Jun 09, 2025
6
You should be aware of the Delmore Effect:
“The tendency to provide more articulate and explicit goals for lower priority areas of our lives.” —Cognitive Bias Foundation
It seemed responsible when I first encountered AI’s importance not to swallow it hook-line-and-sinker. So I did a shallow pass over neurotech, kept reading philosophy, and loaded up my math degree with physics-related (differential equations) courses as soon as I got the chance, with a view to understanding unrelated modelling, chaos theory, and so on.
I won’t argue these things don’t matter (in general and for AI), but in my case, they were trading off against higher-priority ML fundamentals: linear algebra, multivariable calculus, probability theory, CS, and programming.
I used to be confused about people who had what seemed to me like low-dimensional identities focused on popular, anti-esoteric topics. If you’re into AI, math, philosophy, and startups—who isn’t? It seemed somehow gauche or whatever. Some contrarian instinct in me wanted to escape it. Now I think it’s fantastic. By all means, go straight for what matters most.
It’s not just a matter of field selection.
points out that a great paper has higher returns than a great blogpost, but writing a blogpost is easier, so he does it more often. Analogously, I’ve distracted myself with administrative homeostasis over work that might last for years.
Strive to swerve the Delmore Effect, and I think you’ll be better off for it.
Nuance:Please Don’t Throw Your Mind Away
6
Originally published on Substack