Scott Alexander examines the life cycle of medical ideas, discussing how promising treatments often get stuck in a 'grey area' between proven and alternative medicine. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the life cycle of medical ideas, focusing on three examples from about five years ago: Zamboni's multiple sclerosis theory, Gat and Goren's prostatic hyperplasia theory, and minocycline for schizophrenia. He explores how the medical community responds to new ideas, the challenges of getting promising treatments approved and widely used, and the role of drug companies in this process. Scott notes a 'grey area' between proven medicine and alternative medicine, where promising ideas often languish, and reflects on the potential for new organizations to speed up the evaluation and adoption of these ideas. Shorter summary

Scott shares an eclectic collection of interesting links he found online, covering topics like economics, urban planning, science and psychology, with his own commentary added. Longer summary

This is a collection of interesting links and articles Scott found online. The topics range from economics and social systems, through urban planning and science, to education and psychology studies. The post includes studies about gender discrimination, nuclear power safety statistics, and the effects of moderate drinking on health. Scott adds his own commentary and analysis to many of the links, often with a touch of humor or irony. Shorter summary