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.

Scott Alexander presents his monthly collection of interesting links and developments across technology, science, culture, and policy, with personal commentary on each item.

Scott explores the 'missing heritability' problem in genetics, where twin studies show traits like IQ and educational attainment are highly heritable but newer genomic methods find much lower heritability, analyzing various potential explanations for this discrepancy.

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.

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.

Scott Alexander argues that schizophrenia should be described as predominantly genetic, addressing counterarguments and emphasizing the importance of this perspective for prevention strategies.

Scott Alexander investigates the claim that children learn languages faster than adults, finding it partially true but more nuanced than commonly believed.

Scott reviews a book on culture-bound syndromes, expanding the discussion to how all mental illnesses are influenced by culture to varying degrees.

A review of 'The Anti-Politics Machine' by James Ferguson, discussing its critique of development projects and implications for Effective Altruism.

Scott reviews a book on Xi Jinping's rule, exploring China's government structure and Xi's rise to power, concluding that China's system failed to prevent authoritarianism.

Scott Alexander examines the increasing use of 'justice' framing in social and environmental issues, exploring its implications and potential societal impact.

Scott Alexander shares 34 varied links and pieces of information on topics including science, history, politics, and technology, with brief commentary on many items.

Scott discusses reader comments on his 'Crazy Like Us' book review, covering topics like PTSD, cultural influences on mental illness, and cross-cultural prevalence of schizophrenia.

Scott Alexander argues that Jewish overachievement is real and deserves continued study, countering Noah Smith's attempt to downplay its significance.

Scott Alexander examines the ethical considerations of insect farming for food, questioning whether insects have moral value and how this impacts our ethical decisions.

Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of 37 links and interesting facts, covering topics from AI research and educational methods to historical anecdotes and current events.

The review analyzes Robert Ellickson's 'Order Without Law', which argues that close-knit communities often develop welfare-maximizing social norms that supersede formal laws.

Scott Alexander analyzes a study suggesting cloth masks may be harmful, but remains cautiously in favor of their use despite the uncertainty.

A vegetarian and meat-eater collaborate to analyze the impacts of eating meat, concluding that reduced consumption is beneficial but not as clear-cut as some might think.

Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of links on topics ranging from scientific studies to historical anecdotes, with brief commentary on each.

Scott Alexander examines how Trump's presidency has unexpectedly decreased support for his own policies, analyzing polls and proposing several explanations for this counterintuitive trend.

The post examines the compatibility of Islam and liberal democracy by analyzing six Muslim-majority countries, finding a wide spectrum of outcomes and concluding that Islam often acts as an obstacle to liberal democracy.

Scott Alexander summarizes and analyzes various critiques of Thomas Piketty's 'Capital in the Twenty-First Century', finding that many of Piketty's key claims don't hold up well under scrutiny.

Scott reviews a paper proposing a computational model of mood and emotions based on predictive processing, discussing its implications for understanding mood disorders.

Scott Alexander attempts to understand and explain Karl Friston's complex 'free energy' principle in neuroscience, exploring its various interpretations and potential implications.