Concept handles, after Alexander

A “concept handle” is a memorable noun phrase representing a complex, often abstract topic. For example: “prisoner’s dilemma,” “Overton window,” “belief in belief,” etc. In my own writing, examples include Enabling environment, Enacted experience, etc. The “concept handle” is a concept handle for itself, coined by Scott Alexander.

I’m not too likely to discover some entirely new social phenomenon that nobody’s ever thought about before. But there are a lot of things people have vague nebulous ideas about that they can’t quite put into words. Changing those into crystal-clear ideas they can manipulate and discuss with others is a big deal.

If you figure out something interesti

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