LW
Secrets of the eliminati
Scott argues that mental states like beliefs and preferences may not exist as unified entities in the brain, but rather emerge from collections of behaviors and contextual responses.
6 min read 829 words
The reader’s shortlist
Worth a second thought.
Essays ranked by captured source likes. Essays without a saved count are listed last.
Most liked essays
2,008 essaysACX
Book Review: Why We're Polarized
Scott Alexander reviews Ezra Klein's 'Why We're Polarized', finding it asks important questions about political polarization but provides few clear answers.
33 min read 5,061 words
ACX
Links For August 2023
Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of 38 links and news items, covering topics from book reviews and religious history to AI developments and political trends, with brief summaries and comments on each.
26 min read 3,927 words
ACX
So You Want To Run A Microgrants Program
Scott Alexander shares his experiences and challenges in running a microgrants program, offering insights and advice for others considering similar initiatives.
51 min read 7,889 words
ACX
Book Review Contest 2024 Winners
Scott Alexander announces the winners and finalists of the 2024 Book Review Contest, with prizes for the top three reviews.
10 min read 1,500 words
ACX
Replication Attempt: Bisexuality And Long COVID
Scott Alexander replicates and analyzes data showing higher rates of long COVID among bisexuals, suggesting a significant psychosomatic component to the condition.
6 min read 917 words
ACX
Which Political Victories Cause Backlash?
Scott Alexander examines why conservative political victories seem to cause public opinion backlashes while liberal victories don't, presenting several theories but remaining uncertain.
6 min read 826 words
ACX
AI Superforecasting Should Transform The FDA
Josh Morrison argues that AI superforecasting could transform FDA drug approval by replacing subjective expert judgment with objective, quantitative predictions about drug safety and efficacy.
10 min read 1,541 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On Boomers
Scott Alexander reviews comments on his defense of Baby Boomers, clarifying three separate claims about generational fairness and addressing debates about housing policy, Social Security, cultural changes, and whether the structural problems attributed to Boomers are actually universal features of aging populations.
63 min read 9,653 words
ACX
Tales Of Takeover In CCF-World
Scott Alexander discusses various scenarios of AI takeover based on the Compute-Centric Framework, exploring gradual power shifts and potential conflicts between humans and AI factions.
29 min read 4,363 words
ACX
Your Book Review: Secret Government
The review examines arguments for increased government secrecy, suggesting that transparency may lead to negative outcomes and that a return to more opaque legislative processes could be beneficial.
38 min read 5,799 words
ACX
If The Media Reported On Other Things Like It Does Effective Altruism
Scott Alexander satirizes media coverage of Effective Altruism by applying similar reporting tactics to other causes and movements.
5 min read 627 words
ACX
Motivated Reasoning As Mis-applied Reinforcement Learning
Scott analyzes motivated reasoning as misapplied reinforcement learning, explaining how it might arise from the brain's mixture of reinforceable and non-reinforceable architectures.
5 min read 729 words
ACX
The Mystery Of Internet Survey IQs
Scott Alexander investigates why self-reported IQ scores in online surveys are implausibly high, identifying issues with conversion tools, reporting bias, and unreliable tests.
13 min read 1,913 words
ACX
Can People Be Honestly Wrong About Their Own Experiences?
Scott Alexander explores whether people can be honestly mistaken about their own experiences, presenting counterexamples and attempting to reconcile them with the idea that we can't be wrong about our immediate subjective experiences.
13 min read 1,886 words
ACX
Microaddictions
Scott proposes the concept of 'microaddictions', comparing eating habits and other enjoyable activities to drug addiction patterns, challenging traditional views on addiction.
5 min read 681 words
ACX
Study: Ritalin Works, But School Isn't Worth Paying Attention To
Scott Alexander analyzes a study showing Concerta improves ADHD children's attention but not their learning, and speculates on the reasons behind this unexpected result.
10 min read 1,488 words
ACX
Details Of The Infant Fish Oil Story
Scott Alexander corrects and expands on the story of Omegaven, a life-saving infant nutritional fluid, using it to illustrate systemic issues with medical regulation and drug approval.
24 min read 3,615 words
LW
Shut Up And Guess
Scott calculates that on exams penalizing wrong answers at half the reward for correct ones, guessing always has positive expected value, but none of his intelligent classmates would accept this logic despite clear explanations.
11 min read 1,700 words
ACX
Book Review Contest 2022 Winners
Scott Alexander announces the winners of the 2022 Book Review Contest, lists finalists and honorable mentions, and provides commentary on the entries and contest process.
15 min read 2,254 words
ACX
The Case Against California Proposition 36
The post argues against California's Proposition 36, claiming it will increase imprisonment without effectively reducing crime or drug use, and suggests alternative solutions.
19 min read 2,857 words
ACX
Your Book Review: The History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe
The review examines W.E.H. Lecky's book on the rise of rationalism in Europe, praising its scholarship and insights into the gradual shift from medieval to rational thinking.
15 min read 2,173 words
ACX
Your Book Review: Why Nations Fail
A critical review of 'Why Nations Fail' that examines the authors' academic work and methodology, while questioning the book's quality and practical implications.
37 min read 5,661 words
ACX
Evolution Explains Polygenic Structure
Scott Alexander explores how evolutionary processes explain the polygenic structure of schizophrenia and other complex traits, addressing concerns about genetic research and implications for future genetic interventions.
7 min read 991 words
LW
2014 Survey Results
Scott presents the results of the 2014 Less Wrong survey covering demographics, beliefs, community participation, and various psychological measures from 1503 respondents.
32 min read 4,809 words