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The Case Of The Famous Physicist
Scott analyzes a case of apparent psychiatric misdiagnosis, explaining the complexities and challenges faced by psychiatrists in evaluating patients' claims.
18 min read 2,705 words
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2,008 essaysSSC
The Case Of The Suffocating Woman
Scott presents a case of postpartum panic attacks, explains the theory of panic as a false suffocation alarm, and discusses how understanding this mechanism can help treat the condition.
22 min read 3,351 words
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The Categories Were Made For Man, Not Man For The Categories
Scott Alexander discusses how categories are human constructs that should be flexible when it serves a useful purpose, using examples from biology, astronomy, and transgender identity.
36 min read 5,459 words
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The Chamber of Guf
Scott Alexander uses the Jewish legend of the Chamber of Guf as a metaphor for subconscious thoughts, exploring its implications for behavior, OCD, and self-defeating thoughts.
10 min read 1,449 words
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The Comment Policy Is “Victorian Sufi Buddha Lite”
Scott Alexander introduces a comment policy for his blog based on the criteria of truth, necessity, and kindness, along with a reporting system and moderation approach.
7 min read 955 words
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The Control Group Is Out Of Control
Scott Alexander critiques a meta-analysis supporting psychic phenomena to illustrate flaws in scientific methodology and meta-analysis.
33 min read 4,998 words
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The Cowpox of Doubt
Scott argues that focusing on easily debunked fringe beliefs when discussing rationality can be counterproductive, potentially hampering people's ability to doubt their own beliefs and engage in critical thinking.
10 min read 1,427 words
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The Craft And The Codex
Scott Alexander discusses how his blog contributes to developing rationality skills through analysis of complex issues and community discussion, despite not focusing directly on core rationality techniques.
7 min read 986 words
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The Dark Rule Utilitarian Argument For Science Piracy
Scott Alexander explores the ethics of using Sci-Hub, introducing 'Dark Rule Utilitarianism' to argue that pirating scientific papers could be ethical despite being illegal.
11 min read 1,596 words
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The Dark Side Of Divorce
The author revisits their belief in genetic determinism, presenting evidence that environmental factors, especially in divorce, have significant non-genetic effects on children's outcomes.
12 min read 1,846 words
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The death of wages is sin
Scott Alexander critiques a plan to cure youth unemployment by abolishing minimum wage, arguing that unemployment might be preferable to miserable employment at extremely low wages.
7 min read 1,078 words
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The Economic Perspective On Moral Standards
Scott Alexander compares setting moral standards to economic price-setting, arguing that more achievable standards might lead to better outcomes than unattainably high ones.
20 min read 3,028 words
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The Economics Of Art And The Art Of Economics
Scott Alexander argues for selling Detroit's museum art based on a cost-benefit analysis, emphasizing the value of quantitative thinking in decision-making.
4 min read 581 words
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The Efficacy Of Everything In Psychiatry In One Graph Plus Several Pages Of Dense But Necessary Explanation
Scott Alexander examines a study comparing the effectiveness of drugs and therapy for psychiatric disorders, discussing the results and methodological limitations of the research.
8 min read 1,167 words
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The Future Is Filters
Scott examines the potential future of online content filtering technology, considering its benefits, drawbacks, and societal implications.
12 min read 1,721 words
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The GATTACA Trilogy
Scott Alexander writes two satirical sequels to GATTACA, critiquing discrimination based on epigenetics and educational background.
23 min read 3,565 words
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The General Factor Of Correctness
Scott Alexander explores the possibility of a 'General Factor of Correctness' and its implications for rationality and decision-making across various fields.
18 min read 2,739 words
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The Goddess of Everything Else
A mythological tale contrasts the Goddess of Cancer's primal drives with the Goddess of Everything Else's push for cooperation and progress, showing how the latter gradually wins over creation.
16 min read 2,353 words
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The Guardian vs. Induction
Scott Alexander criticizes a Guardian article's flawed reasoning in claiming 'Limits to Growth' accurately predicts economic collapse, comparing it to the philosophical 'grue-bleen induction problem'.
9 min read 1,374 words
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The Heart Has Its Reasons That Reason Knows Not Of
Scott examines conflicting evidence on whether humans choose mates based on parental imprinting or genetics, concluding that mate choice might be based on mysterious romantic love.
18 min read 2,648 words
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The Hospital Orientation
Scott Alexander provides a satirical account of a hospital orientation, highlighting its various absurdities and contradictions.
5 min read 639 words
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The Hour I First Believed
Scott Alexander speculates on how concepts from decision theory and AI could lead to the emergence of a God-like entity across the multiverse, which judges and potentially rewards human behavior.
18 min read 2,790 words
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The Ideology Is Not The Movement
Scott Alexander examines tribalism, arguing that ideologies often serve as 'rallying flags' for tribes rather than defining their core identity.
50 min read 7,647 words
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The Invention Of Moral Narrative
Scott Alexander examines and critiques the claim that good-vs-evil narratives in popular culture are a recent, nationalism-driven phenomenon, offering alternative explanations for their prevalence.
14 min read 2,137 words