Hi đź‘‹, I'm [Paras Chopra](https://invertedpassion.com/) and **you're looking at my knowledge garden**, a place where I publish my raw notes and thoughts.
Some of these notes graduate to become [self-contained essays](https://invertedpassion.com/essays/), while others remain seeded here, patiently waiting to be groomed someday.
> ⚠️ **Writings here are raw and haven't been edited**, so expect grammatical and coherence issues at multiple places.
### Introduction
- [[Foundational questions of reality]]
### Knowledge related
- [[Defining reality]]
- [[Philosophy of science]]
- [[Why fundamental reality is describable using mathematics]]
- [[Understanding as hierarchical model building]]
- From my blog:
- [How much can science tell us about reality?](https://invertedpassion.com/science-and-reality/)
- [How we do science determines what we discover](https://invertedpassion.com/how-we-do-science-determines-what-we-discover/)
- [Reality is an evolved illusion](https://invertedpassion.com/reality-is-an-evolved-illusion/)
- [Life is fractal, but markets are square](https://invertedpassion.com/life-is-fractal-markets-are-square/)
- [The meaning of life is unthinkable](https://invertedpassion.com/the-meaning-of-life-is-unthinkable/)
- [Philosophy is politics](https://invertedpassion.com/philosophy-is-politics/)
- [The Outer Limits of Reason: A Summary](https://invertedpassion.com/the-outer-limits-of-reason-a-summary/)
### Universe related
#### Demystifying fundamental theories
- [[Demystifying quantum theory]]
- [[Demystifying special relativity]]
- [[Demystifying general relativity]]
- [[Demystifying the arrow of time]]
- [[Demystifying mass and energy]]
- [[Demystifying the first three minutes of the universe]]
- [[Mysteries of the Big Bang and Cosmic Inflation]]
- [[Demystifying entropy]]
- [[Demystifying gauge theories and standard model]]
#### Hints towards reality
- [[Quantum entanglement between two distant particles]]
- [[On determinism vs indeterminism of reality]]
### Consciousness related
- [[What is consciousness?]]
- [[What is a Self?]]
- [[Causal mechanisms for consciousness and suffering]]
- [[Evolution of brains, consciousness and suffering]]
- [[What non-living things are conscious]]
- [[If panpsychism is true, what systems are capable of suffering]]
- [[Constraints physical laws put on consciousness]]
- [[Why we dont have a science of consciousness yet]]
- [[Towards building a theory of consciousness]]
- From my blog
- [Notes from the book: “The Spike”](https://invertedpassion.com/notes-from-the-book-the-spike/)
- [Notes from the book “The Mind is Flat”](https://invertedpassion.com/notes-from-the-book-the-mind-is-flat/)
#### Artificial consciousness
- [[Foundational work on artificial consciousness]]
#### Consciousness-related medical opportunities
- [[Tinittus]]
#### Neurotechnology
- [[Overview of brain input-output techniques]]
- [[Medical uses of BCI]]
- Prosthetics / Bionic limbs
- [[User challenges and benefits of bionic prosthetic arms]]
- [[Types of bionic limbs with brain-interface]]
- Implantable electrodes
- [[Neuralink impalntable device]]
- [[Polymer based neural implants]]
- [[Surgery for neural implants]]
- [[Commercial neurotechnology available for research]]
- [[Fast optical signal for non-invasive neural spike detection]]
- [[Why brain-machine interfaces progress so slowly]]
### Goodness related
- [[Choosing projects that reduce suffering]]
- What is [[Suffering focused ethics]]?
- Which systems qualify as [[Sentient beings that are capable of suffering]]?
- [[Types of suffering]]
- [[Measures of suffering]]
- [[Rights vs welfare]]
- [[Doing good in a world of uncertainity]]
- [[Longtermism vs immediate impact for suffering reduction]]
- [[How to measure cost-effectiveness of suffering reduction projects]]
- [[Thinking through population ethics]]
- [[Learnings from Jainism about suffering reduction]]
- From my blog:
- [My moral code](https://invertedpassion.com/my-moral-code/)
- [Making peace with the ambiguity of progress](https://invertedpassion.com/making-peace-with-the-ambiguity-of-progress/)
#### Pain related
- [[What is pain?]]
- [[Opioid crisis]]
#### Animal-suffering related
- [[Challenges of producing cultivated meat at scale]]
#### Resources
- [[Good talks on reducing suffering]]
#### Small studies
- [[Analysis of a measure of suffering from Twitter survey]]
### Meta
- [[General strategy for research]]
- [[How DARPA creates breakthrough technologies]]
- [[Technical skills and knowledge I have]]
- [[Problem solving via Who not How]]
- [[List of effective altruism focused organisations]]
- [[Hyped up technologies that fizzled out]]
- [[Harnessing the potential of synthetic biology]]
- [[Moats for deeptech startups]]
- [[Science of habit building]]
- From my blog
- [Startups shouldn’t solve technically hard problems](https://invertedpassion.com/startups-shouldnt-solve-technically-hard-problems/)
- [Can an economy keep on growing?](https://invertedpassion.com/can-an-economy-keep-on-growing/)
- [How money works](https://invertedpassion.com/how-money-works/)
#### Project Ideas
- [[Project ideas for reducing suffering]]
- [[Moral weights given that consciousness is a matter of degree]]
- [[When it comes to reducing suffering, how to balance exploration vs exploitation?]]
- [[Finding out and communicating health states that are worse than death]]
- [[Ranking suffering values with or without certain treatments or changes in life]]
- [[Improving Time Trade Off]]
- [[Measuring subjective animal welfare or preferences]]
- [[Project ideas for general philanthropy]]
- [[Movie production fund for expanding moral circle]]
#### Use of money
- [[Startup investing principles]]
- [[Philanthropy guidelines]]
### Just for fun
#### Science experiments
- [[Science experiments and getting my hands (physically) dirty]]
#### Science fiction
- [[Collection of science fiction vignettes and stories]]
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