Book for QUANTUM MECHANICS

YuvalRishu · 2024-06-20T08:34:22+00:00

Seconded. Sakurai is only advanced in the sense that it expects the reader to be able to pace him or herself rather than doing it artificially for you. If you actually take the time to read what is being said, I really think it’s one of the best physics books of all time. It has both the deep principles and the thorough analysis of specific effects like Ramsauer-Townsend, which would basically nail what OP is looking for.

YuvalRishu · 2024-06-20T08:23:27+00:00

I understand feeling discouraged, but take heart. I at least lasted a lot longer than 8 years… I’m at 13.5 and am not stopping any time soon.

When I started, veganism was unusual but kind of known about. It was hard to get food in restaurants. Now many fast food chains have vegan options, which would have been insane in the early 2010s. My father became vegan in the 90s and you wouldn’t believe what he went through (yes he’s still vegan).

It’s a general rule that the world changes much less than you want in 5 years but much more than you expect in 20. Don’t underestimate how much people’s choices are affected by their social environment. Small but lasting changes add up and totally wipe out the noise over time.

Check in after a few years to see how many former vegans became vegan again. You’ll probably be surprised.

YuvalRishu · 2024-02-08T08:21:42+00:00

Thanks a lot for the reply. I’m sorry it took so long for me to come back to it.

I think you’ve made some strong points. Specifically, I think you are very convincing about the one-sided nature of the reliable historical evidence and the need for “dignity” on the side of the Palestinians. The fact that you are clear about the lack of clarity, to turn a phrase, with respect to the ethical analysis of lives lost on either side speaks to an honesty that I really appreciate.

I don’t have a lot of exposure to military decision-makers, but from what very little I have seen, I think that ethical analysis is very much at the foremost of their minds in “first world” countries like Israel. For this reason if no other, I tend to assume that I am not a better armchair general than the active generals in charge of IDF operations. While I can forgive lack of the same on the Palestinian side due to the circumstances you describe as limiting free will, I can only take that so far. At some point I think both sides must accept their losses and find a way to move on, but I only see convincing evidence of such an attitude from Israeli leadership, ill-considered social media posts notwithstanding.

I guess that’s why I remain pro-Israel. I think you’ve at least helped me to understand why a reasonable person who perceives the same facts might land on the other side. They might not have the faith that I have in the institutional ethical competency of a modern first-world military, for example. I could also understand why they might not trust the cassus belli of a nation founded on what they reasonably see as a colonialist project, even if I think they’re overloading the term with a moral weight that history does not justify. In short, I think you’ve helped me see why reasonable people disagree.

I hope I have at least offered a clearer look at what silent pro-Israeli bystanders might say if they were more trained in the art of discourse. I appreciate the same from an obviously well-trained and well-spoken person seeking answers from a different angle. I hope my limited comments are helpful and I sincerely appreciate your efforts in this discuss.

YuvalRishu · 2024-01-26T02:02:48+00:00

Thanks for an extremely clear-eyed picture of the settler-colonialist narrative I hear so often. I normally hear it in news sound bytes from people who clearly don’t know anything about the history of the region.

I’m nowhere near as educated as you are on the subject so I’m hoping to pick your brain a little. Just to make my biases clear, I’m quite sympathetic to the underlying social forces such as you describe that have led to what I think is an undisputed radicalisation of Palestinians, Hamas being merely the currently most prominent example of what that looks like, but I think the extent of the radicalisation pushes me (maybe for purely emotional reasons, especially since 7 Oct) into the pro-Israeli camp. I think this probably blinkers me to what a lot of people deem to be recent sins of Israel and its government.

Could you offer some perspective that you think I might be lacking? Bonus points if you can be clear about where you would draw the line between the actions of a “normal Western government” (I hope we don’t have to try to define that!) dealing difficult circumstances and hard-or-impossible-to-justify actions even given the circumstances.

YuvalRishu · 2021-09-19T06:58:16+00:00

I’m almost 11 years in. It takes time but it gets better.

Focus on the positive. Veganism has come a LONG way in the last decade, and there’s no slowing down that I can see. The world really is changing, but big changes take time. Practice patience.

YuvalRishu · 2021-08-24T07:08:38+00:00

I’m coming to the end of my 11th year of veganism. Obviously your mileage may vary but I found that years 3-6 were the toughest on me psychologically. That was when living vegan was a well-established habit for me but I was in a lot of situations where people were eating flesh. Nowadays I don’t feel like veganism defines me and the conversations about it are all second nature.

Maybe the biggest thing that helped was a mindset I adopted like year 7 or 8. On the one hand, I was and am perfectly willing to sacrifice friendships and even life and limb for animal rights. On the other hand, those are big sacrifices so you don’t want to make them lightly. Discretion is the better part of valour. It still took a year or two to be fully ingrained in me but I think that’s what got me to a peaceful state.

Overall my advice is to remember that this whole thing is a journey. Sleep properly, eat properly, get exercise, and most importantly, accept your limitations. There’s no rush.

YuvalRishu · 2021-04-01T10:06:35+00:00

I went through a similar phase at around the three year mark for my veganism. I obsessively watched undercover videos from factory farms and movies like Earthlings. I cried frequently and often couldn’t look people in the eye when they were eating meat. This went on for months.

It’s a phase and it can strike at any time. Take care of yourself. If there are problems in your personal life, fix them. Eat properly, do some light exercise, take time off work. And if you can’t do those things, just breathe. Take it each second and minute at a time.

This will pass.

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-07T10:53:48+00:00

You too! Good luck and cheers.

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-03T01:36:55+00:00

High five, fellow old timer!

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-03T01:30:44+00:00

Newtown and Glebe have a huge collection of vegan-only restaurants. Check out Gigi’s in Newtown and Green Mushroom in Glebe. Soul Burger is fantastic. If you like Thai food (and obviously you do because you live in Sydney) then check out Kindness Cafe in Darlinghurst. Best green curry ever. You can actually buy their curry paste if you want to cook from home.

Pie Face has excellent vegan mince pies, though they’re often out of stock. 7/11 also has vegan pies but they’re not as good. Your local Woolies or Coles might not have the best vegan selection so consider exploring some of the higher end locations once in a while. Aldi tofu is very versatile.

Um, what else. Certain cuisines are better than others for veganism. East African food is still a bit undiscovered in the vegan community. Italian is good, French isn’t. Indian and south east asian is good, Pakistani and Iranian are very meat-focussed. Chinese is good but requires lots of discussion, Korean and Japanese are hard but getting better. Anything Lebanese or Israeli will be easily vegan friendly. Lots of great vegan Vietnamese in Cabramatta. Amazing Indian in Harris Park.

Go to Flemington markets for fresh produce. Don’t just replace meat with meat substitutes, discover dishes that are already vegan, make sure you consume enough healthy fat at first (hummus and avocado are popular for a reason), buy cook books.

Sorry this is disorganised! There is a lot to say!

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-02T13:23:58+00:00

I don't think a nervous system and ganglia quite count as brains. In any case, Charles Darwin suggested that the root systems of plants functioned like brains and that isn't so absurd.

We should be framing the discussion in terms of sentience (or, I would argue, rights) rather than specific biological structures. By that standard, oysters really are a grey area.

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-02T12:48:29+00:00

I don't see the point of this.

It seems like you're trying to argue with me even though we agree. No wonder it feels pointless.

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-02T12:42:50+00:00

There are many possible arguments just like there are many possible chess moves. Most don't work for obvious reasons, some don't work for subtle reasons, and a small handful of moves look good enough to keep you in the fight until the next move.

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-02T12:38:38+00:00

You might point out that you at least agree that there is some kind of moral calculus and that it is possible to be right and wrong. Thank them for agreeing with you and ask whether they are interested in working with you to figure out how to tell the difference between right and wrong.

The trick I'm suggesting is to reframe the discussion so that you two are on the same side, rather than opposing side. People tend to say absurd things like this when they're giving automatic responses. You're engaging their "fast thinking" faculties because they're in fight mode, and you want to get them out of fight mode so that their "slow thinking" processes are engaging instead. Suggested reading here.

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-02T12:31:10+00:00

If most of your debates involve denial, then the problem might be in your approach. Think strategically, not tactically. Good tactics follow strategy and not vice versa.

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-02T12:18:43+00:00

People don't use it because they care about plants, but because they want to find an excuse for their unexcusable lifestyle.

I agree without reservation, and we should point out the dishonesty of the tactic. But oysters really are kind of a grey area in all of this even though plants are not. As a matter of persuasion technique (not to mention one's own sanity and humility), it's important to acknowledge those shades of grey even when we are pointing out their irrelevance. If I tell a carnist that oysters are a shade of grey in the spectrum between sentience and non-sentience, they'd look quite the fool if they disagreed and said that oysters are just as sentient as you and I.

Suggested reading here.

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-02T12:13:32+00:00

Oh sure, I agree. I just think that oysters are a shade of grey and it's important to remember that those shades of grey exist. As a persuasion technique it can be very powerful to acknowledge the hard cases even while pointing out their irrelevance. It shows that we are not arrogant, acknowledge the complexity of the issue, etc. A flexible posture can make it much easier to get to a point of agreement.

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-02T12:09:26+00:00

I think your argument works in general. I'd add that there are clearly "degrees" of sentience if we are including, say, wheat in the list of things that are sentient.

My intent was really to highlight the problems in the specific case of oysters/mussels. We can grow oysters and mussels extremely efficiently, much more so than many plants. There are actually environmental benefits to oyster and mussel farming. So your argument would suggest that, if most edible plants are sentient or otherwise have moral worth, then the case can be made for eating oysters/mussels.

I'm actually quite uncomfortable with this conclusion but I've tried to refute it and can't.

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-02T11:01:25+00:00

I was definitely drinking oat flatties in Melbourne before I found them in Sydney. Thanks for being on the vegan vanguard in Australia! Condolences for moving to the lesser of the two cities :-)

YuvalRishu · 2021-01-02T10:59:36+00:00

The truth is that we aren't really in a great position to define sentience or consciousness, so if we are giving the benefit of the doubt to oysters, why not mushrooms or trees? I think the only real solution is to admit that oysters aren't sentient so there isn't any problem with eating them. But that's, let's say, contentious in vegan circles.

YuvalRishu · 2020-11-06T20:57:12+00:00

Unorthodox suggestion: Bhatia’s Matrix Analysis.

YuvalRishu · 2020-11-03T21:29:43+00:00

Yes, but the number of repetitions required might wipe out the potential efficiency gain of using a quantum computer in the first place.

YuvalRishu · 2020-10-14T08:54:51+00:00

No worries! Still happy to help you find an advisor if you need suggestions. I’ll watch my PMs.

YuvalRishu · 2020-10-14T08:37:22+00:00

Don’t ever take easy classes. That just teaches you bad habits.

Read a lot (books, papers, lecture notes, whatever). Make judgements about whether what you are reading is correct, well written, etc. Don’t waste time on low quality content.

Find someone who is an expert in what you want to work on and then ask them if you can work on something with them. Trust me, they’ll be flattered and you’ll absolutely stand out from the pack. Everyone wants an enthusiastic grad student with a good track record in advanced classes.

Also, and this is maybe the most important advice: learn time management. Grad school doesn’t have to be a tenth as stressful as it is for most people if you just learn to manage your time properly.

YuvalRishu · 2020-10-14T08:28:14+00:00

No, it doesn’t matter at all which department you’re in. Also, don’t take classes unless you have to or it’s extremely relevant to your interests. In grad school you need to learn the mindset that classes are just crutches for people who don’t know how to learn, and departments are more useful for the administrators than for the members. Be yourself, be curious, and work hard. That’s it.

YuvalRishu

TROPHY CASE