Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to reader comments on his Elon Musk book review, covering various aspects of Musk's life, work, and personality. Longer summary

This post is a compilation of highlights from comments on Scott Alexander's review of Elon Musk's biography. It covers various aspects of Musk's career and personality, including debates about his intelligence and mental health, discussions about his companies (Tesla, Twitter, SpaceX, Boring Company), his Mars colonization plans, and comparisons to other historical figures. The post also includes critiques of Scott's original review and updates to his views based on the comments. Shorter summary

Scott reviews Ashlee Vance's 2015 Elon Musk biography, analyzing Musk's personality, work ethic, and business strategies to understand his successes and controversies. Longer summary

This book review analyzes Ashlee Vance's 2015 biography of Elon Musk, examining Musk's personality, work ethic, and business strategies. The review explores Musk's engineering abilities, management style, and the reasons behind his companies' successes despite controversial decisions. It discusses Musk's intense focus, his tendency to set unrealistic timelines, and his impact on employees. The review also touches on Musk's social skills, his approach to PR, and speculates on his future success with Twitter/X. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander critiques toxic Twitter behavior, explaining its personal and social costs, and warns against imitating confrontational media tactics. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the negative impact of certain behaviors on Twitter, particularly insulting or dismissive comments. He explains how these actions lead him to block people and develop lasting negative associations with them. Scott argues that this behavior, while potentially beneficial for media companies, is detrimental for individuals as it alienates potential friends and allies. He warns against imitating journalists' confrontational style on social media, emphasizing that regular people's incentives differ from those of media companies. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes prediction markets on Twitter, FTX, effective altruism, and US midterms, discussing their accuracy and exploring the concept of 'scandal markets'. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses recent prediction markets on Manifold and other platforms, focusing on topics like Twitter's future under Elon Musk, the FTX scandal and its impact on effective altruism, and the 2022 US midterm elections. He analyzes the accuracy of different prediction markets and polling aggregators, and explores the potential benefits and risks of 'scandal markets' for public figures. The post also touches on regulatory challenges for prediction markets and some interesting market observations. Shorter summary

The post examines prediction markets for Trump's 2024 chances, Musk's Twitter deal, and the impact of the Dobbs decision, while also discussing new forecasting initiatives and other current events. Longer summary

This Mantic Monday post covers several current events and their related prediction markets. It starts with Trump's chances for the 2024 GOP nomination, which remain high despite recent scandals. The post then discusses the new Swift Centre for Applied Forecasting, funded by the Future Fund. It examines prediction markets for Elon Musk's Twitter deal, showing low chances of completion. The post analyzes the impact of the Dobbs decision on Democrats' Senate chances, noting a puzzling delay in market reactions. Finally, it covers various other forecasting topics, including COVID-19 ensemble models, the race to replace Boris Johnson, and predictions about the East African Federation. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander critiques the practice of signal-boosting offensive tweets to harm someone's reputation, arguing it undermines free speech and creates dangerous precedents. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses a recent Twitter incident where a libertarian columnist signal-boosted an offensive tweet to potentially harm the tweeter's job prospects. He argues that this approach, while not technically doxxing, undermines free speech norms and creates a dangerous precedent. Scott draws parallels to other forms of social oppression and emphasizes that free speech isn't just about laws, but also about social norms that allow dissenting opinions. He warns of the risks of living in a 'Panopticon' where anyone's past statements can be used against them, potentially ruining lives. Scott concludes by advocating for the promotion of good social norms that protect free speech, even for those we disagree with. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander announces reduced blogging frequency due to starting full-time work, expecting content to focus more on medicine and psychiatry. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces significant changes to his blogging routine due to starting full-time work in medicine and psychiatry. He expects to reduce his posting frequency from daily to weekly or a few times a month, and anticipates his blog content shifting more towards medical and psychiatric topics. Scott has also created a Twitter account for shorter thoughts and is seeking help with a Bitcoin transaction. The post has a personal tone and serves as an update to his readers about these upcoming changes. Shorter summary