Scott Alexander examines the rise and fall of New Atheism, arguing it was replaced by social justice as the dominant online 'hamartiology' explaining society's problems. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reflects on the rise and fall of New Atheism, a movement that dominated online discourse in the early 2000s. He traces its origins to the early days of the internet, when intellectual debates about religion were common, and its peak in the mid-2000s with the rise of prominent atheist authors. Scott argues that New Atheism declined around 2015 as it was supplanted by the social justice movement. He proposes that both movements served a similar psychological function as 'hamartiologies' - explanations for what's wrong with the world. New Atheism blamed religion for society's ills, while social justice focuses on racism and sexism. The essay suggests this transition reflects broader changes in how people engage in online discourse and form tribal identities. Shorter summary

A links post featuring various news stories, research findings, and interesting facts, from Jewish pirates to ancient Roman artifacts to the fallout of various Trump-related controversies. Longer summary

This is a links post covering diverse topics in news and research. Stories include historical facts (like Jewish pirates in the Caribbean), scientific research (BDNF and sunlight correlation, Leek & Jager's paper on scientific findings), current events (Trump's FDA pick, immigration numbers, anti-Semitic incidents), technological developments (Uber self-driving cars, electric planes), and various social and political topics. The post follows Scott's typical links format, offering brief commentary and often humorous observations on each link. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander refutes PZ Myers' race car analogy against genetic engineering for intelligence, showing that high IQ positively correlates with many beneficial traits. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques PZ Myers' argument against genetic engineering for intelligence, which uses a race car analogy to suggest optimizing for intelligence might trade off against other important traits. Scott shows that, contrary to this intuition, high IQ correlates positively with many desirable traits like longevity, height, and health. He explores possible explanations for this, including heterozygosity advantages, mutational load, and trade-offs with traits important in evolutionary history but less so now. Scott concludes that while caution is warranted, the race car argument is likely less of an impediment to genetic engineering than it might seem. Shorter summary

A collection of interesting links covering research studies, social issues, economic trends and cultural phenomena that challenged expectations. Longer summary

This is a links post compiling various interesting news and studies from different fields. It covers a range of topics from historical myths about Europe's Little Ice Age to current research on poverty, artificial sweeteners, and military suicide rates. Scott highlights several studies that challenged his expectations, including findings about soda taxes and weight loss mortality. The post also touches on social issues like accusations of sexism in libraries and reactions to businesses refusing service to gay weddings. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander refutes a blog post criticizing rationalism, arguing it misunderstands the movement and its core values of empiricism, scholarship, and humility. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques a blog post titled 'Why I Am Not A Rationalist' on Almost Diamonds, arguing that it fundamentally misunderstands both classical rationalism (Descartes) and modern rationalism (Yudkowsky). He points out that the blog post accuses rationalists of lacking empiricism, scholarship, and humility, when these are in fact core values of the rationalist movement. Scott provides numerous examples to demonstrate the rationalist community's commitment to these principles. He concludes by explaining why rationality skills are necessary in addition to empirical knowledge, especially when dealing with limited or conflicting information. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander discusses how categories are human constructs that should be flexible when it serves a useful purpose, using examples from biology, astronomy, and transgender identity. Longer summary

This post discusses the concept of categorization and how it applies to various topics, including the classification of whales as fish, the definition of planets, and transgender identity. Scott argues that categories are not inherently true or false but are tools we use to make sense of the world, and that we should be flexible in our categorizations when it serves a useful purpose. He uses examples from biology, astronomy, geography, and psychiatry to illustrate his points. The post concludes by addressing criticisms of transgender identity and arguing for compassion and practicality in how we treat people with gender dysphoria. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander delivers a wedding speech for Mike and Hannah Blume, blending personal anecdotes, humor, and reflections on the couple's potential impact on future generations. Longer summary

Scott Alexander gives a speech at the wedding of Mike Blume and Hannah 'Alicorn' Blume, recounting his history with the couple and his admiration for their relationship. He discusses how he met Hannah, his initial reluctance to attend weddings, and his growing friendship with Mike. Scott praises their relationship as a model of mutual respect and love. The speech then takes an unexpected turn to population genetics, explaining how all humans are descendants of historical figures, and concludes by highlighting the couple's potential impact on future generations. The speech balances humor, personal anecdotes, and philosophical musings about the future of humanity. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander offers a comprehensive guide for treating depression, covering professional help, lifestyle changes, and supplements, emphasizing the importance of persistence in finding effective treatments. Longer summary

Scott Alexander provides a comprehensive guide for people with depression, covering diagnosis, treatment options, and self-help strategies. He starts by explaining how to determine if one has depression and strongly recommends seeing a doctor or psychiatrist. He then outlines a step-by-step treatment algorithm for doctors to follow, including various medications and therapies. The post also covers lifestyle interventions, supplements, and other strategies for those who can't or won't see a doctor. Scott emphasizes the importance of persistence in finding effective treatments and reassures readers that depression is often treatable with sufficient effort. Shorter summary

A links roundup post from June 2014 covering various topics from e-cigarettes and gender studies to technology and healthcare, with critical analysis of recent research and developments. Longer summary

This is a links roundup post collecting various interesting articles and studies from June 2014. The links cover a wide range of topics including economics, gender studies, politics, technology, and healthcare. Some notable items include evidence about e-cigarette effectiveness for quitting smoking, new findings about gender differences in brain blood flow, discussion of hurricane naming patterns and gender bias, and developments in areas like Uber, licensing requirements, and climate change research. The post maintains Scott's characteristic style of critically analyzing studies and findings while remaining skeptical of simplistic explanations. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander discusses finding therapists, shares a helpful resource, and asks readers for therapist recommendations in specific areas. Longer summary

Scott Alexander addresses reader requests for advice on finding a therapist. He acknowledges his limited ability to help outside southern Michigan and refers readers to a series of articles by Gruntled and Hinged on the topic. Scott then opens up the question to his readers, asking for recommendations of good therapists, particularly tele-therapists or those in the Bay Area and New York City. He provides a list of recommended therapists in various locations as shared by his readers in the comments. Shorter summary

A monthly links post collecting and commenting on various interesting articles and studies from around the web, ranging from scientific research to philosophy to economics. Longer summary

This is a links post collecting various interesting articles and studies from around the web. Topics range from scientific research (like glucosamine effects on lifespan) to economics (like Amazon's employee policies) to philosophy (like debates on free will). Scott provides commentary and analysis on each link, often connecting them to previous discussions or adding his own insights. The post covers a wide variety of subjects including medicine, politics, evolution, and technology, with a mix of serious academic content and more lighthearted items. Shorter summary

Scott argues that focusing on easily debunked fringe beliefs when discussing rationality can be counterproductive, potentially hampering people's ability to doubt their own beliefs and engage in critical thinking. Longer summary

Scott Alexander criticizes the tendency to focus on easily debunked fringe beliefs like moon-hoaxing and homeopathy when discussing rationality. He argues that this approach is counterproductive, as it trains people to dismiss opposing views too quickly and lose the ability to doubt their own beliefs. The post suggests that constantly debunking obvious falsehoods can 'inoculate' people against questioning more complex issues, potentially hampering their ability to engage in genuine critical thinking and self-doubt. Scott emphasizes that true rationality involves recognizing one's own potential for error, even in strongly held beliefs. Shorter summary

Scott shares and comments on various interesting links from February 2014, covering science, medicine, education, technology, and politics. Longer summary

This is a collection of interesting links from February 2014, covering a wide range of topics. Scott starts with unusual scientific findings about sobriety and chewing, then covers social experiments in schools, tech culture in San Francisco, medical system stories both good and bad, and various scientific studies about obesity, depression, and therapy. He also discusses education policy, with particular focus on coding bootcamps and charter schools, as well as various economic and political topics. The post ends with some technological developments including Bitcoin and a project for worldwide satellite internet. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the mixed effectiveness of public awareness campaigns, presenting examples of both failures and successes, and analyzing possible explanations for their varying outcomes. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the effectiveness of public awareness campaigns, presenting examples of both failures and successes. He analyzes various theories about why some campaigns work while others don't, but ultimately concludes that it's difficult to predict the success of future campaigns. The post discusses failures like DARE, Scared Straight, and diversity training, as well as successes like anti-smoking campaigns and seatbelt promotion. Scott suggests that campaigns inflicted on captive audiences may be more likely to be counterproductive, but acknowledges that this theory doesn't fully explain all outcomes. He ends by expressing skepticism about public awareness campaigns, partly due to the implications for society if they were consistently effective. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander debunks claims of effectiveness for Vancouver's 'Don't Be That Guy' anti-rape campaign, arguing that the reported crime reduction is likely due to normal statistical fluctuations rather than the campaign's impact. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques claims that the 'Don't Be That Guy' anti-rape campaign in Vancouver reduced sexual assault rates by 10%. He argues that such small changes in crime rates are common and don't necessarily indicate causation. He examines crime statistics from Vancouver and Edmonton, where the campaign originated, showing that similar fluctuations occur in various crime categories and across different years. Scott suggests that the apparent success of the campaign may be due to selective reporting and misinterpretation of statistics. He concludes by proposing that such campaigns might be more about signaling group membership than actually reducing crime. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes the misrepresentation of the Gilbert/Frago case in media and online discourse, showing how legal complexities were oversimplified. Longer summary

Scott Alexander examines the media coverage and online reactions to the Gilbert/Frago case, where a man was acquitted of murder after shooting an escort. He points out that many articles and blog posts misrepresented the case, claiming it set a precedent for legally killing sex workers in Texas. Scott presents a more nuanced view, citing legal experts who explain that the acquittal was likely due to lack of proof of intent to kill, rather than any judgment on the value of sex workers' lives. The post highlights the complexity of the legal issues involved and how they were oversimplified in much of the coverage. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander criticizes misleading media coverage of 'The High Quality Research Act', clarifying its actual content and arguing for a more nuanced debate on NSF funding priorities. Longer summary

Scott Alexander criticizes the media coverage of a new draft bill called 'The High Quality Research Act'. He points out that many news sources have misrepresented the bill's content, falsely claiming it would ban peer review or destroy the concept of facts. Scott clarifies that the bill actually aims to change the grant funding review process and prevent duplicate funding applications. He acknowledges legitimate concerns about the bill potentially restricting funding to 'practical' research, but argues that the debate should focus on whether the current NSF grant criteria need improvement, rather than on exaggerated claims about the bill's effects. Shorter summary