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 shares and comments on passages from Peter Turchin's 'Ages of Discord', exploring historical cycles of unity and polarization in American society. Longer summary

This post is a collection of highlighted passages from Peter Turchin's book 'Ages of Discord'. Scott Alexander discusses various historical examples of unity and polarization in American society, including demands for more partisanship in the 1940s, intense violence in Congress during the Civil War era, and the role of conflict with Native Americans in forging a common 'white' identity. The post also touches on the concept of 'elite overproduction' and its impact on political stability, and examines Turchin's use of word frequency analysis to track societal cooperation over time. Scott concludes by noting parallels between economic crises and shifts in prevailing economic doctrines. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander clarifies that his blog Slate Star Codex is not strictly representative of the rationalist community, and addresses common misconceptions about the blog's relationship to rationalism and effective altruism. Longer summary

Scott Alexander clarifies several points about his blog Slate Star Codex (SSC) and its relationship to the rationalist community. He emphasizes that SSC is not strictly a 'rationalist blog', comparing it to a 'rationalist picnic' rather than a 'rationalist monastery'. Scott expresses skepticism about claims of rationality's practical utility in everyday life, and points readers to other resources for more intensive rationalist and effective altruist content. He stresses that while he's not distancing himself from the rationalist community, SSC should not be seen as representative of or equivalent to the broader rationalist movement. The post aims to address common misconceptions and set appropriate expectations for readers. Shorter summary

The post explores how correlated variables can diverge at extreme values, applying this concept to happiness measures and moral systems. Longer summary

This post explores the concept of 'tails coming apart' and its application to various domains, particularly morality. The author begins by discussing how strongly correlated variables can diverge at extreme values, using examples like grip strength vs. arm strength. He then applies this concept to happiness, showing how different measures of happiness (e.g., life satisfaction, positive emotions) can lead to different countries being ranked as 'happiest'. The post extends this idea to morality, arguing that while different moral systems may agree in everyday situations, they diverge dramatically when taken to extremes. The author suggests that this divergence poses challenges for developing moral systems that can handle transhuman scenarios. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander defends Less Wrong and Eliezer Yudkowsky against accusations of being anti-scientific, arguing that developing rational thinking skills beyond traditional scientific methods is valuable and necessary. Longer summary

Scott Alexander responds to Topher Hallquist's criticism of Less Wrong and Eliezer Yudkowsky as being 'anti-scientific rationality'. Scott argues that Hallquist's criticisms are often unfair or inaccurate, taking quotes out of context or misunderstanding Yudkowsky's positions. He defends the rationalist community's efforts to develop better thinking tools that go beyond traditional scientific methods, while still respecting science. Scott contends that developing an 'Art of Thinking Clearly' is valuable and necessary, especially for experts who have to make difficult judgments. He argues Less Wrong is not against science, but wants to strengthen and supplement it with additional rational thinking skills. Shorter summary

Scott defends the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as a useful, if unscientific, tool for categorizing personalities, comparing it to European country classifications. Longer summary

Scott Alexander argues that the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), while not scientifically rigorous, is still a useful tool for categorizing personalities. He compares MBTI to European country classifications, suggesting that both are imperfect but practical ways of grouping complex information. Scott contrasts MBTI with the more scientific Five-Factor Model, explaining that they serve different purposes: Five-Factor aims for objective research, while MBTI creates easily understood categories for human processing. He suggests that criticisms of MBTI's lack of scientific basis miss its practical utility in providing relatable personality descriptions. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander promotes a charity event, encouraging donations to MIRI or Sankara Eye Foundation to help them win valuable services. Longer summary

Scott Alexander is promoting a charity event where the organization with the most unique donors of $10 or more by midnight wins valuable services. He encourages readers to donate to MIRI (Machine Intelligence Research Institute), which works on ensuring a positive singularity and friendly AI. MIRI is close to the top place with only a few hours left. Scott also mentions the option to donate to the current leader, Sankara Eye Foundation, which provides eye care for poor Indian children. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the process of 'crystallizing patterns' in thinking, discussing its benefits and potential pitfalls across various domains. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'crystallizing patterns' in thinking, using examples from the Less Wrong sequences and C.S. Lewis's writings. He discusses how naming and defining patterns can make them easier to recognize and think about, potentially changing how people view certain issues. The post examines whether this process can ever be wrong or counterproductive, concluding that while it can sometimes be misleading, it's generally beneficial if done carefully. Scott uses various examples to illustrate his points, including political correctness, mainstream media, and religious concepts. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reflects on five years of Less Wrong, highlighting the community's intellectual progress in various areas of rationality and philosophy. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reflects on the fifth anniversary of Less Wrong, a rationalist community blog. He notes how many ideas that now seem obvious were once novel and exciting to the community. He covers several areas where Less Wrong has made progress, including understanding akrasia, decision theory, meta-contrarianism, trivial inconveniences, problems with scientific processes, effective altruism, and novel social norms. Scott concludes by expressing excitement about the intellectual progress the community has made, suggesting there's a path of development where insights that once seemed inscrutable become clear over time. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander discusses the concept of one-sided tradeoffs, using examples from college admissions to life hacks, and suggests ways to find opportunities for 'free' gains in various decisions. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of one-sided tradeoffs using college admissions as a starting point. He explains how most decisions involve tradeoffs between different qualities, but suggests ways to find opportunities for 'free' gains. These include insider trading (having unique knowledge), bias compensation (exploiting others' biases), and comparative advantage (specializing in a specific area). He applies this framework to policy debates, life hacks, and personal decisions, arguing that understanding these concepts can help identify opportunities where one can gain benefits without significant downsides. The post concludes with examples like considering nootropics if one isn't afraid of taking drugs, or buying houses on streets with rude names for a discount. 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 lists 60 predictions for 2014 across global events, online communities, and personal life, assigning probabilities to each. Longer summary

Scott Alexander makes a series of predictions for the year 2014, covering global events, online community developments, and personal matters. The predictions are assigned probabilities ranging from 50% to 99%. Global predictions include topics like Obamacare, wars, Bitcoin prices, and election outcomes. Online community predictions focus on various internet forums and organizations like Less Wrong, CFAR, and MIRI. Personal predictions cover Scott's job, relationships, lifestyle choices, and ideological stances. The post is structured as a list of predictions with associated probabilities, demonstrating Scott's interest in forecasting and rationality. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander provides updates on the Less Wrong survey, his NYC trip, an upcoming meetup, and asks for lawn care advice. Longer summary

This is a housekeeping post by Scott Alexander covering four main points. First, he promotes the 2013 Less Wrong Census/Survey with a monetary reward. Second, he announces his attendance at Raemon's solstice celebration in New York City, seeking accommodation and a date. Third, he mentions an upcoming Detroit/Ann Arbor meetup at his house. Lastly, he asks for advice about his lawn turning brown in patches. 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

Scott Alexander defends logical positivism, arguing that despite its flaws, it points to useful ideas about dividing meaningful statements into scientific and logical categories. Longer summary

Scott Alexander presents a defense of logical positivism, a philosophical stance generally considered outdated. He argues that while logical positivism may not be entirely correct, it points to a cluster of correct ideas. The post draws parallels between logical positivism, Hume's fork, and modern rationalist thinking, suggesting they all divide meaningful statements into something like science and something like logic. Scott argues this division is productive and helps identify meaningless statements. He then attempts to apply this framework to traditionally challenging areas like mathematics, morality, and counterfactuals. The post concludes by addressing the common criticism that logical positivism fails its own criteria, suggesting that its value might lie in its ability to facilitate productive debate. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander introduces his new blog, Slate Star Codex, and explains its ethos of 'charity over absurdity' in intellectual discourse. Longer summary

Scott Alexander introduces his new blog, Slate Star Codex, explaining its name and ethos. The blog's central principle is 'charity over absurdity,' which means trying to understand opposing viewpoints rather than dismissing them outright. Scott explains this concept using Chesterton's Fence analogy and emphasizes the importance of charitable interpretation in intellectual discourse. He argues that this approach is not only ethically sound but also intellectually advantageous, as it can lead to a deeper understanding of complex issues. Shorter summary