This is my first post to Less Wrong. I'm not sure if the moderators will consider it appropriate or not. I share it here for feedback on my writing. Nothing in here is likely to be new to readers of this forum. It is hortative literature intended to stir you on to live a rational and ethical life. The material of the exhortation is atypical of what I have observed here, but I've only been a reader for a little while. I was reading through the Sequences when I wrote this, and feel indebted to the ideas expressed therein. Please ignore the Substack link, I'm not committed at all to writing their with consistency. It just felt a bit weird to not do a link post when this is in fact a mirror of something I wrote there. The conclusion in my judgment is a failure, but I was worried I'd never do this at all if I didn't publish it now.

When you are standing on the ground, you can’t really tell how much taller Willis Tower is than everything else in Chicago.

Walking down the street, craning your neck, gawking at the verticality of it all, you [...]

The original text contained 11 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:
May 4th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/kBKrMSSZLEE5RWnur/are-you-looking-up

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

Urban street view with tall buildings and articulated bus.

Chicago skyline with tall skyscrapers, trees, and street below.

Aerial view of Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan shoreline.

Person standing on glass floor overlooking city streets far below.

Seven framed ancient Roman mosaics displayed on gray museum wall.

Ancient Greek kylix with orange-figure decoration depicting reclining figure.

Ancient Greek vase with red-figure decoration and ornate handles displayed in museum.

Ornate marble sarcophagus with carved cherubs and classical relief panels.

Framed painting of four Native American figures in traditional dress with mountain landscape.

Oil painting of bearded man gesturing and younger figure behind him.

Tall carved wooden totem poles displayed in museum case.

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“Are you looking up?” by Craig Green