The Tim Ferriss Show #796 · February 19, 2025 · 1h 42m

L.A. Paul — On Becoming a Vampire, Whether or Not to Have Kids, Getting Incredible Mentorship for $250, Transformative Experiences, and More

L.A. Paul — Yale philosopher on transformative experiences. Her thesis: some decisions (having kids, changing careers, emigrating) transform who you are, so the person deciding can't evaluate the outcome. Rational choice theory breaks down because the future self has different values than the current self. Parenthood as becoming a vampire.

Highlights

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Transformative experiences can't be evaluated in advance

Some decisions change who you are. The 'you' deciding can't evaluate the outcome because that person doesn't exist yet.

Claude ChatGPT Gemini

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Mentorship for $250

Paul got incredible mentorship early in her career by simply paying $250 for a philosophy course with a great thinker.

Claude ChatGPT Gemini

References

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Transformative Experience — L.A. Paul (2014) — Paul's core work — the philosophy of decisions that change who you are

Misc

✧Paul is Millstone Family Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Cognitive Science at Yale

✧Leads the Self and Society Initiative for the Wu Tsai Institute

✧The vampire metaphor: becoming a parent is like becoming a vampire — you can't know what it's like until you are one