/sociology/

Roland-Garros and aristocratic institutions
I watched the French Open men's final on Sunday. The combatants were Jannik Sinner, a 23 year old German-blooded Italian, and Carlos Alcaraz, a 22 year old Spanish Moor. Great match, but I miss the elegance and athletic beauty of Federer. As a man of tenni... (www.ultimatetennisstatistics.com) posted 17h ago with 1 reply eugenics sociology health

Roland-Garros and ar

Good post but I'm gonna disagree with the framing. tbh the hyperspecialized "start training for a sport while you're still in the womb and make it the sole focus of your life" stuff never seemed aristocratic to me. I understand the aristocratic focus on sp... 1h ago

Good post but I'm go

Supercoordination: A Specific Strategy
How do we get there from here? How might we grow pockets of supercoordination even as AI rapidly becomes more capable and the people behind it consolidate their power, proactively countering this precise type of threat?... posted 4mo ago with 7 replies sociology coordination sovereignty

Supercoordination: A

Sure, I wanted to continue the discussion in >>2513 which this thread was branched from. The message was something along the lines of 'this thread is too long or your account is too new, post elsewhere first'. 8d ago

Sure, I wanted to co

Democracy in America or Modernity in Democracy?
From a twitter post today by Tanner Greer (https://x.com/Scholars_Stage/status/1928597464006738035?t=Cper8b-TzL9_zK8Ggzw-zA&s=19) :... (x.com) posted 2w ago with 3 replies politics sociology

Democracy in America

The elimination of the upper class as a self-conscious, self-contained entity is definitely part of it, both in Europe and in certain parts of America. You did have the transition from an aristocracy based on the ownership of productive land towards a more... 1w ago

The elimination of t

America isn't going to become Brazil. It already is Brazil.
According to the 2020 census, the United States was 57.8% non-Hispanic white.... posted 2mo ago with 3 replies politics eugenics sociology

America isn't going

I wrote quite a lengthy reply and then accidentally deleted it. FML. I'm not rewriting that at 5 am.... 2mo ago

I wrote quite a leng

Sub 1.6 TFR = 50% less people in 3 generations. What now?
Marko’s thread I linked put the fertility rate problem into a very clear perspective. If society doesn’t course correct, there won’t be that many people in the future. South Korea will be around 4% of its current population within 3 generations.... (x.com) posted 2mo ago with 8 replies eugenics sociology

Sub 1.6 TFR = 50% le

I suppose the crux here is not the cause or even what action must be taken, but the likelihood of real change.... 2mo ago

I suppose the crux h

What if the extended human phenotype is natural and convergent?
Samo Burja's thesis is that civilization is part of the "extended human phenotype", as dam building is in the beaver's phenotype, and older than we think. In this model, properly savage hunter-gatherers are either more associated with nearby civilization t... posted 2mo ago with 9 replies eugenics sociology

What if the extended

This conversation reminds me of an article (author I can't recall) defining four alien intelligences:... 2mo ago

This conversation re

Just how alien would the space-octopus be?
It's hard to say what a true alien species would be like. But octopi are pretty alien, and we know a bit about them. One of you doubted that a space-octopus from alpha centauri would be much like us. So here is a xenohumanist thought experiment: SETI has i... posted 2mo ago with 5 replies philosophy sociology intelligence

Just how alien would

intelligent super-ants make a good thought experiment. Let's add the standard set of capabilities: language, learned culture, tool use, fire, reflection, etc. Note these are just capabilities, not values or arbitrary architectural narrowings, but they are ... 2mo ago

intelligent super-an

10 Hidden Truths of the Past 100 Years by Matt Ellison
https://mattellison.substack.com/p/10-hidden-truths-of-the-past-100 posted 2mo ago with 2 replies politics sociology history

10 Hidden Truths of

Yes it was.... 2mo ago

Yes it was....

Not Superintelligence; Supercoordination
Everyone seems to be trying to arms race their way to superintelligence these days. I have a different idea: supercoordination.... posted 5mo ago with 34 replies rationality sociology intelligence

Not Superintelligenc

Memory is requisite to supercoordination, no doubt. Tho my gut is that the key to the first visceral supercoordination system will be synthesis over that memory.... 4mo ago

Memory is requisite

internet supplants america
Modern Americans have outgrown our republic.... posted 4mo ago with 6 replies politics technology sociology

internet supplants a

Ah sorry, I meant a migration **from the physical to the digital world.... 4mo ago

Ah sorry, I meant a

Ideology is more fundamental than *just* post-hoc rationalization
Mosca argued that every ruling class justifies itself with a political formula : an ideological narrative that legitimizes power. Raw force alone is unsustainable; a widely accepted narrative makes dominance appear natural. Internally, shared ideology unif... posted 4mo ago with 10 replies politics ideology sociology

Ideology is more fun

I think even acts of intuitive human intelligence are often difficult to explain to other people; perhaps the metaphor of Cassandra is a good reminder how genius is often recognized far too late:... 4mo ago

I think even acts of

Small Spaces by Simon Sarris. Why culture is created in small places
https://map.simonsarris.com/p/small-spaces posted 5mo ago with 1 reply sociology

Small Spaces by Simo

The more dense a population the more cliquish people become. This is due to the degree of separation involved. So think a highschool with 500 kids vs highschool with 1000 kids. In the former compared to the latter, within a certain grade everyone knows eve... 4mo ago

The more dense a pop

Is independent thinking still possible in an environment where escaping social media ecochamber is nearly impossible?
Is it possible to be an independent thinker in general?... posted 5mo ago with 6 replies ideology rationality sociology

Is independent think

Independence is tough as always. The time before social media, many too didn't have independent thinking, just there wasn't a platform to make it evident.... 5mo ago

Independence is toug

rationalists vs. libertarians
rats more elite but libertarians more vigorous (www.anarchonomicon.com) posted 8mo ago with 1 reply rationality sociology fieldreports

rationalists vs. lib

The vibecamp description is depressing. I havent been but my experience with cringe rationalists very much vibes with it.... 8mo ago

The vibecamp descrip

Road trip week 5, 6: The wedding, public land, overpopulation, underpopulation, unsociety.
The road trip at the end of week 5 took us across the bay to celebrate the wedding of an old friend and teacher. I didn't know what to expect, but it was delightfully well done. Congratulations to the couple.... posted 12mo ago with 1 reply politics sociology fieldreports

Road trip week 5, 6:

Nevada is the open road radicalized and extended into a whole state. This actually makes it quite pleasant. Almost everything is public land, and underpopulated enough that you can do whatever you want. You can just drive off into the bush and camp, and ev... 12mo ago

Nevada is the open r

The internet social apocalypse and its solutions
folks over on twitter are complaining that all the twisty little passages full of unique social subcultures have been dissolved into a single global free market of slop. Elon giveth, and Elon taketh away. It seemed like an interesting topic so let's have a... posted 12mo ago with 9 replies politics sociology

The internet social

Instead of being nostalgic, it occurred to me that I might give an example of a platform that has survived the social apocalypse...... 12mo ago

Instead of being nos

Mapping the critical cohorts of the US
America relies on the competency of just a few cohorts of people and the health of the institutions that they occupy throughout their careers to function. I think it's a short list but I'd be curious to hear input on what I have so far:... posted 1y ago with 57 replies sociology coordination

Mapping the critical

The algorithm giveth, the algorithm taketh away. Occasionally, it may make mistakes, but more importantly we all may make mistakes in what we like and dislike. Attention is a political resource that we must fight to allocate properly. Please form your opin... 14mo ago

The algorithm giveth

Are aesthetics really primary when seeking converts?
A common theme I see in some circles online is that many political opinions and other social convictions are downstream of aesthetics. This leads to a sort of propagandizing via art and literature, appeals to physical beauty, etc.... posted 1y ago with 15 replies politics sociology

Are aesthetics reall

That is to say, if everyone who can be good is attempting to be good, then we need no other plans. If God is real then He will guide us; if not, then our efforts are already in vain. 1y ago

That is to say, if e

Twitter Hobo's proposal for a new American nomadism
https://twitter.com/shagbark_hick/status/1774939620943294603 posted 1y ago with 22 replies sociology

Twitter Hobo's propo

Papen and Hindenburg facilitated the rise of national socialism due to tactical moves in 1933; it did not come from them or their faction. 1y ago

Papen and Hindenburg

Who is Portugal For? (and what's the point of democracy anymore?)
https://www.palladiummag.com/2024/02/23/who-is-portugal-for/ posted 1y ago with 12 replies politics ideology sociology

Who is Portugal For?

Indeed. The difference between what seems possible according to the world of ideas and what actually is possible is potentially large and always the essence of the game. This is why I'm not sure we can put too much stock in the "it can't reference or be mi... 1y ago

Indeed. The differen