A thread through the archive

history

Essays tagged “history”. Follow an idea across the archive.

Essays on history

25 essays

Aug 22, 2025ACX

Your Review: Ollantay

Fiction by Scott Alexander

40 min read 6,138 words

Nov 14, 2024ACX

The Early Christian Strategy

Scott examines why early Christianity's strategy of unconditional cooperation succeeded despite game theory predicting it should fail, and explores what this means for modern moral strategies.

19 min read 2,895 words

Christianity cooperation effective altruism

Nov 1, 2024ACX

Links For November 2024

A diverse collection of news items, studies, and interesting facts from November 2024, covering topics from scientific discoveries to cultural phenomena.

42 min read 6,373 words

AI culture economics

Jul 24, 2024ACX

Links for July 2024

Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of 41 links and news items, covering topics from science and politics to history and technology, with brief commentaries and insights.

21 min read 3,173 words

AI culture genetics

Jun 20, 2024ACX

Fake Tradition Is Traditional

Scott Alexander defends the practice of looking to idealized traditions for inspiration, arguing it's a common and useful human approach to creativity and innovation.

10 min read 1,539 words

architecture creativity cultural criticism

Feb 29, 2024ACX

Links For February 2024

A compilation of 55 diverse links and brief commentaries on various topics, including scientific studies, historical anecdotes, cultural phenomena, and technological developments.

33 min read 5,036 words

AI culture economics

Dec 1, 2023ACX

Links For November 2023

A collection of 47 diverse links and news items covering topics from religious practices to AI developments, with brief commentary on many items.

27 min read 4,069 words

AI culture current events

Jul 6, 2023ACX

Links For July 2023

A diverse collection of links and news items from July 2023, covering topics from historical curiosities to current technological and social developments.

24 min read 3,581 words

AI culture history

Jun 1, 2023ACX

Links For May 2023

Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of links and news items, covering topics from architecture and history to AI developments and scientific studies, with brief commentary on many items.

24 min read 3,615 words

AI culture demographics

Apr 14, 2022ACX

Links For April

Scott Alexander shares 33 diverse links on topics ranging from history and science to technology and politics, offering brief summaries and commentary on each.

15 min read 2,290 words

AI culture healthcare

Nov 25, 2021ACX

Links For November

Scott Alexander shares 34 varied links and pieces of information on topics including science, history, politics, and technology, with brief commentary on many items.

24 min read 3,596 words

AI Christianity climate change

Oct 14, 2021ACX

Links For October

A compilation of 30 diverse links on various topics including science, history, technology, and culture, with brief commentaries by Scott Alexander.

19 min read 2,850 words

AI safety architecture culture

Sep 20, 2021ACX

Links For September

Scott Alexander presents a curated list of 37 diverse and interesting links, covering topics from historical events to recent scientific studies, with brief summaries and occasional commentary.

22 min read 3,285 words

culture economics history

May 28, 2021ACX

Your Book Review: Humankind

A critical review of Rutger Bregman's 'Humankind', analyzing its argument that human nature is fundamentally good, while highlighting both flaws and valuable insights in the book.

50 min read 7,635 words

book review cynicism democracy

May 20, 2021ACX

Links For May

Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of 37 links and interesting facts, covering topics from AI research and educational methods to historical anecdotes and current events.

17 min read 2,547 words

AI culture economics

Apr 12, 2021ACX

Links For April

Scott Alexander shares 35 diverse links covering scientific studies, historical facts, cultural observations, and technological developments.

18 min read 2,718 words

culture economics history

May 20, 2020SSC

Links 5/20

Scott Alexander's links post covers historical oddities, scientific studies, social issues, and tech developments, ranging from pet monkeys to AI progress.

26 min read 3,906 words

culture economics healthcare

Dec 2, 2019SSC

Links 12/19

A diverse collection of links to interesting articles, studies, and news items on topics ranging from history and science to politics and culture.

21 min read 3,212 words

culture economics history

Aug 5, 2019SSC

Links 8/19

Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of links on topics ranging from scientific studies to historical anecdotes, with brief commentary on each.

11 min read 1,705 words

culture economics education

Nov 20, 2018SSC

Links 11/18: MayflowURL

A diverse collection of links covering history, science, politics, culture, and curiosities, presented with humor and interesting facts.

14 min read 2,099 words

culture effective altruism healthcare

Jan 21, 2018SSC

Links 1/18: Helink Of Troy

Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of interesting links on topics ranging from geography and drug policy to technology and economics, with brief summaries and comments.

13 min read 1,904 words

current events drug policy economics

Oct 19, 2015SSC

Links 10/15: Take Back Your Link

A collection of links covering economics, science, history and technology, ranging from historical oddities and new research to cultural developments and scientific discoveries.

19 min read 2,911 words

ADHD economics education

Aug 20, 2015SSC

On Overconfidence

Scott Alexander discusses the problem of overconfidence in probability estimates, arguing that extreme certainty is rarely justified, especially for complex future predictions.

30 min read 4,625 words

AI risk calibration Eliezer Yudkowsky

Feb 4, 2015SSC