ivan (@IvanVendrov) / X

ivan

3,679 posts

ivan

@IvanVendrov

solve cooperation, use it to solve everything else. ex midjourney, anthropic, google nothinghuman.substack.com

nyc

Joined January 2013

Pinned
ivan
@IvanVendrov
Nov 13, 2022
Von Neumann on existential risk: Progress is chaotic so investments in planning are much less useful than investments in better control systems. Don't build Maginot lines, develop better command structures. Shorten your OODA loop. Response speed is everything.
ivan
@IvanVendrov
Sep 9, 2025
Wow did not expect to become main character this way. Seems like a culture clash between my community's norms (directly stating disagreement is a mark of respect) and hers (disagreeing so directly is disrespectful, reads as putting someone down) Sad because I really do think
1.2M
ivan
@IvanVendrov
Sep 9, 2025
Reading essays and disputing their central point is my love language
288K
ivan
@IvanVendrov
Aug 2, 2025
alcohol fills a really important social role - makes it harder to think and to hide impulses, making it easier to develop bonds of trust. what are the drop-in replacements that have less terrible health effects? eg hanging upside down together, letting blood rush to the head
283K
ivan
@IvanVendrov
Jan 7, 2023
The famous "36 questions that lead to love"... don't. The NYT and everyone else reported a different set of questions from the same authors, modified to be less romantic! The original set of *40* questions wasn't online, but I emailed the authors and got a copy. Details in 🧵
548K
ivan
@IvanVendrov
Feb 3, 2025
it is simultaneously true that 1. you are probably trying too hard. just set a strong intention and let your subconscious do the rest 2. everything you want is bottlenecked by a skill issue. the human superpower is (culturally augmented) rapid skill acquisition the synthesis?
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ivan
@IvanVendrov
Sep 9, 2025
Replying to @atroyn
appreciate this but if I'm going to solve cooperation I have to adopt a stance where everyone is behaving sensibly even if I don't yet understand why. there is no shortcut
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ivan
@IvanVendrov
Feb 3, 2025
birthdays are incredibly powerful social technology and almost nobody uses them well. it's the one day you can make your loved ones do exactly what you want. you can use it to blow open the window of what is 'normal' to do together. and they will almost certainly love it!
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ivan
@IvanVendrov
Jun 26, 2024
new personal hero just dropped > Wolf Ladejinski, born in 1899, Ukrainian Jewish family > flee to America in 1921 as refugee from Soviets > realize communists won because they promised the peasants land reform, not because anyone actually wanted communism > somehow end up one of
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ivan
@IvanVendrov
Nov 11, 2025
copyright law seems actively anti-human at this point. I still can't have full-text search over the world's books, but because the LLM providers are de facto allowed to train on them, the incentives point me to read bastardized LLM-paraphrases vs direct quotes from human authors
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ivan
@IvanVendrov
Aug 26, 2024
huh, this was a major piece of evidence I used to argue against FDA power - the FDA didn't allow beta-blockers for years even after they were approved in Europe, causing thousands of US deaths from heart attacks...
Alec Stapp
@AlecStapp
Aug 25, 2024
One of the worst cases of scientific fraud ever: >cardiologist fakes data showing better outcomes for patients who were given beta blockers before heart surgery >Europe changes its medical guidelines based on this research >turns out beta blockers increase risk of death by 27%
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ivan
@IvanVendrov
Oct 17, 2025
literally the foundational text of the Western canon is about the terrifying consequences of comparing women
Ruby
@rubydice100
Oct 16, 2025
Surprising preference among slutcon flirtgirls that I share: Not liking compliments that compare or put down other women. "You are breathtakingly beautiful" or "you are so my type" is much better than "you're the most beautiful girl here" or "no one holds a candle to you"
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ivan
@IvanVendrov
Jan 7, 2023
Replying to @IvanVendrov
Here's the full scanned set of questions.
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ivan
@IvanVendrov
Oct 22, 2025
i will only trust your health app's 'biological age' report if it comes bundled with a life insurance offer
near
@nearcyan
Oct 21, 2025
you can just tell users their 'real age' is like half their actual age and they will love your product and promote it all day as a brag
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