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263 posts found
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Jul 01, 2026
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Chip Off The Old Block

27 min • 4,128 words • 272 comments • 862 likes • podcast (22 min)
Scott reflects on having young children and how they've inherited specific traits, preferences, and quirks from both him and his wife in surprisingly precise ways. Longer summary
Scott explores the unexpected joys and challenges of seeing himself reflected in his children, particularly his son's inheritance of his childhood train obsession and OCD tendencies. He describes how his twins have split parental traits between them - his son inherited Scott's quirks while his daughter inherited his wife's - and how they've developed their own unique combinations. The post then shifts to discussing his parenting philosophy, defending his negotiation-based approach against critics by comparing family dynamics to feudal systems of rights and duties, complete with detailed examples of bedtime routines and the complex rules that have evolved through negotiation with his toddlers. Shorter summary
Jun 18, 2026
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Waiting For The Miracle

85 min • 13,141 words • 353 comments • 557 likes • podcast (72 min)
Scott travels to Medjugorje, Bosnia to investigate reports of sun miracles, witnesses one himself with his wife, and develops a naturalistic explanation involving afterimages and atmospheric conditions that explains both the Medjugorje and Fatima phenomena. Longer summary
Scott Alexander investigates the sun miracle at Medjugorje, Bosnia, where thousands of pilgrims report seeing the sun spin and change colors. He travels there with his wife, interviews locals, and witnesses a small-scale miracle himself. After analyzing the experience and comparing it to the famous Fatima miracle, he proposes a naturalistic explanation involving afterimages, eye damage, and specific cloud conditions. The post explores eyewitness accounts, the history of Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, and the optical physics behind the phenomenon, ultimately concluding that while impressive, the miracle can be explained through unusual but natural atmospheric conditions combined with prolonged sun-gazing. Shorter summary
May 29, 2026
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Book Review: The Dialectical Imagination

52 min • 8,034 words • 671 comments • 749 likes • podcast (47 min)
Scott reviews a history of the Frankfurt School, explaining their response to Marxism's failures through negative dialectics, cultural criticism, and the belief that society needed conceptual transformation before communist revolution could succeed, while examining their actual influence on modern leftism. Longer summary
Scott reviews Martin Jay's 'The Dialectical Imagination,' examining the Frankfurt School's philosophy through various analogies including mysticism, Zen Buddhism, and Kuhnian paradigm shifts. He traces how the school emerged from the crisis of Marxism's failed predictions, developing 'negative dialectics' and focusing on cultural criticism rather than direct political action. The review explores key figures like Adorno, Horkheimer, and Marcuse, their obscure theories about art and society, and their belief that capitalism corrupts not just economics but consciousness itself. Scott concludes by examining whether the Frankfurt School actually influenced modern progressive movements, finding some connection through their emphasis on criticism over concrete solutions, while noting they warned against misinterpretation of their ideas. Shorter summary
Mar 25, 2026
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Every Debate On Pausing AI

8 min • 1,207 words • 773 comments • 398 likes • podcast (8 min)
A satirical dialogue showing how opponents of AI pause proposals often ignore that advocates explicitly call for bilateral agreements with China, not unilateral pauses. Longer summary
Scott presents a satirical dialogue between a supporter and opponent of AI pause proposals, where the opponent repeatedly ignores the supporter's explicit statements about wanting a bilateral agreement with China and keeps attacking a strawman position of 'unilateral pause.' The supporter patiently explains multiple aspects of pause proposals - including bilateral negotiations, enforcement mechanisms, economic considerations, and quotes from actual pause advocates like Eliezer Yudkowsky and David Krueger - but the opponent continues to repeat the same mischaracterization throughout the entire exchange. Shorter summary
Feb 05, 2026
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Links For February 2026

48 min • 7,419 words • 660 comments • 255 likes • podcast (49 min)
A monthly collection of diverse links covering AI developments and regulation, COVID origins debates, healthcare policy, cultural phenomena, scientific research, and internet curiosities, maintaining Scott's characteristic blend of serious analysis and entertaining observations. Longer summary
Scott Alexander's February 2026 links collection covers a wide range of topics including AI developments, politics, science, culture, and internet phenomena. Major themes include updates on AI capabilities and regulation (with discussions of OpenAI, Anthropic, and various political machinations around AI policy), the ongoing COVID lab leak debate and related prediction markets, healthcare and drug development issues, cultural observations from around the world, and various scientific and academic findings. The post maintains Scott's characteristic style of jumping between serious policy discussions, academic research, internet curiosities, and cultural commentary, with particular attention to AI safety concerns, rationalist community topics, and interesting historical or linguistic oddities. Shorter summary
Jan 16, 2026
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The Dilbert Afterlife

79 min • 12,177 words • 893 comments • 2,069 likes • podcast (71 min)
Scott Alexander eulogizes Scott Adams (Dilbert creator), analyzing his life as a tension between being a brilliant humorist and desperately wanting to be seen as more, leading through failed business ventures and self-help philosophies to eventual cancellation and death. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reflects on the life and career of Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert), who died of prostate cancer at 68. The post traces Adams' journey from brilliant comic artist to failed businessman, religious philosopher, self-help guru, and ultimately Trump supporter, exploring how his lifelong tension between being genuinely clever and his inability to succeed outside of cartooning drove increasingly desperate attempts to prove himself. Alexander portrays Adams as someone who achieved world-class success in humor but couldn't accept that limitation, leading him through various failed ventures (restaurants, burritos, technology startups) and eventually into right-wing politics and cancellation. Despite the criticism, Alexander acknowledges Adams as a personal influence and teacher, ending with genuine tribute to someone who helped many people even while struggling with his own contradictions. Shorter summary
Dec 19, 2025
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Against Against Boomers

17 min • 2,631 words • 1,074 comments • 666 likes • podcast (16 min)
Scott argues against the trend of 'Boomer-hating,' contending that Baby Boomers delivered peace and prosperity, passed on greater wealth to their children, and don't differ significantly from younger generations on most political issues. Longer summary
Scott Alexander pushes back against the growing anti-Boomer sentiment in contemporary discourse. He argues that despite popular narratives, Baby Boomers presided over an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity, and younger generations actually have more inflation-adjusted wealth than Boomers did at the same age. He examines claims that Boomers are politically extreme (both left and right), finding minimal generational differences on issues like climate change, nuclear power, and housing policy. Scott addresses the accusation that Boomers are plundering younger generations through Social Security, showing that benefit generosity peaked in 1972 and has since contracted. He concludes by warning that generational identity politics, like other forms of identity politics, provides a lazy way to hate everything while avoiding substantive policy discussion, and that today's young people will eventually face similar resentment from future generations. Shorter summary
Nov 06, 2025
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The Bloomer's Paradox

19 min • 2,899 words • 426 comments • 493 likes • podcast (18 min)
Scott examines a paradox where bloomers and anti-doomers warn against apocalyptic thinking while treating doomerism itself as an unprecedented existential crisis requiring drastic action. Longer summary
Scott analyzes Jason Pargin's novel 'I'm Starting To Worry About This Black Box Of Doom' and similar arguments from Peter Thiel, Tyler Cowen, and progress studies advocates, noting they all share a contradiction: they argue we should stop treating problems as unprecedented crises, except for the problem of treating problems as crises, which they present as uniquely dangerous. The post examines how these thinkers simultaneously advocate against doomerism while expressing extreme concern about doomerism itself. Scott argues this reveals that strong views about a 'crisis of doomerism' are incompatible with worldviews that reject the existence of real crises, and concludes that optimism should be a heuristic rather than an absolute principle, with problems (including excessive doomerism) evaluated based on evidence using consistent standards. Shorter summary
Oct 30, 2025
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Links For October 2025

42 min • 6,423 words • 803 comments • 211 likes • podcast (38 min)
Scott Alexander presents 51 links covering AI progress and safety, political developments, scientific research, cultural oddities, and ongoing philosophical debates about miracles and education reform. Longer summary
Scott Alexander shares 51 links covering diverse topics including AI developments (agents, safety, consciousness research), political news (Ukraine policy, UK politics, Trump administration), science updates (climate predictions, genetics, bacteriophages), cultural curiosities (Shakespeare superfan plastic surgery, Soviet naming conventions, flag cones), health research (Alzheimer's prevention, shingles vaccine reducing dementia, kidney donation), and philosophical debates (Hume's argument against miracles, the Fatima miracle discussion). The post maintains Scott's characteristic blend of serious analysis and quirky observations, touching on everything from Bach's descendants in Oklahoma to the mystery of why AI still struggles with laundry folding despite mastering protein folding. Shorter summary
Sep 12, 2025
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Your Review: The Synaptic Plasticity and Memory Hypothesis

77 min • 11,801 words • 180 comments • 212 likes • podcast (66 min)
A review of the synaptic plasticity and memory hypothesis arguing that it is insufficient to explain memory, and proposing a broader cellular processes and memory hypothesis that includes molecular and intracellular mechanisms. Longer summary
The post reviews the synaptic plasticity and memory (SPM) hypothesis, which claims that learning and memory are stored in changes to synaptic weights between neurons. Through several compelling examples, from cannibalism rituals to heart transplant stories and single-cell learning, the author argues that while the SPM hypothesis has been productive, it is incomplete and partially wrong. The post presents evidence that memory can be stored through non-synaptic mechanisms, and proposes an alternative called the cellular processes and memory (CPM) hypothesis, which suggests memory storage involves multiple molecular and intracellular processes beyond just synaptic weights. Shorter summary
Sep 11, 2025
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Book Review: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies

46 min • 7,096 words • 1,060 comments • 480 likes • podcast (43 min)
Scott reviews a new book by Yudkowsky and Soares that makes an uncompromising case for halting AI development to prevent human extinction, analyzing both its arguments and its potential impact as a call to action. Longer summary
Scott reviews Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares' upcoming book 'If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies' about AI safety. The book makes an uncompromising case that AI development will likely lead to human extinction and should be halted immediately through an international treaty and arms control regime. Scott analyzes both the book's arguments and writing style, finding the core message compelling but questioning some of the specific scenarios presented. He reflects on why many people reject existential AI risk warnings using similar dismissive patterns seen with other potential catastrophic risks. Shorter summary
Sep 04, 2025
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Links For September 2025

54 min • 8,283 words • 918 comments • 233 likes • podcast (45 min)
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
Aug 12, 2025
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Highlights From The Comments On Liberalism And Communities

32 min • 4,823 words • 248 comments • 108 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 05, 2025
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Should Strong Gods Bet On GDP?

10 min • 1,518 words • 465 comments • 317 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
Jul 15, 2025
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Book Review: Arguments About Aborigines

49 min • 7,481 words • 577 comments • 445 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
Jun 27, 2025
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Your Review: Alpha School

121 min • 18,662 words • 686 comments • 714 likes • podcast (109 min)
A parent details their year-long experience with Alpha School in Austin, examining how this innovative program achieves accelerated learning through a combination of technology, personalized instruction, and incentive systems. Longer summary
This extensive review details the author's year-long experience with Alpha School, an innovative educational program in Austin that claims to achieve accelerated learning through a '2-hour learning' platform, analyzing its history, methods, effectiveness, and potential for scaling. The author explores how Alpha combines technology, personalized learning, incentive systems, and afternoon workshops to achieve its results, while also examining the challenges it faces in scaling beyond its current elite private school model. The review is particularly careful to separate marketing claims from reality, showing that while the '2-hour learning' actually takes closer to three hours and isn't truly AI-powered, the program does achieve remarkable results through a combination of proven educational techniques. Shorter summary
May 30, 2025
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Bayes For Everyone

32 min • 4,864 words • 199 comments • 244 likes • podcast (30 min)
Brandon Hendrickson presents a method to teach Bayes' theorem effectively to everyone by making it visual, intuitive, emotionally engaging, and a tool for rational discourse. Longer summary
Brandon Hendrickson explores how to teach Bayes' theorem effectively to everyone, especially students, using Kieran Egan's educational framework. He proposes a four-step approach: make it visual using simple diagrams, make it intuitive by connecting it to emotional binaries, make it vital by focusing on topics students genuinely care about (like cryptids and UFOs), and repeat it until students understand its limitations. The post argues that teaching Bayes this way can create opportunities for meaningful conversations between people with different views, ultimately helping develop rational thinking. Shorter summary
May 22, 2025
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Contra MR On Charity Regrants

11 min • 1,560 words • 592 comments • 391 likes • podcast (12 min)
Scott Alexander criticizes Tyler Cowen and others for misrepresenting USAID's funding model, explaining how regranting through other charities is both necessary and effective despite seeming inefficient to outsiders. Longer summary
Scott Alexander criticizes a Marginal Revolution post by Tyler Cowen about USAID funding, where Cowen suggests that only 12% of funds go to recipients. Scott explains that this is misleading because USAID is not a direct charity but a funding organization that works through other charities. He details how the grant-making process works, defends the overhead costs, and points out that Cowen himself runs an organization (Mercatus Center) that does similar regranting. Scott particularly criticizes Trump and Rubio for misrepresenting these programs as wasteful, noting that programs like PEPFAR have saved millions of lives and have very low rates of unexplained expenses. Shorter summary
May 15, 2025
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Book Review: Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids

43 min • 6,596 words • 724 comments • 497 likes • podcast (41 min)
Scott reviews Bryan Caplan's book arguing that modern parents can relax their intensive parenting, while wrestling with whether this advice still applies in the age of smartphones and social media. Longer summary
Scott reviews Bryan Caplan's book 'Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids', exploring its main arguments about how parents today spend much more time on childcare than previous generations despite evidence that parenting style doesn't greatly affect outcomes. The post explores historical childcare data, the cultural shift away from letting kids play unsupervised, and modern challenges like screen time. Scott, dealing with his own twins, finds the book's advice about relaxing parenting standards compelling but struggles with modern concerns about phones and technology that weren't relevant when the book was written in 2011. Shorter summary
Feb 19, 2025
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Tegmark's Mathematical Universe Defeats Most Proofs Of God's Existence

8 min • 1,171 words • 884 comments • 300 likes • podcast (9 min)
Scott Alexander explores how Max Tegmark's mathematical universe hypothesis provides counterarguments to classical proofs of God's existence, suggesting that the existence of mathematical objects alone could explain the universe without requiring a deity. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses how Max Tegmark's mathematical universe hypothesis (which states that all possible mathematical objects exist) provides counterarguments to the main classical proofs of God's existence. He explains how conscious beings would inevitably find themselves in universes capable of supporting consciousness, and how this explains away arguments like fine-tuning and first cause. The post then explores the challenge of defining 'simplicity' in this context, comparing it to the challenge theists face in defining God. Finally, Scott suggests that even if Tegmark's hypothesis is wrong, its existence proves there may be many undiscovered explanations for the universe beyond just God. Shorter summary
Feb 07, 2025
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1DaySooner's Trump II Health Policy Proposals

13 min • 1,950 words • 269 comments • 234 likes • podcast (12 min)
Scott Alexander and 1DaySooner outline potential positive health policy initiatives that could emerge under three key Trump administration health appointees: Jim O'Neill, Marty Makary, and Jay Bhattacharya. Longer summary
This post discusses potential health policy proposals under a hypothetical second Trump administration, focusing on three key appointees and their possible initiatives. The piece examines Jim O'Neill as Deputy Secretary of HHS, highlighting his potential work on organ donation compensation and longevity research; Marty Makary as FDA Commissioner, discussing FDA transparency and regulatory improvements; and Jay Bhattacharya as NIH Director, exploring research funding reforms and challenge trials. Written in collaboration with 1DaySooner, the post specifically focuses on optimistic scenarios that could emerge from these appointments. Shorter summary
Dec 17, 2024
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Links For December 2024

36 min • 5,568 words • 644 comments • 210 likes • podcast (34 min)
Scott shares 55 interesting links covering topics from AI poetry to religious movements, including updates on various projects, unusual historical events, and current developments in technology, politics, and society. Longer summary
This is Scott's monthly links post for December 2024, collecting various interesting stories and developments. The links cover a wide range of topics, from Steven Seagal's bizarre life trajectory to developments in AI and technology, including updates on previous ACX topics and grants. Many links relate to ongoing discussions in the rationalist and EA communities, including debates about effective altruism and charitable giving. The post also includes various curiosities from history, culture, and current events, with Scott often providing his own analysis or perspective on the items shared. Shorter summary
Dec 04, 2024
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Book Review: From Bauhaus To Our House

59 min • 9,037 words • 684 comments • 348 likes • podcast (58 min)
Scott reviews Tom Wolfe's 'From Bauhaus To Our House', which explains how modernist architecture took over American buildings despite being widely disliked, through a combination of European influence, academic capture, and institutional pressures. Longer summary
The book explores how modern architecture, originating from socialist artistic movements in Europe, conquered American architecture despite being unpopular with the public. After fleeing Nazi Germany, modernist architects were given prestigious positions in American universities, where they quickly eliminated traditional architectural teaching. Though most people disliked the new style, institutional pressures and loss of traditional crafting expertise made it dominant. The book follows the movement's evolution through various schools and styles, all maintaining the core modernist principles while fighting amongst themselves about subtle theoretical differences. Scott praises Wolfe's uncompromising criticism but notes he would have appreciated more explanation of what the architects thought they were achieving. Shorter summary
Nov 12, 2024
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Book Review: The Rise Of Christianity

59 min • 9,077 words • 660 comments • 465 likes • podcast (53 min)
Scott Alexander reviews Rodney Stark's 'The Rise of Christianity', which examines factors contributing to Christianity's growth from a small cult to a dominant religion in the Roman Empire. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews 'The Rise of Christianity' by Rodney Stark, which explores how Christianity grew from a small cult to dominate Western history. Stark, a sociologist, applies modern religious study insights to early Christianity. The book argues that Christianity's growth was steady and explainable through factors like social networks, appeal to women, fertility differences, plague survival, and moral teachings. Scott analyzes each argument, finding some more convincing than others, and ultimately suggests that Christianity's unique emphasis on love and virtue may have been its most significant advantage. Shorter summary
Oct 11, 2024
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Book Review Contest 2024 Winners

10 min • 1,500 words • 249 comments • 136 likes • podcast (8 min)
Scott Alexander announces the winners and finalists of the 2024 Book Review Contest, with prizes for the top three reviews. Longer summary
Scott Alexander announces the winners of the 2024 Book Review Contest. The top three winners are Amanda's review of 'Two Arms And A Head', David Matolcsi's review of 'Nine Lives', and Jack Thorlin's review of 'How The War Was Won'. The post lists the other finalists and honorable mentions, providing brief descriptions of the reviewers. Scott mentions potential changes to the contest format for future years, considering an 'Everything-Except-Book-Reviews' contest for next year. Shorter summary
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