Asterisk Mag 09: Weird

By Clara Collier @ 2025-04-04T20:25 (+17)

Note: This post was link-posted from the Asterisk by the Forum team, with the author's permission. The author may not see or respond to comments on this post. Summaries were auto-generated using GPT-4o, and any mistakes are our own.

Children’s literature. Chewing sounds. Habitable bubbles on potato-shaped asteroids. Are you a noncongenerist? Nirodha samapatti. Shrimp. Do fruit flies feel? Enough energy to power a large American city. Malevolent Atlantean dwarves. Math homework. What Is It Like to Be a Bot? The future of humanity rests on microscopic worm brains.

Asterisk is a quarterly journal of clear writing and clear thinking about things that matter (and, occasionally, things we just think are interesting). In this issue:

• Scott Alexander explores how recurring myths of underground abductions—from ancient fairies to modern conspiracies—arise from psychological experiences, cultural transmission, and humanity’s tendency to find meaning in mythic patterns, despite lacking empirical evidence.
• Edwin Kite and Robin Wordsworth assess the scientific and ethical feasibility of spreading life beyond Earth, arguing that with advancing technology and careful stewardship, greening parts of the solar system—starting with Mars—could soon shift from science fiction to sustainable reality.
• The Editors argue that taking unconventional or “weird” ideas seriously—like AI consciousness, shrimp welfare, and brain simulation—can lead to ethically significant insights often overlooked by mainstream discourse.
• Kati Devaney explores how cutting-edge neuroscience is beginning to validate and investigate advanced meditative states, suggesting that rigorous science and contemplative practice can jointly illuminate the mechanisms behind consciousness and well-being.
• Rob Long and Kathleen Finlinson explore in interview how emerging AI systems might warrant moral consideration, arguing for cautious, theory-informed approaches to assessing AI consciousness and agency — and advocating for scalable, compassionate responses under deep ethical uncertainty.
• Bob Fischer argues that growing scientific and philosophical evidence supports the possibility of insect sentience, urging the EA community to extend moral consideration and research attention to these often-overlooked beings.
• Adam Marblestone outlines how AI-powered theorem provers are advancing from verifying math to potentially generating new proofs and insights, offering a promising testbed for scalable, reliable reasoning with implications for both mathematics and AI safety.
• Lynette Bye examines the formidable technical, financial, and regulatory challenges of building next-generation AI data centers, arguing that without major permitting reform and energy investment, scaling to 5-GW facilities by 2030 remains unlikely despite growing demand.
• Deena Mousa and Lauren Gilbert argue that government funding of seemingly obscure or “weird” basic research consistently delivers outsized societal returns, making it a vital and irreplaceable investment despite political pressure for short-term efficiency.
• Jake Eaton explores misophonia as a still-misunderstood sound sensitivity disorder, tracing its scientific, clinical, and personal history while highlighting the urgent need for rigorous research, thoughtful diagnosis, and compassionate treatment for those affected.
• Agnes Callard argues that while children’s stories now celebrate weirdness as a form of individuality, they also subtly enforce conformity by requiring that even misfits become legible and relatable—revealing how social categories both empower and constrain identity formation over time.
• Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla makes the case that shrimp, despite their small size and overlooked status, likely experience significant suffering in massive numbers—and that improving their welfare offers one of the highest-impact, underexplored opportunities for effective altruists to reduce animal suffering at scale.

Coming soon

• We Can, Must, and Will Simulate Nematode Brains — Michael Skuhersky
• Where Babies Come From — Sam Kriss

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Huge thanks to everyone who helped bring Asterisk to life — we hope reading it brings you as much joy as making it did.