Scott Alexander examines the unusual trend of Colombian Christians converting to Orthodox Judaism, exploring various sociological and cultural explanations for this phenomenon. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the phenomenon of Christians in Colombia converting to Orthodox Judaism, as reported in a Washington Post article. He notes that while the numbers are small (2500-5000 converts), it's unusual given the difficulty of converting to Orthodox Judaism. Scott examines possible explanations, including the story of a megachurch pastor's conversion, broader religious shifts in Latin America, and societal factors. He suggests that conversion might be a way for people to escape problematic aspects of their society, drawing parallels with other religious conversions in Latin America and even charter cities. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that gender imbalances in certain movements are more likely due to inherent differences in interests between men and women rather than offensive attitudes, challenging the assumption that purging perceived sexism will achieve gender parity. Longer summary

Scott Alexander challenges the assumption that gender imbalances in movements like libertarianism are primarily due to offensive attitudes. He presents examples of groups with poor gender equality reputations that still have balanced gender ratios, such as Trump voters and the Catholic Church. He then explores research on gender differences in interests, particularly the 'interest in things vs. people' dimension, which shows a large difference between men and women. Scott suggests these underlying differences in interests and approaches to morality (e.g., utilitarianism) may better explain gender imbalances in certain fields and movements. He argues that attempts to achieve gender balance by purging perceived sexism may be misguided and could lead to unnecessary conflict within these communities. The post concludes by emphasizing the need to fight harassment and build a better world, but not with the expectation that it will automatically lead to gender parity in all fields. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that polyamory's low black representation is part of a broader pattern across many subcultures, proposing general explanations and criticizing how this issue is often weaponized. Longer summary

Scott Alexander examines the claim that polyamory has a problem with underrepresentation of black people. He argues this is part of a broader pattern where many subcultures and interest groups have low black representation, listing numerous examples. He proposes several general factors that likely contribute to this pattern, such as affluence requirements, education levels, and cultural factors. Scott criticizes how underrepresentation is often used disingenuously to attack groups, and expresses frustration that polyamory is being singled out for criticism when the pattern is so widespread. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of interesting news items and links from July 2014, covering topics from philosophy and politics to science and pop culture. Longer summary

This post is a collection of interesting links and news items from July 2014. Scott covers a wide range of topics, including a plagiarism scandal involving Slavoj Zizek, a man claiming unclaimed African land for his daughter, artificial language generation, diet research, a Tumblr convention, online drug trade, religious preferences in America, and various other cultural, scientific, and political items. The post has a light, sometimes humorous tone, and often includes Scott's personal commentary on the news items. Shorter summary

This post systematically rebuts common Reactionary political beliefs on topics like societal decline, traditional governance, progress, and social issues through data analysis and historical examples. Longer summary

This post is an extensive rebuttal to common beliefs held by the Reactionary political movement. It systematically addresses and counters Reactionary claims about societal decline, traditional monarchies, the origins and nature of progress, corporate governance models, and modern views on race and gender. The author analyzes data and historical examples to argue against Reactionary positions, while acknowledging some valid critiques and interesting ideas within the movement. The post ends by listing various rebuttals and responses to the FAQ itself from Reactionary bloggers. Shorter summary