The independent Scott Alexander archive
Essays, arguments, and unexpected connections. An independent archive of Slate Star Codex, Astral Codex Ten, and LessWrong.
Scott Alexander examines the Hearing Voices Movement, discussing its benefits and limitations in treating psychosis while emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to mental health care.
Scott Alexander humorously reviews the 26 candidates for California governor in 2022, highlighting their diverse backgrounds and unconventional policy ideas.
Scott Alexander explores parallels between human willpower and potential AI development, suggesting future AIs might experience weakness of will similar to humans.
A book review examining the history of Nature journal and how it became one of the most prestigious scientific publications.
Scott Alexander evaluates silexan, a lavender-based anxiety supplement, finding promising but potentially biased evidence, and recommends cautious trial use.
Scott Alexander discusses a replication of his nootropics survey, expressing skepticism about the results due to potential placebo effects and biases in participant ratings.
Scott critiques evolutionary explanations for suitor-parent disagreements in mate choice, proposing that suitors use innate instincts while parents rely on reasoning, leading to different preferences.
A review of Stanislas Dehaene's 'Consciousness and the Brain', discussing scientific findings on consciousness and their implications.
Scott Alexander reviews 'The Gervais Principle', a book offering insights into organizational dynamics through a classification of three personality types, finding it thought-provoking but not entirely convincing.
Scott Alexander reviews recent prediction market changes and defends the usefulness of prediction markets, focusing on Ukraine, Roe v. Wade, and other topics.
Scott Alexander satirizes Bay Area culture through a fictional house party filled with eccentric characters and outlandish startup ideas.
Scott Alexander explores why readers prefer his old amateur blog layout to Substack's professional design, presenting survey data and considering various explanations for this unexpected preference.
Scott Alexander compiles and summarizes reader comments on his article about Xi Jinping, covering various aspects of Xi's rule and Chinese politics.
Scott reviews a book on Lacanian psychoanalysis, discussing its theories on desire and human development while expressing both skepticism and interest in some of its ideas.
Scott Alexander critiques Ben Hoffman's arguments about Vitamin D dosing, maintaining that it is primarily a bone-related chemical with limited evidence for other benefits.
Scott Alexander examines the prevalence of people going by initials, particularly those starting with 'J', and explores various theories to explain this trend.
Scott Alexander presents and discusses diverse reader reactions to his review of 'Sadly, Porn', touching on the book's controversial ideas and writing style.
Scott reviews recent changes in prediction markets covering the Ukraine war, nuclear risk, AI development, and other current events.
Scott Alexander shares 33 diverse links on topics ranging from history and science to technology and politics, offering brief summaries and commentary on each.
Scott explores cultural translation by reimagining Xi Jinping's life as that of a fictional American president, Jason Shea, and reflects on the challenges of this creative exercise.
Scott Alexander examines obscure pregnancy interventions that may improve child outcomes, rating them by evidence quality and potential impact.
Scott Alexander explains mesa-optimizers in AI alignment, their potential risks, and the challenges of creating truly aligned AI systems.
Scott reviews a book on Xi Jinping's rule, exploring China's government structure and Xi's rise to power, concluding that China's system failed to prevent authoritarianism.
Scott Alexander discusses various perspectives on self-determination, addressing issues like status quo bias, group rights, and the complexities of applying consistent principles to secession cases.
Scott Alexander summarizes a debate between Yudkowsky and Christiano on whether AI progress will be gradual or sudden, exploring their key arguments and implications.
Start with a reader favorite, or follow an idea somewhere unexpected.