Scott Alexander argues for generally believing reports of unusual mental experiences, countering skepticism about unfalsifiable internal states. Longer summary

Scott Alexander responds to Resident Contrarian's skepticism about unfalsifiable internal states like jhana meditation experiences. He argues that we should generally believe people's reports of unusual mental experiences, based on examples like visual imagination, synaesthesia, and phantom limb pain. Scott critiques RC's arguments about 'spoonies' and dissociative identity disorder, providing a more nuanced view of these conditions. He emphasizes the importance of considering evidence and priors rather than relying solely on intuition about whether people are lying. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews popular Substack blogs from various categories, offering humorous commentary and insights on each. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores various Substack blogs across different categories, offering humorous commentary and insights on each. He starts with a popular culture blog about celebrity gossip, moves on to a top political newsletter, then examines blogs on faith and spirituality, business, food and drink, music, international affairs, and sports. Throughout, Scott mixes analysis of the content with witty observations about the nature of blogging and the diverse 'universes' represented by different Substack niches. Shorter summary