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2019 Adversarial Collaboration Entries
Scott Alexander presents the eight entries for the 2019 Adversarial Collaboration Contest, explaining the concept and announcing a future reader vote.
3 min read 384 words
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debate
Essays tagged “debate”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Essays on debate
89 essaysSSC
Adversarial Collaboration Update
Scott Alexander announces that the adversarial collaboration contest will proceed, lists the registered teams, and introduces a new rule for proposing topics.
2 min read 217 words
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Adversarial Collaboration Contest 2019
Scott Alexander announces the second Adversarial Collaboration Contest, where people with opposing views collaborate on essays about controversial topics for prizes.
8 min read 1,236 words
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Caution On Bias Arguments
Scott Alexander critiques the use of bias arguments in debates, explaining why they're often counterproductive and suggesting more constructive ways to address bias.
16 min read 2,372 words
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Asymmetric Weapons Gone Bad
Scott Alexander examines how increased rational debate doesn't always lead to truth, using personal and societal examples, and suggests ways to carefully approach traditions and changes.
25 min read 3,807 words
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RIP Culture War Thread
Scott Alexander explains why the controversial Culture War thread was removed from r/slatestarcodex due to harassment, and discusses the challenges of hosting spaces for difficult conversations online.
40 min read 6,096 words
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Adversarial Collaboration Contest Results
Scott Alexander announces winners of the adversarial collaboration contest and shares participant feedback, while reflecting on potential issues with the format.
48 min read 7,418 words
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Fundamental Value Differences Are Not That Fundamental
Scott Alexander argues that fundamental value differences are less common and less aligned with political tribes than often assumed, emphasizing the need for coexistence despite varying values.
23 min read 3,412 words
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In Search Of Missing US Suicides
Scott Alexander explores why US suicide rates aren't higher despite high gun ownership, concluding that the US likely has a low base rate elevated by gun availability.
8 min read 1,113 words
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Can Things Be Both Popular And Silenced?
Scott Alexander argues that the Intellectual Dark Web can be both popular and silenced, explaining various mechanisms of social censorship and how they apply to controversial thinkers.
42 min read 6,450 words
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Varieties Of Argumentative Experience
Scott Alexander proposes a hierarchy of types of disagreements, from low-level meta-debate to high-level philosophical differences, and discusses how to engage in more productive arguments.
40 min read 6,059 words
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Call For Adversarial Collaborations
Scott Alexander announces a contest for adversarial collaborations, offering prizes for teams who write balanced summaries on controversial topics they disagree about.
7 min read 1,032 words
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Response To Current Affairs On Against Murderism
Scott Alexander defends his 'Against Murderism' post against Nathan Robinson's criticism, arguing that Robinson misrepresented his arguments and ignored key parts of the original post.
12 min read 1,750 words
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Current Affairs’ “Some Puzzles For Libertarians”, Treated As Writing Prompts For Short Stories
Scott Alexander uses satirical short stories to critique and deconstruct thought experiments challenging libertarian principles, highlighting their flaws and misrepresentations.
35 min read 5,376 words
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Self-Serving Bias
Scott Alexander examines self-serving bias and status quo defense using Oregon's gas station law change, arguing for better rational debate skills to navigate societal changes.
10 min read 1,512 words
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Contra Grant On Exaggerated Differences
Scott Alexander critiques Adam Grant's article on gender differences in tech, arguing Grant misrepresents evidence and ignores key factors like innate interest differences between men and women.
45 min read 6,903 words
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Guided By The Beauty Of Our Weapons
Scott Alexander argues that true logical debate, rarely attempted, could be more effective in changing minds than commonly believed, and is necessary for long-term progress in distinguishing truth from falsehood.
40 min read 6,166 words
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More Hardball Debate Questions
The post presents challenging hypothetical debate questions for presidential candidates, addressing controversial aspects of their platforms or backgrounds.
14 min read 2,137 words
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Against Interminable Arguments
Scott Alexander examines the problem of endless, unproductive arguments in online communities and proposes ways to mitigate them while maintaining healthy discourse.
13 min read 1,861 words
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Lies, Damned Lies, And The Media (Part 6 of ∞)
Scott Alexander dissects and criticizes Breitbart's misleading use of statistics about illegal immigrant crime, emphasizing the need for better understanding and interpretation of data in political debates.
16 min read 2,391 words
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Hardball Questions For The Next Debate
Scott Alexander presents satirical, absurdist 'hardball' questions for presidential candidates, blending their backgrounds with outlandish scenarios and philosophical puzzles.
20 min read 2,992 words
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My Id On Defensiveness
Scott Alexander explains his defensiveness as a response to unfair critiques that risk pushing groups into irredeemable disrepute, and grapples with how to address this issue.
15 min read 2,224 words
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These Are A Few (More) Of My (Least) Favorite Things
Scott Alexander presents a new list of internet annoyances for 2015, ranging from argumentative tactics to web design issues.
18 min read 2,773 words
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Ethnic Tension And Meaningless Arguments
Scott Alexander examines how debates often revolve around vague concepts with positive or negative associations rather than specific claims, leading to logical fallacies and tribal thinking.
46 min read 7,066 words
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All In All, Another Brick In The Motte
Scott Alexander explains the 'motte and bailey doctrine', a rhetorical fallacy, providing examples and comparing it to the 'weak man fallacy'.
10 min read 1,543 words