Scott Alexander critiques an NYT article on the weakness of financial incentives, arguing that they remain crucial as a counterweight to powerful social incentives. Longer summary

Scott Alexander responds to a New York Times article arguing that financial incentives are less powerful than commonly assumed. He agrees with the article's main points but offers four counterarguments: 1) Marginal cases matter more than average responses, 2) Social norms can be shaped by long-term economic incentives, 3) The principle can be applied inconsistently across political lines, and 4) Financial incentives serve as an important counterweight to social incentives. Scott emphasizes that while social incentives are indeed powerful, financial incentives play a crucial role in encouraging innovation and counterbalancing potentially stifling social pressures. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that real technological progress is driven by usefulness and profitability, not the coolness factor often seen in futuristic predictions. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques a certain strain of futurology that predicts impressive but impractical technological advancements. He argues that real technological progress is driven by usefulness and profitability, not coolness. The post begins by listing numerous technological advancements from 1969 to 2014, then transitions to discussing why certain sci-fi predictions haven't materialized. Scott explains that space colonization, undersea domes, and massive arcologies aren't practical or necessary given current circumstances. He concludes that the lack of moon missions since 1969 is due to a lack of compelling incentives, not technological stagnation. Shorter summary