In My Tribe

In My Tribe explores complex societal, political, and economic issues with a focus on skepticism, the importance of epistemology, and the critique of managerial elites and institutional dynamics. It addresses contemporary social debates, including drug policy, gender roles, and the influence of libertarianism, while promoting intellectual discussions.

Societal and Epistemic Analysis Political and Economic Views Drug Policy and Regulation Gender Dynamics in Institutions Racial Perceptions in Legal Systems Generational Cultural Shifts Evolutionary Perspectives on Behavior Managerial Class Critique Cultural and Political Discussions Religious Authority in Modern Societies Financial Regulation Economics and Sociology Political Beliefs Formation Libertarianism Health Insurance Policy

Top posts of the year

And their main takeaways

An Epistemic Crisis?

1032 implied HN points • 02 Aug 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Media Journalism Political division
  1. In an epistemic crisis, it's crucial to be cautious of who you trust for information.
  2. Elite individuals and institutions sometimes spread lies, causing difficulty in discerning the truth.
  3. Encouraging skepticism and demanding transparency from all sources of news and opinion is essential.

Current Things

926 implied HN points • 27 Jan 24
🌍 World Politics Israel Hostages Yemen Presidential Race
  1. Be cautious when trusting third parties to maintain peace in conflict situations.
  2. Avoid prioritizing the lives of hostages to prevent rewarding hostage-taking.
  3. Promote a strong stance against threats to ensure respect and deterrence.

Marijuana Reconsidered

789 implied HN points • 11 Jul 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental Illness Regulation
  1. Marijuana legalization has not significantly reduced excessive incarceration and has increased the use of the drug.
  2. Observational studies suggest a link between chronic cannabis use and mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder.
  3. There should be strict regulations on marijuana use, with rigorous testing of its medicinal claims and penalties for public use and driving under the influence.
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Wright and Wrong Ways to Debate

683 implied HN points • 01 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Debate
  1. Bob's conduct in debates should focus on understanding the other side's motives, not assuming the worst.
  2. Meaningful debates involve explaining and understanding different viewpoints without resorting to personal attacks or asymmetric insights.
  3. Maintain focus on the main issue of the debate and avoid veering off into unrelated topics for a productive discussion.

Vietnam in the Middle East

683 implied HN points • 17 Jan 24
🌍 World Politics Middle East Vietnam War Foreign Policy
  1. In Vietnam War, US officials complained about fighting with restrictions on bombing.
  2. Endemic violence in the Arab Middle East leads to lack of 'solutions' and need for strong state institutions.
  3. Proposed options for dealing with Iran, unpacking the idea of going big or going home.

The Great White Defendant

653 implied HN points • 18 May 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Current Events Race relations
  1. The author discusses the dynamics of racial perceptions and biases in the legal system.
  2. The post highlights how the roles of individuals involved can be perceived differently based on racial considerations.
  3. It contrasts the reactions to a situation based on race between different time periods and locations.

The GDP Indicator

592 implied HN points • 03 Feb 24
💰 Finance Market Trends
  1. GDP is not the best indicator of the economy's health, especially due to factors like healthcare spending.
  2. GDP measures economic activity in markets, which includes specialization and trade.
  3. GDP changes are most meaningful when observed over long periods, not short-term fluctuations.

The Mating/Reproduction Game

546 implied HN points • 23 Jun 23
🎭️ Culture Evolution Sexuality Society Relationships Gender Dynamics
  1. In evolutionary terms, our behaviors are strategies for reproduction that interact with the cultural environment.
  2. On average, in a society with equal male and female numbers, men and women will have the same number of sex partners.
  3. Social and cultural factors influence how individuals may present themselves in terms of mating strategies.

N.S. Lyons on the panic of the managerial class

516 implied HN points • 07 Aug 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Accountability
  1. The managerial class has caused a shift in societal values by emphasizing mass organization and control
  2. The United States is described as a soft managerial regime that relies on narrative management rather than direct force
  3. There is a pushback against the managerial elite to restore individual autonomy and reduce dependency on external controls

Loyalty Tests Signify Religious Authority

516 implied HN points • 17 Jul 23
🌍 World Politics
  1. Loyalty tests are used to signify and exercise religious authority in modern progressive elite circles.
  2. Beliefs that are contestable or false can serve as loyalty tests to gauge conformity within a group.
  3. In certain contexts like academia, loyalty tests have become more prevalent, overshadowing reality and character tests.

Steve Levitt on the academic career path

501 implied HN points • 17 Mar 24
🚌 Education
  1. In academia, technical skills and techniques are highly valued, sometimes overshadowing the importance of addressing significant questions and providing practical solutions.
  2. Many academics feel discouraged when their research doesn't have a lasting impact or is not widely read, even top professionals like Steve Levitt have faced this.
  3. There's concern in the academic economics field that the focus on technicality and inward complexity might lead to a decline in stature, similar to what happened with disciplines like anthropology or sociology.

Links to Consider, 1/26

486 implied HN points • 26 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Education Race Society Books Gender
  1. Some college graduates lack basic skills due to learning deficits and grade inflation.
  2. Cultural inheritance and genetic factors may influence executive function and social mobility.
  3. Economic development impacts societal norms and individualism based on cultural practices like cousin marriage.

Libertarianism as a Warning System

470 implied HN points • 07 Jul 23
  1. Libertarianism acts as a warning system against government intervention.
  2. Government control may limit experimenting and distort market evaluations.
  3. Not all fights for individual rights, like drug legalization, may have positive outcomes.

Why Health Insurance Systems are Mismanaged

455 implied HN points • 01 Jul 23
🏥 Health Politics Health Insurance Incentives Costs Government Market
  1. Incentives in health insurance systems can be misaligned, leading to issues like services being rationed for those with expensive illnesses.
  2. Government can create artificial pools within health insurance to avoid selection games, but challenges in insurer-provider conflicts may persist.
  3. Integrating health insurance with health care, like in HMOs, can help manage costs, but compensation methods for HMOs and providers remain contentious.

Obvious Business Opportunities

425 implied HN points • 09 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Software Customer Support Robots AI
  1. Addressing technical debt in outdated software systems is a significant business opportunity, especially using new pattern-matching models to optimize and secure old software.
  2. Leveraging large language models (LLMs) for customer support improvement and developing efficient back-office apps for various sectors presents lucrative business prospects.
  3. Special-purpose robots tailored for specific tasks like security or medical procedures offer practical business opportunities compared to humanoid robots.

A Profit-Seeking Government?

425 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Government Democracy Corruption Political parties Lobbying
  1. Government can be categorized into Limited-Access (L) and Open-Access (O) Orders based on who is allowed to form significant organizations.
  2. In Limited-Access Orders (L), the ruling coalition can extract resources and form organizations, while in Open-Access Orders (O), citizens have the right to form political parties and corporations independently.
  3. Profit-seeking government tends to align with one-party government and can lead to corruption and favoritism, making a competitive, open-access order preferable.

Claude's Shmuck is Bigger!

394 implied HN points • 13 Mar 24
💼 Business Technology Industry Trends Mergers Business strategy Machine Learning
  1. In the realm of machine learning, size isn't everything. Intelligence is seen as a continuous process, not just about having the largest model.
  2. Rather than betting on one ultimate model, the future may hold multiple specialized uses for machine learning, like in medicine where different applications can thrive.
  3. Building specific applications in machine learning could be more successful than pursuing a one-size-fits-all approach, as seen in historical business scenarios.

Links to Consider

394 implied HN points • 22 Jan 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Education Government Non-profit Bureaucracy
  1. American colleges and universities have traditionally been prestigious, but recent actions have diminished their value, creating opportunities for disruption.
  2. The surge in new business formation in the US, following the pandemic, showcases the adaptability and innovation of American capitalism.
  3. Complex social problems require precise knowledge for effective solutions, and both government interventions and social activism may fall short in addressing them.

Trump, the Ballot, and the State of Exception

379 implied HN points • 07 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political theory Elections Sovereignty Governance
  1. In extreme cases of emergency, the law may not be able to handle the situation effectively.
  2. Political officials in some states are making decisions that can be seen as declaring a 'state of exception.'
  3. The issue of sovereignty and decision-making power has been a point of contention during crises like the 2020 election and the COVID pandemic.

Links to Consider

379 implied HN points • 06 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Media Academia Free speech
  1. Unsolicited advice can create resentment if not asked for.
  2. Articles are graded on engagement with opposing viewpoints.
  3. University presidents may face increased accountability and scrutiny in light of recent events.

A Walk and Talk

364 implied HN points • 31 Jan 24
🏝 Travel Outdoors Adventure Socializing Physical activity Location
  1. Consider implementing a walk-and-talk activity to engage in intense conversations in a new environment.
  2. Plan logistics for the walk such as staying in a hotel, carrying belongings in a van, and driving the van in rotation.
  3. Adjust the walk to suit personal preferences, like duration, location, terrain, and meal preferences.

Links to Consider

364 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Crime Israel Prison System
  1. American high incarceration rate is driven by violent crimes, not only drug offenses.
  2. Innocence holds power in American society's struggle with its history.
  3. Today's successful businesses focus on software capital and a different management culture.

Links to Consider

349 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🚌 Education Leadership Non-profit Ideology Critical Thinking
  1. The key to effective leadership is genuinely caring about your subordinates, not just pretending to care.
  2. Comparing profit-seeking businesses with non-profits, profit-seeking businesses are more incentivized to solve customer problems than non-profits are to create benefits that exceed costs.
  3. Wokism stems from the equality thesis of race and sex differences and a background of Christian morality, leading to challenges in discussing disparities and natural differences among groups.

Links to Consider, 3/14

349 implied HN points • 14 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture Reading Sociology Religion Politics
  1. Reading is a skill that needs practice; reading long-form text is important for success in education and work.
  2. There's a need to understand trade-offs in policy-making; some argue for stronger social norms against alcohol and drug use.
  3. The shift towards morality and self-discipline in religions coincided with an increase in affluence and a focus on delayed gratification.

Links to Consider, 3/10

318 implied HN points • 10 Mar 24
  1. People are having fewer children nowadays due to more appealing options, not just cultural reasons.
  2. Focusing too much on mental health and emotions can have negative effects, sometimes it's better to focus on others.
  3. Removing disruptive individuals, whether in schools or workplaces, can have a significant positive impact on the environment.

Links to Consider, 3/7

318 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political theory Activism Conservatism Foreign Relations
  1. Girard's mimetic theory explains how desires are often copied from others, leading to a cycle of crisis and scapegoating in communities.
  2. Noah Smith points out the shift in progressive causes towards Palestine, indicating a potential change in the unrest of the 2010s.
  3. Charles Kesler highlights the difference between National Conservatism and American Conservatism in terms of prioritizing individual vs. group rights.

Links to Consider, 3/15

318 implied HN points • 15 Mar 24
  1. Academic careers now have longer paths, making it difficult especially for women who want to have children.
  2. The book 'The Defeat of the West' by Emmanuel Todd discusses Western weaknesses and rejection of Woke culture.
  3. Beliefs that engender myside bias can distort how we interpret new information and prevent society from converging on facts.

Links to Consider, 2/25

318 implied HN points • 25 Feb 24
🌍 World Politics Political theory Cultural analysis Economic Impact Religious Studies Government transparency
  1. In some areas, class status is heavily influenced by college education and the prestigious Yankee settled areas.
  2. Martin Gurri envisions a future where the online electorate has more direct engagement in government and information is more transparent.
  3. It's important to consider the long-term effects of defense spending on the economy, as resources might be more beneficial if allocated elsewhere.

Dan Williams on Cooperation

318 implied HN points • 03 Mar 24
📖 Philosophy Human nature Cooperation Social Dynamics
  1. Human cooperation is rooted in reputation management within groups.
  2. Life within a group involves dynamics of competition, conflict, and exploitation, not just friendship.
  3. Achieving cooperation and peace requires complex systems of norms and incentives, not just relying on innate friendliness.