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Slate Star Codex

Overheard in the Box

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Two individuals share childhood misconceptions: Davis thought secrets weren't real, and Julia believed stars were just a poetic metaphor.

Summary from Read Scott Alexander; separate from the original essay.

Davis: I used to think that secrets were like evil twins – something it was possible in theory to have, but nobody actually had one. In my sophomore year of college, one of my friends asked “Want to hear a secret?” and I said “Don’t be silly, secrets don’t really exist.”

Julia: When I was little, I thought the stars were a metaphor, something poets wrote about to inspire people. It wasn’t until I got glasses in second grade that I realized they were actually up there and everyone could see them.

Written by Scott Alexander. Support the writing →

Source snapshot: 2026-10-18. Likes unavailable · 18 comments; counts at capture, no local voting or comments.