Hi 👋, 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]] <iframe class="signup-iframe" src="https://invertedpassion.com/signup-collector" title="Signup collector"></iframe>