I think over the course of years spent online, you will come across many works of art, whether it be writing, music, video, or something else, that you just really appreciate. They end up shaping you in some way. Maybe it’s useful to something you care about doing at the time, maybe it’s something timeless that touches a part of your soul. I think the default is to consume it and move on. I’d like my default to be collect it. I’ve been online for more than a decade, so on one hand it feels a little late to start now. But rationally I will probably be online for many multiples of that, so now is actually the best time to start collecting, having not done so yet.
Here’s my collection of things I found online that have shaped me, for better or worse.
Essays/Blog Posts
- Rationality: From AI to Zombies // Eliezer Yudkwosky
- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality // Eliezer Yudkowsky
- In Favor of Niceness, Community, and Civilization // SlateStarCodex
- Meditations on Moloch // SlateStarCodex
- The Early History of Smalltalk // Alan Kay
- Great Hackers // Paul Graham
- Beating the Averages // Paul Graham
- Succintness is Power // Paul Graham
- What You’ll Wish You’d Known // Paul Graham
- Reflecting on One Very, Very Strange Year at Uber // Susan Fowler
Videos
Being a Citizen of the Internet
Music
Study/Background Music
Rock
- Everlong // Foo Fighters
- River of Deceit // Mad Season
- Nutshell // Alice in Chains
- Some Are Lakes // Land of Talk
- Edit the Sad Parts // Modest Mouse
- Vs // Pearl Jam
- Nothingman // Pearl Jam
- Borrowed Tune // Neil Young
- Fade Into You // Mazzy Star
- Perfect // Smashing Pumpkins
- 1979 // Smashing Pumpkins
- Anything by Warren Zevon
