Focus on Disconfirmation

The confirmation/disconfirmation bias asymmetry is such that our criticisms of opposing arguments are more epistemically valuable than our own arguments for our positions.

Discrimination & Discretion

Discrimination should be strongest within aspects of the criminal justice system in which cops, lawyers, & judges have the most leeway to push hard or let it slide.

Statistical Garnish

"Statistical garnish" is prevalent in opinion articles & debates: using a small set of fancy-seeming stats to support your case, contra a genuine attempt to understand the scientific/statistical literature on an issue (like SSC often does).

Forward & Backward "Why" Questions

There are at least two distinct types of 'why' questions: specific ones about (forward) causal inference, and abductive ones about generating new hypotheses (reverse).

Origins of Epistemology of Disagreement

A lot of thought on the epistemology of disagreement comes before and outside philosophy (hat tip: James Bailey on COVID-19 experts)

Teleology & Counterfactuals

There may be a connection between teleological explanations and counterfactual explanations, at least in biology & psychology.

"Not Violence" vs. Nonviolence

A history of "not violence" (as opposed to nonviolence) within the civil rights movement emphasizes the right to self defense against state violence.

My Language of Politics

I'm pretty dedicated to the progressive narrative of oppression. (Arnold Kling's Three Languages of Politics, via Russ Roberts on Amit Varma's podcast)

Cancel Culture Obsession

 I don't like how much I'm interested in cancel culture.

How Is My Curriculum Philosophy?

 I haven't done nearly enough to diversify my curricula ("How Is This Paper Philosophy?").

Biology & Reductionism

The claim that biology reduces to chemistry (like chemistry reduces to physics) is more disputed than I thought.

Utilitarianism & Progressive Values

Bentham advocated for decriminalizing gay sex. I'm not sure whether to give more credence to utilitarianism for being ahead of the curve on feminism and gay rights, or whether Mill's ties to Bentham provide a social, nonrational explanation.

Meritocracy & the "Great Man" Myth

A commitment to meritocracy stems from the "great man" myth that science only progresses from genius to genius.

Conspiratorial Rationalists

There's a (growing?) pocket of conspiratorial media-distrusters in the rationalist community.

Understand Prior Literature

Scientists should spend more time understanding the prior literature before attempting new research.

Police Defiance Cycle

There may be a vicious cycle between police's dislike of defiance and inner-city citizens' code of defiance.

Keep It Simple: Blame Epistemic Vices

Epistemic vices may be more relevant to the spread of misinformation than politicization and polarization.