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Sep 19, 2025
acx
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Your Review: Project Xanadu - The Internet That Might Have Been

54 min • 8,228 words • 161 comments • 181 likes • podcast (51 min)
A book review exploring the history of Project Xanadu, Ted Nelson's pioneering but ultimately unsuccessful vision for a hypertext-based internet system that preceded and differed significantly from the World Wide Web. Longer summary
This book review traces the fascinating history of Project Xanadu, Ted Nelson's ambitious vision for a hypertext-based internet system that predated and rivaled the World Wide Web. Starting with Vannevar Bush's 1945 concept of the memex, through Doug Engelbart's groundbreaking demos, to Nelson's decades-long quest to build Xanadu, the post explores how this alternative vision for the internet - featuring bidirectional links, embedded content, and built-in attribution - ultimately failed to materialize despite its early start and innovative ideas. The review ends by questioning whether the simpler Web we got instead, built by Tim Berners-Lee, might have cost us something valuable in terms of how we connect and share information online. Shorter summary
Apr 12, 2021
acx
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Links For April

18 min • 2,706 words • 407 comments • 54 likes • podcast (17 min)
Scott Alexander shares 35 diverse links covering scientific studies, historical facts, cultural observations, and technological developments. Longer summary
Scott Alexander presents a collection of 35 interesting links on various topics. These include scientific studies, historical anecdotes, cultural observations, and technological developments. Some notable items are: a failed replication of the link between childhood screen time and attention problems, insights into the Canadian tech scene, a map of Reddit, and a technology for animating old photos. The post also covers topics like urban planning, economic policies, and quirky historical facts. Shorter summary
May 06, 2015
ssc
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The Future Is Filters

12 min • 1,721 words • 647 comments
Scott examines the potential future of online content filtering technology, considering its benefits, drawbacks, and societal implications. Longer summary
This post explores the future of online content filtering technology and its potential implications. Scott begins by describing existing tools like Tumblr Savior and Twitter blockbots, then speculates about more advanced AI-driven filtering systems. He considers three main possibilities: 1) everyone being better off by avoiding trolls, 2) people becoming overly sensitive by never encountering opposing views, and 3) a shift in discourse favoring the powerful over the powerless. The post concludes by suggesting that explicit filtering choices might lead to more thoughtful engagement with opposing views and the formation of separate communities with their own norms. Shorter summary