Scott Alexander examines how 'fnords' and similar psychological techniques may influence political discourse and polarization through unconscious associations. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'fnords' from the book Illuminatus and how it relates to political discourse and psychological manipulation. He discusses Nydwracu's technique of stripping articles down to their emotionally-charged words, Jonathan Haidt's experiments on disgust and moral judgments, and the potential psychological mechanisms behind associating ideas with disliked figures. The post suggests that these techniques may contribute to political polarization by creating unconscious negative associations. Shorter summary