How to explore Scott Alexander's work and his 1500+ blog posts? This unaffiliated fan website lets you sort and search through the whole codex. Enjoy!

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Mar 22, 2021
acx

Adding My Data Point To The Discussion Of Substack Advances

6 min • 834 words • 565 comments • 157 likes • podcast (7 min)
Scott Alexander recounts his experience with Substack's advance payment offer, demonstrating that the company's strategy was likely motivated by genuine revenue predictions rather than sinister intentions. Longer summary
Scott Alexander shares his personal experience with Substack's advance payment offer, countering claims that Substack's strategy is sinister. He describes how Substack convinced him to join by offering a large advance based on their revenue predictions. Scott reveals that his actual subscriber-generated revenue slightly exceeded Substack's prediction, suggesting that Substack's offer was genuine and not manipulative. He also mentions Matt Yglesias's similar experience, indicating that their cases might be typical of Substack's approach. Shorter summary
Feb 14, 2021
acx

Statement on New York Times Article

14 min • 2,107 words • 1,457 comments • 853 likes • podcast (14 min)
Scott Alexander responds to a New York Times article about him, addressing what he sees as unfair claims and misrepresentations. Longer summary
Scott Alexander responds to a recent New York Times article about him and his blog, which he perceives as negative and retaliatory. He addresses four main claims from the article, explaining why he feels they are unfair or misrepresented. Scott denies being aligned with Charles Murray's controversial views on race, clarifies his comments about feminists, defends his stance on women in tech, and addresses his alleged connections to right-wing figures in Silicon Valley. He expresses concern about the article's impact on his friends, family, and patients, and requests that people not contact him about the situation. Shorter summary
Feb 07, 2021
acx

Journalism and Legible Expertise

4 min • 549 words • 293 comments • 115 likes • podcast (6 min)
Scott explores why journalists struggle to write controversial articles about topics like COVID-19 due to experts' reluctance to be interviewed. Longer summary
Scott discusses the challenges journalists face when writing articles about controversial topics like COVID-19. He explains that experts are often hesitant to give interviews for fear of being misquoted or having their nuanced opinions stripped of context. This leads to a situation where it's easier to produce 'illegible knowledge' (like experts posting opinions on Twitter) than 'legible knowledge' (like well-sourced newspaper articles). Scott suggests this contributes to gaps between 'canonical knowledge' in prestigious news outlets and what one learns from following research closely. Shorter summary
Oct 30, 2018
ssc

Sort By Controversial

32 min • 4,852 words • 471 comments • podcast (29 min)
A fictional account of an accidental AI creation that generates extremely controversial statements, leading to societal division and paranoia. Longer summary
This fictional story describes the creation of 'Shiri's Scissor', an AI tool that generates maximally controversial statements. The narrator works at an ad startup that accidentally creates this tool while trying to predict Reddit upvotes. They test it on themselves, causing a major argument that leads to firings. They attempt to sell it to the military, but legal troubles and violence ensue, destroying the company. Later, the narrator realizes some major real-world controversies match predictions made by the Scissor, suggesting someone else had created it earlier. The story ends with the narrator deeply affected by the Scissor statements, warning readers to disconnect from society and prepare for the worst. Shorter summary
Apr 12, 2017
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Clarification To “Sacred Principles As Exhaustible Resources”

7 min • 996 words • 697 comments
Scott clarifies that he supports free speech for all, but criticizes deliberately seeking controversy when choosing speakers to defend free speech principles. Longer summary
Scott Alexander clarifies his previous post about 'Sacred Principles As Exhaustible Resources', addressing misunderstandings. He emphasizes that he's not against defending controversial speakers like Charles Murray or Jordan Peterson, but criticizes the process of deliberately seeking out controversial figures to test free speech principles. Scott argues that while free speech should protect everyone, the political process of defending it should strategically choose sympathetic test cases to build public support, similar to how the NAACP chose Rosa Parks. He warns against deliberately seeking out the most controversial figures as test cases, as this can harm the cause of free speech in the long run. Shorter summary
Dec 17, 2014
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The Toxoplasma Of Rage

43 min • 6,562 words • 624 comments • podcast (52 min)
Scott Alexander explores how controversial ideas spread more effectively than uncontroversial ones, using examples from activism and media to illustrate this 'toxoplasma of rage' effect. Longer summary
This post discusses the concept of 'toxoplasma of rage', where controversial and outrage-inducing ideas spread more effectively than uncontroversial ones. Scott uses examples like PETA's provocative campaigns, viral rape cases, and the Ferguson protests to illustrate how activists and media are incentivized to focus on the most divisive cases, even if it ultimately harms their cause. He compares this to the toxoplasma parasite's life cycle and explores how social media platforms like Tumblr can amplify these effects. The post concludes by suggesting that this phenomenon is part of a larger system of perverse incentives that makes it difficult for society to focus on important but uncontroversial issues. Shorter summary
Feb 25, 2014
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Suggest A Comments Policy

4 min • 485 words • 240 comments
Scott Alexander asks readers for suggestions on a new comments policy for his blog, outlining five key criteria it should meet. Longer summary
Scott Alexander is seeking suggestions for a new comments policy for his blog. He outlines five desired properties for the policy: it should make the comments section enjoyable for moderately easily scandalized people without stifling relevant controversial discussions, not require constant vigilance from him, avoid excessive subjectivity in moderation, be technologically feasible, and result in polite, productive discussions. He invites readers to share their ideas, whether they're comprehensive policies or just vague preferences. Shorter summary