ACX
Your Book Review: Progress And Poverty
Henry George's 'Progress and Poverty' argues that private land ownership and rent cause persistent poverty, and proposes a land value tax as a solution.
136 min read 21,047 words
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2,007 essaysACX
Men Will Literally Have Completely Different Mental Processes Instead Of Going To Therapy
Scott Alexander examines why therapy works for some people but not others, suggesting that individual differences in mental processes might explain its varying effectiveness.
7 min read 1,006 words
ACX
ACX Survey Results 2025
Scott analyzes the results of the 2025 ACX reader survey, revealing interesting patterns in reader demographics, beliefs, and behaviors, with some surprising contrasts between vocal commenters and the general readership.
15 min read 2,250 words
ACX
Contra DeBoer On Movement Shell Games
Scott Alexander defends effective altruism against Freddie deBoer's criticism, arguing for its distinctiveness, practical value, and positive marginal effects.
20 min read 3,071 words
ACX
Links For November 2024
A diverse collection of news items, studies, and interesting facts from November 2024, covering topics from scientific discoveries to cultural phenomena.
42 min read 6,373 words
ACX
The Gods Only Have Power Because We Believe In Them
Fiction by Scott Alexander
12 min read 1,777 words
ACX
Unsong Available In Paperback
Scott Alexander's novel 'Unsong' is now available in paperback on Amazon, featuring improvements over the original online version.
2 min read 238 words
ACX
Your Book Review: Thomas Urquhart’s Translation Of Rabelais
A review of Thomas Urquhart's 17th-century English translation of Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel, told through the tragicomic life story of the translator - a Scottish aristocrat who failed at everything except creating this masterpiece of baroque English prose.
34 min read 5,155 words
ACX
Links For September 2024
A compilation of 50 diverse news items and links from September 2024, covering topics from politics and economics to science and technology.
32 min read 4,892 words
ACX
P-Zombies Would Report Qualia
Scott argues that philosophical zombies (beings without consciousness) would still report having qualia and conscious experiences, challenging a key argument in the p-zombie debate.
12 min read 1,713 words
ACX
Your Book Review: Great And Desperate Cures
A review of 'Great and Desperate Cures' by Elliot Valenstein, which examines the history of lobotomy and psychosurgery, explaining how tens of thousands of patients underwent dangerous brain operations from the 1930s-1950s despite poor evidence of effectiveness.
132 min read 20,439 words
ACX
Your Review: Project Xanadu - The Internet That Might Have Been
A book review exploring the history of Project Xanadu, Ted Nelson's pioneering but ultimately unsuccessful vision for a hypertext-based internet system that preceded and differed significantly from the World Wide Web.
54 min read 8,232 words
ACX
Logistics
Scott Alexander details the logistics of his new blog on Substack, including subscription options and content plans, while addressing reader concerns.
8 min read 1,167 words
ACX
Links For February 2025
Scott shares 50 diverse links covering topics from AI developments to policy changes, with commentary on current events, research findings, and societal trends.
45 min read 6,840 words
ACX
Secrets Of The Median Voter Theorem
Scott Alexander explores the Median Voter Theorem, its limitations in real politics, and why recent US elections have been surprisingly close despite these complications.
19 min read 2,891 words
ACX
What Happened To NAEP Scores?
Scott analyzes poor NAEP test scores and explores whether COVID school closures, systemic changes in education standards, or other factors are responsible for the decline.
9 min read 1,333 words
ACX
Your Review: The Synaptic Plasticity and Memory Hypothesis
A review of the synaptic plasticity and memory hypothesis arguing that it is insufficient to explain memory, and proposing a broader cellular processes and memory hypothesis that includes molecular and intracellular mechanisms.
77 min read 11,801 words
ACX
Book Review: I See Satan Fall Like Lightning
Scott Alexander reviews Rene Girard's 'I See Satan Fall Like Lightning', critiquing its theory of myths and religion centered on scapegoating, and discussing its application to modern 'wokeness'.
29 min read 4,359 words
ACX
Contra DeBoer On Temporal Copernicanism
Scott Alexander refutes Freddie deBoer's argument against expecting major events in our lifetimes, presenting a more nuanced approach to estimating such probabilities.
16 min read 2,425 words
ACX
Mantic Monday: The Monkey's Paw Curls
Scott reviews the state of prediction markets after explosive growth, finding that most volume is degenerate sports gambling rather than useful forecasting, and proposes both technical solutions and two potential futures for the field.
42 min read 6,449 words
LW
Efficient Charity: Do Unto Others...
Scott argues that charitable giving should be approached with rigorous cost-benefit analysis, comparing it to choosing survival gear for an Arctic expedition, and demonstrates how common charitable choices waste opportunities to save lives.
13 min read 1,936 words
ACX
Links For December 2024
Scott shares 55 interesting links covering topics from AI poetry to religious movements, including updates on various projects, unusual historical events, and current developments in technology, politics, and society.
36 min read 5,568 words
ACX
Links For July 2025
Scott shares his monthly collection of 56 interesting links and developments from July 2025, covering AI, politics, science, and culture, with brief commentary on each.
28 min read 4,200 words
ACX
Links For October 2025
Scott Alexander presents 51 links covering AI progress and safety, political developments, scientific research, cultural oddities, and ongoing philosophical debates about miracles and education reform.
42 min read 6,423 words
ACX
Slightly Against The "Other People's Money" Argument Against Aid
Scott analyzes why people support government-funded foreign aid instead of donating voluntarily, examining and critiquing several theories including virtue signaling, coordination problems, and time-inconsistent preferences.
23 min read 3,434 words