Political Freedom is Really Only About Managing Recursion

Part 1: Free Speech Almost all free-speech-advocates make the argument for free speech in a flawed way. It’s understandable; the complete case for free speech is more complex than even what I will provide in this essay. I think the right case for free speech is from a “political freedom” frame. A good, popular, short-form … Continue reading Political Freedom is Really Only About Managing Recursion →

Identity Politics (Sam Harris is Wrong, Part 5)

In one notorious podcast episode, Sam Harris discussed identity politics with the very socially progressive Ezra Klein. Ezra made unsurprising appeal to consequences arguments, but what I want to talk about is one specific thing he said. He accused Sam of supporting an identity of his own, a reactionary identity of those marginalized by social … Continue reading Identity Politics (Sam Harris is Wrong, Part 5) →

Your vote will never matter. That’s why you should vote.

First of all, I think you should vote. Some people say, “I don’t vote because I don’t live in a swing state, so my vote doesn’t make a difference.” I find this to be a nonsensical reason for not voting, because your vote never makes a difference, whether you live in a swing state or … Continue reading Your vote will never matter. That’s why you should vote. →

Words in Countries’ Names vs Corruption

I was going through pictures on my computer, and I cam across this chart I made: Though it's a bit outdated, it took forever to make. Some key points: almost all of these are below 50 (bad), the only words that are positively associated with lower corruption are "new" and "kingdom." Someone else made this … Continue reading Words in Countries’ Names vs Corruption →