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6 hours ago
- #epistemology
- #rationalism-critique
- #crime-statistics
- Author expresses deep admiration for Scott Alexander, praising his intellectual contributions and influence.
- Criticizes Scott's over-reliance on quantifiable data, termed 'The Church of Graphs', arguing it undervalues personal experience (gnosis) and reasoning (episteme).
- Uses examples like crime statistics to show how official data can misrepresent lived realities, highlighting issues like underreporting and quality-of-life crimes.
- Discusses epistemic chain of custody in data collection, noting biases and inaccuracies that can distort trends.
- Encourages trusting personal observations and experiences over formalized data when they conflict, especially in local contexts.