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Kaj Sotala

Goodreads Author

Born

September 05, 1986

Member Since

August 2012

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112 posts
Kaj Sotala's Blog

Debiasing by rationalizing your own motives

Some time back, I saw somebody express an opinion that I disagreed with. Next, my mind quickly came up with emotional motives the other person might have for holding such an opinion, that would let me safely justify dismissing that opinion.

Now, it’s certainly conceivable that they did have such a reason for holding the opinion. People do often have all kinds of psychological, non-truth-tracking...

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Kaj Sotala’s books

Average rating: 3.58 · 12 ratings · 4 reviews · 3 distinct works

	Kehittyvä ihmiskunta really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jokapiraatinoikeus by Ahto Apajalahti, Kaj Sotala (Goodreads Author) 3.75 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Roolipelikirja by Jukka Särkijärvi (Goodreads Author), Kaj Sotala (Goodreads Author) 2.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2007	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Kaj’s Recent Updates

Kaj Sotala wrote a new blog post Debiasing by rationalizing your own motives Some time back, I saw somebody express an opinion that I disagreed with. Next, my mind quickly came up with emotional motives the other person migh... Read more of this blog post »
Sep 04, 2017 01:36AM · like
Kaj Sotala and 54 other people liked Chloe's review of Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success: "After I read the NY Times profile on Adam Grant last year, this book has been on my list. The idea that giving and being generous with your time will help you get ahead in life seemed sort of interesting. Now that I'm in social work school, I thin..." Read more of this review »
Jun 03, 2017 09:01AM · see review
Kaj Sotala rated a book it was ok Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam M. Grant (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Had some interesting and inspirational anecdotes, part of which resonated with my own experience. Also had a few nice ideas that seem worth trying out, e.g. reciprocity rings. Main criticisms: felt that at times, the book was bending a bit too much to ...more
Jun 03, 2017 08:52AM · 1 like · like · see review
Kaj Sotala rated a book liked it The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters by Emily Esfahani Smith	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 25, 2017 05:58AM · like
Kaj Sotala made a comment on his review of Writing the Novel from Plot to Print to Pixel: Expanded and Updated! " I've liked the writing books by Marcy Kennedy, Sol Stein, James Scott Bell, and M Harold Page. That said, I mostly haven't succeeded in actually gettin ...more "
May 02, 2017 06:07AM · see review
Kaj Sotala rated a book liked it Writing the Novel from Plot to Print to Pixel: Expanded and Updated! by Lawrence Block (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I would give this three and a half stars. I liked reading it, and it was written in a very relatable and personal style that made me like the author as a person, but I'm not sure if I got much in the way of new useful information. Still, worth readin ...more
May 01, 2017 03:11AM · like · see review
Kaj Sotala rated a book it was amazing Core Transformation: Reaching the Wellspring Within by Connirae Andreas	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I would give this book six stars if I could. The cover and name initially set off lots of "pseudoscience nonsense" warning bells in my head, but the technique was similar enough to Gendlin's Focusing to make it seem worth a try. After I did start usi ...more
May 01, 2017 03:06AM · 2 likes · like · see review
Kaj Sotala rated a book really liked it The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 21, 2017 04:03AM · like
Kaj Sotala rated a book liked it A Spy's Guide to Thinking by John Braddock (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Much more examples would have been nice, but it was a nice read for its length and price. I had previously heard about the concept of the OODA loop, and the idea that the person who goes through the loop faster wins, but been unsure of how to apply i ...more
Jan 15, 2017 09:01AM · 2 likes · like · see review
Kaj Sotala rated a book it was amazing The Wisdom of No Escape: How to Love Yourself and Your World by Pema Chödrön	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 06, 2017 05:03AM · like