ACX
"But" vs. "Yes, But"
Scott explains why it's important to explicitly acknowledge when you're wrong in an argument before moving on to your next point, rather than just continuing with 'but...'
4 min read 476 words
A thread through the archive
epistemic humility
Essays tagged “epistemic humility”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Essays on epistemic humility
6 essaysSSC
On Overconfidence
Scott Alexander discusses the problem of overconfidence in probability estimates, arguing that extreme certainty is rarely justified, especially for complex future predictions.
30 min read 4,625 words
SSC
Why I Am Not Rene Descartes
Scott Alexander refutes a blog post criticizing rationalism, arguing it misunderstands the movement and its core values of empiricism, scholarship, and humility.
25 min read 3,775 words
SSC
SSC Gives A Graduation Speech
Scott Alexander gives a satirical graduation speech questioning the value of formal education and proposing an alternative basic income system, emphasizing kindness and epistemic humility.
41 min read 6,240 words
SSC
The Cowpox of Doubt
Scott argues that focusing on easily debunked fringe beliefs when discussing rationality can be counterproductive, potentially hampering people's ability to doubt their own beliefs and engage in critical thinking.
10 min read 1,427 words
LW
Nonmindkilling open questions
Scott asks readers for examples of popular, important, factual questions with high uncertainty and no clear 'responsible' position, to use when teaching probabilistic thinking, noting that his previous examples like global warming have become too polarized.
3 min read 363 words