User:Simfish/selfstudy

Here is my guide to self-studying. Currently woefully incomplete.

Religion/science:

Religion and Science: Trying to Nail My Colors to the Mast (Christof Koch)

http://www.klab.caltech.edu/~koch/religion-06.pdf

Biology:

Tinbergen's four questions

Central dogma of molecular biology

Cytochrome p450

DRD4 DRD2 dopamine receptors

Memory

Morality

Sociobiology

Consilience

Earth Science (it is VERY important to know about our planet, about its complexity, about its fragility with respect to the sun, and with respect to the fact that the sun is expanding and getting hotter and will toast the earth which means that we need even stronger controls on global warming in the far future)

Creativity (and the succorance of creativity -> we see from history that enlightened despots succored the creative). All donations fall along diminishing consequences, so it's entirely possible that this will have negliglbe effect on other affairs. Responsible government I can trust. Unfortunately, ALL democratic regimes and almost all despotic regimes I cannot trust. Only a very small minority of despots I can trust. (on the other hand, I can trust democracies on some limited scale, which makes them more trustable than dictatorships ON AVERAGE). On the other hand, when 96% of americans believe in the bullshit that we all know what is, I'd trust a control of powers without democratic representation.

Generative science/complexity

Perception (you haven't lived your life until you've sampled all of your pleasurable nerve endings)

Intelligence

Variance/possibilities/multiple universes

Scientific method

Sociology (to the extent of knowing the state of our schools and of our society), criminology, etc

History from the view of resource distribution, economics, environment (Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, Steel"

Categorization

Basic neurobiology (dopamine, serotonin, GABA, MAO-A/MAO-B, etc)

basic drug physiology (cytochrome p450 oxidase)

Effects of organization on rational thinking and creativity. Poverty often brings responsibly.

=== Health:

http://www.fantastic-voyage.net/ShortGuide.htm

Calorie restriction

Glycemic index

Psychology:

Thought suppression and Rebound effect

===

Books to read:

http://www.amazon.com/Books-Conducive-to-Thinking-About-the-World-from-a-Different-Lens/lm/R3L83OI6EH700Z/ref=cm_lm_pdp_title_full/102-3393600-0786526