A thread through the archive
Essays tagged “study critique”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Scott Alexander reviews the evidence for declining sperm counts, discussing major studies, criticisms, and potential causes, while remaining uncertain about the true extent and reasons for any decline.
Scott Alexander investigates the 'wisdom of crowds' hypothesis using survey data, exploring its effectiveness and potential applications.
Scott Alexander responds to critiques of his 2021 ivermectin analysis, acknowledging some errors but maintaining his conclusion that ivermectin likely doesn't work for COVID-19.
Anna Schaffner's 'Exhaustion: A History' traces explanations for chronic fatigue from ancient times to modern Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, showing how they reflect contemporary cultural and scientific ideas.
Scott Alexander examines the poor quality of research on homework effectiveness, finding only one well-designed study showing positive effects for high school algebra.
Scott Alexander analyzes a study showing Concerta improves ADHD children's attention but not their learning, and speculates on the reasons behind this unexpected result.
Scott Alexander evaluates silexan, a lavender-based anxiety supplement, finding promising but potentially biased evidence, and recommends cautious trial use.
Scott Alexander discusses a replication of his nootropics survey, expressing skepticism about the results due to potential placebo effects and biases in participant ratings.
Scott Alexander examines obscure pregnancy interventions that may improve child outcomes, rating them by evidence quality and potential impact.
Scott Alexander critiques a study claiming cash payments to poor mothers increased infant brain function, highlighting statistical and methodological issues that undermine its positive conclusions.
Scott Alexander examines theories for disease seasonality, proposing a dynamic model where seasonal factors entrain waning immunity cycles.
Scott Alexander examines the concept of 'Pascalian Medicine', weighing the pros and cons of taking multiple unproven but potentially beneficial treatments.
Scott Alexander responds to comments on his ivermectin article, discussing criticisms, the worms hypothesis, vaccine skepticism, and journalism quality.
Scott Alexander analyzes ivermectin studies for COVID-19, finding most positive results likely due to methodological flaws, fraud, or confounding by parasitic infections.
Scott Alexander examines a genetic study distinguishing cognitive and non-cognitive skills in educational attainment, revealing unexpected correlations with mental health conditions.
Scott investigates the claim that cold-related deaths account for 10% of global mortality, exploring various factors and potential impacts of global warming on death rates.
Scott Alexander examines the concept of 'light water' and its potential health benefits, critically analyzing various arguments while expressing fascination with this unexpected area of scientific inquiry.
Scott Alexander argues that despite some replication failures, the core of behavioral economics remains valid and valuable, with the field continuing to evolve and refine its understanding of human decision-making.
Scott Alexander argues that missing a year or two of school is unlikely to have significant long-term effects on children's education, presenting evidence and critiquing contrary studies.
Scott Alexander conducts an experiment playing a word game 800 times under varying CO2 levels, finding no correlation between indoor carbon dioxide and cognitive performance.
Scott Alexander shares insights gained from writing a comprehensive post on lockdown effectiveness, highlighting the complexities and challenges of analyzing such a multifaceted issue.
Scott examines data on COVID-19 lockdown effectiveness, finding they likely reduced transmission but at significant costs, with targeted measures being most effective.
Scott Alexander presents a monthly collection of 42 diverse links covering topics from science, politics, culture, and technology, highlighting interesting findings and current events.
Scott Alexander shares 35 diverse links covering scientific studies, historical facts, cultural observations, and technological developments.
Scott Alexander examines two cases of multiple hypothesis testing problems in medical and social science research, highlighting the complexities in interpreting results.