A thread through the archive
Essays tagged “highlights from the comments”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Scott defends his dismissal of the Substack religion debate against charges of hypocrisy and engages with technical objections about Kolmogorov complexity, arguing that 'mind without limits' isn't actually simple and that explaining multiple anomalies with God is like explaining Napoleon's success with aliens.
Scott responds to comments on his Scott Adams obituary, defending his mixed tone while making some updates based on feedback about Adams' podcast reach and influence.
Scott Alexander reviews comments on his defense of Baby Boomers, clarifying three separate claims about generational fairness and addressing debates about housing policy, Social Security, cultural changes, and whether the structural problems attributed to Boomers are actually universal features of aging populations.
Scott reviews comments on his vibecession post, exploring when it started, whether it's really about economics or culture, and notably finding that China experiences similar pessimism despite 5-10x income growth, suggesting vibes can be completely divorced from economic reality.
Scott explores reader responses to his Fatima miracle post, finding the most promising explanation in Buddhist fire kasina meditation practices that produce similar visual phenomena, while remaining uncertain about how 70,000 untrained people could achieve advanced meditative states instantly.
Scott discusses comments on his previous post about liberalism and communities, exploring various perspectives on how wealth and societal structures affect community formation and maintenance.
Scott Alexander responds to comments and criticism on his earlier post about 'Missing Heritability', discussing issues like gene-environment interactions, sequencing technology limitations, and the use of polygenic scores across ancestry groups.
Scott examines reader tests and discussions of AI's GeoGuessr abilities, revealing that AIs perform best with tourist locations and are roughly on par with human professionals.
Scott analyzes comments on his previous post about POSIWID, showing how the phrase's ambiguity leads to multiple contradictory interpretations while promoting conspiracy thinking.
Scott responds to comments and criticisms of his post about Tegmark's Mathematical Universe Hypothesis and its implications for arguments about God's existence, addressing technical points about Boltzmann brains, simplicity measures, and philosophical objections.
Scott responds to comments about Lynn's IQ data, addressing how IQ testing might break down in under-educated populations and how this relates to the apparent disconnect between test scores and real-world capabilities.
Scott summarizes and responds to reader comments on his prison effectiveness analysis, covering topics like criminal psychology, policing, El Salvador's crime reduction, probation issues, and proposed alternatives to imprisonment.
Scott discusses various interpretations and uses of 'sorry' in response to comments on his previous article about the phrase 'I'm sorry you feel that way'.
Scott Alexander discusses reader comments on his 'Geography of Madness' review, revising views on culture-bound syndromes and exploring various mental health topics.
Scott Alexander addresses reactions to his claim that media rarely lies, exploring different interpretations of 'lying' and examining specific cases of alleged media deception.
Scott Alexander presents highlights from reader comments on his 'Bobos in Paradise' book review, covering critiques of the book's thesis, discussions on elite education, and debates on social class dynamics.
Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to comments on his post about semaglutide, covering corrections, additional information, and user experiences with the weight loss drug.
Scott summarizes interesting comments on his 'Rhythms of the Brain' book review, covering various aspects of brain waves and related topics.
Scott Alexander shares reader comments on his California ballot recommendations, updating some of his views and providing additional context on various races and propositions.
Scott Alexander summarizes comments debating the reality and implications of jhanas, a meditative state of extreme bliss.
Scott responds to various comments on his article about supplement labeling, addressing concerns about the industry and providing additional context and analysis.
Scott Alexander shares and responds to reader comments on his article about California's Central Valley, offering diverse perspectives on life and challenges in the region.
Scott Alexander addresses reader comments on his Columbus Day post, covering historical and cultural controversies around holidays and Columbus.
Scott Alexander explores various commenters' insights on the neuroscience of reward, happiness, and relationships, expanding on his original post about unpredictable rewards.
Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to reader comments on his article about billionaire wealth, addressing various economic and ethical perspectives.