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Jul 28, 2023
acx

Your Book Review: On the Marble Cliffs

52 min • 7,203 words • 100 comments • 220 likes • podcast (42 min)
The review analyzes Ernst Jünger's 'On the Marble Cliffs' as a beautifully written allegory of Nazi Germany that offers advice on surviving totalitarianism through appreciation of beauty. Longer summary
This review explores Ernst Jünger's 1939 novella 'On the Marble Cliffs', contextualizing it within the German Catastrophe and Jünger's life, analyzing its poetic style and allegorical content, and arguing that its primary purpose is to offer advice on surviving totalitarian rule through the appreciation of beauty. The reviewer discusses the book's historical context, Jünger's writing style, the challenges of translation, the plot's allegorical nature, and the often-missed central message about the power of beauty as a coping mechanism in the face of horror. Shorter summary
Jan 30, 2017
ssc

Book Review: Eichmann In Jerusalem

63 min • 8,694 words • 855 comments
Scott Alexander reviews Hannah Arendt's 'Eichmann in Jerusalem', exploring key aspects of the Eichmann trial and the Holocaust, and reflecting on their implications. Longer summary
This post reviews Hannah Arendt's book 'Eichmann in Jerusalem', which covers the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. Scott Alexander discusses five key aspects from the book: Eichmann's psychological profile, Nazi pre-war plans for Jews, varying responses of occupied nations to Nazi demands, the role of Jewish councils, and why more Germans didn't resist. The review explores the complexities of evil, the importance of resistance, and draws parallels to modern political situations, while being careful not to spoil Arendt's conclusions. Shorter summary
Nov 17, 2016
ssc

The Alzheimer Photo

7 min • 969 words • 94 comments
Scott Alexander analyzes a photo of Alois Alzheimer's research team, discussing the reasons for their scientific productivity and theorizing about patterns of scientific progress. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses a historic photograph of Alois Alzheimer and his colleagues, noting the concentration of scientific talent in that group and era. He explores reasons for this concentration, including new histological staining techniques, the geographic and temporal context of fin de siecle Central Europe, and Emil Kraepelin's organizational skills. Scott theorizes that scientific progress often comes from exploiting a fruitful paradigm until it's exhausted, rather than continuously developing new ones. The post concludes with a brief history of Alzheimer's institute, including its unfortunate involvement with Nazi eugenics and its post-war reformation. Shorter summary
Jun 20, 2014
ssc

Ground Morality In Party Politics

13 min • 1,803 words • 108 comments
Scott proposes adapting DW-Nominate, a political spectrum analysis tool, to study morality through real-life decisions, exploring its potential implications and limitations. Longer summary
Scott proposes using a method similar to DW-Nominate, a tool used to calculate politicians' positions on the political spectrum, to investigate morality. He suggests applying this method to real-life moral decisions people make, from major choices to everyday actions. The post explores how this could potentially group people into 'good' and 'bad' categories, identify the most moral actions, and possibly provide insights into contentious moral issues. Scott also discusses how this method might work in morally inverted societies like Nazi Germany, presenting three hypothetical outcomes and their implications for understanding morality objectively. Shorter summary