SSC
Against Lie Inflation
Scott Alexander argues against broadening the definitions of words like 'lie' and 'abuse', as it dilutes their meaning and reduces their usefulness in identifying problematic behavior.
14 min read 2,119 words
A thread through the archive
categorization
Essays tagged “categorization”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Essays on categorization
6 essaysSSC
The Tails Coming Apart As Metaphor For Life
The post explores how correlated variables can diverge at extreme values, applying this concept to happiness measures and moral systems.
15 min read 2,310 words
SSC
How Does Recent AI Progress Affect The Bostromian Paradigm?
Scott Alexander examines how recent AI progress in neural networks might challenge the Bostromian paradigm of AI risk, exploring potential implications for AI goal alignment and motivation systems.
15 min read 2,240 words
SSC
The Categories Were Made For Man, Not Man For The Categories
Scott Alexander discusses how categories are human constructs that should be flexible when it serves a useful purpose, using examples from biology, astronomy, and transgender identity.
36 min read 5,459 words
LW
Connectionism: Modeling the mind with neural networks
Scott explains connectionism as a neural network-based theory of mind that evolved from spreading activation models, showing how it resolves philosophical problems and mirrors brain function better than classical computing approaches.
15 min read 2,251 words
LW
The Implicit Association Test
Scott explains the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which measures unconscious associations by testing reaction times when categorizing concepts, and argues it's better understood as measuring distances in conceptual space rather than as a simple test for prejudice.
15 min read 2,183 words