ACX
Ambidexterity And Cognitive Closure
Scott Alexander examines the relationship between handedness, authoritarianism, and cognitive flexibility, finding unexpected results that contradict a recent study.
14 min read 2,100 words
A thread through the archive
study critique
Essays tagged “study critique”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Essays on study critique
269 essaysACX
The Consequences Of Radical Reform
Scott Alexander examines a study showing that Napoleonic reforms led to better economic outcomes, challenging the idea that evolved systems are always superior to designed ones.
11 min read 1,686 words
ACX
A Look Down Track B
Scott Alexander critically examines a new theory on antidepressant mechanisms, expressing skepticism while acknowledging its potential significance if proven true.
16 min read 2,454 words
ACX
COVID/Vitamin D: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
Scott Alexander critically evaluates the evidence for Vitamin D's role in COVID-19 prevention and treatment, ultimately leaning towards skepticism while acknowledging the low risk of supplementation.
20 min read 2,989 words
SSC
The Vision Of Vilazodone And Vortioxetine
Scott Alexander examines the development and effectiveness of vilazodone and vortioxetine, two antidepressants designed to work faster and better than SSRIs, but which ultimately failed to live up to expectations.
25 min read 3,750 words
SSC
Coronalinks 5/18/20: When All You Have Is A Hammer, Everything Starts Looking Like A Dance
Scott Alexander explores various COVID-19 topics including lockdown effectiveness, infection rate variations, transmission risks, prediction markets, and ethical considerations of pandemic response.
38 min read 5,870 words
SSC
Give Yourself Gout For Fame And Profit
Scott Alexander examines the historical link between gout and achievement, ultimately finding the evidence unconvincing despite some intriguing connections.
16 min read 2,330 words
SSC
Depression: The Olfactory Perspective
Scott examines the bidirectional relationship between depression and sense of smell, exploring potential mechanisms and treatment implications.
11 min read 1,671 words
SSC
Never Tell Me The Odds (Ratio)
Scott Alexander warns about the potential misinterpretation of odds ratios in studies, explaining how to convert them to effect sizes for more accurate understanding.
3 min read 365 words
SSC
SSCJC: Real World Depression Measurement
Scott Alexander analyzes the PANDA Study, a large real-world antidepressant trial, discussing its methodology, results, and implications for understanding antidepressant efficacy.
10 min read 1,436 words
SSC
SSC Journal Club: MacIntyre On Cloth Masks
Scott Alexander analyzes a study suggesting cloth masks may be harmful, but remains cautiously in favor of their use despite the uncertainty.
11 min read 1,652 words
SSC
Face Masks: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
Scott Alexander reviews evidence on face mask effectiveness against coronavirus, concluding they likely offer some protection despite CDC recommendations against general public use.
32 min read 4,933 words
SSC
Book Review: The Seven Principles For Making Marriage Work
Scott Alexander reviews John Gottman's marriage counseling methods, finding them intuitively appealing but scientifically questionable.
52 min read 8,028 words
SSC
[ACC] Does Calorie Restriction Slow Aging?
The post examines whether calorie restriction slows aging, concluding it likely does but may not be worth the drawbacks for most people.
51 min read 7,893 words
SSC
Autism And Intelligence: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
Scott Alexander examines the paradoxical relationship between autism and intelligence, discussing genetic and environmental factors, and proposing explanatory models for the observed lower IQ in autistic individuals despite genetic links to higher intelligence.
16 min read 2,442 words
SSC
Book Review: The Body Keeps The Score
Scott Alexander reviews 'The Body Keeps The Score', a book on PTSD, praising its historical context but criticizing its outdated science and uncritical embrace of alternative therapies.
25 min read 3,754 words
SSC
Lots Of People Going Around With Mild Hallucinations All The Time
Scott Alexander investigates the prevalence of Hallucinogen Persisting Perceptual Disorder (HPPD) and explores potential connections between perception, cognition, and belief in supernatural phenomena.
14 min read 2,107 words
SSC
[Partial Retraction] Age Gaps and Birth Order Effects
Scott Alexander partially retracts and corrects his previous findings on age gaps and birth order effects after errors were identified in his analysis.
5 min read 671 words
SSC
More Confounders
Scott examines studies linking sleeping pills to increased mortality, highlighting a new study that found no link after adjusting for 300 confounders, potentially challenging the validity of less thorough studies.
13 min read 1,928 words
SSC
Are Sexual Purity Taboos A Response To STIs?
Scott Alexander examines the hypothesis that sexual purity taboos evolved to prevent STI spread, considering historical STI prevalence and cross-cultural taboos.
10 min read 1,533 words
SSC
Followup On The Baumol Effect: Thanks, O Baumol
Scott Alexander follows up on his critique of a book about the Baumol effect, presenting data that challenges the book's claims about rising wages driving cost increases in education and healthcare.
13 min read 1,940 words
SSC
A Critical Period For Lactation Fetishes
Scott Alexander analyzes a study on lactation fetishes and its critical window theory, using his own survey data to suggest an alternative explanation based on birth order effects.
6 min read 790 words
SSC
5-HTTLPR: A Pointed Review
Scott examines how the 5-HTTLPR gene was wrongly linked to depression for years, discussing the implications for psychiatric research and genetic testing products.
22 min read 3,284 words
SSC
Links 4/2019
A diverse collection of links covering technology, science, economics, politics, and culture, including critiques of studies, interesting scientific findings, and current events.
18 min read 2,733 words
SSC
Increasingly Competitive College Admissions: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
Scott Alexander examines the history of increasing competitiveness in college admissions, analyzing causes and questioning whether the focus on elite college admission is justified.
68 min read 10,509 words