How to explore Scott Alexander's work and his 1500+ blog posts? This unaffiliated fan website lets you sort and do semantic search through the whole codex. Enjoy!

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1754 posts found
Sep 05, 2025
acx
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31 min 4,777 words Comments pending
A detailed insider look at Phase I clinical drug trials, revealing how the system's structure encourages participants to routinely lie about their medical history and symptoms to continue participating. Longer summary
This review explores Phase I clinical pharmaceutical trials from a participant's perspective, detailing the process, the people involved, and systemic issues. The author explains how participants are recruited, screened, and monitored during trials, then describes the peculiar demographics of regular trial participants. A key focus is how the system's incentives encourage dishonesty: participants routinely lie about medical history and symptoms because being truthful often leads to disqualification from future trials. The author concludes that while this systemic dishonesty probably doesn't catastrophically compromise drug safety, it does make the research pipeline less effective than it could be. Shorter summary
Sep 04, 2025
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54 min 8,285 words Comments pending
Scott Alexander presents his monthly collection of interesting links and developments across technology, science, culture, and policy, with personal commentary on each item. Longer summary
Scott Alexander shares a collection of 61 interesting links, spanning topics from AI development and scientific studies to cultural observations and policy discussions. The post covers diverse subjects including GPT-5's reception, genetic research, religious demographics, urban development, mental health studies, and various scientific discoveries. Scott provides commentary and analysis on many of these items, often connecting them to broader themes or offering his perspective on controversial issues. Shorter summary
Sep 02, 2025
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16 min 2,445 words Comments pending
In a fictional podcast dialogue, God and Iblis debate whether human intelligence shows genuine promise or is fundamentally flawed, with God defending humans despite their limitations while Iblis argues they're a failed experiment. Longer summary
The post is a fictional dialogue between God, Iblis (Satan), and podcast host Dwarkesh Patel debating the merits and flaws of human intelligence. Iblis criticizes humans by showing examples of their logical failures, ethical inconsistencies, and inability to generalize knowledge, while God defends humans by emphasizing their potential and progress. The debate touches on topics like mathematical understanding, ethical reasoning, and pattern recognition. God ultimately argues that despite their flaws, humans show genuine promise and deserve patience and nurturing, comparing them to children who make mistakes but have potential. Shorter summary
Aug 29, 2025
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6 min 815 words Comments pending podcast (6 min)
Scott shares an open letter urging the NIH to spend $5 billion in allocated but unspent research funds before the fiscal year deadline. Longer summary
Scott Alexander shares an open letter to the NIH about unspent research funding. The letter, which he was asked to share by anonymous authors concerned about retaliation, urges NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya to follow through on his commitment to spend $5 billion in allocated funds before the fiscal year ends on September 30th. The letter emphasizes the bipartisan support for NIH funding, the economic returns on research investment, and the importance of keeping pace with China's increasing research spending. Shorter summary
Aug 26, 2025
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27 min 4,042 words Comments pending podcast (26 min)
Scott investigates AI psychosis through historical analogies and a reader survey, finding it affects roughly 1 in 10,000 to 100,000 people yearly, with most cases involving pre-existing risk factors. Longer summary
Scott examines the phenomenon of AI psychosis, where people allegedly go crazy after extensive chatbot interactions. He explores various analogies and precedents, including the 1990s Russian TV hoax about Lenin being a mushroom, social media-induced conspiracy theories like QAnon, and the concept of folie à deux. Through a survey of his blog readers, he estimates the yearly incidence of AI psychosis at 1/10,000 (loose definition) to 1/100,000 (strict definition). The analysis suggests that most cases involve people who were already psychotic or had risk factors, with only about 10% being cases of previously healthy people developing full psychosis. Shorter summary
Aug 22, 2025
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40 min 6,137 words 183 comments 179 likes podcast (33 min)
A review of Ollantay, a 1775 Quechua play that inspired the Túpac Amaru II rebellion in Peru, exploring how its plot became a deadly script for real historical events. Longer summary
This book review discusses Ollantay, a Quechua play from 1775 Peru that directly inspired the Túpac Amaru II rebellion. The review explores how the play's plot closely mirrors the real events of the rebellion, which led to 100,000 deaths. The author analyzes the mysterious origins of the play, its artistic merits, and its role as a 'cognitohazard' that influenced José Gabriel Condorcanqui (Túpac Amaru II) to follow its script, leading to tragedy. The review ends with reflections on how certain works of art seem designed to influence specific individuals to change history. Shorter summary
Aug 20, 2025
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23 min 3,515 words 807 comments 167 likes podcast (19 min)
Scott responds to three concerns about embryo selection: embryo personhood rights, loss of trait diversity, and the ethics of preventing disabilities, arguing that none of these objections are fatal to the technology. Longer summary
Scott Alexander responds to three major concerns about embryo selection raised in response to a previous post. First, he addresses whether embryos have personhood rights, arguing that embryos lack the qualities (consciousness, intelligence, etc) that make humans morally valuable. He refutes various counterarguments about potential personhood and responds to edge cases like sleeping hermits. Second, he discusses concerns about trait diversity, arguing that the technology's limited power and slow adoption mean diversity concerns are premature. Third, he addresses the ethics of telling disabled people you'd prefer they didn't exist, comparing it to other situations where we try to prevent certain conditions without devaluing existing people. Shorter summary
Aug 15, 2025
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103 min 15,821 words 1,389 comments 803 likes podcast (87 min)
A woman reviews her experiences dating men in the Bay Area, analyzing how society's failure to provide clear paths to manhood has created various categories of lost men, and proposes solutions to help future generations. Longer summary
This review explores the state of dating men in the Bay Area, focusing on the broader societal issues that have left many men feeling lost and without purpose. The author, a woman who often finds herself in pseudo-therapy sessions during dates, categorizes men into several types of 'lostness': The Man Who Is Not (depressed and without identity), The Man With a Plan (following society's checklist without self-discovery), The Man Who Provides (obsessed with success), The Man Who Opts Out (given up on dating), and The Man Who Becomes a Beast (turned to toxic masculinity). She contrasts these with The Man Who Is Whole, who has found his authentic identity and purpose. The post ends with suggestions for crafting a better societal approach to masculinity. Shorter summary
Aug 14, 2025
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70 min 10,813 words 191 comments 255 likes podcast (35 min)
A guest post defending the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease, explaining why amyloid is likely the root cause despite recent criticism and discussing why early treatments have only been partially effective. Longer summary
David Schneider-Joseph presents a detailed defense of the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease, which states that the disease is caused by accumulation of amyloid-β peptide. He explains the ATN model (amyloid → tau → neurodegeneration) and provides extensive evidence from genetics, clinical studies, and animal models. The post addresses various criticisms of the hypothesis, including the recent research fraud controversy and apparent failures of early treatments. The author explains why current treatments have only achieved about 30% efficacy and predicts that future treatments targeting amyloid earlier and more effectively could achieve much better results. Shorter summary
Aug 12, 2025
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32 min 4,823 words 286 comments 103 likes podcast (28 min)
Scott discusses comments on his previous post about liberalism and communities, exploring various perspectives on how wealth and societal structures affect community formation and maintenance. Longer summary
This post is a follow-up analyzing comments on Scott's previous article about liberalism and communities. He examines three main areas: theoretical discussions about community formation, specific examples of existing communities, and miscellaneous observations. The comments challenge and expand on his original thesis about wealth enabling community formation, with some arguing he underestimates existing communities while others suggest wealth actually hinders true community building. Scott identifies four different strategies for community formation and responds to various criticisms about legal barriers, sustainability, and the role of modern entertainment in community dissolution. Shorter summary
Aug 08, 2025
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32 min 4,960 words 388 comments 298 likes podcast (30 min)
Through the lens of instant mashed potatoes, the author explores how modern society creates inferior imitations of real things, and what we lose by accepting these substitutes. Longer summary
The author reviews his relationship with instant mashed potatoes, using them as a lens to explore how modern society creates inferior imitations of real things. Starting with personal history about his father's love of instant mashed potatoes, the author traces the history of potato cultivation and preparation, from ancient Peru to modern instant versions. He then uses this to develop a broader theory about 'IMPish' (Instant Mashed Potato-ish) substitutes - things that are reconstituted, inferior versions of real things, from processed foods to online communities. The post ends with reflections on authenticity and what we lose when we accept these substitutes. Shorter summary
Aug 05, 2025
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10 min 1,513 words 484 comments 295 likes podcast (10 min)
Scott examines Fukuyama's defense of liberalism as enabling tight-knit communities, and argues that economic constraints are what prevent more people from forming such communities today. Longer summary
Francis Fukuyama argues that liberalism isn't opposed to community but rather serves as a platform where different communities can thrive. Scott analyzes this claim by examining existing tight-knit communities in America, from the Amish to rationalists, noting they are exceptions rather than the rule. He suggests that economic constraints are the main barrier preventing more people from forming such communities, and argues that increased material abundance could enable more community-building. The post ends by connecting this to post-singularity scenarios, suggesting that economic freedom could allow people to form meaningful communities more easily. Shorter summary
Aug 01, 2025
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172 min 26,568 words 279 comments 292 likes podcast (139 min)
A book review examining the evidence for Joan of Arc's miraculous abilities and accomplishments, analyzing historical sources and debating whether she was divinely inspired, mentally ill, or part of a conspiracy. Longer summary
This review examines the historical evidence surrounding Joan of Arc, particularly focusing on the extensive documentation of her life through trial records and witness testimonies. The post first provides historical context about the Hundred Years' War and France's desperate situation, then recounts Joan's remarkable military achievements and her eventual capture and execution. The author analyzes three possible explanations for Joan's abilities: divine inspiration, mental illness, or conspiracy, while noting the complexity penalties in trying to explain her military genius, theological knowledge, and apparent prophetic abilities through non-supernatural means. The post ends with reflections on what Joan's case means for historical evidence and religious faith. Shorter summary
Jul 31, 2025
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56 min 8,609 words 806 comments 354 likes podcast (60 min)
Scott analyzes the sudden emergence of commercial trait-based embryo selection services, discussing both the scientific validity and ethical implications of selecting embryos for health outcomes, intelligence, and physical traits. Longer summary
Scott examines the recent development of commercial embryo selection services, particularly focusing on companies like Genomic Prediction, Orchid Health, Nucleus, and Herasight. He explains how the technology works, comparing different companies' claims and methodologies, and discusses both scientific challenges and ethical concerns. The post explores the potential benefits, like reduced disease risk and increased IQ, while acknowledging issues around cost, racial disparities, and social implications. A significant portion focuses on Herasight's critique of competitor Nucleus's scientific claims. The post concludes by placing this technology in the broader context of human enhancement and future technological developments. Shorter summary
Jul 30, 2025
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12 min 1,783 words 1,201 comments 570 likes podcast (11 min)
Scott discusses how moral principles emerge from the relationship between emotional responses and rational consistency, using reactions to Gaza as a central example. Longer summary
Scott responds to three different arguments questioning the authenticity of moral principles and emotional responses, particularly around the Gaza conflict. He uses a personal story about his reaction to a tragic account from Gaza, contrasting his raw emotional response with the need for principled rational thinking. The post explains how genuine moral principles emerge from the interplay between emotional responses and rational consistency, arguing that while perfect consistency may be impossible, the effort to generalize our moral intuitions in a principled way is valuable and necessary. Shorter summary
Jul 26, 2025
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74 min 11,412 words 343 comments 166 likes podcast (65 min)
A data-driven analysis of the ACX/SSC comment section quality over time reveals historical peaks and valleys, with recent signs of improvement after previous declines in 2016 and 2021. Longer summary
This review analyzes the quality of the Astral Codex Ten (ACX) comment section over time, comparing it to its predecessor Slate Star Codex (SSC). Through detailed data analysis of 1.8M comments across 2,460 posts, the author identifies two major changes in comment quality - one in 2016 and another during the 2021 transition to ACX. The analysis looks at four key metrics: depth of engagement, freedom of intellectual engagement, politeness, and complexity of thought. While the data shows a decline after these turning points, recent trends suggest the comment section may be recovering. The author explores several hypotheses for the 2016 decline, including changes in post frequency and the impact of Trump's rise on discussion norms. Shorter summary
Jul 24, 2025
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13 min 1,864 words 31 comments 92 likes podcast (11 min)
Scott Alexander announces the 2025 ACX Grants program offering $1M in microgrants for charitable and scientific projects, with a new equity-sharing component for projects that become startups. Longer summary
Scott Alexander announces the 2025 ACX Grants program, a microgrants initiative funding charitable and scientific projects from ACX readers. He plans to contribute $200K with an expected additional $800K from other donors, for grants ranging from $5K to $50K. This year introduces a new feature where some grants will be replaced with SAFEs or convertible grants, giving ACX Grants equity claims if projects become successful startups. The post details application processes, timelines, types of projects they're interested in, and various ways others can help as funders, VCs, evaluators, or friendly professionals. Shorter summary
Jul 21, 2025
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22 min 3,372 words 171 comments 619 likes podcast (21 min)
A satirical story about a Bay Area house party that combines text adventure games with social commentary about Silicon Valley culture, tech companies, and effective altruism. Longer summary
This is a satirical story about a Bay Area house party, written as a humorous fictional narrative combining text-based adventure games with social commentary. The story follows the narrator attending a party that's been ruined by Mark Zuckerberg trying to poach everyone for Meta, then meeting various Silicon Valley characters including effective altruists discussing existential risks, people working on startups, and others debating philosophical concepts. The story pokes fun at Silicon Valley culture, AI companies' GPU hoarding, EA concepts, and tech startup culture through increasingly absurd situations. Shorter summary
Jul 18, 2025
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43 min 6,534 words 156 comments 161 likes podcast (38 min)
A detailed review of Islamic geometric patterns in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Moroccan Court, analyzing both the flaws in modern recreations and the underlying mathematical principles of authentic pattern construction. Longer summary
This book review contest entry examines Islamic geometric patterns found in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Moroccan Court, particularly focusing on a set of wooden doors that contain noticeable imperfections in their geometric designs. The author explains the traditional rules and principles of Islamic geometric patterns, demonstrating how proper patterns are constructed using a polygonal technique, and contrasts this with modern attempts that often fall short. Through detailed analysis of several examples in the Met's collection, including both historical pieces and modern recreations, the author explores how the loss of traditional artistic knowledge manifests in subtle ways. The piece concludes with reflections on the nature of artistic creation and the gap between creator and observer understanding. Shorter summary
Jul 15, 2025
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49 min 7,482 words 636 comments 392 likes podcast (44 min)
A review of L.R. Hiatt's book on Aboriginal anthropology that examines the complexity of their traditional social structures and practices, while exploring broader questions about cultural evolution and the impact of colonialism. Longer summary
Scott reviews 'Arguments About Aborigines' by L.R. Hiatt, which explores two centuries of anthropological debates about Australian Aboriginal society. The book reveals both the incredible complexity of Aboriginal social structures and practices, and the challenges anthropologists faced in understanding them. Scott examines specific aspects like their section system (which divides people into eight categories determining marriage and social relations), mother-in-law taboos, and initiation rituals, using these to explore broader questions about cultural evolution and adaptation. The review concludes by discussing the tragic effects of colonialism on Aboriginal society, while acknowledging both the remarkable adaptations of traditional Aboriginal culture and its more troubling aspects. Shorter summary
Jul 11, 2025
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51 min 7,754 words 177 comments 158 likes podcast (48 min)
A detailed review of a 1995 paper introducing the PDAPP mouse model for Alzheimer's disease, examining how its limitations were overlooked and shaped decades of potentially misguided Alzheimer's research. Longer summary
The post reviews a landmark 1995 paper introducing the PDAPP mouse model for Alzheimer's disease, analyzing how its technical achievements and limitations shaped three decades of Alzheimer's research. The author examines the paper's methodology, results, and claims, showing how the model's flaws - including extreme protein overexpression and lack of key disease features - were overlooked in favor of a compelling but incomplete amyloid cascade hypothesis, leading to years of failed drug development and missed opportunities to explore alternative approaches. Shorter summary
Jul 09, 2025
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28 min 4,235 words 386 comments 213 likes podcast (25 min)
Scott reviews Steven Byrnes' work explaining how our perception of self and consciousness can flip between different models, similar to optical illusions, which explains phenomena like trance, hypnosis, and spiritual experiences. Longer summary
Scott reviews Steven Byrnes' 2024 series on predictive processing and self-models. The post explains how our perception of both external reality and internal mental states is based on models that can be bistable (flip between two interpretations). Just as optical illusions can flip between two interpretations, our sense of self can flip between different models. This explains phenomena like trance, hypnosis, dissociative disorders, and spiritual experiences. The post details how trance states work through a four-step process of belief, relaxation, suppressing contrary evidence, and gathering supporting evidence, then applies this framework to explain various psychological phenomena including Buddhist enlightenment and Julian Jaynes' theories about ancient consciousness. Shorter summary
Jul 08, 2025
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21 min 3,191 words 518 comments 445 likes podcast (16 min)
Scott Alexander shows how he won his 2022 bet about AI image generation capabilities, tracking the progress from early failures to complete success in 2025, using this to argue against AI skeptics. Longer summary
Scott Alexander describes the resolution of a bet he made in June 2022 about AI image generation capabilities. The bet claimed that by June 2025, AI would master image compositionality and be able to accurately generate specific complex scenes. The post shows the progression of AI image generation from 2022 to 2025, starting with early failures by DALL-E2, through various partial successes with Google Imagen and DALL-E3, and ending with ChatGPT 4o's complete success in May-June 2025. Scott uses this to argue against critics who claimed AI was just a 'stochastic parrot' that couldn't achieve true understanding, though he acknowledges some remaining limitations with very complex prompts. Shorter summary
Jul 04, 2025
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55 min 8,460 words 583 comments 364 likes podcast (46 min)
This review explores how schools are primarily designed to maximize motivation rather than learning, explaining why age-graded classrooms and seemingly inefficient group learning have persisted despite numerous attempts at reform. Longer summary
The post examines why schools have maintained their traditional structure of age-graded classrooms where all students learn the same content, despite its apparent inefficiencies. The author argues that schools are designed primarily to maximize motivation rather than learning, using conformity as a key tool. Through analyzing various attempts at personalized learning and their consistent failures to scale beyond about 5% of students, the post explains how students fall into three categories: no-structure learners, low-structure learners, and high-structure learners. The author concludes that while the current system is far from perfect, it has proven more effective at scale than any alternatives, predicting that despite continued attempts at reform, the basic structure of schooling will remain unchanged. Shorter summary
Jul 03, 2025
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66 min 10,199 words 147 comments 90 likes podcast (61 min)
Scott Alexander responds to comments and criticism on his earlier post about 'Missing Heritability', discussing issues like gene-environment interactions, sequencing technology limitations, and the use of polygenic scores across ancestry groups. Longer summary
This post compiles and responds to notable comments on Scott's earlier post about 'Missing Heritability'. The post is structured in four sections, starting with responses from experts named in the original post, particularly Sasha Gusev who critiques the treatment of gene-environment interactions and cross-population polygenic scores. The second section features detailed technical comments from knowledgeable readers about topics like genetic interactions and sequencing technology limitations. The third section addresses specific corrections to the original post, while the final section covers various other interesting comments and discussions. Throughout, Scott engages with the criticisms and new perspectives while maintaining his original position on most key points. Shorter summary
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