Aperture Thinking

The Depressing Psychology of People with High IQ

We treat intelligence like it’s some kind of miracle. An unseen force that’s powerful enough to shape an entire life from behind the scenes. We assume that if you’re intelligent enough, the world should bend more easily in your favor. You should be able to resolve problems faster, make better choices much easier, and you should have your entire life figured out before the first time any adult ever even gets the chance to ask “what do you want to be when you group up?

The Depressing Psychology of People with High IQ

We treat intelligence like it’s some kind of miracle. An unseen force that’s powerful enough to shape an entire life from behind the scenes. We assume that if you’re intelligent enough, the world should bend more easily in your favor. You should be able to resolve problems faster, make better choices much easier, and you should have your entire life figured out before the first time any adult ever even gets the chance to ask “what do you want to be when you group up?”

The one law that doomed the Universe

Close your eyes and think of nothing. No, not darkness, nothing. Think of nothing as an object in your mind. Imagine a Universe where all matter has completely decayed, photons and leptons are too far apart to form any processes, and the temperature is near absolute zero.

Every level of the AI takeover

This video was made with financial support from the Center for AI Safety.