The reader’s shortlist
Essays ranked by captured source likes. Essays without a saved count are listed last.
Scott Alexander tests the claim that mathematicians' preference for algebra or analysis predicts their corn-eating style, finding no significant correlation in a survey of over 2,600 respondents.
Scott Alexander discusses new research suggesting ketamine's antidepressant effects may be linked to the opioid system, exploring the implications and potential future directions for depression treatment.
Scott Alexander critiques the FDA approval of esketamine for depression, discussing issues with drug development, efficacy, cost, and administration requirements.
Scott examines new research on ketamine's antidepressant effects and its implications for understanding depression and evaluating psychiatric literature.
Scott Alexander compares three gabapentinoid drugs (gabapentin, pregabalin, and phenibut), exploring their effects, mechanisms, and the mysteries surrounding their differing efficacies despite chemical similarities.
Scott Alexander examines the concept of 'Kolmogorov complicity' and its implications for scientific inquiry under oppressive orthodoxies, using historical and hypothetical examples.
Scott Alexander announces the last chance to take the 2020 SSC survey, providing brief instructions and thanking participants.
Scott argues that virtue ethics is not merely intuitive morality and that relying on intuition alone fails to address complex ethical dilemmas.
Scott Alexander makes belated predictions for 2015, covering world events and personal life with varying confidence levels.
Scott Alexander examines his evolving view on scientific consensus, realizing it's more reliable and self-correcting than he previously thought.
Fiction by Scott Alexander
Scott Alexander discusses the Rationalist Solstice Ritual, exploring how 'cringeworthiness' can strengthen communities and the challenges atheists face in community-building.
The post examines Midwestern geography, debunking the author's initial impression of a grid pattern in town arrangements and humorously exploring potential 'ley lines' between cities.
Scott Alexander debunks a viral image about minimum wage and apartment affordability, showing how its methodology is flawed and recalculating more realistic figures.
Scott Alexander debunks a misleading Facebook meme about Google autocomplete suggestions for disabled people, showing that Google's suggestions are universally negative for almost all groups.
Scott Alexander analyzes the misrepresentation of the Gilbert/Frago case in media and online discourse, showing how legal complexities were oversimplified.
Scott Alexander debunks claims of effectiveness for Vancouver's 'Don't Be That Guy' anti-rape campaign, arguing that the reported crime reduction is likely due to normal statistical fluctuations rather than the campaign's impact.
Scott debunks viral misinformation about false rape accusation rates and provides more accurate estimates, while criticizing the spread of such inaccuracies in feminist circles.
Scott Alexander dissects and criticizes Breitbart's misleading use of statistics about illegal immigrant crime, emphasizing the need for better understanding and interpretation of data in political debates.
Scott Alexander reviews Stephan Guyenet's critique of Gary Taubes' anti-sugar book, agreeing with Guyenet's multi-factorial view of obesity and disease causes, and retracting his previous support for Taubes.
Scott Alexander shares links to a debate between Gary Taubes and Stephan Guyenet about the health effects of sugar, praising the high-level discussion.
Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of interesting links on topics ranging from geography and drug policy to technology and economics, with brief summaries and comments.
A diverse collection of news items and interesting links covering science, technology, politics, and culture, with brief commentary on each.
Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of interesting links and news items, covering topics from historical anecdotes to recent scientific studies and cultural trends.
A diverse collection of links on topics ranging from gerrymandering and health insurance to tech bubbles and extinction risk estimates, presented with minimal commentary.