Scott analyzes misophonia through new research and personal experience, suggesting it might be maintained by complex emotional and social networks rather than pure sound sensitivity. Longer summary

Scott discusses misophonia, a condition where people are extremely intolerant of certain sounds, through the lens of new research suggesting it's not just about sensory sensitivity. He explores evidence showing misophonia persists in deaf people, depends heavily on context, and is often worse with close relations. Through his personal experience with the condition, he proposes that misophonia might be sustained by a complex network of anger, social context, and identity, rather than pure sensory overload. He connects this to his previous work on trapped priors, suggesting the condition persists because these networks prevent normal updating of emotional responses. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores subjective temporal granularity, its relation to meditation, and how it might allow for intervening in thought construction. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of subjective temporal granularity and its potential connection to meditation. He starts by quoting a Reddit comment that explains meditation as a method for training the mind to override automatic responses. Scott then describes his own experiments with temporal granularity, finding he can perceive events at about a quarter-second scale. He relates this to claims by experienced meditators about perceiving 'vibrations' in sensory input. Scott speculates that meditation might be a way to refine one's subjective temporal granularity, potentially allowing intervention in the thought construction process rather than just experiencing finished thoughts. Shorter summary