The reason is, in order for communication to be effective, it has to create what’s known as common knowledge, which is a string of embedded knowledge—you know, if you have two individuals, and I need to know that the other is going to show up to protest, the other needs to know that I’m going to show up to protest, and I need to know that he knows

... See more

She once threw a party where everyone had to be naked except for a mask, hoping it might loosen up the rationalists a bit. “But instead, they all just sat around the circle and behaved exactly the way they normally do and started debating like global trade,” she told me. (Aella’s efforts weren’t entirely fruitless; Scott Alexander met his future wi

... See more