Scott Alexander discusses Fabian vs Berserker strategies for an academic fighting wokeness, exploring various considerations and seeking reader input. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses strategies for an academic who wants to fight for academic freedom against wokeness. He presents two approaches: the Fabian Strategy (gradually building influence and opposing wokeness from within) and the Berserker Strategy (actively picking fights and challenging woke policies). The post explores various considerations, including the impact of hard-won victories, the effect of protests, convincing factors for changing views on wokeness, comparisons to historical movements like New Atheism and civil rights, potential negative consequences of poorly-planned resistance, and the current trajectory of wokeness in society. Scott seeks reader input on the best approach. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the evolution of online culture wars from atheism to feminism to race, analyzing the dynamics of these shifts and speculating on future trends. Longer summary

Scott Alexander traces the evolution of online culture wars from New Atheism through feminism to the current focus on race, examining how each movement rose and fell in popularity. He analyzes the dynamics of these shifts using concepts like fashion cycles and signaling theory, and speculates on the future trajectory of culture war topics. The post explores how terms like 'SJW' and 'woke' impacted discourse, the rise and potential decline of New Socialism, and draws parallels to longer-term cycles of mainstream institutional values. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the rise and fall of New Atheism, arguing it was replaced by social justice as the dominant online 'hamartiology' explaining society's problems. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reflects on the rise and fall of New Atheism, a movement that dominated online discourse in the early 2000s. He traces its origins to the early days of the internet, when intellectual debates about religion were common, and its peak in the mid-2000s with the rise of prominent atheist authors. Scott argues that New Atheism declined around 2015 as it was supplanted by the social justice movement. He proposes that both movements served a similar psychological function as 'hamartiologies' - explanations for what's wrong with the world. New Atheism blamed religion for society's ills, while social justice focuses on racism and sexism. The essay suggests this transition reflects broader changes in how people engage in online discourse and form tribal identities. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reflects on turning 33 and questions whether the changes in his thinking represent true wisdom or are the result of socialization, trauma, or neurological changes. Longer summary

In this post, Scott Alexander reflects on turning 33 and questions whether age truly brings wisdom. He lists several changes in his thinking that seem like wisdom, such as becoming more cynical, mellow, and believing things are complicated. However, he then questions whether these changes are actually wisdom or just better socialization, trauma-induced pessimism, or even neurological changes. He notes that his current views align more with elite opinion and wonders if this is due to genuine wisdom or social pressure. Scott also discusses how he's changed his stance on some issues, like religion, and questions whether this is true wisdom or just following intellectual trends. He concludes by acknowledging the difficulty in distinguishing true wisdom from other cognitive changes that come with age. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explains postmodernism to rationalists, using the Dark Age debate as an example, and discusses its applications, risks, and critiques. Longer summary

Scott Alexander attempts to explain postmodernism to rationalists, using the debate about the existence of a European Dark Age as an example. He describes postmodernism as focusing on how politically-motivated people weave facts to tell specific stories, rather than on the facts themselves. The post discusses how this applies to various fields and how everyone uses postmodernist thinking sometimes. Scott also explores the potential risks of postmodernism collapsing into ignoring disagreeable facts and addresses critiques of the philosophy. He concludes by comparing rationalist and postmodernist approaches to dealing with subjectivity and bias. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the puzzling downfall of New Atheism, comparing it to other progressive movements and questioning why it alone faced backlash for repeating accepted ideas in liberal circles. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the puzzling failure of New Atheism, a movement that seemingly alienated a society that largely agreed with its positions. He notes that while most educated liberals don't believe in God and agree with New Atheists on social issues, New Atheism has become more criticized than traditional religion in these circles. The post analyzes potential reasons for this failure, including the movement's repetition of obvious truths, its inability to make a case for social importance, and its possible association with an emerging cultural divide. Scott compares New Atheism's fate to other progressive movements that similarly repeat widely accepted ideas in liberal spaces but haven't faced the same backlash. He expresses confusion and frustration at this inconsistency, wondering if this self-awareness could extend to other areas of discourse. Shorter summary