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Ambijectivity
Scott Alexander introduces the concept of 'ambijectivity' to describe statements that are neither purely subjective nor objective, using musical and astronomical examples to illustrate the idea.
8 min read 1,150 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
Selection bias and atheist stereotypes
Scott Alexander explores how selection bias might create the stereotype of angry, vocal atheists, and speculates on how this concept might apply to other groups.
4 min read 620 words
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If It’s Worth Doing, It’s Worth Doing With Made-Up Statistics
Scott Alexander argues for the value of using quantification and made-up statistics in decision-making, even when imperfect, as they often outperform intuition and reveal biases in our thinking.
10 min read 1,538 words
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Utility Weight Results
Scott Alexander analyzes the results of his utility and QALY survey, discussing interesting findings and the challenges of utility measurement.
7 min read 1,010 words
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Yellow Journalism In The War On Science
Scott Alexander criticizes misleading media coverage of 'The High Quality Research Act', clarifying its actual content and arguing for a more nuanced debate on NSF funding priorities.
11 min read 1,638 words
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Utilitarianism for Engineers, Part II
Scott Alexander creates an amateur utility measurement test to explore the feasibility of comparing utilities in utilitarianism, inviting readers to participate despite its limitations.
2 min read 273 words
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Links for April
Scott shares an eclectic collection of interesting links he found online, covering topics like economics, urban planning, science and psychology, with his own commentary added.
10 min read 1,477 words
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In Defense of Psych Treatment for Attempted Suicide
Scott Alexander defends psychiatric treatment for suicide attempts, arguing that most are impulsive decisions by people with treatable mental disorders rather than rational choices.
26 min read 3,895 words
LW
Michael Vassar in Europe
Michael Vassar is visiting European cities in April-May 2013 and wants to meet with Less Wrong community members.
1 min read 118 words
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Product Recommendation: FB Purity
Scott recommends the FB Purity browser add-on to filter unwanted content on Facebook, but notes that Facebook is trying to ban it.
2 min read 249 words
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Implicit Association Tests and Suicidality
Scott Alexander reviews a study using Implicit Association Tests to measure suicidal intent, expressing both excitement for the research direction and skepticism about its methodology and practical applications.
8 min read 1,191 words
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Search Terms That Have Led People To This Blog
Scott Alexander humorously responds to bizarre search terms that have led people to his blog, covering a wide range of topics with wit and sarcasm.
5 min read 755 words
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Social Justice For The Highly-Demanding-Of-Rigor
Scott presents evidence for the reality and high economic costs of racial and gender discrimination, arguing that fighting prejudice is important and potentially effective.
17 min read 2,509 words
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I do not understand “rape culture”
Scott Alexander critiques the concept of 'rape culture', arguing that society actually treats rape more seriously than many other crimes, contrary to what the term implies.
20 min read 2,995 words
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Floor Employment
Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'floor jobs' as easily accessible employment options that can serve as a safety net, presenting various examples and their pros and cons.
15 min read 2,260 words
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Arguments About Male Violence Prove Too Much
Scott Alexander argues that generalizing male violence to all men is problematic, drawing parallels with racist generalizations about crime.
23 min read 3,418 words
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Things I Learned By Spending Five Thousand Years In An Alternate Universe
Scott Alexander reflects on 13 years of participating in Micras, a complex geopolitical role-playing game, discussing its impact on his life and the lessons learned about leadership and human behavior.
18 min read 2,651 words
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Proving Too Much
Scott Alexander explores the 'Proving Too Much' fallacy as an efficient tactic to quickly dismantle complex arguments, particularly those using Dark Arts techniques.
5 min read 742 words
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If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less
The post contrasts public reactions to the deaths of Osama bin Laden and Margaret Thatcher, highlighting inconsistent moral standards in celebrating or condemning deaths of public figures.
2 min read 217 words
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Last Thoughts On Virtue Ethics
Scott argues that virtue ethics is not merely intuitive morality and that relying on intuition alone fails to address complex ethical dilemmas.
5 min read 720 words
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Lizardman’s Constant Is 4%
Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'Lizardman's Constant' and its implications for interpreting poll results, especially those concerning unpopular beliefs.
12 min read 1,734 words
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Read History Of Philosophy Backwards
Scott argues for the value of studying historical philosophy by 'reading it backwards' to unlearn assumptions and broaden perspective, even when past ideas seem obviously wrong.
6 min read 916 words
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Virtue Ethics: Not Practically Useful, Either
Scott Alexander argues that virtue ethics is neither how people naturally think about morality nor an effective way to make people more moral, proposing alternative methods and using a grammar analogy to illustrate his point.
11 min read 1,674 words
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Book Review: After Virtue
Scott Alexander critiques Alasdair MacIntyre's 'After Virtue', finding fault with its arguments for virtue ethics and its historical claims about morality in ancient societies.
15 min read 2,290 words
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Whose Utilitarianism?
Scott Alexander examines his doubts about utilitarianism and explores moral contractualism as a potential alternative for grounding morality.
15 min read 2,205 words
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