The reader’s shortlist
Essays ranked by captured source likes. Essays without a saved count are listed last.
Scott Alexander examines the conflict between predictive processing theory and evolutionary psychology claims about innate knowledge, questioning how genes could directly encode complex preferences.
Scott Alexander examines how recent AI progress in neural networks might challenge the Bostromian paradigm of AI risk, exploring potential implications for AI goal alignment and motivation systems.
Scott Alexander questions the plausibility of multifactorial explanations for trends, using the US crime rate decline as an example, and seeks literature on comparing single-factor vs multi-factor explanations.
Scott Alexander distinguishes between 'universal culture' and 'Western culture', exploring how the former outcompetes all traditional cultures and the ethical implications of this process.
Scott Alexander explains how to interpret 23andMe genetic data using SNPedia, listing various SNPs and their alleged effects while emphasizing the unreliability of such interpretations.
Scott Alexander explores Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) and other conditions where drugs cause permanent effects, discussing potential mechanisms and their implications.
Scott Alexander explores Laszlo Polgar's successful educational methods that produced chess prodigies, analyzing possible explanations and lamenting the unavailability of Polgar's book on his techniques.
Scott Alexander shares his experiences as a new medical intern, describing the complexities of hospital systems and his role within them.
Scott Alexander examines political tribalism in America, arguing that people often claim tolerance while harboring strong prejudices against their outgroups.
Scott Alexander critiques the concept of 'rape culture', arguing that society actually treats rape more seriously than many other crimes, contrary to what the term implies.
Scott Alexander criticizes the humorous adaptations of Lovecraft's work in geek culture, arguing they miss the author's intent to create a sense of the strange and transcendent.
Scott Alexander defends 'scientism', arguing that scientific thinking provides valuable tools for addressing non-scientific questions and avoiding common cognitive biases.
Scott Alexander clarifies his stance on growth mindset theory, distinguishing between widely accepted ideas and more controversial claims made by Carol Dweck, expressing skepticism about some aspects while acknowledging supporting evidence.
Scott Alexander critiques a study on fathers' influence on sons' obesity, highlighting statistical flaws and misleading publicity, while exploring the broader challenge of identifying genuine parental effects.
The post contrasts public reactions to the deaths of Osama bin Laden and Margaret Thatcher, highlighting inconsistent moral standards in celebrating or condemning deaths of public figures.
Scott Alexander argues for the value of using quantification and made-up statistics in decision-making, even when imperfect, as they often outperform intuition and reveal biases in our thinking.
Scott Alexander examines the ethics of supporting formerly 'evil' companies that transition to more ethical practices, ultimately leaning towards supporting their new ventures.
Scott Alexander humorously describes AI-generated content simulating humans pretending to be robots pretending to be humans on Reddit.
Scott explores the conflicting evidence on whether humans are attracted to genetically similar or dissimilar partners, concluding with a paradoxical observation that both seem true in different contexts.
Scott satirizes media reporting on AI risk by presenting exaggerated or misrepresented coverage of other potential dangers, highlighting issues in risk reporting.
Scott Alexander argues that psychology is indeed in crisis, contrary to a New York Times article's claim, due to issues like publication bias and low replication rates.
Scott announces an upcoming SSC survey and invites reader suggestions, while warning that most won't be implemented.
Scott Alexander reviews a study using Implicit Association Tests to measure suicidal intent, expressing both excitement for the research direction and skepticism about its methodology and practical applications.
Scott Alexander defends psychiatric treatment for suicide attempts, arguing that most are impulsive decisions by people with treatable mental disorders rather than rational choices.
Scott Alexander criticizes a Boston Review article on futurism for focusing on identity politics rather than substantive future predictions, arguing this approach trivializes important technological and societal developments.