Table of Contents
- Essays
- Scientific Articles
- Books (Nonfiction)
- Books (Fiction)
- Blogs, Newsletters, and Websites
- Music
- Podcasts and YouTube Channels
- Films
- TV Shows
Essays
Scientific Articles
Nonfiction Books
Fiction Books
Blogs, Newsletters, and Websites
- Alexey Guzey. A brilliant writer, became known for deconstructing Matt Walker’s Why We Sleep. Interested in science funding, runs New Science.
- Alignment Forum. Home for AI safety and alignment content.
- Andrew Gelman. Stats professor at Columbia, an expert in Bayesian modelling and abuse of statistics.
- Astral Codex Ten. The new incarnation of Slate Star Codex.
- Cold Takes. Blog of Holden Karnofsky, CEO of OpenPhil. About various topics in effective altruism; start with this series on why we might be living in the most important century.
- David Chapman. Blogs about meaning.
- EA Forum. Home for discussion about topics in EA.
- EA Forum Digest. The EA forum can be a bit overwhelming, this newsletter curates interesting and controversial forum posts.
- Epistemink, formerly Cerebralab. Writes about machine learning and the scientific method.
- Gwern.
- Import AI. Jack Clark’s newsletter on developments in AI and ML.
- LessWrong. Home of the rationalists.
- Marginal Revolution. Economics blog by Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok.
- Paul Graham. Founder of YCombinator and an excellent writer about topics in tech, startups, and culture.
- Putanumonit. Approaching life numerately.
- Scott Aaronson. Quantum computing professor at UTAustin.
- Slate Star Codex. A psychiatrist writing about… Everything. In my opition, one of the best writers alive today. Now writes at Astral Codex Ten, and has been focusing more on AI safety and EA topics of late.
- Wait But Why. Tim Urban’s blog on science and your life.
Music
I am quite passionate about music (listening to it, I can’t really play any), and I love going to concerts.
A subset of my favourite albums
- Highway to Hell, by AC/DC
- Alice In Chains, by Alice In Chains
- Talking Timbuktu, by Ali Farka Touré and Ry Cooder
- Dimanche à Bamako, by Amadou and Mariam
- Selected Ambient Works 85-92, by Aphex Twin
- Depression Cherry, by Beach House
- 7, by Beach House
- Once Twice Melody, by Beach House
- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, by The Beatles
- Atomizer, by Big Black
- Peaceful as Hell, by Black Dresses
- Damaged, by Black Flag
- Pink, by Boris
- Last Splash, by The Breeders
- Tea For The Tillerman, by Cat Stevens (Yusuf)
- Teens of Denial, by Carseat Headrest
- Heaven or Las Vegas, by Cocteau Twins
- Jane Doe, by Converge
- You Won’t Get What You Want, by Daughters
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, by David Bowie
- 3 Feet High and Rising, by De La Soul
- Sunbather, by Deafheaven
- Exmilitary, by Death Grips
- The Money Store, by Death Grips
- Bottomless Pit, by Death Grips
- Halcyon Digest, by Deerhunter
- You’re Living All Over Me, by Dinosaur Jr
- Bug, by Dinosaur Jr
- Endtroducing…, by DJ Shadow
- Dopethrone, by Electric Wizard
- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, by The Flaming Lips
- Fuzz, by Fuzz
- Art Angles, by Grimes
- Meantime, by Helmet
- Betty, by Helmet
- Nothing’s Shocking, by Jane’s Addiction
- Donuts, by J Dilla
- Goat, by The Jesus Lizard
- Electric Ladyland, by Jimi Hendrix
- Veteran, by JPEGMAFIA
- Oddments, by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
- I’m In Your Mind Fuzz, by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
- Nonagon Infinity, by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
- Fishing For Fishies, by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
- A Tear in the Fabric of Life, by Knocked Loose
- IV, by Led Zeppelin
- Houses of the Holy, by Led Zeppelin
- Physical Graffiti, by Led Zeppelin
- It’s A Shame About Ray, by The Lemonheads
- Madvillainy, by Madvillain
- Mercurial World, by Magdalena Bay
- Blue Lines, by Massive Attach
- Mezzanine, by Massive Attack
- So Tonight That I Might See, by Mazzy Star
- Fetch, by Melt Banana
- Houdin, by Melvins
- Stoner Witch, by Melvins
- A Senile Animal, by Melvins
- Kind Of Blue, by Miles Davis
- Bitches Brew, by Miles Davis
- Puberty 2, by Mitski
- Play, by Moby
- Loveless, by My Bloody Valentine
- Unsilent Death, by Nails
- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, by Neutral Milk Hotel
- The Downward Spiral, by Nine Inch Nails
- Nevermind, by Nirvana
- In Utero, by Nirvana
- MTV Unplugged, by Nirvana
- Mustt Mustt, by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan abd Michael Brook
- Silver Dollar Moment, by The Orielles
- Orc, by Osees
- Wide Awake!, by Parquet Courts
- Brighten the Corners, by Pavement
- Ten, by Pearl Jam
- Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, by The Pharcyde
- The Dark Side Of The Moon, by Pink Floyd
- Wish You Were Here, by Pink Floyd
- Come On Pilgrim, by Pixies
- Surfer Rosa, by Pixies
- Doolittle, by Pixies
- Bossanova, by Pixies
- Trompe Le Monde, by Pixies
- I Disagree, by Poppy
- Dummy, by Portishead
- Screamadelica, by Primal Scream
- High Visceral, Pt. 1, by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
- OK Computer, by Radiohead
- Kid A, by Radiohead
- Murmur, by R.E.M.
- Green, by R.E.M.
- Out Of Time, by R.E.M.
- Automatic For The People, by R.E.M.
- Nowhere, by Ride
- Black Up, by Shabazz Palaces
- At Action Park, by Shellac
- Dopesmoker, by Sleep
- Treats, by Sleigh Bells
- Texis, by Sleigh Bells
- Spiderland, by Slint
- Iowa, by Slipknot
- Daydream Nation, by Sonic Youth
- El Oso, by Soul Coughing
- Diaspora Problems, by Soul Glo
- Superunknown, by Soundgarden
- The Turning Wheel, by Spellling
- To Be Kind, by Swans
- Speaking in Tongues, by Talking Heads
- Innerspeaker, by Tame Impala
- Lateralus, by Tool
- The Low End Theory, by A Tribe Called Quest
- Midnight Marauders, by A Tribe Called Quest
- Maxinquaye, by Tricky
- GLOW ON, by Turnstile
- Welfare Jazz, by Viagra Boys
- Weezer (Blue), by Weezer
- I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, by Yo La Tengo
You can find much more of my favourite music on my Spotify profile and YouTube playlists. Probably most representative of what I listen to is my playlist Rock Is Not Dead, containing some favourite songs from rock bands (quite loosely defined) whose debut album is from 2010 or later. A strangely high fraction of this music comes from Australia.
I am tired of hearing people say that there is no good current rock music – there is plenty! Nevertheless, I understand the mistake. The classic rock music that people enjoy comes from 30+ years ago, when rock was the most popular genre of music (unlike now). More significantly, older music has had more time to go through cultural filtration. The good stuff from yore has been found and analysed and recommended by other people, has entered the popular conscious. One needs to put in more work to find today’s good stuff; I am trying to contribute to this noble cause. May King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard be tomorrow’s Pink Floyd!
Podcasts and YouTube Channels
Podcasts
(Note: these are all links to Apple Podcasts)
YouTube
These are a particularly delightful subset of my YouTube subscriptions.
Films
A highly incomplete list of my favourite films. I have separated them by genre for readibility, though many of them could fit into multiple genres.
Action and War
Comedy
Drama
Documentary
Horror
SciFi
Thriller
TV Shows
A selection of my favourite TV shows.
Comedy
Drama
Miniseries
Watchlist