Scott defends liberalism against claims it has failed by explaining that happiness scales logarithmically with income, so our 225x wealth increase since medieval times correctly predicts the 3-point happiness gain we've actually seen, and recent declines are due to COVID rather than systemic failure. Longer summary

Scott responds to Cassie Pritchard's argument that liberalism has failed because people aren't happier despite massive increases in wealth. He explains that happiness scales logarithmically with income, not linearly - meaning a 225x increase in GDP since medieval times should only produce about 3 points more happiness on a 1-10 scale, which it has (from ~3/10 to 6-7/10). He shows that recent happiness declines are primarily due to COVID and its aftermath, not liberalism itself, and that while other systems might add 0.5-1 points of happiness, economic growth has delivered 3 points and will continue delivering more over centuries. The post includes analysis of happiness data, comparisons across countries and time periods, and addresses why we don't feel as happy as we should be. Shorter summary

Scott argues against the trend of 'Boomer-hating,' contending that Baby Boomers delivered peace and prosperity, passed on greater wealth to their children, and don't differ significantly from younger generations on most political issues. Longer summary

Scott Alexander pushes back against the growing anti-Boomer sentiment in contemporary discourse. He argues that despite popular narratives, Baby Boomers presided over an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity, and younger generations actually have more inflation-adjusted wealth than Boomers did at the same age. He examines claims that Boomers are politically extreme (both left and right), finding minimal generational differences on issues like climate change, nuclear power, and housing policy. Scott addresses the accusation that Boomers are plundering younger generations through Social Security, showing that benefit generosity peaked in 1972 and has since contracted. He concludes by warning that generational identity politics, like other forms of identity politics, provides a lazy way to hate everything while avoiding substantive policy discussion, and that today's young people will eventually face similar resentment from future generations. Shorter summary

Scott reviews Bryan Caplan's book arguing that modern parents can relax their intensive parenting, while wrestling with whether this advice still applies in the age of smartphones and social media. Longer summary

Scott reviews Bryan Caplan's book 'Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids', exploring its main arguments about how parents today spend much more time on childcare than previous generations despite evidence that parenting style doesn't greatly affect outcomes. The post explores historical childcare data, the cultural shift away from letting kids play unsupervised, and modern challenges like screen time. Scott, dealing with his own twins, finds the book's advice about relaxing parenting standards compelling but struggles with modern concerns about phones and technology that weren't relevant when the book was written in 2011. Shorter summary

Scott shares 55 interesting links covering topics from AI poetry to religious movements, including updates on various projects, unusual historical events, and current developments in technology, politics, and society. Longer summary

This is Scott's monthly links post for December 2024, collecting various interesting stories and developments. The links cover a wide range of topics, from Steven Seagal's bizarre life trajectory to developments in AI and technology, including updates on previous ACX topics and grants. Many links relate to ongoing discussions in the rationalist and EA communities, including debates about effective altruism and charitable giving. The post also includes various curiosities from history, culture, and current events, with Scott often providing his own analysis or perspective on the items shared. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of interesting links and news items from July, covering topics from linguistics and AI to politics and economics. Longer summary

This post is a collection of interesting links and news items from July. Topics range from linguistic analysis of Reddit insults, to COVID-19 learning loss, to AI art generation, to political and economic news. Scott also comments on recent scientific studies, technological developments, and cultural phenomena. The tone is informative and occasionally humorous, with Scott providing brief commentary or context for many of the items. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander shares 57 diverse links on topics including politics, science, technology, and culture, providing brief summaries and commentary on each. Longer summary

This post is a collection of 57 diverse links covering various topics including politics, science, technology, culture, and society. Scott Alexander briefly summarizes each link, often adding his own commentary or thoughts. The links range from scientific studies and political polls to interesting cultural phenomena and technological advancements. Some notable topics include AI development, environmental issues, mental health, and social trends. Shorter summary

The post explores a controversial theory linking saturated fats to weight control, critically examines the evidence, and discusses the paradox of historical vs. modern diets and obesity rates. Longer summary

This post discusses the history of obesity in the US and explores a controversial dietary theory that blames the switch from saturated to unsaturated fats for the obesity epidemic. The author first presents the theory, which suggests that high saturated fat diets might be beneficial for weight control. However, in the second part, the author critically examines the evidence and finds it lacking. The post concludes by discussing possible explanations for the paradox of why modern diets seem to cause obesity while historical diets did not, despite the difficulty in finding a consistently effective weight loss diet. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander presents a curated list of interesting links and news items on topics ranging from politics and science to technology and culture. Longer summary

This post is a collection of interesting links and news items curated by Scott Alexander. It covers a wide range of topics including politics, science, technology, economics, and culture. Some highlights include: a study on the effects of gender-balanced corporate boards in California, a debate about YouTube's algorithm and radicalization, updates on the coronavirus outbreak, and interesting scientific findings on topics like obesity and climate models. The post also includes humorous items and writing prompts. Shorter summary