Scott Alexander offers ten tips for effective nonfiction writing, emphasizing structure, variety, flow, and persuasion techniques. Longer summary

Scott Alexander provides advice on nonfiction writing, covering topics such as text structure, variety in writing, maintaining flow of ideas, repetition, humor, concrete examples, persuasion techniques, anticipating counterarguments, and using concept handles. He emphasizes the importance of developing instincts and not forcing the application of these rules. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores five unspoken assumptions in discussions that can lead to misunderstandings and logical fallacies when not clarified. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses five unspoken ground assumptions in discussions that can lead to misunderstandings and logical fallacies. These include: (1) whether one is presenting a balanced view or arguing for one side, (2) if the argument is literal or pointing towards a hard-to-explain concept, (3) whether describing real-world phenomena or underlying mechanisms, (4) if addressing a specific problem or contributing to a broader intellectual discussion, and (5) whether presenting a definite theory or a hypothesis for consideration. He argues that ambiguity in these grounds can lead to confusion and false accusations of logical fallacies. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander outlines and criticizes ten fallacious argument styles that misrepresent an opponent's beliefs, demonstrating how they can be used to unfairly attack any position. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques a series of argument styles that misrepresent an opponent's position by exaggerating or distorting their belief. He presents ten variations of this fallacious reasoning, each escalating the misrepresentation in a different way. These range from likening a belief to religious faith, to suggesting that holding a belief implies extreme fanaticism or hatred of opponents. The post concludes with a densely packed example combining all ten argument styles, using the mundane topic of wearing coats in cold weather to demonstrate how absurd these arguments can become when applied to any belief. Scott clarifies that while some of these issues can be real problems, these argument styles are 'fully general' and can be used to attack any position unfairly. Shorter summary