How to explore Scott Alexander's work and his 1500+ blog posts? This unaffiliated fan website lets you sort and search through the whole codex. Enjoy!

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Jul 11, 2023
acx

Why Match School And Student Rank?

9 min • 1,124 words • 639 comments • 279 likes • podcast (8 min)
Scott Alexander explores various explanations for why top students attend the best colleges, including optimistic views about maximizing potential and cynical views about signaling and 'privilege laundering'. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the question of why top students are sent to the best colleges, presenting both optimistic and cynical explanations. He discusses the potential benefits of matching high-performing students with expert teachers, but also considers the signaling theory of education. The post delves into a fascinating hypothesis about elite colleges functioning as 'privilege laundering' machines, mixing meritocratic and privileged students to create a universally recognized signal of merit. Scott examines the potential advantages and drawbacks of this system, concluding that while imperfect, it may be preferable to alternatives that completely disregard merit. Shorter summary
Oct 04, 2021
acx

Highlights From The Comments On Modern Architecture

71 min • 9,901 words • 741 comments • 79 likes • podcast (76 min)
Scott Alexander discusses reader comments on why modern architecture differs from older styles, exploring economic, cultural, and artistic explanations. Longer summary
Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to comments on his previous post about modern architecture. The comments cover various theories for why modern architecture looks different from older styles, including economic factors, changes in artistic tastes, cultural shifts, and technological developments. Scott engages with these ideas, sometimes agreeing and sometimes disagreeing, while exploring the broader implications for art, culture, and society. Shorter summary
Apr 10, 2019
ssc

Pain As Active Ingredient In Dating

4 min • 511 words • 291 comments • podcast (5 min)
Scott Alexander explores why users of a simple dating site often fail to indicate interest online but agree to dates in person, suggesting that the difficulty of asking someone out serves as a valuable signal. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses the unexpected behavior of users on a dating site called Reciprocity, where people can indicate interest in their Facebook friends anonymously. He notes that many users, including himself, would agree to date someone in person but not check their name on the site. Scott theorizes that this counterintuitive behavior might be because asking someone out in person is a stronger signal of interest due to its inherent awkwardness and difficulty. He compares this to systems where bureaucracy or pain serves as an active ingredient, sending a stronger signal than a simple checkbox. The post concludes by cautioning against assuming we can easily improve complex social systems. Shorter summary
Aug 03, 2017
ssc

Why Not More Excitement About Prediction Aggregation?

7 min • 931 words • 172 comments
Scott Alexander examines the underutilization of prediction aggregation platforms like Metaculus, exploring potential reasons and expressing surprise at their lack of widespread adoption. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses the potential of prediction aggregation platforms like Metaculus, questioning why they haven't gained more traction despite their proven accuracy and utility. He explores various explanations, including government regulation, public perception, and signaling issues. The post includes insights from Prof. Aguirre of Metaculus, who highlights challenges such as limited resources and the difficulty many people have in understanding probabilistic predictions. Scott expresses surprise at the lack of wider adoption and suggests that the bottleneck in scaling these platforms seems unnecessary given the abundance of interested, capable predictors. Shorter summary
Oct 21, 2015
ssc

Contra Simler on Prestige

25 min • 3,468 words • 568 comments
Scott critiques Simler's theory of prestige, finding it insufficient for human behavior, and proposes five alternative explanations for the phenomenon. Longer summary
Scott Alexander critiques Kevin Simler's theory of prestige as presented in 'Social Status: Down The Rabbit Hole'. Simler separates status into dominance and prestige, with prestige explained through the behavior of Arabian babblers. Scott finds this explanation insufficient for human prestige, particularly for admiration of celebrities or people we don't interact with directly. He proposes five alternative explanations for prestige: group signaling, coattail riding, prestige by association, tit for tat, and virtuous cycles. Scott concludes that prestige might not be a single phenomenon and that separating dominance from prestige is a good starting point for understanding status. Shorter summary
Aug 09, 2014
ssc

Friendship Is (Still) Countersignaling

5 min • 700 words • 169 comments
Scott discusses how countersignaling in social interactions works only when one has already established social competence, using personal experiences and dating advice as examples. Longer summary
Scott reflects on his evolution in social interactions, from a terrified teenager to a confident adult who uses self-deprecating humor. He explains that this change is possible due to his improved social skills and self-confidence. Scott then relates this to the concept of countersignaling, particularly in dating advice. He argues that 'being yourself' is a form of countersignaling that works only when you've already established a certain level of social competence. The post concludes that advice appropriate for socially adept individuals might be detrimental for beginners, highlighting the complexity of social signaling. Shorter summary