Matthew Yglesias

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18 September

Matthew YglesiasKorrents 18 Sept

From one piece Trying to convince people you’re right is underrated 2 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Progressive political thinking has neglected the value of persuading others that one is right

Their words

I think the big thing that has gone weirdly missing from a lot of progressive thinking about the political system is the concept of "persuade people that you are correct."

slowboring.com
korrents.com
Most people who hold a widely-held political view are ignorant or intellectually sloppy about it

Their words

The fact is that for basically any widely held political view, a huge share of the people who hold the view are going to be ignorant, intellectually sloppy, or otherwise badly flawed in their reasoning.

slowboring.com

17 September

Matthew YglesiasNewsletter 17 Sept

“The Argument” podcast, ad-free: Why the worst people always end up in charge
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Matthew YglesiasKorrents 17 Sept

From one piece How to stop Hitler 2 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Hitler's rise to power was mainly the product of contingent political and economic mistakes rather than deep ideological inevitability.

Their words

The real story of Hitler's rise is mostly a history of contingency - bad choices by specific influential politicians first wrecked the German economy and then handed power to Hitler.

How to stop Hitlerslowboring.com
korrents.com
Major historical events do not necessarily have deep intellectual or ideological causes; assuming so is a common fallacy.

Their words

But I think this impulse to gild the lily and attribute the rise of Hitler to deep intellectual trends is an example of a pretty common fallacy of assuming that an incredibly important world event must have incredibly important roots.

How to stop Hitlerslowboring.com

16 September

Matthew YglesiasKorrents 16 Sept

From one piece Destroying women’s sports in order to save it 3 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
In the Title IX debate, conservatives are the side seeking to shrink funding and opportunities for girls' sports.

Their words

And the broader Title IX fight is a classic left/right political battle, where conservatives just want to shrink opportunities and funding for girls' sports.

Destroying women’s sports in order to save itslowboring.com
korrents.com
Large national investments in girls' athletic opportunities translate into better international sports results.

America

Their words

America has made unusually large investments in athletic opportunities for girls and it pays off.

Destroying women’s sports in order to save itslowboring.com
korrents.com
Promoting women's sports has always been a progressive cause, not one the right actually champions.

Their words

Promoting women's sports is and always has been a progressive cause.

Destroying women’s sports in order to save itslowboring.com

15 September

Matthew YglesiasKorrents 15 Sept

From one piece Sanctions on West Bank settlements aren’t enough 2 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Netanyahu's governing coalition depends on parties that openly back anti-Palestinian violence.

Their words

The current Netanyahu coalition is dependent on small parties that are overtly supportive of irregular anti-Palestinian violence.

Sanctions on West Bank settlements aren’t enoughslowboring.com
korrents.com
Changing Israeli policy toward Palestinians requires imposing costs on mainstream, not just settler, Israelis.

Their words

We need to do something that inflicts pain on nicer, more sympathetic Israelis in Tel Aviv and Haifa, something that makes them want to actually change course and meaningfully alter the situation.

Sanctions on West Bank settlements aren’t enoughslowboring.com

14 September

Matthew YglesiasKorrents 14 Sept

From one piece A simple plan to save the world from rogue A.I. 3 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
There is now broad agreement within AI safety circles that fully open AI development is undesirable.

AI alignment

Their words

I think it's now pretty widely agreed in safety circles that total openness is in fact not desirable.

A simple plan to save the world from rogue A.I.slowboring.com
korrents.com
Progressive politics has a failure mode of treating hard technical and coordination problems as purely political fights to win.

Their words

I think a huge failure mode for progressive politics is looking at a difficult problem like climate change that can only be addressed through a mix of hard international coordination problems and hard technical problems, only to decide that it's really just a political question of beating the fossil fuel industry.

A simple plan to save the world from rogue A.I.slowboring.com
korrents.com
Only a safe, aligned superintelligence built within liberal democracies can entrench liberal-democratic values globally.

AI alignment

Their words

Only a safe, well-aligned superintelligence developed in the world of liberal democracies could entrench liberal-democratic values.

A simple plan to save the world from rogue A.I.slowboring.com

11 September

Matthew YglesiasKorrents 11 Sept

From one piece We’re still underrating 9/11’s impact 3 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Post-9/11 American public sentiment was malleable enough that leaders could have directed it toward inward-looking demagoguery instead of foreign war.

America

Their words

If Bush had wanted to whip people up into an inward-looking demagogic fervor instead of an external-facing one, he clearly could have accomplished that, too.

We’re still underrating 9/11’s impactslowboring.com
korrents.com
The plan to hijack airplanes and destroy the World Trade Center was an eccentric, unlikely scheme rather than a natural or inevitable one.

Their words

I think appreciation of the contingency starts with observing that the whole idea of hijacking airplanes in order to destroy the World Trade Center is eccentric.

We’re still underrating 9/11’s impactslowboring.com
korrents.com
9/11 and Osama bin Laden's actions fundamentally shaped the world we live in today.

Their words

It's on some levels obvious that we are all very much living in a world that Osama bin Laden made.

We’re still underrating 9/11’s impactslowboring.com

10 September

Matthew YglesiasNewsletter 10 Sept

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