Papers

A collection of papers I’ve read that were particularly interesting. For some other excellent collections see:

Cognition

Transformational tools for thought – Andy Matuschak and Michael Nielsen [what would a new medium of cognition enable us to do? A look at past and present forms may provide some insight into the next type]Download
Number Numbness [how we struggle to intuitively cope with (very) large numbers and the effects this has on us]Download
Visualisation and Cognition – Bruno Latour [why and how the rise of writing and imaging craftsmanship may be the best explanation for the scientific revolution]Download
Destruction and creation – John Boyd [Boyd inspired by his journey to discovering EM theory looks at how we come up with new ideas and make sense of those around us] Download
Essence of winning and losing – John Boyd [the presentation Boyd introduces the OODA loop]Download

Mathematics/science

Correspondence between Fermat and Pascal [shows how a concept many may take as simple like expected value took two of the best mathematicians in history multiple attempts and failings to come up with] Download
<object class="wp-block-file__embed" data="https://neilhacker.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/zksnarks.pdf&quot; type="application/pdf" style="width:100%;height:600px" aria-label="Embed of <strong>Why and How zk-SNARK Works: Definitive ExplanationWhy and How zk-SNARK Works: Definitive Explanation – Maksym Petkus [this is a really great document for going from 0-100 in getting a feel for how snarks work] Download
The unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences – Eugene Wigner [have you ever paused to think how spooky it is how well maths is able to function and predict things, well luckily so has Wigner] Download
You and your research – Richard Hamming [excellent speech about the difference between good and great research and the sacrifices one makes]Download
The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme [a classic look at how forces other than natural selection may be responsible for characteristics we see around us]Download

Computing

Computing machinery and intelligence – Alan Turing [the seminal paper in looking at the question of whether machines can think]Download
Labelling Images with a computer Game – Luis von Ahn and Laura Dabbish [a look at how CAPTCHA harnessed the power of the public to create useful output]Download
On the measure of intelligence – François Chollet [We care a lot about making things intelligent but how could we actually measure our progress? ….. skill-acquisition efficiency]Download

Economics

Liberal Radicalism -Vitalik Buterin, Zoë Hitzig and E. Glen Weyl [A new method for the funding of public goods, very far ranging, from calculus to philosophy]Download
Crowding out citizenship – Elinor Ostrom [The dangers of externally implemented incentives when trying to solve collective action problems (if you’ve read Governing the Commons and not this you would almost certainly like this)]Download
Tragedy of the commons [original paper, talks about nuclear war and environmental consequences of overpopulation]Download
Dominant assurance contracts – Alex Tabarrok [How to always make it in someones best interest to fund something even if it might not be successful] Download
Academic Economics Charlie Munger [CM’s take on the shortcomings of professional Economics]Download
The use of Knowledge in Society – Hayek [the price mechanism is spookily good at distribution effort and resources if you think about how difficult that job really is] Download
an-arrgh-chy – Peter T. Leeson [A look at the mechanism design that kept pirates functioning in relative peace despite the lack of external enforcement to maintain order]Download

Investing

Investing in the unknown and unknowable – Richard Zeckhauser [a few useful approaches when looking to do business in an area that isn’t just complicated but complex]Download
Kelly criterion experiment with biased coin [experiment where application of KC was optimal strategy and yet so few people were aware of its existence even within finance]Download
Measuring the Moat – Michael Mauboussin [A comprehensive look at what gives companies enduring competitive advantages] Download

Thinking/problem solving

On teaching professional judgement [a look at some approaches to teaching law students with many takeaways for education in general]Download
Architecting Discovery – Ed Boyden, Adam Marblestone1 [What methods could you use to bring more serendipity to the process of scientific discovery]Download
Idea maze – Balaji S. Srinivasan [a look at the work that goes into having a good idea and how that alone isn’t enough] Download
Knowledge without Authority – Karl Popper [Can we ever know anything for certain and if not can we improve our knowledge….gateway drug to Conjectures and Refutations]Download
Psychology of Human Misjudgement – Charlie Munger [Arguably his best written work ever, a collection of 25 biases that he has observed over his lifetime]Download
Creative thinking – Claude Shannon [He invented and then basically solved information theory you probably want to at least give this a look]Download
Extreme learning – Michael Nielsen [Learning things is really hard, some thoughts on how to relieve some of that burden]Download

Speeches/letters/biography

This is water – David Foster Wallace [The greatest freedom we can achieve is being able to stay in control of our own attention and direct it to worthy causes]Download
My Early Beliefs – Keynes [Keynes reflects on the views he held in his youth and how they have changed over the years]Download
Letter from Birmingham Jail – MLK [a powerful letter on just and unjust laws, the purpose of nonviolence, the problem of the passive moderate and much more ]Download
Thoughts on Man’s Purpose in Life…and Other Matters – H.G. Rickover [a few thoughts by the father of the nuclear Navy]Download
Pericles funeral oration [“Mankind are tolerant of the praises of others so long as each hearer thinks that he can do as well or nearly as well himself, but, when the speaker rises above him, jealousy is aroused and he begins to be incredulous”]Download
Letter to Erastus Corning – Abraham Lincoln [Brilliantly written letter where Lincoln justifies his suspension of Habeas Corpus in the Civil war]Download

Other

Blooms two sigma problem [one to one tutoring seems to have an unexpectedly remarkable effect on aptitude, as in truly very large, why?]Download
Taxicab geometry – Neil Greenspan [Very simple illustration of the dangers accidental imprecision in language can lead to]Download
The Theory and Practice of Selling the AGA Cooker – David Ogilvy [Yes this is quite literally a sales manual for the AGA. It was also one of the first things Ogilvy ever worked on and is one of the best examples of a clear, persuasive guide to selling out there]Download
Chesterton’s fence [is tradition smarter than you give it credit for?]Download
Patterns of conflict – John Boyd [Is it the prettiest presentation you’ve ever seen, no. Does it cover how military strategy has changed since before the Romans, yes.]Download
The politics of 1948 – Clark Clifford (/James Rowe) [one of the seminal political strategy documents Harry Truman used to win his reelection] Download
The Battle of the Books (extracts) – Jonathan Swift [the art of conversation and the densest collection of pithy sayings around]Download
What are the chances you’re right about everything? – Hrishikesh Joshi [how likely is it that one group is right on a host of orthogonal issues…not very?]Download
<object class="wp-block-file__embed" data="https://neilhacker.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/echo-chambers-and-epistemic-bubbles.pdf&quot; type="application/pdf" style="width:100%;height:600px" aria-label="Embed of <strong>Echo chambers and epistemic bubblesEcho chambers and epistemic bubbles – C. Thi Nguyen [Really clear look at two different ways people may come to have a skewed information intake and the radically different causes/implications of them]Download