ACX
Book Review: The Origins Of Woke
Scott Alexander reviews 'The Origins of Woke', finding its critique of civil rights law informative but skeptical of its claim that such laws caused wokeness.
50 min read 7,625 words
The independent Scott Alexander archive
Scott Alexander, collected.
Essays, arguments, and unexpected connections. An independent archive of Slate Star Codex, Astral Codex Ten, and LessWrong.
The collection
2,007 essaysACX
Response to Hanson On Health Care
Scott Alexander responds to Robin Hanson's reply on medical effectiveness, clarifying interpretations and reiterating arguments about the limitations of insurance experiments in evaluating medical care.
41 min read 6,243 words
ACX
Survey Results: PMS Symptoms
Scott Alexander explores correlations between PMS symptoms and various beliefs and traits, finding significant connections that leave him puzzled.
9 min read 1,327 words
ACX
Desperately Trying To Fathom The Coffeepocalypse Argument
Scott Alexander dissects and criticizes a common argument against AI safety that compares it to past unfulfilled disaster predictions, finding it logically flawed and difficult to steelman.
17 min read 2,526 words
ACX
Contra Hanson On Medical Effectiveness
Scott Alexander challenges Robin Hanson's claim that medicine doesn't work by analyzing health insurance studies and presenting evidence of medicine's effectiveness.
51 min read 7,819 words
ACX
ACX Survey Results 2024
Scott Alexander shares the results of the 2024 Astral Codex Ten survey, providing access to data and promising future analyses.
3 min read 393 words
ACX
Ye Olde Bay Area House Party
Scott Alexander writes a satirical account of a Bay Area house party, mocking various tech and social trends in a Chaucer-inspired style.
22 min read 3,370 words
ACX
Updates on Lumina Probiotic
Scott Alexander updates on Lumina probiotic, discussing FDA trials, effectiveness, potential risks, and his nuanced stance on the product.
12 min read 1,707 words
ACX
ACX Classifieds 4/24
Scott introduces an irregular classifieds thread for readers to advertise in various categories, providing guidelines and related resources.
1 min read 121 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On The Lab Leak Debate
Scott Alexander responds to comments on his COVID-19 origins debate post, addressing criticisms and maintaining his support for the zoonosis theory.
119 min read 18,355 words
ACX
Links For April 2024
Scott Alexander presents a curated list of 31 diverse links and news items, covering topics from politics and science to cultural phenomena and AI developments.
20 min read 3,065 words
ACX
Practically-A-Book Review: Rootclaim $100,000 Lab Leak Debate
Scott Alexander reviews a $100,000 debate on COVID-19 origins, where the zoonotic hypothesis unexpectedly won against the lab leak theory.
118 min read 18,207 words
ACX
Take The 2024 ACX Survey
Scott Alexander announces the 2024 ACX Survey, inviting readers to participate and potentially win a free subscription.
2 min read 226 words
ACX
In Continued Defense Of Non-Frequentist Probabilities
Scott Alexander defends using probabilities for hard-to-model events, arguing they aid clear communication and decision-making even in uncertain domains.
23 min read 3,438 words
ACX
The Mystery Of Internet Survey IQs
Scott Alexander investigates why self-reported IQ scores in online surveys are implausibly high, identifying issues with conversion tools, reporting bias, and unreliable tests.
13 min read 1,913 words
ACX
In Partial Grudging Defense Of Some Aspects Of Therapy Culture
Scott Alexander presents a partial defense of 'therapy culture', comparing its focus on self-discovery to helping people overcome a form of 'preference alexithymia'.
6 min read 850 words
ACX
Verses On Five People Being Killed By A Falling Package Of Foreign Aid
Scott Alexander's poem, inspired by a tragic aid airdrop incident in Gaza, explores the challenges and unintended consequences of altruism through various philosophical lenses.
4 min read 467 words
ACX
Mantic Monday 3/11/24
The post explores recent advances in AI forecasting, discusses the concept of 'rationality engines', reviews a study on AI risk predictions, and provides updates on various prediction markets.
27 min read 4,080 words
ACX
ACX Grants Followup Impact Market
Scott Alexander introduces an impact market for unfunded ACX Grants proposals, allowing investors to crowdfund projects with potential returns in Manifund dollars.
13 min read 1,970 words
ACX
How Should We Think About Race And "Lived Experience"?
Scott Alexander analyzes the Elizabeth Hoover case to explore the complexities of racial identity, lived experience, and the ethics of cultural appropriation.
26 min read 3,958 words
ACX
Who Predicted 2023?
Scott Alexander analyzes the results of his 2023 forecasting contest, comparing various prediction methods and individual forecasters.
19 min read 2,907 words
ACX
Book Review Contest Rules 2024
Scott Alexander announces the 2024 Book Review Contest, detailing submission guidelines, prizes, and a new focus on including nontraditional book categories.
4 min read 531 words
ACX
Links For February 2024
A compilation of 55 diverse links and brief commentaries on various topics, including scientific studies, historical anecdotes, cultural phenomena, and technological developments.
33 min read 5,036 words
ACX
Less Utilitarian Than Thou
Scott Alexander explores the misconception of utilitarianism, arguing that many common political actions are more ethically questionable than his own 'utilitarian' views.
7 min read 970 words
ACX
Who Does Polygenic Selection Help?
Scott Alexander argues that using polygenic screening to select low-risk embryos can be considered as preventing genetic disorders, drawing parallels with other accepted preventive practices.
8 min read 1,185 words
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