Trevor McKendrick - Really try

Hi all,

Here’s to really trying in 2025. To being the best. To taking yourself seriously, and being earnest.

Trevor

Sam Altman interview with Bloomberg (article)

New details about the weekend he was fired.

Also a good bit about how the last decade has been hard.

See also: Sam posted this Sunday night on his personal blog. It feels less idea dense than most of his writing.

Tyler Cowen debates Robert Kuttner on Income Inequality (youtube)

Robert was just not persuasive. Tyler had command of the data, Robert did not.

The important POV to realize is that if we do the right things - invest in science, make it easier to build, etc. - income equality will likely go up, but ~everyone will be better off.

How Fernando Borretti uses Claude (article)

Very similar to me. 37% of his time is getting “Advice”:

“Advice” is me trying to work something out: overcome anxiety, aversion, decision paralysis. Claude is really good at helping here, mostly because thinking quickly saturates: when you’ve thought about a problem for five minutes, you’ve had all the thoughts you’re gonna have, and it’s time to talk to someone else. Claude lets me sample fresh perspectives and possible actions I had not thought of.”

One of the least discussed attributes of AI chatbots is that, unliked your closest & most beloved friends/family members/coworkers, they have infinite patience and always - always! - eager to hear whatever else you have to say.

Also: I’ve used Claude to help me write emails to healthcare billing departments that have now saved me hundreds of dollars. With zero back and forth in one case… I copy/pasted what Claude wrote and it one-shotted the billing department. The incorrectly billed item was immediately removed.

This very-normal-looking guy ran 5,000 miles last year (youtube)

5,000 per year is more than a half marathon every single day.

Yowana Wamala lives in North Carolina with his wife and 3 kids. Here’s his Strava.

I love this guy’s quotes:

“I don't watch sports. I don't drink alcohol. I don't have friends. The mileage is my best friend. You think I'm joking. I spent 600 hours this year with mileage. It's not a game."

"If you want to be great, you have to turn yourself into the world's biggest supervillain. And I'm coming after depression, obesity, and laziness."

On Really Trying (website)

From Gwern.

“Student: How can one realize his Self-nature? I know so little about the subject.

Yasutani: First of all, you must be convinced you can do so. The conviction creates determination, and the determination zeal. But if you lack conviction, if you think ‘maybe I can get it, maybe I can’t’, or even worse, ‘This is beyond me!’—you won’t awaken no matter how much you do zazen.”

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