@self_made_human's banner p

self_made_human

amaratvaṃ prāpnuhi, athavā yatamāno mṛtyum āpnuhi

16 followers   follows 0 users  
joined 2022 September 05 05:31:00 UTC

I'm a transhumanist doctor. In a better world, I wouldn't need to add that as a qualifier to plain old "doctor". It would be taken as granted for someone in the profession of saving lives.

At any rate, I intend to live forever or die trying. See you at Heat Death!

Friends:

A friend to everyone is a friend to no one.


				
User ID: 454


				
				
				

			

		

	














	


		


			



	

		

			

			

				

					

						

							
						

						

							
							

								
self_made_human


								

								

								
								
									
								
								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
amaratvaṃ prāpnuhi, athavā yatamāno mṛtyum āpnuhi

				
				
				

				

					16 followers  

					follows 0 users  

					joined 2022 September 05 05:31:00 UTC
				


				
					

					
I'm a transhumanist doctor. In a better world, I wouldn't need to add that as a qualifier to plain old "doctor". It would be taken as granted for someone in the profession of saving lives.


At any rate, I intend to live forever or die trying. See you at Heat Death!



				

				
					
Friends:

					
A friend to everyone is a friend to no one.


				

				

				

				

					

					

					
					
					

					
User ID: 454


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
‎

			

				
				

					Hour
					Day
					Week
					Month
					Year
					All
				

			


			
‎

			

	
	

	 Hot Bump Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
	



		

	






	

		
		

		
		
	

	

  







		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I paid 15 quid for them on Vinted. It'll be me, them and a toothbrush I don't miss.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 12, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
What's the best way to get bubblegum residue out of trousers? Feeding it back to the antisocial asshole who left it on the bench is, sadly, not an option.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I saw someone put a traffic cone on a statue in Glasgow. It felt like seeing a real, live leprechaun.


There were police waiting for him, by the time this ginger man gingerly clambered back down. They had a very polite conversation, shook his hand, and he stumbled off to to cone another day. I'm not sure what you can even charge someone for, if they do that. It's just part of the civic culture really.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I have no thoughts on Chinese Salvationist Religions. Or at least I didn't, and now I must know. More Jesus's lil bro and 1 gorillion dead stuff?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I'm surprised you missed the hoe-flation joke. Had it all lined up for you.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 10, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I haven't seen any horse-shoe desks, including at the multiple hospitals I've worked in, in Scotland. But blonde receptionists? Could buy two dozen for a dime, thanks to inflation. I can't say they've been particularly bitter, but in smaller towns, my female patients and pub acquaintances have told me that they're almost always incredibly nosy gossips. That's the main perk of the job.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 3, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
There were waiters available. They seemed perfectly nice, but I had something to prove and didn't want to ask for help. Mostly because, contrary to appearances, I can sear and cook meat without killing anybody. It's been long enough that I don't think I've caught tapeworms.


Sadly, I might do it again if it wasn't for the expense, as you noted. It was as or more expensive than a conventional restaurant where you just say "medium rare" and get what you asked for. That is unconscionable.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for July 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That sounds very interesting. I'll look into it, thanks. Though I have to concede that looking at the internals doesn't cure back ache.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for July 8, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I saw a physiotherapist for the back pain, and he told me I had been handling it reasonably, and that my stated suspicion that I should go to the gym more and not baby it overly was the correct insight. Converting that into action? That's another matter. I have a lot on my plate. At least I only had to take a single day off sick, after hitting the daily limit of ibuprofen without making the pain manageable. It's better now. It'll just take longer to heal than I'd like. And I might have to do lower back exercises and fight the hoes for the leg press machine.


Anyway, I did push-ups last week, and I'll do more at some point. I'm surviving on cocodamol and the knowledge that I've got annual leave ahead of me. To be spent drinking and driving (not at the same time) and seeing the country properly while being the reasonably assimilated/integrated and wiser older brother.


Work hasn't been too bad. It's a wonder what mostly adequate staffing, sigh peers and seniors who like me can do, in terms of moving a bad workload somewhere to the vicinity of bearable. I continue not writing about the people who have asked me not to write about them, I continue being charming at pubs and making friends by engaging when attacked by feral extroverts. I have been kidnapped (with consent) in the middle of the night and driven to cities across the country on a weekend. I've made sure some very faded women in the back of an SUV driven by a bipolar gay man just barely processing heartbreak drank enough water - while making sure I sat behind an airbag. I continue, in other words, to have as much fun as a recently badly depressed and overworked psychiatry resident can have during an Indian British Summer.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 3, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Hook? Do I look like I've gone out fishing? I am known, on occasion, to write what (at least to me) are mildly entertaining accounts of things that have happened in my life. As I've said before, much more tersely, I don't have the time or spare energy to be writing effort posts in the immediate future. I can only say (with genuine polite intent and no sarcasm intended) that anyone who doesn't want to read my writing has a plethora of options. Including saying something isn't for them, which I am totally okay with. These days, I only optimize for popularity where it actually matters: IRL. The Motte gets what I want to give it, which is not always the same as what it wants.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Thanks for the reminder. I checked, and Starship is slated for the first transatmospheric flight, Flight 13 to be specific, sometime after July. It was intended to be a true orbital flight, but likely will get bumped down to a suborbital one after recent technical difficulties.


(At least according to https://starship-spacex.fandom.com/wiki/Starship_Flight_Test_13)


With the benefit of hindsight, I think I was too optimistic. 90% CIs should cover way more space/time than a 3 year forecast. Clearly I wasn't adjusting for Elon time even while trying to adjust for Elon time, though my comment notes that that guess was off the top of my head with no additional research. I'd give 70% odds of a proper orbital flight and recovery within 2 years, 50% within 365 days.


I still do not think the hype is unjustified. There is nobody else around that's at SpaceX's level, especially after BO's setback.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 3, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That is a comment, and this is a reply.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 3, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I accidentally on purpose ended up at a Korean BBQ restaurant. To my mild (or moderate dismay), I was confronted with an induction top and every indication that the dishes I'd want would need cooking. Normally, I'd assume that that service would be covered by a restaurant, but clearly they do things differently in Korean Scotland. East Korea?


I had very little idea what to do, and wasn't in the mood to learn how to use chopsticks on the field of battle. And I'd ordered ribeye and pork belly. It had arrived raw.


I was only pretending to be deeply distressed. There was absolutely no panic usage of ChatGPT involved. Quiet confidence all the way down baby. I tell myself that if my dad could teach himself laparoscopic surgery from textbooks at about my age...


I paid 37 quid for that meat. I could have fucking cooked it myself, or had about the same quantity at a regular restaurant. At least they didn't ask for a tip, given that this was taking self-service to a new level. Why not just present the cow next time?


On the walk back, I also experienced a sharp pain near my heel. A quick examination revealed nothing in my socks or shoes, but it did hurt quite a bit - exactly like being bitten or stung by a bug. There's a minor bump there now, so presumably we've got bugs with invisibility on the loose.


On the final stretch, I was video calling my brother. Last minute Apple Watch logistics, after the promised discount and creative accounting failed to materialize + confirmation that he'd finally had his appointment for the visa (uneventfully). I was interrupted by a gaggle of cute teenish girls and took out my earphones.


They didn't look like the Mormons who seem to accost me with regularity in those parts, so I asked them how I could help.


They wanted to know how tall I was. Huh. I gave them the honest answer: a hair or two above six feet. They remarked that they were surprised, because I'd looked ridiculously tall from a distance, giggled, thanked me and went off while glancing back every once in a while.


I stood there with a good natured but very bemused smile on my face. They didn't stink of weed. The experience was neutral. The most parsimonious explanation is that the invisible spider that bit me added a few inches of height, which I can't complain about. It would explain the week of barely manageable back pain. If that isn't the case, I'm going to start wearing platform shoes while insisting I'm actually 5'8.


This has been a rather perplexing day, but at least I'm safely in bed.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
There's the official EULA and there's handing the password away with a wink and a nod. I'll make sure to delete all the hentai games I do (not) own.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Huh. I should purchase something. God knows I don't play any of the games I buy, but I can pass it on to the grandkids. A slight pain is the fact that I've still got an account based in India, because it occasionally pays off in terms of geographical arbitrage. But at other times, it makes a quick spur of the moment purchase difficult.


Right now, I'd recommend anyone into tactics give Menace a whirl. It's still a while away from feature-complete, but the recent updates and a few mods make me quite close to booting it back up again. Got my money's worth with about 20 hours of playtime already, and it has the potential to provide hundreds.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for July 3, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Glad someone noticed.


The main takeaway? The competition was an absolute pain in the ass. Reading hundreds of thousands of tokens of AI generated prose and creating a working agentic harness + scaffolding was exhausting. It took dozens of cycles of iteration to find the right balance.


Funnily enough, what really made all the difference is that I ended up sharing a large corpus of my own text for reference - and it shows. The story I'm the most proud of is "The Bowl" (which is not nonsensical, at least to anyone who has or had a Labrador), but both my entries have clear self_made_human fingerprints. The Bowl made me sob while reading it for the first time, and I knew I wasn't going to get anything better than that. That's more than most human literature can ever say.


To the chagrin of people complaining about my use of AI assistance, at times, I know what I'm doing. Gwern, Roon, Alexander Wales and a few others think I know what I'm doing, and liked the output. Is it a surprise that I'm tired of arguing with idiots here when I could be off making money? $500 just about covers the effort, though I would have liked the full 10k. Ah well, I introduced myself as a dark horse candidate who might be worth giving a few hundred dollars in tokens just to see what he could do. And it worked.


Here's a public conversation I had with Gwern:


https://old.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/s/QiMdeD3OkG


I have plenty of additional thoughts, tips and things learned through trial and error plus bitter experience. Unfortunately, they're proprietary. Anybody who wants them better pay me for the privilege.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for July 1, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Basking in the glory of being an ACX finalist on my first and only entry - you fellas wish. Also dying of terrible musculosketal (partially psychosomatic pain). Hearteningly for my resolution, I've been doing push-ups to help with it so I hit my exercise goal? However, ibuprofen and paracetamol combined seem to do the trick. It's never been this bad, ever:


I had a lovely weekend that involved champagne (a gift, for clearing the Paper B). I was well rested and well fed. And yet, on Monday, I was as stiff as a board, half my muscles screaming at me to not go to the ward - the other half screaming to leave once I was there. But there is no problem that sufficient analgesia and stimulants can't solve, or there are, but I haven't found them quite yet. There are probably drugs for those too. At least I am spending my annual leave in bulk, and I fucking need it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I have consumed plenty of Scotch in places that aren't Scotland, so no objections here. I'll see if we can fit it into the schedule. And I'll look up that museum, it sounds like the polar opposite of the Tate, and that can only be a good thing. Thanks!


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
If you recommend it that strongly, I'll take a look! And thank you, I am easily bribed with alcohol, and I'm always happy to meet other Mottizens. I'll DM you if I'm in the area 👌


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Huh. That's very good to know, I'll look into seeing if we can just about squeeze it into our schedule. Thanks!


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Glasgow has excellent nightlife! I've already seen someone nick a traffic cone and carry it off proudly beneath their armpit, and I can only describe the experience as akin to accidentally walking into a fairy tale. It turns out I actually like the city, and not just because it seems like a promising place to be a senior shrink.


I have no specific interest in Loch Ness, so if you think Glen Coe is better or less of a tourist trap, I'll prioritize it instead.




If you are there for the cliffs more than the castle




The best part of the castle was ignoring it, or at least the argument about medieval laws around monogamy that I won






A castle loomed over the harbor like a very large, very literal metaphor about who was in charge of what. My friend and I debated whether owning a castle in medieval England gave you street cred or just a crowded calendar. This prompted a brief, speculative argument on medieval sexual economics. He posited that the local lord must have had a hundred wives. I countered that, as a Christian noble, he was likely constrained to one official wife for appearances, and ninety-nine plausible deniabilities, likely undocumented liaisons with the wives of the local fishermen. We failed to resolve this.






I've been to York, but haven't really explored it. I'll put a pin in that and Bath, though I'd prefer a shower. Appreciate the suggestions!


Honestly speaking, my brother is a homebody, just like me. As long as we see scenic places and drink plenty of booze, we'll be content. All the more so if we can do both at the same time.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
These are excellent recommendations. You're right that trying to fit in a tour of NI in that time frame would be difficult, but I'll see what we can manage. Thanks a lot!


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Very kind of you to offer, and I'll let you know if I ever head that way. Always wanted to see what was up with the [REDACTED] Car Bombs.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That would be doable, but it would involve applying for a Schengen visa. Downside of having a meh passport. I've been too caught up to do that, and it's even more of a headache for my brother with the little notice that he has. Something for the future.


There's still more than enough to do in the UK to eat up a fortnight. It's small but dense with history and architecture.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I have my brother coming over for two weeks next month. It's somewhere between a much needed vacation for the poor sod (he's just finished his internship and is about to discover that life as a doctor is no fun) and a welfare check. I definitely need the vacation myself.


So I'd appreciate travel advice. The current rough concept of a plan:


    

  1. Spend 2-4 days in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Take him to the ridiculous gay pubs, bars and clubs I've seen to expand his horizons. Too late for Pride, and too early for Fringe, but that saves us money anyway.
    2. 

  2. A day or two in the Highlands. Hitting up distilleries, swatting away midges, and pissing in Loch Ness. I see little point in showing him Aberdeen, Dundee or Inverness.
    3. 

  3. Towards the end, we need to be Good Indian Boys and spend a few days with miscellaneous relatives in Manchester and London. As little time as we can get away with, since I do need to show him London.
    4. 

  4. Heading down to Dover for a day. I loved the cliffs.
    5. 



We're not particularly outdoorsy, or touristy, for the matter - we're not looking to go for scenic hikes or to see every tiny castle around. I'm focusing on nightlife as well as a quick visit at the Greatest Hits. The typical day involves some walking, sightseeing, drinking and nice meals - followed by more drinking. We will probably rent cars where it's reasonable to do so (not London or Edinburgh).


Any suggestions?