Scott Alexander satirizes Bay Area culture through a fictional house party featuring absurd startup ideas and social trends.

A diverse collection of links and news items from July 2023, covering topics from historical curiosities to current technological and social developments.

Scott Alexander examines the evolution of online culture wars from atheism to feminism to race, analyzing the dynamics of these shifts and speculating on future trends.

Scott Alexander reviews his intellectual progress in the 2010s across various fields, crediting his blog for accelerating learning.

Scott Alexander examines the rise and fall of New Atheism, arguing it was replaced by social justice as the dominant online 'hamartiology' explaining society's problems.

Scott Alexander argues against broadening the definitions of words like 'lie' and 'abuse', as it dilutes their meaning and reduces their usefulness in identifying problematic behavior.

Scott Alexander compares the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade to traditional civic and religious celebrations, arguing that it has evolved into a form of civil religion similar to American patriotism.

Scott Alexander humorously describes his observations at the American Psychiatric Association meeting, highlighting pharmaceutical influence, social justice focus, and historical context of psychiatry.

The post criticizes the gendered framing of sexual harassment, presenting statistics on male victims and female perpetrators, and argues for a more balanced approach to the issue.

Scott Alexander examines the puzzling downfall of New Atheism, comparing it to other progressive movements and questioning why it alone faced backlash for repeating accepted ideas in liberal circles.

Scott Alexander defends true meritocracy against misguided critiques, arguing for a system based on demonstrated ability rather than educational credentials.

Scott Alexander examines his evolving view on scientific consensus, realizing it's more reliable and self-correcting than he previously thought.

Scott Alexander argues that overusing free speech to defend controversial figures may lead to a backlash against the principle itself, potentially depleting it as a societal resource.

Scott Alexander endorses Clinton (or Johnson/Stein in safe states) over Trump, citing concerns about Trump's unpredictability and potential negative impacts on conservatism and social dynamics.

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.

Scott Alexander examines the parallels between social justice and anti-social justice groups, arguing that shared experiences of perceived persecution could lead to better understanding and less conflict.

Scott examines the potential future of online content filtering technology, considering its benefits, drawbacks, and societal implications.

A collection of interesting links covering research studies, social issues, economic trends and cultural phenomena that challenged expectations.

Scott Alexander examines the trend of labeling various ideologies as 'religions', arguing that this approach is often overly broad and potentially misleading.

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

Scott Alexander argues that donating 10% of income to effective charities is a more impactful way to do good than political activism, and recommends joining Giving What We Can.

Scott Alexander critiques feminist discourse around 'nice guys', arguing it can be unfair and counterproductive, potentially driving lonely men towards anti-feminist ideologies.

Scott Alexander critiques social justice terminology, arguing that words like 'privilege' and 'racism' are used as weapons rather than tools for understanding.

Scott Alexander defends trigger warnings as tools for informed choice, not censorship, and criticizes arguments against them, especially those based on non-consensual exposure therapy.

Scott Alexander responds to an essay about trigger warnings in rationalist spaces, arguing that the community's purpose is dispassionate discussion and that everyone, not just marginalized groups, has triggers.