Scott Alexander writes a satirical account of a Bay Area house party, mocking various tech and social trends in a Chaucer-inspired style. Longer summary

Scott Alexander presents another satirical Bay Area house party scenario, this time written in a Chaucer-inspired style. The narrator encounters various eccentric characters, each representing absurd or exaggerated tech and social trends. The post humorously critiques concepts like land acknowledgments, tunnel-digging ventures, anti-celebrity magazines, QR code browsers, and overzealous environmental protection. It also pokes fun at tech optimism, social awkwardness, and the Bay Area startup culture. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander presents a visual tour of the Bay Area's eccentricities through a series of photos with humorous commentary. Longer summary

Scott Alexander shares a collection of quirky, unusual, and often humorous photos taken around the San Francisco Bay Area, showcasing the region's unique culture, politics, and characters. The post features images of eccentric signs, posters, advertisements, and street art that reflect the area's diverse ideologies, from radical leftist propaganda to cryptocurrency promotions. Scott provides witty commentary on each image, highlighting the peculiarities of Bay Area life and its residents. Shorter summary

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

Scott Alexander describes a satirical Bay Area house party, featuring various absurd startup ideas and social trends. The narrative follows the protagonist encountering different characters, each presenting a ridiculous concept or social commentary. These include an automated land acknowledger, a restaurant based on historical food descriptions, a reality TV dating show as a dating strategy, the reveal of 'Max Roser' as a title, and an urbanist's attempt to solve housing issues with intentionally ugly architecture. The story humorously critiques various aspects of Bay Area culture, tech startups, and social justice initiatives. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander satirizes Bay Area culture through a fictional house party filled with eccentric characters and outlandish startup ideas. Longer summary

Scott Alexander writes a satirical piece about a stereotypical Bay Area house party, filled with eccentric characters discussing outlandish startup ideas, unconventional philosophies, and bizarre research projects. The narrator moves through the party, encountering various guests including a war insurance startup founder, a cryptocurrency promoter, a secular Buddhist philosopher, an artist lying on beaches, alternative history restaurateurs, and a researcher studying steppe nomad risks. The story pokes fun at Silicon Valley culture, startup culture, and the tendency for seemingly absurd ideas to receive funding, often from Peter Thiel. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews plant-based meat dishes from eight Bay Area restaurants, evaluating how well they mimic animal products in taste and texture. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews eight Bay Area restaurants offering plant-based meat dishes. He evaluates each establishment based on how well their vegetarian options resemble animal products, focusing on taste and texture rather than subtle flavors. The review covers a range of cuisines including American, Chinese, barbecue, and Thai, highlighting standout dishes and disappointing experiences. Scott concludes with recommendations for those new to plant-based meat options. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander provides updates and speculations on various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including case estimates, strategies, medical issues, and societal responses. Longer summary

This blog post provides updates and speculations on various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers topics such as estimating the true number of cases, the lack of a clear endgame strategy, the effectiveness of 'flattening the curve', differentiating COVID-19 from flu symptoms, the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, ventilator shortages, disease seasonality, the need for better data, and the Bay Area's response to the crisis. The post also includes short links to other coronavirus-related news and observations. Shorter summary

Less Wrong is hosting a party in Berkeley for Bay Area SSC readers, with Scott Alexander and the Less Wrong team attending. Longer summary

Less Wrong is hosting a party in Berkeley this Saturday and is inviting Bay Area SSC readers as an experiment to see if inviting people to parties via blog is effective. The party will be held at a private house at 2412 MLK Jr Way, starting at 7 PM. Scott Alexander will be attending, along with the Less Wrong website team and other interesting people. A Facebook event page is provided for more details. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander introduces the 'Psychiat-List', a crowd-sourced list of recommended mental health professionals for the rationalist community. Longer summary

Scott Alexander has created a list of mental health professionals recommended by members of the rationalist community, called the 'Psychiat-List'. The list is currently short and mostly focused on the Bay Area, but Scott is seeking crowd-sourced recommendations to expand it to more providers and cities. He encourages readers to provide additional recommendations, especially for cities likely to have many SSC readers, and to share experiences with professionals already on the list. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander introduces an 'Anxiety Sampler Kit' for testing various anxiety supplements, aiming to personalize treatment and gather data through self-experimentation. Longer summary

Scott Alexander introduces an experimental 'Anxiety Sampler Kit' designed to test the effectiveness of various supplements for treating anxiety. The kit contains 21 boxes with six different supplements and placebos, arranged randomly. Users try a box when feeling anxious, rate their response, and after completing all boxes, determine which supplement worked best for them. This approach aims to personalize treatment and gather data for a small placebo-controlled trial. Scott discusses the rationale behind personalized medicine and the challenges in predicting individual treatment responses. He invites Bay Area residents to participate in this self-experimentation project, with the condition that they share their results. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander posts a classified thread and advertises rationalist community housing in Berkeley, describing four available houses and inviting applications. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces another classified thread for ads, personals, and success stories. He then provides a detailed advertisement for rationalist community housing in Berkeley. The post describes four available houses near an existing cluster of rationalist group homes on Ward Street. Scott explains the community's desire to create a center for their movement in this area. He invites interested parties, both existing community members and newcomers, to apply for entire houses or single rooms. The post concludes with a disclaimer about the Bay Area's high costs, politics, and mixed experiences within the rationalist community. Shorter summary

Scott examines the benefits of cuddle culture, particularly for asexual people in polyamorous relationships, and speculates on the factors that allow such a culture to thrive in certain communities. Longer summary

Scott explores the intersection of polyamory, asexuality, and cuddle culture. He begins by discussing Heartiste's criticism of polyamory, agreeing that it can work well for asexual people. He then examines the Cuddlr app, arguing that cuddling is the opposite of objectifying and can foster a sense of universal love. Finally, he reflects on the prevalence of cuddle culture in nerdy, polyamorous communities, speculating on the factors that allow such a culture to thrive. Throughout, Scott emphasizes the personal and social benefits of cuddling, particularly for asexual individuals in polyamorous relationships. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander discusses finding therapists, shares a helpful resource, and asks readers for therapist recommendations in specific areas. Longer summary

Scott Alexander addresses reader requests for advice on finding a therapist. He acknowledges his limited ability to help outside southern Michigan and refers readers to a series of articles by Gruntled and Hinged on the topic. Scott then opens up the question to his readers, asking for recommendations of good therapists, particularly tele-therapists or those in the Bay Area and New York City. He provides a list of recommended therapists in various locations as shared by his readers in the comments. Shorter summary

Scott celebrates the blog's first birthday, announces travel plans, and makes various requests and announcements related to the blog and community. Longer summary

This is a housekeeping post marking the blog's first anniversary. Scott announces his upcoming visit to the Bay Area, seeking information about rationalist community events during his stay. He thanks volunteers for helping with Ozy's thesis on romance novels. Scott also requests access to journal articles and announces the completion of the Less Wrong Survey, inviting readers to participate in a new survey about nootropics. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander bids farewell to California's Bay Area, praising its culture and the rationalist community while offering heartfelt tributes to friends who influenced him. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reflects on his time in California's Bay Area as he prepares to leave for a four-year residency in the Midwest. He expresses deep appreciation for the Bay Area's unique culture, particularly the rationalist community he was part of. Scott describes the community's ability to discuss complex topics openly, their approach to happiness and virtue, and their unique social dynamics. He then offers personal tributes to numerous friends and acquaintances who have impacted him, highlighting their individual qualities and contributions to his life and the community. Shorter summary