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!

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Sep 01, 2023
acx

Your Book Review: Zuozhuan

54 min • 6,998 words • 132 comments • 124 likes • podcast
The review examines 'Zuozhuan', an ancient Chinese historical text, exploring its content, context, and relevance to understanding societal transformation. Longer summary
This review explores the ancient Chinese text 'Zuozhuan', a commentary on the 'Spring and Autumn Annals', covering the political and social upheavals of the Spring and Autumn period (771-476 BCE). The author delves into the historical context, the text's structure and content, and its relevance to understanding societal collapse and transformation. The review highlights the text's rich narratives, complex characters, and its value in providing perspective on living through tumultuous times. Shorter summary
Oct 28, 2022
acx

Book Review: Malleus Maleficarum

65 min • 8,448 words • 466 comments • 220 likes • podcast
Scott Alexander reviews the 'Malleus Maleficarum', a 15th-century witch-hunting manual, analyzing its content and historical context while reflecting on the dangers of limited knowledge. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews the 'Malleus Maleficarum', a 15th-century manual for witch-hunters, exploring its contents, historical context, and implications. He examines the book's theological arguments, descriptions of witchcraft, and guidelines for witch trials, highlighting the authors' attempts at rationality within their belief system. The review concludes by reflecting on the tragedy of well-intentioned people causing harm due to limited understanding, drawing parallels to modern challenges in psychiatry and knowledge. Shorter summary
Aug 19, 2022
acx

Your Book Review: 1587, A Year Of No Significance

70 min • 9,067 words • 209 comments • 165 likes • podcast
A review of Ray Huang's '1587, A Year of No Significance', examining the decline of the Ming dynasty through the lens of an apparently uneventful year. Longer summary
This book review examines '1587, A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline' by Ray Huang. The reviewer details the book's exploration of a seemingly uneventful year in Ming dynasty China, highlighting how it exemplifies the systemic inertia and decline of the empire. The review covers key figures like the Wan-Li Emperor, Grand Secretaries Chang and Shen, and other notable individuals, while drawing parallels to other historical contexts and discussing the broader implications of the Ming dynasty's governance style and eventual fall. Shorter summary
Nov 01, 2017
ssc

Postmodernism For Rationalists (my attempt)

18 min • 2,218 words • 330 comments • podcast
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