A review of 'Nine Lives', a memoir by ex-jihadist turned spy Aimen Dean, offering insights into al-Qaeda's operations and the challenges of counterterrorism. Longer summary

This review discusses Aimen Dean's memoir 'Nine Lives', which details his experiences as a jihadist turned British spy infiltrating al-Qaeda. The review highlights key insights from the book, including the motivations behind jihadism, the role of religious prophecies in terrorist strategies, the challenges of intelligence work, and Dean's perspective on countering radicalization. It also touches on the book's implications for understanding terrorist organizations, their tactics, and the complexities of counterterrorism efforts. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that public outrage over specific misdeeds is not arbitrary, but a strategic way to enforce important social norms with limited resources. Longer summary

Scott Alexander responds to Bryan Caplan's article about the arbitrariness of public outrage, proposing a different theory. He argues that people get upset over violations of established norms because it's an efficient way to use limited enforcement resources. Scott uses examples of police prioritizing certain crimes and the international response to chemical weapons to illustrate his point. He extends this reasoning to explain public outrage over sexual harassment and suggests that enforcing taboos against clearly defined bad behaviors can be more effective than trying to prevent all forms of misconduct. The post concludes by applying this logic to the case of China's treatment of Uighurs, arguing that strongly enforcing the norm against putting minorities in concentration camps can have broader preventative effects. Shorter summary