Scott Alexander recounts his experience with Substack's advance payment offer, demonstrating that the company's strategy was likely motivated by genuine revenue predictions rather than sinister intentions. Longer summary

Scott Alexander shares his personal experience with Substack's advance payment offer, countering claims that Substack's strategy is sinister. He describes how Substack convinced him to join by offering a large advance based on their revenue predictions. Scott reveals that his actual subscriber-generated revenue slightly exceeded Substack's prediction, suggesting that Substack's offer was genuine and not manipulative. He also mentions Matt Yglesias's similar experience, indicating that their cases might be typical of Substack's approach. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews Trump's 'The Art of the Deal', finding it mostly autobiographical with little useful business advice, and revealing Trump's deal-focused worldview. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Donald Trump's 1988 book 'The Art of the Deal'. The review notes that while the book promises business advice, only a small portion actually contains such advice, which is vague and not particularly useful. The bulk of the book is an autobiography focused on Trump's real estate deals. Alexander observes that Trump's approach to business is less about changing systems and more about gaming existing ones through coordination, often involving strategic deception. The review highlights Trump's focus on hiring the best people and knowing the right connections, which Alexander sees as potentially explaining Trump's approach to politics. Overall, Alexander portrays Trump as having a narrow, deal-focused worldview that, while alien to the reviewer, has proven successful. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the hot dog and bun quantity mismatch as evidence that markets may not always efficiently respond to consumer preferences. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the economic puzzle of why hot dogs are sold in packs of ten while buns are sold in packs of eight. He argues that this inefficient mismatch shouldn't persist in a free market, as companies should quickly capitalize on consumer demand for matching quantities. The post uses this seemingly trivial example to question broader economic theories about market efficiency and company responsiveness to consumer preferences, suggesting that industries might fail to respond to incentives for extended periods due to factors like tradition. Shorter summary