ACX
Will Nonbelievers Really Believe Anything?
Scott Alexander investigates whether non-religious people are more prone to believing conspiracy theories, finding a U-shaped relationship between religiosity and skepticism.
9 min read 1,270 words
A thread through the archive
belief systems
Essays tagged “belief systems”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Essays on belief systems
4 essaysACX
The Gods Only Have Power Because We Believe In Them
Fiction by Scott Alexander
12 min read 1,777 words
SSC
Don’t Be An Asch-Hole
Scott Alexander explores a thought experiment based on the Asch conformity experiment to examine the strength and flexibility of personal beliefs and societal norms.
9 min read 1,266 words
SSC
Asches to Asches
A person repeatedly wakes up in a Matrix-like pod, being told different versions of reality about the concept of 'family' in a series of nested scenarios, ultimately revealed to be an alien experiment.
18 min read 2,790 words