SSC
Albion’s Seed, Genotyped
Scott Alexander discusses a genetic study that largely confirms historical American migration patterns described in 'Albion's Seed', noting both its confirmations and areas of confusion.
5 min read 632 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
Notes From The Asilomar Conference On Beneficial AI
Scott Alexander shares his experiences and insights from the Asilomar Conference on Beneficial AI, covering various aspects of AI development, risks, and ethical considerations.
19 min read 2,933 words
SSC
[GUEST POST] The International Refugee Assistance Project
Elizabeth Van Nostrand explains how the International Refugee Assistance Project's (IRAP) ground-level work with refugees enabled a rapid response to Trump's immigration ban, highlighting the importance of maintaining emergency response capacity.
8 min read 1,099 words
SSC
Book Review: Eichmann In Jerusalem
Scott Alexander reviews Hannah Arendt's 'Eichmann in Jerusalem', exploring key aspects of the Eichmann trial and the Holocaust, and reflecting on their implications.
57 min read 8,698 words
SSC
Link: Taubes Contra Guyenet on Sugar
Scott Alexander shares links to a debate between Gary Taubes and Stephan Guyenet about the health effects of sugar, praising the high-level discussion.
2 min read 173 words
SSC
Dogs And Wolves: In Defense Of Some Past Posts
Scott Alexander defends his past writings on Trump, emphasizing his consistent criticism of Trump while refuting accusations that he underestimated Trump's racism or missed hidden signals.
8 min read 1,148 words
SSC
Link: Guyenet On Taubes
Scott Alexander reviews Stephan Guyenet's critique of Gary Taubes' anti-sugar book, agreeing with Guyenet's multi-factorial view of obesity and disease causes, and retracting his previous support for Taubes.
7 min read 1,067 words
SSC
Links 1/17: Inaugurl Address
A diverse collection of links covering current events, scientific studies, and cultural developments, with brief commentary on each story's significance or implications.
17 min read 2,587 words
SSC
SSC Survey 2017
Scott Alexander announces the 2017 SSC survey and requests readers to provide simple, machine-readable answers for easier processing.
1 min read 132 words
SSC
Watch New Health Picks
Scott Alexander discusses potential Trump administration health-related appointments, focusing on FDA commissioner candidates Jim O'Neill and Balaji Srinivasan, and their potential to implement beneficial reforms.
13 min read 1,929 words
SSC
Another Followup To “Economists On Education”
Scott Alexander's bet about readers misinterpreting an article on economists' views on school vouchers is settled through two surveys, confirming his argument.
5 min read 702 words
SSC
Should Buzzfeed Publish Claims Which Are Explosive If True But Not Yet Proven?
Scott Alexander critiques a Buzzfeed article skeptical of growth mindset research, arguing that while skepticism is warranted, more robust evidence is needed to disprove the theory.
10 min read 1,505 words
SSC
Why Do Test Scores Plateau?
Scott Alexander explores why medical residency test scores plateau after the first few years, proposing theories related to knowledge retention and individual differences in learning.
9 min read 1,351 words
SSC
Heuristics Work Until They Don’t
Scott Alexander warns against forming strong heuristics based on limited data, using examples from AI research, elections, and campaign strategies to illustrate the pitfalls of this approach.
7 min read 1,067 words
SSC
Predictions For 2017
Scott Alexander presents 105 predictions for 2017 on topics ranging from world events to personal life, each with an assigned probability.
9 min read 1,346 words
SSC
Trump And The Batman Effect
Scott Alexander analyzes Trump's likely PR strategy as president, predicting a focus on symbolic 'job-saving' victories that will be effective in shaping public perception despite limited real impact.
8 min read 1,224 words
SSC
2016 Predictions: Calibration Results
Scott Alexander evaluates his 2016 predictions, finding good overall calibration with slight underconfidence at 70% probability, consistent with previous years.
11 min read 1,634 words
SSC
Addendum To “Economists On Education”
Scott Alexander argues that a New York Times article misrepresented economists' views on school vouchers, offering evidence and proposing a bet to prove the article was misleading.
7 min read 1,023 words
SSC
Contra NYT On Economists On Education
Scott Alexander criticizes a New York Times article for misrepresenting economists' views on education vouchers, showing the data actually indicates more support than opposition among economists.
4 min read 517 words
SSC
Book Review: Mount Misery
Scott reviews 'Mount Misery' by Samuel Shem, a critique of psychiatric practices that emphasizes the importance of human connection in treatment.
32 min read 4,820 words
SSC
Links 12/16: The Site Before Christmas
A collection of interesting links covering various topics from Judaism and science to media bias and hate crime hoaxes, with Scott's commentary on each story.
15 min read 2,219 words
SSC
SSC Journal Club: Mental Disorders As Networks
The post explores a new model for understanding mental disorders as networks of interconnected symptoms rather than discrete diseases with underlying causes.
19 min read 2,856 words
SSC
Might People On The Internet Sometimes Lie?
Scott Alexander examines why compelling but unlikely stories on large internet platforms are probably lies, despite our reluctance to believe so.
11 min read 1,637 words
SSC
Links 12/16: Site Makes Right
A links post featuring various news and articles about politics, science, and culture, with Scott's commentary on research papers and current events.
13 min read 1,974 words
SSC
Thin Air
Scott examines the relationship between altitude and obesity, then explores and ultimately dismisses the theory that increased atmospheric CO2 could be causing the obesity epidemic.
12 min read 1,809 words
Find your next rabbit hole
Start with a reader favorite, or follow an idea somewhere unexpected.