# A Suggested Reading Order for Less Wrong [2011]

Less Wrong contains over four thousand posts. This is awesome. For newcomers, however, it's quite intimidating. Rather than leave newcomers to figure out which posts are worth reading themselves, we provide some guidance, in the form of suggested reading orders. Previously, this has mainly meant the sequences, which are a list of posts that fit neatly into topics, sorted by topic. Unfortunately, reading in topic-sorted order is less than ideal, and many of Less Wrong's best posts weren't part of any sequence. Therefore, I have put together a suggested reading order: the hundred best posts on Less Wrong, in my purely subjective and unofficial judgment, arranged in a sensible order. Thanks to Student_UK for [pointing out](/r/discussion/lw/66u/rewriting_the_sequences/) the need to reconsider how Less Wrong's archived content is presented, to XiXiDu for [creating a reading list](/r/discussion/lw/66u/rewriting_the_sequences/4cc0) and to Academian for [another reading list](http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/User:Academian); my reading list draws on (but is not a strict superset of) both these lists.

_This is only a draft_. Since the set of posts newcomers read has a significant impact on the community, I am soliciting feedback. After feedback has been collected, I will move (or clone) this list into the wiki, with feedback incorporated. Note that after my first pass, I had more than four hundred candidates for the top hundred; there were many excellent posts that I had to cut, and doubtless many more that I simply overlooked. I used karma as one consideration when deciding what to include, but this list is not karma based. Additional notes about what I did and didn't include at the bottom.

And with all that out of the way, the top five Less Wrong posts that everyone should read:

Top 5  
[What Do We Mean By "Rationality"](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/31/what_do_we_mean_by_rationality/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Scientific Self-Help: The State of Our Knowledge](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/3nn/scientific_selfhelp_the_state_of_our_knowledge/) by lukeprog  
[Cached Selves](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/4e/cached_selves/) by AnnaSalamon and Steve_Rayhawk  
[Efficient Charity: Do Unto Others...](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/3gj/efficient_charity_do_unto_others/) by Yvain[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/i3/making_beliefs_pay_rent_in_anticipated_experiences/)[](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/im/hindsight_devalues_science/)[Making Beliefs Pay Rent (in Anticipated Experiences)](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/i3/making_beliefs_pay_rent_in_anticipated_experiences/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/31/what_do_we_mean_by_rationality/)

A good pace is one or two posts per day, so that you have time to digest and internalize them. If you enjoyed the top five, take a moment to bookmark this page before continuing to the rest of the top 25. If you have questions or thoughts on a post, leave a comment; readers who follow the [recent comments](/comments) page will see it and may reply.

Top 25[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/1/about_less_wrong/)[About Less Wrong](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/1/about_less_wrong/) by lukeprog  
[Hindsight Devalues Science](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/im/hindsight_devalues_science/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Tsuyoku Naritai! (I Want To Become Stronger)](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/h8/tsuyoku_naritai_i_want_to_become_stronger/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Mysterious Answers to Mysterious Questions](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/iu/mysterious_answers_to_mysterious_questions/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Twelve Virtues of Rationality](http://yudkowsky.net/rational/virtues) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[An Intuitive Explanation of Bayes's Theorem](http://yudkowsky.net/rational/bayes) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/2as/diseased_thinking_dissolving_questions_about/)[Diseased thinking: dissolving questions about disease](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/2as/diseased_thinking_dissolving_questions_about/) by Yvain  
[Humans are not automatically strategic](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/2p5/humans_are_not_automatically_strategic/) by AnnaSalamon  
[Ugh Fields](/lw/21b/ugh_fields) by Roko  
[Probability is in the Mind](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oj/probability_is_in_the_mind/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[How An Algorithm Feels From Inside](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/no/how_an_algorithm_feels_from_inside/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Knowing About Biases Can Hurt People](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/he/knowing_about_biases_can_hurt_people/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[A Fable of Science and Politics](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/gt/a_fable_of_science_and_politics/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Taboo Your Words](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/nu/taboo_your_words/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The Fallacy of Gray](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/mm/the_fallacy_of_gray/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/on/reductionism/)[Mind Projection Fallacy](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oi/mind_projection_fallacy/%20%20%20%20) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Reductionism](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/on/reductionism/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oi/mind_projection_fallacy/%20%20%20%20)[Privileging the Hypothesis](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/19m/privileging_the_hypothesis/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Conservation of Expected Evidence](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/ii/conservation_of_expected_evidence/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The Apologist and the Revolutionary](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/20/the_apologist_and_the_revolutionary/) by Yvain

Top 50  
[Your Strength as a Rationalist](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/if/your_strength_as_a_rationalist/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/in/scientific_evidence_legal_evidence_rational/)[Practical Advice Backed By Deep Theories](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/d4/practical_advice_backed_by_deep_theories/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/in/scientific_evidence_legal_evidence_rational/)[Scientific Evidence, Legal Evidence, Rational Evidence](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/in/scientific_evidence_legal_evidence_rational/) Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Guessing the Teacher's Password](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/iq/guessing_the_teachers_password/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The Sword of Good](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/169/the_sword_of_good/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Fake Explanations](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/ip/fake_explanations/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The Proper Use of Humility](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/gq/the_proper_use_of_humility/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
["What Is Wrong With Our Thoughts"](http://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/%7Ejim/wrongthoughts.html) by David Stove, and its [Discussion on Less Wrong](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/fy/what_is_wrong_with_our_thoughts/)  
[Doing your good deed for the day](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/1d9/doing_your_good_deed_for_the_day/) by Yvain  
[Beware Trivial Inconveniences](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/f1/beware_trivial_inconveniences/) by Yvain  
[The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant](http://www.nickbostrom.com/fable/dragon.html) by Nick_Bostrom \[external\]  
[The Bias You Didn't Expect](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/58y/the_bias_you_didnt_expect/) by Psychohistorian  
[Hold Off On Proposing Solutions](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/ka/hold_off_on_proposing_solutions/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Hindsight bias](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/il/hindsight_bias/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The Trouble With "Good"](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/bk/the_trouble_with_good/) by Yvain  
[How to Not Lose an Argument](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/3k/how_to_not_lose_an_argument/) by Yvain  
[You're Entitled to Arguments, But Not (That Particular) Proof](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/1ph/youre_entitled_to_arguments_but_not_that/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[...What's a Bias, again?](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/gp/whats_a_bias_again/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Applause Lights](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/jb/applause_lights/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Explaining vs. Explaining Away](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oo/explaining_vs_explaining_away/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Talking Snakes: A Cautionary Tale](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/2d/talking_snakes_a_cautionary_tale/) by Yvain  
[Reversed Stupidity Is Not Intelligence](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/lw/reversed_stupidity_is_not_intelligence/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Cognitive Biases Potentially Affecting Judgment of Global Risks](http://intelligence.org/Biases.pdf) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Politics is the Mind-Killer](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/gw/politics_is_the_mindkiller/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Newcomb's Problem and Regret of Rationality](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/nc/newcombs_problem_and_regret_of_rationality/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky

Top 75  
[Semantic Stopsigns](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/it/semantic_stopsigns/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Dissolving the Question](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/of/dissolving_the_question/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Learned Blankness](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/5a9/learned_blankness/) by AnnaSalamon  
[Reason as memetic immune disorder](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/18b/reason_as_memetic_immune_disorder/) by PhilGoetz  
[Making your explicit reasoning trustworthy](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/2yp/making_your_explicit_reasoning_trustworthy/) by AnnaSalamon  
[Confidence levels inside and outside an argument](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/3be/confidence_levels_inside_and_outside_an_argument/) by Yvain  
[Truly Part Of You](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/la/truly_part_of_you/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The 5-Second Level](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/5kz/the_5second_level/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Ureshiku Naritai](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/20l/ureshiku_naritai/) by Alicorn  
[Guilt: Another Gift Nobody Wants](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/51f/guilt_another_gift_nobody_wants/) by Yvain  
[How to Beat Procrastination](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/) by lukeprog  
[Evaporative Cooling of Group Beliefs](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/lr/evaporative_cooling_of_group_beliefs/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Occam's Razor](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/jp/occams_razor/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Anchoring and Adjustment](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/j7/anchoring_and_adjustment/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The Least Convenient Possible World](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/2k/the_least_convenient_possible_world/) by Yvain  
[Scarcity](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oz/scarcity/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The Neglected Virtue of Scholarship](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/3m3/the_neglected_virtue_of_scholarship/) by lukeprog  
[Scholarship: How to Do It Efficiently](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/5me/scholarship_how_to_do_it_efficiently/) by lukeprog  
[Excluding the Supernatural](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/tv/excluding_the_supernatural/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Joy in the Merely Real](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/or/joy_in_the_merely_real/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Affective Death Spirals](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/lm/affective_death_spirals/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The Lens That Sees Its Flaws](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/jm/the_lens_that_sees_its_flaws/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The Virtue of Narrowness](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/ic/the_virtue_of_narrowness/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Generalizing From One Example](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/dr/generalizing_from_one_example/) by Yvain  
[Belief in Belief](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/i4/belief_in_belief/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky

Top 100  
[Beyond the Reach of God](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/uk/beyond_the_reach_of_god/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Experiential Pica](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/15w/experiential_pica/) by Alicorn  
[Money: The Unit of Caring](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/65/money_the_unit_of_caring/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The Importance of Goodhart's Law](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/1ws/the_importance_of_goodharts_law/) by blogospheroid  
[Policy Debates Should Not Appear One-Sided](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/gz/policy_debates_should_not_appear_onesided/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[The mathematical universe: the map that is the territory](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/1zt/the_mathematical_universe_the_map_that_is_the/) by ata  
[Beware of Other-Optimizing](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/9v/beware_of_otheroptimizing/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[A Much Better Life?](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/1op/a_much_better_life/) by Psychohistorian  
[Less Wrong Rationality and Mainstream Philosophy](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/4vr/less_wrong_rationality_and_mainstream_philosophy/) by lukeprog  
[Philosophy: A Diseased Discipline](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/4zs/philosophy_a_diseased_discipline/) by lukeprog  
[Eight Short Studies On Excuses](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/24o/eight_short_studies_on_excuses/) by Yvain  
[Fake Causality](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/is/fake_causality/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Chaotic Inversion](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/wb/chaotic_inversion/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Measuring aversion and habit strength](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/5wm/measuring_aversion_and_habit_strength/) by Academian[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/2pv/intellectual_hipsters_and_metacontrarianism/)[Intellectual Hipsters and Meta-Contrarianism](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/2pv/intellectual_hipsters_and_metacontrarianism/) by Yvain[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/25d/too_busy_to_think_about_life/)[Too busy to think about life](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/25d/too_busy_to_think_about_life/) by Academian  
[37 Ways That Words Can Be Wrong](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/od/37_ways_that_words_can_be_wrong/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oh/righting_a_wrong_question/)[How to Be Happy](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/4su/how_to_be_happy/) by lukeprog  
[](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oh/righting_a_wrong_question/)[Righting a Wrong Question](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oh/righting_a_wrong_question/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/2n5/selffulfilling_correlations/)[](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oh/righting_a_wrong_question/)[Self-fulfilling correlations](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/2n5/selffulfilling_correlations/) by PhilGoetz[  
](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/go/why_truth_and/)[](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oh/righting_a_wrong_question/)[Why truth? And...](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/go/why_truth_and/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[You Only Live Twice](/lw/wq/you_only_live_twice) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky (followup to [We Agree: Get Froze](http://www.overcomingbias.com/2008/12/we-agree-get-froze.html) by Robin Hanson on Overcoming Bias)  
[](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/oh/righting_a_wrong_question/)[Less Wrong NYC: Case Study of a Successful Rationalist Chapter](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/4ul/less_wrong_nyc_case_study_of_a_successful/) by Cosmos  
[Outside the Laboratory](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/gv/outside_the_laboratory/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky  
[Raising the Sanity Waterline](http://www.lesswrong.com/lw/1e/raising_the_sanity_waterline/) by Eliezer_Yudkowsky

And that's it for the top 100! If you've read up to this point, now is a good time to pause, reflect, and start incorporating the better parts into your life and your thinking.

And now, some notes about this list. I've tried to include a balanced mix of epistemic rationality, instrumental rationality, and motivations to learn about rationality, spread out through the list, except that the motivations are front-loaded. I have omitted some topics entirely; now that I'm done with the top 100, I will be starting on an "overflow list", containing all the posts that deserved to be here but which didn't fit in the top 100. This will include the Quantum Physics, Luminosity, Zombies, and Metaethics sequences, plus skipped portions of the main sequences and probably at least a hundred other miscellaneous posts.

I am looking for three types of feedback. First: point out if any posts are using concepts without sufficient introduction, so I can change the order to put the introduction in the right place. Second: if there are any posts in this list aren't pulling their weight, that might be profitably replaced with the best of the overflow list, point them out. (Note that a post can meet this criterion and still be excellent.) And third: point out any posts that should be here but aren't, especially posts that introduce concepts or jargon that occur frequently in comments.