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vgr's profile
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
Venkatesh Rao
@vgr

Tweets

Venkatesh Rao

@vgr

This is my conversational account. For my work follow @ribbonfarm, @breaking_smart, @artofgig. Tweets are 90% vacuous views, apathetically held. Mediocritopian.

Los Angeles, CA
venkateshrao.com
Joined August 2007

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    Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Jan 9
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    What accounts for differences in how excited people get about things?

    2:40 PM - 9 Jan 2020
    • 14 Likes
    • infinitsummer Karim Caspar Henderson Mike eigenrobot Amol Khadikar Thuongvu Wes Bushra Farooqui
    10 replies 0 retweets 14 likes
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      2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Jan 9
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        Variables I’ve noticed as being relevant: Expected marginal increase in agency (both absolute and relative) Degree to which there’s something free or bargain about it Non-neuroticism (not dwelling on things when you can’t act) Obsessiveness (not letting go when you CAN act)

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      3. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Jan 9
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        Expansion in the realm of the accessible known. I was very excited about the New Horizons mission Pluto (2015) and Ultima Thule (2019) flybys. But much less excited about quantum supremacy. Probably because the latter is effectively inaccessible to me.

        3 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
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      4. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Jan 9
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        Sense of being bound. A “what’s the point” context created by everything else. As in, “what’s the point of getting excited about Pluto; between Trump and climate change it’s game over and New Horizons photos are all we’ll ever get”. There was a bit of that in 2019 flyby for me.

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      5. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Jan 9
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        Social reality component. You get excited in proportion to the existence of, and your sense of belonging to, a larger social reality that has agency in relation to a thing. Space missions require space programs with a “for all humans” posture.

        0 replies 0 retweets 3 likes
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      6. End of conversation
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      2. Venkatesh Rao‏ @vgr Jan 9
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        Replying to @jamesmcn

        So temperate peoples are less excitable than tropical and equatorial? Hmm.

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. a_yawning_cat‏ @a_yawning_cat Jan 9
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        Replying to @vgr

        A chance to be “seen”. Exciting events and costume parties allow dropping of masks. As does being higher in a hierarchy, you can make yourself “seen” indirectly without direct consequence. Shame prevents this kind of excitement. “I have no right to be.”

        0 replies 1 retweet 1 like
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      1. Leon Markham‏ @humanleon Jan 10
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        Replying to @vgr

        The people side of that is more variable than the things side.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      2. elliot‏ @elmkast Jan 9
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        Replying to @vgr

        I feel like I'm someone who *could* get excited about many things but I run into energy constraints pretty quickly

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      3. elliot‏ @elmkast Jan 9
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        Replying to @elmkast @vgr

        So part of how I "decide" what to get excited about is just...for things that I've already mentally allocated energy for. There's path dependency for ya

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      4. End of conversation

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