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Contra Robinson On Public Food
Scott Alexander argues against Nathan Robinson's proposal for public cafeterias, instead favoring a system of food vouchers with taxes and subsidies to promote healthy eating.
34 min read 5,158 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
2,008 essaysSSC
List Of Passages I Highlighted In My Copy Of Legal Systems Very Different From Ours
Scott Alexander shares fascinating excerpts from 'Legal Systems Very Different From Ours', highlighting unique aspects of various historical and cultural legal systems.
37 min read 5,663 words
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Book Review: Legal Systems Very Different From Ours
Scott reviews David Friedman's book on unconventional legal systems, exploring how different societies have developed unique ways to enforce laws and resolve conflicts without centralized government.
36 min read 5,431 words
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Concept-Shaped Holes Can Be Impossible To Notice
Scott Alexander discusses the difficulty of recognizing concepts we might be missing, using examples from psychology and sociology to argue for keeping an open mind towards seemingly trivial ideas.
13 min read 1,915 words
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Does Age Bring Wisdom?
Scott Alexander reflects on turning 33 and questions whether the changes in his thinking represent true wisdom or are the result of socialization, trauma, or neurological changes.
9 min read 1,284 words
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Non-Expert Explanation
Scott Alexander explores the difficulties of learning and explaining complex ideas, advocating for diverse approaches and collaborative learning despite internet criticism.
14 min read 2,152 words
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Postmodernism For Rationalists (my attempt)
Scott Alexander explains postmodernism to rationalists, using the Dark Age debate as an example, and discusses its applications, risks, and critiques.
15 min read 2,218 words
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Links 10/17: Martin LuthURL
A collection of interesting links covering topics from ancient Roman demographics to modern AI developments, criminal justice issues, and cultural oddities.
14 min read 2,116 words
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Against Rat Park
Scott Alexander challenges the popular interpretation of the Rat Park study, arguing that addiction is not solely caused by poor environments and emphasizing genetic factors in addiction susceptibility.
17 min read 2,620 words
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How Did New Atheism Fail So Miserably?
Scott Alexander examines the puzzling downfall of New Atheism, comparing it to other progressive movements and questioning why it alone faced backlash for repeating accepted ideas in liberal circles.
11 min read 1,568 words
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Kolmogorov Complicity And The Parable Of Lightning
Scott Alexander examines the concept of 'Kolmogorov complicity' and its implications for scientific inquiry under oppressive orthodoxies, using historical and hypothetical examples.
24 min read 3,652 words
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Highlights From The Comments On Dark Ages
Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to comments on his Dark Ages post, addressing debates about the timeline, historical continuity, and implications of the concept.
17 min read 2,536 words
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Were There Dark Ages?
Scott Alexander argues that the Dark Ages in Western Europe (500-1000 AD) did occur, presenting evidence of economic, demographic, and intellectual decline during this period.
34 min read 5,119 words
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SSC Journal Club: Serotonin Receptors
Scott reviews a theory about serotonin receptors that explains how they help cope with stress, and discusses its implications and limitations.
12 min read 1,756 words
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In Favor Of Futurism Being About The Future
Scott Alexander criticizes a Boston Review article on futurism for focusing on identity politics rather than substantive future predictions, arguing this approach trivializes important technological and societal developments.
19 min read 2,934 words
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SSC Survey Results On Trust
Scott Alexander analyzes SSC survey results on trust, finding correlations with education, location, and political views, but not with gender, race, or religiosity.
5 min read 741 words
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Different Worlds
Scott Alexander explores how people can have vastly different experiences of the world and others, even in similar circumstances, due to social bubbles, varying interpretations of social cues, and unconscious influences.
30 min read 4,509 words
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Against Individual IQ Worries
Scott Alexander argues that while IQ is valuable for research, it's not reliable for predicting individual success and shouldn't be a major personal concern.
18 min read 2,768 words
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Links 9/17: HURLy-bURLy
Scott Alexander shares interesting links on diverse topics including Russian life comparisons, AI developments, scientific discoveries, cultural evolution, and various research findings, with brief commentary on each.
14 min read 2,125 words
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Meditative States As Feedback Loops
Scott Alexander explores meditative states as feedback loops, discussing jhanas from Buddhist practice and why most people don't experience runaway emotional feedback in everyday life.
5 min read 701 words
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Book Review: Mastering The Core Teachings Of The Buddha
Scott Alexander reviews 'Mastering The Core Teachings Of The Buddha', a practical guide to Buddhist meditation that details the stages of insight and debunks common myths about enlightenment.
30 min read 4,534 words
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Classified Thread 3: Semper Classifiedelis
Scott Alexander shares community classifieds, including a math tutoring offer, a request for financial help, and a now-fulfilled request for AI professionals in North Carolina.
2 min read 247 words
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Toward A Predictive Theory Of Depression
Scott proposes a speculative theory of depression as pathologically low confidence in neural predictions within the predictive processing framework, explaining how this could account for various depressive symptoms.
13 min read 1,978 words
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How Do We Get Breasts Out Of Bayes Theorem?
Scott Alexander examines the conflict between predictive processing theory and evolutionary psychology claims about innate knowledge, questioning how genes could directly encode complex preferences.
8 min read 1,089 words
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