Scott Alexander discusses various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including strategies, mysteries, controversies, and global impacts. Longer summary

This blog post discusses various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the 'hammer and dance' strategy, smoking cessation, mysteries surrounding Japan's low case numbers, takeout food safety, ventilator numbers, the UK's policy reversal, density and infection rates, hydroxychloroquine controversy, concerns about developing countries, donation opportunities, cost-benefit analysis of lockdowns, US stimulus bill negotiations, and media coverage of the pandemic across the political spectrum. The post also includes short links to other coronavirus-related news and developments. Shorter summary

A collection of interesting links covering science, politics, and culture, with topics ranging from desalinization and medical studies to quirky historical facts and political developments. Longer summary

This is a link roundup post covering various topics from scientific studies to political events. It includes interesting findings about desalinization in Israel, studies about alcohol consumption and poverty, updates on linguistics paper reviews showing gender bias, and various cultural observations. The post also covers some unusual facts about military dogs, Mennonite communities, and state traditions. It maintains a light tone while discussing serious topics, often including Scott's brief commentary or humorous observations alongside the links. Shorter summary

A links post collecting interesting stories from around the web, including scientific studies, historical oddities, media criticism, and current events, with Scott's commentary and analysis. Longer summary

This is a links post collecting various interesting stories and studies from around the web. It covers topics from historical oddities (like Maoist China's mango obsession), scientific studies (on autism genetics, weight loss, and practice effects), media criticism (of Salon and coverage of Venezuela's collapse), and current events. The post points out interesting patterns and connections between the stories while maintaining a somewhat skeptical tone about extraordinary claims. Scott maintains his characteristic style of finding fascinating angles on seemingly mundane topics while questioning conventional narratives. Shorter summary

The post uses a fabricated narrative about cardiologists to illustrate the Chinese Robber Fallacy and its role in media bias, emphasizing the importance of context in interpreting negative stories about any group. Longer summary

This post discusses the Chinese Robber Fallacy and its implications for media bias. The author begins with a satirical section presenting numerous examples of cardiologists committing various crimes and unethical acts, creating the impression of widespread issues in the profession. The second part reveals this as a demonstration of how easy it is to create a false narrative about any group using selective examples. The author then explores how this fallacy applies to media coverage of issues like police brutality and sexism in tech, emphasizing the importance of understanding base rates and population sizes when interpreting such stories. The post concludes by revealing that the initial section about cardiologists was entirely fabricated to illustrate the point. Shorter summary

Scott analyzes a case of apparent psychiatric misdiagnosis, explaining the complexities and challenges faced by psychiatrists in evaluating patients' claims. Longer summary

Scott discusses a news story about a woman committed to a psych ward for claiming Obama followed her on Twitter, which turned out to be true. He explains that while the hospital's actions seem outrageous, there may be more to the story. He shares his experience as a psychiatrist, detailing the challenges in evaluating patients' claims and the need to err on the side of caution. Scott illustrates this with a story about 'Professor T', a delusional man claiming to be a famous physicist. He emphasizes the difficulty in distinguishing truth from delusion in psychiatric settings, where normal assumptions of trust don't always apply. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that polyamory's low black representation is part of a broader pattern across many subcultures, proposing general explanations and criticizing how this issue is often weaponized. Longer summary

Scott Alexander examines the claim that polyamory has a problem with underrepresentation of black people. He argues this is part of a broader pattern where many subcultures and interest groups have low black representation, listing numerous examples. He proposes several general factors that likely contribute to this pattern, such as affluence requirements, education levels, and cultural factors. Scott criticizes how underrepresentation is often used disingenuously to attack groups, and expresses frustration that polyamory is being singled out for criticism when the pattern is so widespread. Shorter summary

A collection of interesting links from October 2014 with Scott's commentary, covering topics from Russian deforestation to North Korean politics to scientific research. Longer summary

This is a links post where Scott Alexander shares various interesting articles and news items from October 2014. He covers topics ranging from environmental issues in Russia, food safety mishaps, basic income problems, North Korean politics, and scientific research. The post includes both serious topics like sexual assault prevention research and lighter ones like football chants and textbook covers. Scott provides commentary and context for each link, sometimes with his characteristic humor. Shorter summary

Scott shares his monthly collection of interesting links spanning science, technology, history, and culture, with commentary on each story's significance or peculiarity. Longer summary

A collection of interesting links from February 2013, covering various topics from scientific discoveries to cultural oddities. The post includes stories about DNA data storage, unusual medical cases, economic statistics, technological advances in AI, historical curiosities like Irish slaves and green children, and various social and political observations. Scott presents these with his characteristic mix of intellectual curiosity and witty commentary, often noting when claims appear exaggerated or deserve skepticism. Shorter summary