Scott argues against the concept of "telescopic altruism" - the claim that liberals care more about distant strangers than nearby people - showing that people who care about faraway causes also care about nearby ones, and that compassion is generally correlated across all distances rather than inversely related. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques the concept of "telescopic altruism," which claims that some people (usually liberals) ignore those close to them to care about distant strangers. He argues this accusation collapses under scrutiny: people who care about 50,000 deaths in Gaza would also care about 50,000 deaths among their neighbors. He debunks a commonly cited study whose heatmap visualization is misinterpreted to suggest liberals care more about rocks than family, when it actually just shows the outer limit of their moral concern. Scott proposes instead a "correlated altruism" hypothesis, citing Dave Barry's principle that someone nice to waiters is genuinely nice. He provides evidence that liberals who support foreign aid also support domestic programs like school lunches and COVID measures, and shows statistics suggesting liberals aren't worse at maintaining family relationships. The post concludes by acknowledging that some people do neglect their communities, but argues this happens because they care too much and are incompetent, not because they don't care at all. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander proposes that political hyperpartisanship might be a form of trauma, comparing PTSD symptoms to behaviors observed in political extremists. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the idea that political extremism might be a form of trauma. He compares symptoms of PTSD to behaviors observed in politically hyperpartisan individuals, such as triggers, distorted cognitions, and hypervigilance. The post discusses how trapped priors in the brain might explain both cognitive and emotional aspects of political extremism. Scott also considers the implications of framing political partisanship as trauma, including potential risks of expanding the concept of trauma. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that media rarely lies outright but often misleads through lack of context, making censorship of 'misinformation' problematic. Longer summary

Scott Alexander argues that media rarely lies explicitly, but instead misinforms through misinterpretation, lack of context, or selective reporting. He provides examples from both alternative (Infowars) and mainstream (New York Times) media to illustrate how technically true information can be presented in misleading ways. The post critiques the idea that censorship can easily distinguish between 'misinformation' and 'good information', arguing that determining necessary context is subjective and value-laden. Scott concludes that there isn't a clear line between misinformation and proper contextualization, making censorship inherently biased. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines Próspera, a new charter city project in Honduras, detailing its plans, governance, and potential impact while addressing criticisms and limitations. Longer summary

Scott Alexander provides a comprehensive overview of Próspera, a new charter city project in Honduras. He explains its origins, current status, ambitious plans, governance structure, and potential impact. The post also addresses criticisms and concerns about the project, while acknowledging its limitations and potential benefits. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'trapped priors' as a fundamental problem in rationality, explaining how it leads to persistent biases and suggesting potential solutions. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'trapped priors' as a fundamental problem in rationality. He explains how the brain combines raw experience with context to produce perceptions, and how this process can lead to cognitive biases and phobias. The article discusses how trapped priors can make it difficult for people to update their beliefs, even in the face of contradictory evidence. Scott also examines how this concept applies to political biases and suggests potential ways to overcome trapped priors. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explains postmodernism to rationalists, using the Dark Age debate as an example, and discusses its applications, risks, and critiques. Longer summary

Scott Alexander attempts to explain postmodernism to rationalists, using the debate about the existence of a European Dark Age as an example. He describes postmodernism as focusing on how politically-motivated people weave facts to tell specific stories, rather than on the facts themselves. The post discusses how this applies to various fields and how everyone uses postmodernist thinking sometimes. Scott also explores the potential risks of postmodernism collapsing into ignoring disagreeable facts and addresses critiques of the philosophy. He concludes by comparing rationalist and postmodernist approaches to dealing with subjectivity and bias. Shorter summary

A collection of interesting links spanning architecture, science, politics and economics, with commentary on studies about lithium, lead exposure, minimum wage, and free speech. Longer summary

This is a links post where Scott Alexander shares various interesting articles and studies from around the internet. It covers a wide range of topics including architecture, science, politics, economics, and social issues. Notable items include a study showing lithium in drinking water may not have significant effects, research about the lead-crime hypothesis, discussions about minimum wage studies in Seattle, and various pieces about free speech and campus politics. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander criticizes media tendencies to label politicians as racist or sexist based on ambiguous statements, arguing we should focus more on their stated positions and actions. Longer summary

Scott Alexander criticizes the media's tendency to label politicians as racist or sexist based on ambiguous statements or 'dog whistles'. He argues this often ignores the politicians' actual stated beliefs and policies in favor of overanalyzing gaffes or interpreting statements as secret codes. The post examines three cases: Ted Cruz being called anti-Semitic for saying 'New York values', Ken Livingstone being labeled anti-Semitic for comments about Hitler and Zionism, and Donald Trump being called openly sexist despite his pro-women hiring record. Scott suggests we should be more skeptical of media claims to have special insight into politicians' true beliefs and instead focus on their stated positions and past actions. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander presents satirical, absurdist 'hardball' questions for presidential candidates, blending their backgrounds with outlandish scenarios and philosophical puzzles. Longer summary

Scott Alexander proposes a series of humorous and satirical 'hardball' questions for presidential candidates in a debate format. He crafts elaborate, absurd scenarios for each candidate based on their background or public statements. For Dr. Carson, he questions the ethics of functional hemispherectomy. For Fiorina, he critiques her praise of the Ottoman Empire. For Bush, he uses statistics to question political dynasties. For Cruz, he explores the paradox of trusting a skilled debater. For Rubio, he spins a conspiracy theory about a magical sword. For Trump, he pokes fun at his branding habits. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander criticizes mainstream media's recent focus on 'coddled' college students in social justice debates, arguing it overlooks more serious issues and reflects a bias towards elite academic perspectives. Longer summary

Scott Alexander expresses concern about the recent mainstream media criticism of social justice movements. He contrasts the issues raised by small bloggers, which focus on bullying and ideological rigidity, with those raised by major media outlets, which tend to focus on college students being 'coddled'. Alexander argues that this media focus is misplaced, overlooking more serious issues while amplifying relatively minor campus disputes. He suggests this bias stems from the media's overrepresentation of elite academic perspectives. Alexander fears that allowing this narrative to dominate could derail more substantive criticism of social justice movements, and sees it as indicative of a broader problem of academia's outsized influence on media and politics. Shorter summary

A collection of interesting links covering topics from science and politics to economics and culture, with commentary on each item. Longer summary

This is a links post collecting various interesting articles and news items. Topics range from online dating filters and education to scientific studies about anorexia and myopia. The post includes items about political news, economic research findings, and quirky historical facts. It maintains a light tone while covering both serious topics like the Ferguson case and humorous ones like Ireland accidentally legalizing drugs for 24 hours. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander criticizes misleading media reports on drug testing welfare recipients, showing how flawed methods and misrepresented data led to false conclusions about drug use rates. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques media coverage of drug testing programs for welfare recipients in Tennessee and Florida. He points out that the widely reported extremely low drug use rates (0.12% in Tennessee) are due to flawed testing methods, not actual low drug use. The Tennessee program only used a written questionnaire, while Florida's program, which used urine tests, was misrepresented by not accounting for those who refused testing. Alexander argues that these misleading reports are worse than Brian Williams' helicopter story embellishment because they misinform on important policy issues and display arrogance in criticizing those who believe welfare recipients use drugs at higher rates. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander critiques feminist stereotyping of nerds, arguing that nerds' social struggles are real and not simply male entitlement. Longer summary

Scott Alexander responds to Laurie Penny's article about 'nerd entitlement,' arguing that feminists often unfairly stereotype and shame nerdy men. He contends that nerds' social difficulties and pain are real, and not simply a result of male entitlement or privilege. Alexander criticizes the tendency to dismiss nerds' struggles and accuse them of misogyny, arguing this perpetuates harmful stereotypes. He calls for more understanding and nuance in discussions of gender, privilege, and social dynamics in nerd culture. Shorter summary

A collection of interesting links from September 2014 covering scientific research, social issues, and curiosities, with commentary from Scott Alexander. Longer summary

This is a links post collecting various interesting articles and news from September 2014. It covers a wide range of topics including academic research, social issues, scientific discoveries, and current events. Notable items include a study about feminist activists and digit ratios, progress on male contraception (Vasalgel), Steven Pinker's critique of Ivy League admissions, research on gut flora and antibiotics, and various interesting historical and scientific curiosities. The post maintains a light tone while discussing both serious topics and amusing finds. 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