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
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2,008 essaysLW
Alexander and Yudkowsky on AGI goals
A technical dialogue between Scott Alexander and Eliezer Yudkowsky exploring why AI alignment is difficult, covering the inapplicability of human moral development analogies, the nature of AI consequentialism, and skepticism about acausal trade as a safety mechanism.
62 min read 9,555 words
ACX
Book Review: The Gervais Principle
Scott Alexander reviews 'The Gervais Principle', a book offering insights into organizational dynamics through a classification of three personality types, finding it thought-provoking but not entirely convincing.
52 min read 8,006 words
ACX
In Partial Grudging Defense Of Some Aspects Of Therapy Culture
Scott Alexander presents a partial defense of 'therapy culture', comparing its focus on self-discovery to helping people overcome a form of 'preference alexithymia'.
6 min read 850 words
ACX
Your Book Review: The Laws of Trading
A review of 'The Laws of Trading' by Agustin Lebron, examining trading principles and their broader applications to decision-making and life.
44 min read 6,685 words
LW
Game Theory As A Dark Art
Scott presents six game theory scenarios demonstrating how strategic thinking can force rational actors into seemingly irrational outcomes, ranging from theoretical examples like evil plutocrats and hostile takeovers to real-world applications like dollar auctions and the Golden Balls game show.
26 min read 3,915 words
ACX
Contra Resident Contrarian On Unfalsifiable Internal States
Scott Alexander argues for generally believing reports of unusual mental experiences, countering skepticism about unfalsifiable internal states.
38 min read 5,824 words
ACX
Desperately Trying To Fathom The Coffeepocalypse Argument
Scott Alexander dissects and criticizes a common argument against AI safety that compares it to past unfulfilled disaster predictions, finding it logically flawed and difficult to steelman.
17 min read 2,526 words
ACX
Mostly Skeptical Thoughts On The Chatbot Propaganda Apocalypse
Scott Alexander argues against the fear of a chatbot propaganda apocalypse, presenting several reasons why its impact would be limited and offering predictions for 2030.
21 min read 3,142 words
LW
Backward Reasoning Over Decision Trees
Scott explains backward reasoning in game theory through decision trees, culminating in a counterintuitive example where giving the US president line-item veto power could actually reduce the president's ability to achieve desired outcomes.
10 min read 1,492 words
ACX
Book Review: Which Country Has The World's Best Health Care?
Scott Alexander reviews a book comparing international healthcare systems, finding it informative but lacking in explaining why some systems succeed while others fail.
22 min read 3,362 words
ACX
Who Gets Self-Determination?
Scott Alexander argues for a universal right to self-determination, critiquing the current paradigm of determining which groups qualify as 'peoples'.
20 min read 3,044 words
ACX
Advice For Unwoke Academic?
Scott Alexander discusses Fabian vs Berserker strategies for an academic fighting wokeness, exploring various considerations and seeking reader input.
11 min read 1,631 words
ACX
Your Book Review: 1587, A Year Of No Significance
A review of Ray Huang's '1587, A Year of No Significance', examining the decline of the Ming dynasty through the lens of an apparently uneventful year.
59 min read 9,067 words
ACX
AI Sleeper Agents
Scott Alexander reviews a study on AI sleeper agents, discussing implications for AI safety and the potential for deceptive AI behavior.
18 min read 2,758 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On Vibecession
Scott reviews comments on his vibecession post, exploring when it started, whether it's really about economics or culture, and notably finding that China experiences similar pessimism despite 5-10x income growth, suggesting vibes can be completely divorced from economic reality.
68 min read 10,515 words
ACX
My Responses To Three Concerns From The Embryo Selection Post
Scott responds to three concerns about embryo selection: embryo personhood rights, loss of trait diversity, and the ethics of preventing disabilities, arguing that none of these objections are fatal to the technology.
23 min read 3,516 words
ACX
Your Book Review: A Residence Of 21 Years In The Sandwich Islands
A descendant of missionary Hiram Bingham reviews his ancestor's memoir about bringing Christianity and Western civilization to Hawaii in the 1820s-1840s, drawing parallels to modern Effective Altruism and examining what lessons today's do-gooders can learn from this earlier generation of world-savers.
63 min read 9,687 words
LW
Approving reinforces low-effort behaviors
Scott presents a framework of 'liking,' 'wanting,' and 'approving' to explain behavior, then shows how people use low-effort approving-influenced actions (like making public commitments) to influence harder behaviors through strategic self-manipulation.
8 min read 1,087 words
ACX
Book Review: First Sixth Of Bobos In Paradise
Scott reviews David Brooks' thesis on how a 1950s change in Ivy League admissions policy reshaped American elite culture and society.
23 min read 3,511 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On Mentally Ill Homeless People
Scott Alexander discusses various responses to his post on mentally ill homeless people, emphasizing the need for specific, detailed plans.
63 min read 9,672 words
ACX
Which Party Has Gotten More Extreme Faster?
Scott Alexander examines which US political party has become more extreme faster, concluding Democrats have moved further left on policy since 1994, while results vary for other aspects of extremism.
21 min read 3,171 words
ACX
Your Book Review: The Family That Couldn’t Sleep
A review of 'The Family That Couldn't Sleep' by D. T. Max, discussing its exploration of prion diseases and their impact, with updated perspectives on the book's conclusions.
72 min read 11,039 words
ACX
Your Book Review: Why Machines Will Never Rule the World
A review of 'Why Machines Will Never Rule the World', presenting its arguments against AGI based on complexity and computability, while critically examining its conclusions and relevance.
18 min read 2,750 words
ACX
Dictator Book Club: Xi Jinping
Scott reviews a book on Xi Jinping's rule, exploring China's government structure and Xi's rise to power, concluding that China's system failed to prevent authoritarianism.
42 min read 6,466 words