How to avoid getting lost reading Scott Alexander and his 1500+ blog posts? This unaffiliated fan website lets you sort and search through the whole codex. Enjoy!

See also Top Posts and All Tags.

Minutes:
Blog:
Year:
4542 tags
Show all filters
13 posts found
Jul 18, 2024
acx

Highlights From The Comments On Mentally Ill Homeless People

75 min • 9,679 words • 786 comments • 151 likes • podcast
Scott Alexander discusses various responses to his post on mentally ill homeless people, emphasizing the need for specific, detailed plans. Longer summary
Scott Alexander responds to comments on his previous post about mentally ill homeless people, addressing various objections and proposed solutions while emphasizing the need for specific, detailed plans rather than vague calls for toughness. Shorter summary
Aug 17, 2023
acx

Bride Of Bay Area House Party

24 min • 3,066 words • 242 comments • 365 likes • podcast
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
May 01, 2023
acx

Change My Mind: Density Increases Local But Decreases Global Prices

12 min • 1,477 words • 746 comments • 161 likes • podcast
Scott Alexander argues that increasing housing density in a city may actually increase local prices due to induced demand, while lowering prices nationally. Longer summary
Scott Alexander challenges Matt Yglesias's claim that building more houses lowers local house prices. He argues that while this may be true on a marginal level, looking at the extremes shows a different picture. The densest US cities (New York, San Francisco) are also the most expensive, while the least dense areas have the lowest prices. Scott proposes that increasing density in a city like Oakland would likely increase its prices due to induced demand, as it becomes more attractive to people seeking big city amenities. He suggests that building more houses would lower prices nationwide, but not necessarily in the specific city where construction occurs, creating a coordination problem for housing policy. Shorter summary
Oct 19, 2022
acx

Another Bay Area House Party

30 min • 3,823 words • 358 comments • 331 likes • podcast
Scott Alexander presents a satirical account of a Bay Area house party, showcasing absurd startup ideas and intellectual discussions that parody Silicon Valley culture. Longer summary
Scott Alexander describes another fictional Bay Area house party, filled with eccentric characters pitching outlandish startup ideas and discussing bizarre theories. The narrative weaves through conversations about AI-generated myths, financial communication through rap, the future of human thought in the age of AI, Wikipedia editing dilemmas, extreme urban planning ideas, and ethical considerations in organ donation. The story satirizes Silicon Valley culture, startup mentality, and various intellectual subcultures. Shorter summary
Aug 01, 2022
acx

Model City Monday 8/1/22

25 min • 3,128 words • 502 comments • 111 likes • podcast
Scott Alexander examines several model city projects, including Saudi Arabia's Neom, criticizing its unrealistic plans and discussing other developments in crypto-friendly zones and floating cities. Longer summary
This post discusses several model city projects, focusing on Saudi Arabia's ambitious Neom project, the Catawba Digital Economic Zone, and the Maldives Floating City. Scott critically analyzes Neom's unrealistic plans, including a 170 km long linear city and other grandiose features. He expresses concern about the misuse of Saudi Arabia's oil wealth on this project. The post also covers the Catawba Nation's crypto-friendly economic zone and a planned floating city in the Maldives. Scott concludes with updates on other model city projects and makes predictions about the future of these developments. Shorter summary
Dec 09, 2021
acx

Does Georgism Work? Part 1: Is Land Really A Big Deal?

111 min • 14,313 words • 1,049 comments • 124 likes • podcast
Lars Doucet presents evidence that land is still a major economic factor in modern times, contrary to some economists' claims. Longer summary
This post, written by Lars Doucet, is the first in a series examining the empirical basis for Georgism. It focuses on whether land is still a significant economic factor in modern times, as some economists argue it isn't. Doucet presents evidence that land is indeed a major economic factor, showing that it represents a large portion of urban real estate value, bank loans, personal assets, and government revenue potential. He also demonstrates that land ownership is highly concentrated among the wealthy, contributing to economic inequality. The post concludes that land is a 'really big deal' in modern economies, contrary to some economists' claims. Shorter summary
Oct 04, 2018
ssc

Next Door In Nodrumia

22 min • 2,812 words • 361 comments • podcast
Scott Alexander uses a thought experiment about a drum-free town to explore libertarian ideas on community rights, then applies these concepts to real-world housing issues and proposes charter cities as a potential solution. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the concept of community rights and individual freedoms through a thought experiment about a fictional town called Nodrumia. He uses this to discuss libertarian philosophy, property rights, and the balance between community preferences and individual liberties. The post then transitions to real-world applications, discussing NIMBYism and proposing charter cities as a potential solution to housing shortages. He uses the example of Irvine, California to illustrate how planned cities can be successful, and suggests that creating new cities might be easier than reforming existing ones to address housing crises. Shorter summary
Oct 02, 2018
ssc

Highlights From The Comments On NIMBYs

26 min • 3,290 words • 402 comments • podcast
Scott Alexander highlights diverse comments on the NIMBY debate, exploring contrasting views on urban living and various aspects of urban development. Longer summary
This post highlights various comments on the NIMBY debate, showcasing the stark differences in people's preferences for urban vs. suburban living. It explores how these differing views can lead to heated debates and misunderstandings. The post also discusses various aspects of urban development, including housing prices, city planning, and economic effects. Scott Alexander emphasizes the need to acknowledge diverse preferences and solve urban problems before advocating for increased density. He also presents counterarguments to some of his original points and additional perspectives on urban development issues. Shorter summary
Mar 16, 2017
ssc

Book Review: Seeing Like A State

87 min • 11,306 words • 570 comments • podcast
Scott Alexander reviews 'Seeing Like A State', examining how state efforts to standardize and control societies often backfire by ignoring local knowledge. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews 'Seeing Like A State' by James Scott, which examines how states have historically tried to make societies more 'legible' through standardization and top-down planning, often with disastrous results. The book covers examples from forestry, urban planning, agriculture and more, contrasting the failures of high modernist schemes with the success of local, traditional knowledge (metis). While acknowledging some benefits of standardization, the review explores the book's critique of overzealous state planning that ignores local conditions and wisdom. Shorter summary
Mar 21, 2015
ssc

List Of Passages I Highlighted In My Copy Of “Machinery Of Freedom”

38 min • 4,824 words • 298 comments • podcast
Scott Alexander reviews and comments on passages from David Friedman's 'The Machinery of Freedom', discussing various libertarian ideas and their implications. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews and comments on various passages from David Friedman's book 'The Machinery of Freedom'. He highlights Friedman's arguments about love, trade, and force as means of cooperation; the historical development of regulation; healthcare costs for the poor; school vouchers; university reform; urban transit solutions; urban renewal; private space exploration; drug regulation; and workers buying out companies. Scott agrees with some points, critiques others, and adds his own insights and examples throughout. Shorter summary
Nov 16, 2014
ssc

Ley Lines Of The Midwest

4 min • 501 words • 62 comments • podcast
The post examines Midwestern geography, debunking the author's initial impression of a grid pattern in town arrangements and humorously exploring potential 'ley lines' between cities. Longer summary
This post explores the geography of the Midwest, particularly Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota, using satellite images. The author initially thought there was a clear grid pattern in the arrangement of towns, but upon closer inspection, found this to be an illusion. The post discusses the Public Land Survey System, which does create a grid pattern, but at a smaller scale than what's visible on these maps. The author humorously looks for 'ley lines' connecting cities and finds a few potential alignments, though these are likely coincidental. The post concludes with an anecdote about Zilwaukee, Michigan, supposedly named to trick settlers heading to Milwaukee into settling there instead. Shorter summary
Nov 17, 2013
ssc

More Links for November

13 min • 1,561 words • 60 comments • podcast
Scott shares a diverse collection of interesting links and brief commentary on topics ranging from unusual video games to genetic research and political oddities. Longer summary
This post is a collection of interesting links and brief commentary on various topics. It covers a range of subjects including unusual video games, disease threat research, medical concerns about Tylenol use during pregnancy, questionable online dating sites, car-free cities, the relationship between intelligence and longevity, augmented reality games, historical enigmas, genetic editing techniques, political oddities, social mobility research, and unusual election tactics. The tone is informative and sometimes humorous, with Scott providing his thoughts and observations on each item. Shorter summary
May 10, 2013
ssc

Raikoth: Cities, Land

12 min • 1,521 words • 37 comments • podcast
The post details the housing, urban planning, and land use in Raikoth, a fictional country where people live in yurts and cities are designed for cleanliness and tranquility. Longer summary
This post describes the housing and urban planning of Raikoth, a fictional country. Raikolin people primarily live in yurts, which are cheap, mobile, and adaptable. Cities are designed to be clean, quiet, and aesthetically pleasing, with strict rules against littering, noise pollution, and visual clutter. The country also has vast wilderness areas where people can live freely away from civilization. The post outlines the unique features of Raikothin cities, land use policies, and the option for citizens to live in remote, challenging environments. Shorter summary