Carson McNeil

Neuroscientist. Founding Technical Staff at Merge Labs. Stoked about the brain, Buddhism, mental health, and Mysticism.

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

Alright, how are we feeling this week?

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

Celebrating my new job at Merge Labs and the time afforded by my first long weekend with a piece on the ethics and implications of Neurotechnology. Probably the most important piece I have written.

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

Any spiritualist energy worker could have told you this as a fact obvious in their day-to-day occupation. Until recently, they would have been laughed out of the room. But now it has scientific validation. Maybe listen to the other things they're saying? https://t.co/mmTVPJIAMo

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@robinhanson Uhm. Caring for yourself and others. Social harmony. Peace for all beings. Those are at least 3 really obvious values that are deeper than the list you provided. Money and knowledge are very instrumental. Seeking them for their own sake is what is "shallow".

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@nickcammarata @TylerAlterman And ALSO I did it wrong and you don't have to.

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@nickcammarata @TylerAlterman I corroborate this message! It is so difficult to communicate to people "oh yea, I was basically concussed and having massive migraines for two months and also it's the best thing that ever happened to me."

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

From the Buddhist perspective, there's a fundamental flaw immediately apparent in utilitarianism/EA/longtermism. EA says "maximize happiness * beings". But Buddhism says counting the number of beings is an invalid operation. Count karma, not beings. #Buddhism #EA #longtermism

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@PrinceVogel Oooh...I know and love tea, and have lots of ware, some of it home-made. I've also served with Full Circle Tea House for some years. I DON'T often love the small hours of the morning, but let's talk ^_^

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@Miles_Brundage Are there any philosophers out there who are actively+seriously progressing the state of philosophy research? 🤣

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

So like, maybe this was a bad take: https://t.co/phoVYHGYml (although there is still good research in it)

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

Warning: it's possible I'm just ADHD (and maybe ASD) enough that I can relate to the difficulties of neurodivergent people, while also being neurotypical enough to think those difficulties are relatively easy to solve/heal with conditioning.

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

It is also quite possible that ADHD can be totally healed (or rather, tuned however you want) with meditation and most people just don't have access to good meditation teachers.

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@Noahpinion I think there are two points to the trolley problem:

1. Most people's moral intuitions don't align with logical calculus.
2. Many peoples' moral intuitions don't align with each other.

I don't think it's prescriptive about what is better.

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@elenanisonoff This is the kind of thing I'm talking about here: https://t.co/vk7cZJLss4

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

https://t.co/KhuPqzFYAL

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

Another carsonogenic essay. ChatGPT Psychosis is a growing epidemic, and now it has been reported on by several major publications. In this piece I take a preventative view: what is going on, and more importantly, how does one avoid falling into this pattern? If you or someone you know exhibits the symptoms I discuss in the piece...maybe pass it along. I'd also love to hear more reports, DM me!

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@inerati The fact that almost everyone has the syndrome doesn't make it not a syndrome. (and, if Buddhism is to be believed...the fundamental cause of suffering)

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@nickcammarata Yes! I wish more Dharma teachers gave this advice explicitly. It probably isn't generalizeable enough or something.

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@danallison 100%. Our culture is choked with a glut of rhetoric reifying individual identity. Like many things, it goes back to the Neo-Platonists.

People think agency is empowering. And it sort of is. But not nearly as empowering as being on a Mission from God.

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@andy_matuschak Huh. Looking at old tweets is funny.

Absorbed, thought it was great, and I became an Idealist in the end anyway.

[Carson McNeil @carsonkmcneil]

@andy_matuschak Don't mind if I do :)