The reader’s shortlist
Essays ranked by captured source likes. Essays without a saved count are listed last.
Scott Alexander explores the idea that many adults may be missing crucial cognitive abilities, and that rationality and cognitive therapy might be teaching these missing developmental milestones.
Scott Alexander examines the fate of 1990s environmental concerns, finding a mix of solved problems, exaggerated issues, and ongoing challenges that have faded from public attention.
Scott Alexander reviews his intellectual progress in the 2010s across various fields, crediting his blog for accelerating learning.
Scott Alexander examines the synapse hypothesis of depression, which links decreased synaptogenesis to various depression research findings, and raises questions for future investigation.
Scott Alexander examines the rise and fall of Hegel's philosophical influence, contrasting his 19th-century dominance with modern dismissals, and considers the implications for philosophy and Hegel's lasting impact on modern thought.
Scott Alexander examines the rise, fall, and alleged resurrection of the antidepressant NSI-189, expressing skepticism about its efficacy and the broader challenges in developing new antidepressants.
Scott Alexander explores the idea that people might be missing universal human experiences without realizing it, using examples from various senses and personal anecdotes.
Scott Alexander examines various anti-wheat claims and pro-wheat evidence, concluding that while some concerns exist, current evidence generally supports wheat consumption for most people.
Scott Alexander explores theories to reconcile contradictory views on AI progress rates, considering the implications for AI development timelines and intelligence scaling.
Scott Alexander provides a stark, critical look at end-of-life care in hospitals, challenging idealized notions of death and the concept of 'cultivating a culture of life'.
Scott Alexander examines his doubts about utilitarianism and explores moral contractualism as a potential alternative for grounding morality.
Scott Alexander hypothesizes a link between transgender identity, optical illusions, and NMDA receptor function, based on survey data and existing research on schizophrenia and autism.
Scott analyzes the projected drop in DC's high school graduation rates, exploring various explanations and comparing DC to other states, ultimately suggesting widespread inflation of graduation rates elsewhere.
Scott Alexander explores why medical residency test scores plateau after the first few years, proposing theories related to knowledge retention and individual differences in learning.
Scott Alexander examines seven cognitive traps that lead doctors to believe they're above-average, potentially applying to other client-choice professions.
Scott Alexander refutes a blog post criticizing rationalism, arguing it misunderstands the movement and its core values of empiricism, scholarship, and humility.
Scott explores the theory that clozapine's unique effectiveness in treating schizophrenia may be due to its combined action on dopamine and glutamate systems, potentially opening avenues for safer treatments.
Scott Alexander discusses the lack of scientific research on nerds, exploring potential explanations for their distinct traits, including the possible role of testosterone.
Scott Alexander examines the underutilization of prediction aggregation platforms like Metaculus, exploring potential reasons and expressing surprise at their lack of widespread adoption.
Scott Alexander examines why early psychedelic researchers often became eccentric, proposing that psychedelics might permanently increase openness to unusual ideas.
Scott compares two visions of a 'wirehead society' in the far future, exploring how framing affects our perception of technologically omnipotent posthuman existence.
Scott responds to authors of a Victorian intelligence paper, remaining skeptical of their findings and addressing critiques of his original post on IQ change speeds.
Scott Alexander explores the similarities between Wernicke's aphasia and GPT-3's language use, while noting that GPT-3's capabilities likely surpass this neurological comparison.
Scott Alexander investigates the complexities of using Google Trends for mental health research, proposing methods to improve accuracy and interpretation of search data.
Scott Alexander offers ten tips for effective nonfiction writing, emphasizing structure, variety, flow, and persuasion techniques.