Andrew Dornon

andrewdornon.com · American English

A Public Education in What Matters

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Last post: Mar 21, 2026
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My neighbor John
Mar 21, 2026 · original
At the corner of Congress Ave and 7th (one block from my house), I saw homeless guy cheerfully reading a book laying down on a bench, so stopped and introduced myself, said I lived around here and asked his name. I reached out to shake his hand, which he did hesitating a little and then gave me a strong one. I asked “what’s your story?”. He said “sit down, it’s a pretty long one.” His name is John. He grew up an Air Force brat and was always headstrong. Worked from age nine. Never finished school, didn’t see the point. Left home at age 18 and hopped a freight train for Los Angeles. When he got there, he didn’t know anything about anything. Knew nothing about the world that he didn’t get from living at his parents’ house. Some old hobos (his words) set him straight for a few weeks. Eventually they said they were headed to Florida, so he hopped a freight train with them. And stayed riding
Tops of 2025
Dec 30, 2025 · original
Every year in the slow week between the holidays, a group of old friends get together and do “Postmas,” where we share our “Tops” of the year. Top songs, movies, etc. and spend time together. Here were my favorite things of 2025. Top Books (not all written in 2025) Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen is astonishing reporting built from declassified sources, genuinely terrifying in how plausible it is, and somehow still a page-turner. The Iliad by Homer remains unmatched as a look at how the ancient world conceived of itself. I missed so much of what was going on around me in the first half of my life, not having read it until now. Beloved by Toni Morrison. There’s little left to say about this book, other than you will think about it daily. The Histories by Herodotus made me constantly wonder how one person, thousands of years ago, figured out not just how to travel that widely but
The Quit Smoking Bet
Sep 7, 2022 · original
As a former smoker (I quit 7 years, 10 months and 13 days ago, but who’s counting), I know how hard nicotine is to quit and over the years have encouraged my friends to quit–with absolutely no success. Until now. I recently completed a bet designed to get a friend to quit smoking and at the 30 day mark, he remained abstinent. Given that quitting smoking for meaningful periods of time is extremely rare (per quit attempt), I wanted to share so others could initiate similar efforts and improve upon the method. Structure of the bet The bet is designed to provide big upside and meaningful downside for the first 30 days and then ongoing but declining risk of forfeiting the initial winnings. In this instance, we bet $500 at 3:1 odds in which the smoker stood to win $1,500 if he quit smoking for 30 days. The amount should vary based on the individuals income such that winning will provide a big
Against AI: The Case for Regulating AI like Nuclear Technology
Sep 3, 2022 · original
Note: I’m not writing in reference to any specific fire alarm event, nor am I in a position to assert what the AGI timeline is. My aim is to convey the disconnect between what a lot of folks are saying (AGI is an imminent threat) and what they are doing (speeding it up or writing theory that isn’t being implemented). A dramatically different AI safety approach is needed If you truly believe that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) poses an existential threat to humanity ( good primer on this here ) and that AGI timelines are short, then a new strategy is needed for AI safety. The focus must shift from the type of alignment work done at MIRI and elsewhere to regulation and prohibition to prevent the creation of AGI or at least extend the timeline. This essay will explore a regulatory framework similar to how we regulate nuclear technology. How to get this framework implemented will be e
Giving Thanks in 2020
Nov 26, 2020 · original
Despite it being a terrible year by any standard, I was incredibly fortunate this year. Here is an abridged list of the things I’m grateful for: I am grateful for already being in the habit of regularly talking on the phone for hours on end with my Mom and brothers, Garrett and Austin. In this regard, we were ready for 2020. Us pre-pandemic and not on the phone " data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/www.andrewdornon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screen-Shot-2021-05-20-at-9.45.39-AM.png?fit=840%2C903&ssl=1" class=" wp-image-624" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.andrewdornon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screen-Shot-2021-05-20-at-9.45.39-AM.png?resize=437%2C470&ssl=1" alt="" width="437" height="470" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.andrewdornon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Screen-Shot-2021-05-20-at-9.45.39-AM.png?w=932&ssl=1 932w, https://i0.wp.com/www.andrewdornon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/
An Evidence-based (Non-hygiene Theater) Return to Work Plan
Sep 23, 2020 · original
This Return to Work (RTW) plan assumes that COVID-19 risk can be managed given certain parameters, that many core operations benefit from in-person working, and that some activities and individuals benefit more than others from being in an office. The goal of this plan to reduce COVID-19 risk as much as is feasible, and then prioritize business operations where the benefits of in-person working outweigh the COVID-19 risk. Firms can gain competitive advantage by returning to work safely and effectively, while other organizations operate sub-optimally either in the office or entirely at home. I’m sharing this plan not because I necessarily think firms ought to return to work, but rather because I’ve seen many firms’ RTW plans focus on hygiene theater (constant surface cleaning and hand sanitizing) that will certainly fail. This plan assumes that masks, distancing, and hand washing will all
Habits, Biotech and the Caribbean: Things I Learned Week of Aug 24th
Aug 28, 2020 · original
I’m going to begin a weekly “things I’ve learned” round up that I’ll publish on Fridays. The topics will span independent research topics, biotech, consulting and internet miscellanea. For the time being, these will mostly be interesting facts and links with and without commentary. They will likely create research projects that spin off into 2,000+ words posts that are customary of my site. This post is much longer than I foresee future weekly round ups because of the explanation. Why? My mentor, former med device CEO, ex-Accenture Strategy partner, and current badass, upon seeing my 2020 and 2020+ goals said that “average performers and wild successes have the same goals, but great people have systems and habits that get them to their goals” and recommended I read a summary of James Clear’s “ Atomic Habits “. James has built an entire online business around sharing his ideas, so if you’
A Step by Step Guide to Moving to Barbados
Aug 10, 2020 · original
UPDATE: See current travel protocols here as they change every 2 weeks or so. DO NOT use at home tests as recommended below. The Barbados government has clarified that these do not count and have partnered with this lab company for testing . Use that. Anecdotally, 50% of my group got through using at home tests. I was in the 50% that got to wait at the airport until 3am. Everything You Need to Plan and Book Your Trip in Three Hours or Less In early July, the Barbadian government announced the creation of a 1 year (renewable) remote work visa and set off a rush of interest in moving to the most stable and wealthy island in the Caribbean. A small group of colleagues, friends, and I decided to make the move, so I put together the step by step guide to help others avoid the pitfalls we experienced (like having to rebook our flights three times). I’ll address why we’re doing this in a separat
Want to know how we’re doing on the Covid-19 vaccine front, but haven’t seen an easy to read chart? The first 3 Covid-19 vaccines compared
Jul 22, 2020 · original
The development and distribution of a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine is the most important human endeavor of our current moment. How are we doing? What does the early data say? When will doses be available and to whom? We have 3 main contenders that have released Phase 1 data: Moderna , Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca . I excluded CanSino because of disappointing early results.These will likely be the first vaccines to market, so I compared their current safety, efficacy and supply profiles. An important note: Due to a lack of global coordination on trial design and endpoint selection, these vaccines are being tested in different ways. It is irresponsible to compare studies like I’ve done below for a lot of reasons. However, we don’t really have another choice. Notes on T cells (they’re crazy complicated): CD4+ Th1 : create inflammatory response against virus (cytokines) CD4+
We need Human Challenge Trials. Here’s a letter to send to your elected officials.
May 1, 2020 · original
Update: The WHO has conditionally backed human challenge trials (the conditions are that they not be the mad science of everyone’s worst nightmares). This is great and it lays out a framework for the trial design. BUT we still need FDA to either adopt these standards or issue their own in order to give vaccine manufacturers confidence to start recruiting when possible. I’ve revised my original letter to reflect this and added another version for sending as a second round. The only way FDA will ever pre-commit to allowing human challenge trials for Covid-19 vaccines as acceptable Phase 3 trials is if there is immense public and political support. Given the nuance of this topic, politicians will have to raise the idea in public in order to shape broader public opinion. I submit to you the letter for your use that I sent to my state and federal elected officials to start to raise public sup

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