Conspicuous Cognition

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The marketplace of misleading ideas
In the marketplace of ideas, are people shopping for truth?
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Dan Williams
29
Are people too flawed, ignorant, and tribal for open societies?
A deep dive into four factors that prevent members of open societies from understanding political reality: complexity, invisibility, incentives, and…
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Dan Williams
81
Six months on Substack
Six brief reflections
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Dan Williams
11

June 2024

Biden's age and the problem with the misinformation cope
The tendency to dismiss challenges to liberal orthodoxies as "misinformation" is costly.
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Dan Williams
44
Thoughts on ideology
Ideology, left versus right, and political psychology
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Dan Williams
44
Socialism, self-deception, and spontaneous order
In 'Why Not Socialism?', G.A. Cohen mistakes our self-deceptive fairytales about cooperation for the real motives that underlie it.
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Dan Williams
81
Misinformation poses a smaller threat to democracy than you might think
A new article in Nature by prominent misinformation researchers is badly argued, misunderstands basic issues, and misrepresents critics.
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Dan Williams
38
How Dangerous is Misinformation?
The problem with alarmism about "misinformation" is not that it is too pessimistic about the state of media and public discourse. The problem is that it…
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Dan Williams
66

May 2024

Cynicism for thee but not for me
Is it only your rivals and enemies who seek status and engage in virtue signalling?
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Dan Williams
34
Strategic Altruism: The Machiavellian Roots of Human Kindness
Nice Nazis, friendly factory farmers, and the evolution of sincere but selective moral instincts
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Dan Williams
28
Debunking Disinformation Myths, Part 2: The Politics of Big Disinfo
Does widespread alarm about “disinformation” reflect an objective and apolitical concern with dangerous lies or a thinly veiled political project…
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Dan Williams
The misinformation wars - a reading list
Important readings that challenge conventional wisdom about the nature, novelty, prevalence, and impact of misinformation.
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Dan Williams
9
© 2024 Dan Williams
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