Note: I discovered all these bloggers through the extended Slate Star Codex universe, either by their participation in the annual book review contest or by participating in the /r/slatestarcodex subreddit. While I don’t know how much these five writers truly identify with or enjoy Slate Star Codex, they at least use it as an outlet to find an audience, which atleasts suggests something about them. I’m not aware of many other amazing up-and-coming bloggers out there outside of the SSC universe, perhaps because I don’t spend time in other environments. However, I suspect there’s a reason all my favourite up and coming bloggers are Slate Star Codex readers and influenced by Scott.
Matt Lakeman
Matt Lakeman is known in online intellectual circles as the travel writer, but he is so much more than that. His most famous writing consists of extensive reflections on his travels to a number of unusual countries. While these are amazing and must-reads, they represent just one aspect of Matt’s remarkable writing. His style involves writing extremely in-depth articles in very frank terms, teaching you more than you ever thought you’d want to know about a topic. Matt is a fantastic writer who excels at communicating a large volume of facts in a digestible and memorable way. His blunt tone can also be quite humorous.
- Notes on Guinea
- Thoughts on Meaning and Writing
- Polygamy, Human Sacrifices, and Steel: Why the Aztecs Were Awesome
Dynomight
Dynomight articles typically incorporate deep statistical or analytical analysis on issues most people overlook, along with strong conceptual frameworks to write original articles on seemingly random issues that capture his or her interest. Despite the analytical tone of the writing, since most of Dynomight articles relates to things that came up in Dynomight’s real life, the writing is more personal than you would otherwise expect.
Henrik Karlsson
https://www.henrikkarlsson.xyz/
Henrik writes extremely personal tales, often inspired by his own life experiences, that are imbued with a tremendous amount of soul. Henrik’s writing is soothing and provides emotional grounding. The writing is what I would imagine if you asked an incredibly thoughtful mature person to live in a cabin in the woods and reflect on life, which actually isn’t that far off Henrik’s life.
Max Nussenbaum
https://www.candyforbreakfast.email/
Max is a unique breed: a thoroughly nerdy SSC-type person who is equally passionate about art and style. He writes interesting essays that are fun, whimsical, and deep. Max differs from others on this list in that I think he would have appeal to a broader audience than internet nerds alone.
Étienne Fortier-Dubois
https://etiennefd.substack.com/
Étienne writes with a lot of wonder about the world, in a very Canadian, mild-mannered voice. His writing themes and topics can vary wildly from article to article, with the constant theme being an extraordinarily high level of thoughtfulness.