ACX
Peer Review: Nightmares
Scott Alexander provides a detailed guide on understanding, preventing, and treating nightmares, covering causes, lifestyle changes, therapies, and medications.
16 min read 2,326 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 essaysLW
Blue- and Yellow-Tinted Choices
Scott explains how the brain judges values relatively rather than absolutely, using optical illusions as an analogy for cognitive biases in decision-making.
9 min read 1,359 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On The Academic Job Market
Scott Alexander summarizes reader comments on his post about the academic job market, covering topics like hiring practices, historical context, and comparisons to other industries.
52 min read 8,016 words
ACX
Your Book Review: The Internationalists
A review of 'The Internationalists', which argues for the significance of the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact in outlawing war and shaping modern international relations.
59 min read 9,133 words
ACX
Book Review Contest Rules 2024
Scott Alexander announces the 2024 Book Review Contest, detailing submission guidelines, prizes, and a new focus on including nontraditional book categories.
4 min read 531 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On Social Model Of Disability
Scott Alexander reviews comments on his critique of the Social Model of Disability, considering defenses, real-world usage, and alternative perspectives.
64 min read 9,902 words
ACX
Take The 2022 ACX Survey!
Scott Alexander announces the 2022 ACX Survey, highlighting past findings and offering incentives for participation.
2 min read 181 words
ACX
Willpower, Human and Machine
Scott Alexander explores parallels between human willpower and potential AI development, suggesting future AIs might experience weakness of will similar to humans.
7 min read 939 words
ACX
Your Book Review: The Castrato
A comprehensive review of 'The Castrato' by Martha Feldman, exploring the history, biology, and social impact of castrati singers in Italy.
63 min read 9,763 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On Fetishes
Scott Alexander addresses comments on his fetish and AI post, defending his comparison of gender debates to addiction and discussing various theories on fetish formation and their implications for AI.
33 min read 5,053 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On Xi Jinping
Scott Alexander compiles and summarizes reader comments on his article about Xi Jinping, covering various aspects of Xi's rule and Chinese politics.
27 min read 4,185 words
ACX
Mantic Monday 8/28/23
Scott Alexander analyzes recent developments in prediction markets, including the LK-99 superconductor hype, a forecasting tournament, and new prediction market concepts.
18 min read 2,697 words
LW
Basics of Animal Reinforcement
Scott explains the basics of classical and operant conditioning, focusing on B.F. Skinner's work with pigeons and different reinforcement schedules, ultimately connecting variable ratio reinforcement to slot machines and human behavior.
8 min read 1,130 words
LW
Real World Solutions to Prisoners' Dilemmas
Scott explains how real-world solutions to Prisoner's Dilemmas work through social institutions, reputation systems, and evolved emotions like friendship and anger.
15 min read 2,190 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On Cult Of Smart
Scott Alexander responds to comments on his review of 'The Cult of Smart', addressing criticisms and expanding on topics like charter schools, meritocracy, and education reform.
55 min read 8,427 words
ACX
Mistakes
Scott Alexander maintains a list of significant mistakes in his blog posts, providing corrections and updates in reverse chronological order.
42 min read 6,476 words
ACX
Zounds! It's Zulresso and Zuranolone!
Scott Alexander examines Zulresso and Zuranolone, two neurosteroid drugs for postpartum depression, discussing their efficacy, challenges, and potential future applications.
24 min read 3,655 words
ACX
Choose Nonbook Review Finalists 2025
Scott asks readers to help select finalists for the Non-Book Review Contest by rating entries through a provided form, with voting open until June 20.
6 min read 789 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On Housing Density And Prices
Scott Alexander responds to criticism of his post on housing density and prices, refining but largely maintaining his argument that increased density can raise local prices.
51 min read 7,868 words
LW
Conflicts Between Mental Subagents: Expanding Wei Dai's Master-Slave Model
Scott expands on Wei Dai's master-slave model of the mind to explain akrasia and self-deception, proposing that the unconscious (U) uses the conscious mind (C) as a PR agency to signal socially admirable values while pursuing selfish goals, requiring just enough genuine support of C's principles to maintain credibility both to others and to C itself.
21 min read 3,191 words
ACX
Ambidexterity And Cognitive Closure
Scott Alexander examines the relationship between handedness, authoritarianism, and cognitive flexibility, finding unexpected results that contradict a recent study.
14 min read 2,100 words
LW
Diplomacy as a Game Theory Laboratory
Scott analyzes seven game theory concepts through his experiences playing Diplomacy, demonstrating how trust, enforcement mechanisms, revenge, and coalition-building work in practice, then proposes organizing a game among Less Wrong readers.
25 min read 3,818 words
ACX
Bay Area Plant-Based Meat Reviews
Scott Alexander reviews plant-based meat dishes from eight Bay Area restaurants, evaluating how well they mimic animal products in taste and texture.
21 min read 3,157 words
ACX
Links For July
Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of interesting links and news items from July, covering topics from science and technology to politics and culture, with brief commentary on each.
19 min read 2,849 words
ACX
Open Questions For Future ACX Grants Rounds
Scott Alexander outlines five key strategic questions facing the ACX Grants program, including whether to fund for-profit companies and how to handle various funding scenarios.
6 min read 802 words