Alastair Fraser-Urquhart
@AFraserUrq
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Viral sensation @1daysooner, EA, Anglican twink, hypergalactic YIMBY.
London, England
Joined August 2017
A really depressing thing about the UK is the phone networks beginning to crumble. Mobile data just doesn't work in any crowded area anymore.
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Imagine, for a second, if the plant was NOT there, and you proposed putting one up. Imagine the foaming at the mouth from this exact group. Truly, a pointless waste of endless time and money.
🚨 BREAKING: Tata is closing Port Talbot steel plant MONTHS EARLY. This IRRESPONSIBLE and RASH decision will have DEVASTATING consequences for thousands of steelworkers set to lose their jobs, the local community, and steel production in the UK. @TataSteelUK - SHAME ON YOU.
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This gets worse, his working paper is literally entirely based upon people only being allowed a maximum amount of floorspace, which is a good idea because They Said So and Somebody’s Given Them All PhDs, so they’re also Important and you Must Listen For Your Own Good.
The article is based on my working paper with Ian Gough, Charlotte Rogers and Rebecca Tunstall at @CASE_LSE:.2/8.
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@notanastronomer I know! Boyfriend was off at a mid-sized event today, I had to talk to him but didn't even bother trying (when he got back he confirmed it would indeed have been futile).
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Hot take: way way waaayyyyy too much pressure to be vegan within EA. A community norm of something often incredibly difficult to do, for minimal welfare benefit, in opposition to most of the epistemic claims we make to triage our actions to do the most good, is a Bad Idea.
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This kind of smart, walkable, mixed-use urbanism is illegal to build in many American cities
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I have just drunk several million salmonella bacteria on purpose for a clinical study: AMA!
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I got a text from my landlord today, taking my rent up by 35% in the last two years. Thirty. Five. Percent. The UK builds more houses, or the UK perishes.
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Also, the fact that utilitarianism lets you derive all this obviously correct stuff 250 years early means it’s like…probably a better ethical theory?.
A reminder that Bentham is underrated. He opposed slavery, colonialism, capital punishment, usury laws, and the criminalization of consensual sexual activities while supporting women’s suffrage and animal rights. Give this guy his due.
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Haply I think on thee, and then my state,.(Like to the lark at break of day arising .From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate; .For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings.That then I scorn to change my fate with kings. I’M ENGAGED!!!!
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I got infected with coronavirus as part of a trial, and am donating the ÂŁ4500 I got for taking part. (1/17).
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My dad just sent me this tweet with the caption “oh well…”.
One of the best Effective Altruism movement building strategies is for individual EAs be super cool, kind, and interesting so that people will want to be part of the movement.
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I’ve been utterly @andrew_lilico-pilled and honestly really couldn’t care less the PM got fined - we all know he did it, the Cummings-promised pictures of gigantic indoor bashes never emerged, can we all just move on already?.
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In regular buildings physical symptoms/cognitive dysfunction from high CO2 concentrations is just not a thing, no matter how bad the ventilation. The US military no-adverse-effect threshold is 25,000ppm. That’s five times the worst building imaginable. You’re fine.
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@keccers not a dunk, just sharing!.
In regular buildings physical symptoms/cognitive dysfunction from high CO2 concentrations is just not a thing, no matter how bad the ventilation. The US military no-adverse-effect threshold is 25,000ppm. That’s five times the worst building imaginable. You’re fine.
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Update: The last few days have Not been pleasant. I am now on antibiotics, which is Outstanding.
I have just drunk several million salmonella bacteria on purpose for a clinical study: AMA!
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@s8mb This is great, but it’s not the descant driving this; it’s a really well-done version of a reasonably standard reharmonisation (based around a descending bass line going through A minor, if you’re keeping track at home).
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Dismayed to announce, despite all efforts to prevent this situation from occurring, I am becoming a Huel EA. I'm asking for privacy at this difficult time.
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if you are in any way convinced by most-important-century thinking, you should probably vote for Sunak if this turns out to be even halfway true.
"The AI safety summit is expected to focus almost entirely on existential risks. Sunak is understood to be deeply involved in the AI debate. “He’s zeroed in on it as his legacy moment. This is his climate change,” says one former government adviser.".
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Boyfriend has ChatGPT saved as “my bestie” in his favourites
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a reminder this is a strong update ea is really really wrong about ai.
Still feels like a fever dream that there are ~500 people trying to save the world from the impending AGI doom and the ENTIRE rest of the world either . 1) doesn’t know .2) knows but doesn’t care .or .3) knows and cares but doesn’t have the qualifications (at least yet) to help.
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Yooooo, EAG SF Swapcard dropped. (this video is 100% real, for which I can only apologise)
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Just published; many thanks to the Day One team and my wonderful colleagues @1daysooner (no, the names are not in any way confusing) for helping get this out. More to follow, stay tuned!.
🚀 NEW BRIEFING 🚀. The UK could become the global centre for Human Challenge Trials, argues @AFraserUrq. This would supercharge UK pharmaceuticals & life sciences + support global health.
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Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!. (i ordered the rainbow as a special anniversary gift)
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I’m so much more productive these days. As such - like a good lil EA - I am starting to learn about AI alignment. God help us all.
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#ElizabethLine, it's happening, people!. I am so excited I have not slept. I gave up and worked so I could sleep in the day instead. I vigorously deny all allegations of nerdiness.
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Update: in for a fun few days
I have just drunk several million salmonella bacteria on purpose for a clinical study: AMA!
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I must emphasise I have NOT just spent the entire evening at EAG, plus a policy social hosted by work, with my jumper on back-to-front. At all.
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Why don’t small landlords understand that even if a tenant doesn’t happen to cover 100%+ of the payments on the house you bought, you’re not “making a loss”!!! . You’re not losing money if someone’s only buying you most of your house, not all of it!!!!.
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Every time I feel bad about eating meat (frequently), I donate some non-trivial sum to the Humane League, such that my eating meat is probably net-positive for animal welfare.
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After FIVE YEARS, tonight Boyfriend reveals he has a middle name????????????.
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#EAGlobal was fucking incredible. Some highlights:.1) I rethought everything I want to work on at @1daysooner over the next few months/years.
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I wrote this signature at the bottom of this email the other day and I regretted it immediately and overwhelmingly, and it’s been haunting me ever since.
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Today in the worst birthday presents ever: I got given a bag to crap in, in preparation for my being given salmonella for a clinical study later this month
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Ah. You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Goodbye to my beautiful dog, who died today.
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For god’s sake. For GODS SAKE!. You mean now, if I vote Labour, I know that 100-145k homes will be lost????. This has brought my vote back into swing territory. Good job, twats.
There are far better ways to build the new homes we desperately need than green lighting water pollution. I’ve written with @SteveReedMP on why Labour will oppose these latest reckless plans from the Tory Party that brought you the sewage scandal. 🧵1/9.
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“Right, but the fundamental problem with the UK economy is the broken planning system”
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Sod “HS2”, my CAKE has SUNK!!!! and I want to know WHY!!!!
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A 1988 paper that nobody's ever heard of is possibly the best evidence written that changes to building design significantly affects respiratory disease transmission. (a thread for nerds).
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UCL wrongly capped one of my grades at 40% (down from 70+) and refused to change THEIR OWN MISTAKE on appeal as I did not submit it within 10 days of getting the result. We are still arguing. Truly a cursed institution. I will finish my undergraduate degree despising the place.
A coordinator on my programme emailed to tell me off because I didn't check my UCL email for 6 days & so nearly missed my annual review meeting. I have simply forwarded them back 11 emails I have sent since joining which I never received a response too.
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@moog77 Yeah, the thought of greenpeace championing even a few months of blast furnace work just immediately induced a migraine.
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A skyscraper?????? In central London???? In the worst housing crisis in the developed world????? You can’t do THAT!!!!!! Thank god for Mr Hogg’s brave crusade to Save Our Battersea!!!!!!!.
Thank you to the many residents who’ve been in touch about the idea to build a 38-storey tower near Battersea Bridge. Here’s my personal view 🧵
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@adb0wen They’re also wrong - the amount that filter is doing to protect anyone from a respiratory virus is obviously precisely zero.
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@profoundlyyyy It just seems way way way more likely that the tiny group of people is wrong rather than the other 8 billion missed the single greatest source of impending doom hiding in plain sight.
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My most anti-EA take is I am AB+.
Blood types. What are compatible with others and what are not. [đź“ą medico.trick].
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Most debates about vaping automatically assume that people (esp children) using nicotine is bad, because it’s addictive. Ok, but this also means you need to ban coffee. The general flinch against psychoactive substances, even pleasant and safe ones, is irrational and weird.
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This is just not true❤️.
Want to increase your cognitive function by over 20%, without ingesting anything, or working hard to achieve it?. Get yourself a CO2 monitor, and open the doors and windows. It has such a huge impact. I'd have them in every room if I ran a company with an office.
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Rough estimate for my giving in 2023: £3001 on an income of just under £27,000, coming in at around 11% - pretty pleased with that!. (Income is neither pre nor post tax, cba to work it out). (Yes, I donated up the number while writing this tweet so I can say “over 3k”. Sue me.).
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Six weeks more like; the amount of work you have to do over three years is trivial, done properly.
I bet like 5% of undergrads could crush their entire college curriculum in six months if they were super focused and systematic.
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Which creates an odd situation amongst young EAs where a) technical AI research seems like the highest priority thing ever and b) it seems utterly hopeless to even try it.
There are a lot of ppl interested in AI Safety now. Redwood Research's Mechanistic Interpretability Experiment had 700 applicants for 50 spots! (7.1% acceptance rate). At some point too many of our smart young minds will be going into AI safety. Unclear how close we are 2 that. .
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After a few weeks, HEPA filters write their own sales pitch. Mine is run on a low setting, in my black-mould infested flat, and it looks like this after just a few months. The white was how it was manufactured. All that crap goes into my lungs, too.
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Twinks only want one thing and it’s 16ft en chamade reeds (it’s me, I’m twinks).
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Aeroplane wings are astounding. They support an *entire plane* for hours at a time, and yet are still able to split apart at 200mph at sea level…for years and years at a time with minimal maintenance - oh, and they hold the majority of the fuel too. Bonkers.
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I feel so fucking validated. Everyone, please note it is Not Just Me Taking Air Monitors To Clubs.
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Once again, I'm absolutely happy to take a substantial bet against SARS-CoV-2 causing some large, unforeseen wave of disability within a reasonable timeframe, if anyone is prepared to take the other end!.
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@LoicTheStoic In my experience “alcohol-free” are not the first words I’d use to describe the CofE.
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Day one update: my mother has just sent me this, because she’s hilarious like that
I have just drunk several million salmonella bacteria on purpose for a clinical study: AMA!
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@AaronBergman18 For balance purposes: they gave me a swab to collect saliva and I put the handle in my mouth instead of the sponge. Immensely embarrassing.
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It’s quite - um - annoying that many many many (many!) people say to me all the time, in varying levels of explicitness, that if I want to be successful, I’m gonna have to abandon my long-term partner to work. Yeah…no.
During YC all you should do is flat, gym, YC, and ideally your customer’s office or places where you meet your user. That’s it. Focus is saying no.
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If paracetamol was invented today, there is *absolutely no chance on earth* it would become OTC - the fact it is should affect how you calculate the risk/benefit of our current (ridiculous) medical regulations. And yet.
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these are deeply unhinged readings. we took selfies
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Yes mum, you can ask if I'm eating healthy at uni, but Huel'll regret it.
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realising that the weird sensation like I’m growing extra teeth at the back of my mouth(???) is probably due to the fact that at this age you grow extra teeth at the back of your mouth.
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I don’t recycle. It all goes in the normal bin. I give not a single shit about the “environmental impact”, because I believe if there is one, recycling harms not helps. You too, can become this way.
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i have just been docked points from MY final grade because SOMEONE ELSE chose not to read a paper they specifically highlighted and couldn't answer a basic question on it - how is that fair???? . it's a degree, not a pub quiz!!!!!!!!!.
Group university coursework should be banned - the idea that my grades are shackled to four other total strangers, just so there's less to mark at the end, is genuinely disturbing.
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They’re now started playing a 90-second long message about diversity on the Tube, please just make it all stop
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One of my mutuals has just given away a ton of money to some fantastic charities and, man, what an amazing thing to do ❤️.
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Pointing out that aeroplane air is extraordinary heavily filtered so CO2 ceases to be a useful proxy for disease exposure (and no, those levels of CO2 do not cause cognitive dysfunction either).
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Regardless of where you stand on lab leaks, we should be able to agree that COVID was our biosecurity warning shot. We’re in real danger of totally ignoring it.
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It is absolutely bizzare that in Europe heating is considered the most basic of necessities, but cooling a room (for pretty much the same energy cost) is seen as the epitome of decadence. What gives???.
US Olympic and other teams will bring their own AC units to Paris, undercutting environmental plan
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I know you know this already, but flying is one of the greatest achievements of humanity
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@helenbarrett The musical potential it’s unlocked in St Mary’s le Strand is just joyous. It’s fantastic.
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I explained this to Boyfriend earlier and didn’t even finish the sentence before he said “we’re not having one in the flat”.
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Some people still haven’t heard of focal length, huh?
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Not ONE horsefly bite
According to biologists, the function of zebras' stripes is to ward off insects. Based on that idea, a team of scientists painted zebra stripes on cows. This reduced the number of biting flies on the cows by more than 50%. Applied evolutionary biology!
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Could be wrong, but I am reasonably certain nobody else at Gay Porn Idol did their pre-drinking at a church prosecco reception after playing for Ascension Day
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@PunishedLink I worked on indoor air quality long enough I find it kind of fun!
Will pay £100 (or donate to charity of choice) for anyone who’s willing to explain how Heaven’s (london gay club’s) ventilation works. @JeremyJoseph @HeavenLGBTClub.
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And the trains, oh the trains. I have seen more beautiful things than this, but I can’t remember when, just at the moment. #ElizabethLine
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After literally minutes of work, delighted to finally be able to release my masterclass on elegantly adding pedal reeds
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i have purchased a masterpiece, a ballet of technology in countertop form. my heart is very full right now.
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I seriously think Powerpoint is partially responsible for the utter intellectual hollowing-out of further education - instead of lecturers having to **explain** things to a room of students, now they just read it at them. It's boring, mostly useless, and quite sad.
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This is the expression of mild distress I save for Zoom meetings
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Boyfriend: “Didn’t I make you pancakes once? Back when the romance was still alive?”. God, I adore him.
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This is a genuine call for decision-makers from the UK challenge programme to put this into production now. If it turns out to be nothing, you can put it in the bin. If funding is a problem, or you have/know someone with influence over this, reach out to me or @1daysooner.
Just spotted: very small cluster of variant associated with Southern Africa with very long branch length and really awful Spike mutation profile including RBD - K417N, N440K, G446S, S477N, T478K, E484A, Q493K, G496S, Q498R, N501Y, Y505H.
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Why have you, as someone concerned about the small risk of widespread H5N1, not bought easily returnable infectious disease essentials off Amazon yet?
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Rumours abound that somewhere in South London, an Evensong begun in total disarray this evening as some twink at the organ gave everyone completely the wrong starting note.
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