian action, there are current examples to denounced (e.g. stoking political violence against opposing politicians [see Gov. Whitmer], undermining election integrity, state-sponsored misinformation).

But you could buy a 1902 fixer-upper “castle” in SF for $1.8M. Some of the architectural details in this place (the fireplace, the windows) are insane. Why is this place still available?

https://www.castleist.com/1-795m-california-usa-san-francisc...

(PS many more historical European castles on this site)

The second link I posted was co-authored by the director of the CDC. The others are reviews of current evidence that are readable and reputable. There are abundant studies on this subject.

Here is what the WHO actually has to say about masks (https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2...):

> “ Masks are a key measure to suppress transmission and save lives. Masks reduce potential exposure risk from an infected person whether they have symptoms or not. People wearing masks are protected from getting infected. Masks also prevent onward transmission when worn by a person who is infected.”

> ” Within wider environments where the virus is spreading, masks should be worn by the general public in settings where it is not possible to maintain at least 1 meter from others. Examples of these settings include indoor locations that are crowded and have poor ventilation, public transport and places of high population density – among others.”

Also, masks are not “plague vectors”. Best practice (from WHO) is to clean the mask daily:

> ” If your fabric mask is not dirty or wet and you plan to reuse it, put it in a clean plastic, resealable bag. If you need to use it again, hold the mask at the elastic loops when removing it from the bag. Clean your mask once a day.”

Your rant is not really worth addressing further. Find a better way to spend your time than spreading obvious misinformation.

Sure, let’s talk about the science supporting mask wearing. Read these and come back with a good faith argument:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02801-8

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2768532

https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202004.0203/v3

[Edit: removed “#ref-CR4” from end of first link]

I can think of a few reasons:

- 75% of Americans (incl. a majority of republicans) support mask mandates. (The US isn’t a direct democracy, but mask mandates have the green light from the general public). [https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-understanding-the-out...]

- One of the main functions of any government is to mitigate the harm that people do to one another. This is the main thing that distinguishes it from anarchy. Not wearing a mask in crowded places (in expectation) causes harm to others. Obviously there is a cost/benefit involved, so welding people into their homes is too extreme.

- There is effectively zero enforcement of these mandates. I’ve never seen cops or workers enforce these rules. On the other hand, if I walked into a grocery store without pants on, I’d bet my ass that I’d get swiftly carted off to the loony bin.

I disagree strongly with the notion that mitigating risk of harm to others via awareness and simple action somehow makes society less human. I live in DC, a notoriously cold and closed off city as far as social interaction goes. Mask usage (even outdoors) is close to 100% here. When I see someone wearing a mask, I’m filled with a sense of warmth and camaraderie—that person cares about me and others. Someone else may see the same scene and think, “look at all these petrified sheep”. I sort of understand, but I’d challenge those people to shift their perspective.

If kinship isn’t your thing but sober analytical thinking appeals to you, wearing a mask is a no-brainer: positive benefit with effectively zero cost (the only negative thing that can happen to you is that someone might think you’re a terrified dweeb, but they’d be wrong).

There are ~6 sheep per person in NZ and lots of wine, so I’m gonna go with yes.

Also, there’s the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival in NZ (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokitika_Wildfoods_Festival), where everyone dresses up in costumes and voluntarily eats foods that one might resort to during an apocalypse. Highly recommended.

I can only speak for myself here, but COVID-19 has increased my awareness of the impact of flu season and I will endeavor to mitigate the risk of infecting others in the future. In the past, I hardly gave it a second thought—it never occurred to me that I could kill or harm someone by being careless (e.g. riding the metro to/from the climbing gym during flu season and indiscriminately spreading germs). Masks, giving people space, combining shopping trips, biking or driving, etc.—all are super easy ways to reduce potential harm to myself or others, so I’m more than happy to do these things as necessary going forward. There is no sense of fear or guilt, since I know I’ve done what I can reasonably do.

In that sense, I think comparing COVID-19 to the flu is helpful.

ESL - Elements of Statistical Learning

Interesting. I have an EEG headband (Muse) that tracks a single composite measure of “calmness” while meditating. When I use it, the graph looks like a random walk—it barely registers what subjectively feels like a deep state of calm. I just assumed it didn’t work and stopped using it.

Then I gave it to my dad, who has been an ER doctor for 40 years but has no knowledge of or experience with meditation. Within seconds, his calmness graph plummeted to the minimum value (lower = better) and flatlined. There was a brief spike in attention when the dishwasher changed cycles in the other room, then it cratered again. He just nonchalantly explained that he can control his heart rate to calm himself down, which sounds like a superpower to me.

Well, here’s a cozy Titan II missile silo for sale: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/980-N-Sibyl-Rd-Benson-AZ-...

For real though...I’d stay here—lemme know.

You can always approach it as “just dipping your toes in the water”, and tune your expectations accordingly. There is really no correct way to use an online dating platform, though there are some wrong ways—e.g. harming yourself or others).

Yes, going into it with a healthy and open mindset is essential. But being depression-free is not a necessary condition, and I’d caution people against establishing that type of artificial gateway for themselves. My belief is that every human is of infinite value, and nothing that happens in the online dating realm can subtract from that (“you don’t do arithmetic with infinity”, so said my calculus professor).

Hey friend, here are some random ideas for you to fend off loneliness. I’ve been doing all of these myself:

- Have a quasi-solo dance party (quasi because you’re still dancing with these people, albeit in a different slice of space time): https://youtu.be/VZClzm3K__4

- Join a teamwork oriented MMO (WoW classic?)

- Do a virtual happy hour with your family or friend(s)

- Go for walks in the nearest nature area (you’ll probably run into people) or post up in a local park

- Join a dating site like OKC, even just to browse or chat (and even setting your location to a faraway city)

Y’all, stop. You’re confusing the hell out of GPT-4.

A couple recommendations piggybacking off of yours:

A First Course in Probability has a lot of problems (with solutions) and worked examples, but it’s light on intuition and pedagogy. It’s not an easy book to learn from, on its own. I highly recommend listening to Joe Blitzstein’s STAT 110 lectures and reviewing the wealth of problems/notes. The greater mastery of probability theory that you have, the easier studying ML and stats is. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/stat110/home

Elements of Statistical Learning is a true textbook—a comprehensive bible that could occupy you for many thousands of hours. ISLR is the better book for a crash course: http://faculty.marshall.usc.edu/gareth-james/ISL/

There are also lectures and slides from the authors: https://www.dataschool.io/15-hours-of-expert-machine-learnin...

Quality metrics surrounding depression? Can you elaborate?

Also, are you the right person to complain to about the quality of my depression? It is quite poor and I would like get a refund.

Here is some data backing up what I’ve been (mostly subjectively) observing. In particular, look at the skyrocketing median list/sale price (+10% YOY) and the YOY changes in sale price since ~2010. Also, medians are of course just an aggregate measure that does not tell the full story—low quality cookie cutter developments drag the medians down. Older homes in decent neighborhoods are even hotter.

[0]: https://www.redfin.com/blog/data-center/

[1]: https://www.zillow.com/research/zillow-weekly-market-report-...

Strange layouts and maintenance projects are kind of my jam, so you may be increasing my enticement here. Thank you for the tips.

I’m not sure about the EU, but in the US you could do a cash-out refinance. Effectively, liquidate your equity in the house in exchange for interest payments that go to the bank (~3%), then invest that cash elsewhere.