The independent Scott Alexander archive
Essays, arguments, and unexpected connections. An independent archive of Slate Star Codex, Astral Codex Ten, and LessWrong.
Scott Alexander critiques the argument that terrorism is less concerning than mundane accidents, showing how excluding 'outlier' events can dangerously skew risk assessments for threats like terrorism and pandemics.
Scott Alexander argues that the EpiPen price hike is due to over-regulation and cronyism in the pharmaceutical industry, not lack of regulation as suggested by Vox.
A link roundup post covering various topics from video games to scientific studies, with Scott's commentary on each news item or piece of research.
Scott examines psychological phenomena attributed to the unconscious mind, noting many have failed to replicate, and suggests a shift away from the power of the unconscious in psychological research.
Scott explores the implications of Sean Carroll's argument against the simulation hypothesis, suggesting that our inability to explain consciousness might indicate we're in a 'ground-level' simulation.
Scott Alexander explores the complexities and inconsistencies of drug tolerance in psychiatry, highlighting how different drugs can produce varying tolerance effects across individuals.
An open thread post covering comment highlights, potential comment policy changes, user unbanning, and guidelines for reader communication with the author.
A collection of interesting links covering science, politics, and culture, with topics ranging from desalinization and medical studies to quirky historical facts and political developments.
Scott Alexander reviews PiHKAL by Alexander and Ann Shulgin, exploring the book's blend of autobiography, chemistry, and psychedelic experiences.
A collection of interesting links spanning drug policy, scientific studies, historical oddities, and current events, with Scott's commentary on each.
Scott Alexander discusses how political groups can shift from outgroups to 'fargroups', leading to less hostility and more exoticization, and predicts this pattern may increase political in-fighting while reducing inter-party conflict.
Scott Alexander distinguishes between 'universal culture' and 'Western culture', exploring how the former outcompetes all traditional cultures and the ethical implications of this process.
Scott Alexander examines the relationship between economic development, social changes, and happiness, concluding that happiness levels can change over time but are more influenced by intangible factors than by economic growth.
Scott Alexander explores the concepts of 'pulling goals' (driven by specific desires) and 'pushing goals' (driven by existing structures), expressing his preference for the former and strategies to deal with the latter.
Scott Alexander shares his experiences and reflections as a final-year psychiatric resident, discussing communication techniques, challenges in psychotherapy, and the anxiety of managing patient risks.
A collection of interesting links covering various topics from scientific studies, social issues, and current events, including problems with brain imaging studies, AI safety developments, and surprising research findings.
Scott Alexander surveys people's preferences between suffering and oblivion, finding split opinions and weak correlations between different scenarios and real-world beliefs.
Scott Alexander critiques a study on fathers' influence on sons' obesity, highlighting statistical flaws and misleading publicity, while exploring the broader challenge of identifying genuine parental effects.
Scott reviews 'Unlearn Your Pain', finding its psychosomatic theory of chronic pain intriguing but overstated, while acknowledging the book's techniques may still be helpful via placebo effects.
Scott shares various interesting links and findings, including studies on education and IQ, brain simulation challenges, obesity surgery outcomes, and various cultural curiosities.
Scott Alexander criticizes media tendencies to label politicians as racist or sexist based on ambiguous statements, arguing we should focus more on their stated positions and actions.
Scott Alexander examines three conflicting articles on poverty and attempts to reconcile their findings, ultimately becoming more optimistic about alleviating extreme poverty through money transfers.
Scott examines new research on ketamine's antidepressant effects and its implications for understanding depression and evaluating psychiatric literature.
A links post collecting interesting stories from around the web, including scientific studies, historical oddities, media criticism, and current events, with Scott's commentary and analysis.
Scott Alexander speculates on a future 'ascended economy' where AI-run corporations dominate, discussing potential implications and risks of such a system.
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