Scott presents and analyzes seven different analogies to understand whether sophisticated artistic taste is truly superior to popular taste, ultimately concluding it's most like a system of arbitrary rules with post-hoc justifications. Longer summary

Scott examines different analogies for understanding artistic taste and whether sophisticates' judgment of art can be considered superior to popular taste. He presents seven different analogies: taste as physics (based on objective truths), as priesthood (arbitrary rules), as priesthood with semi-fake justifications (like fashion rules), as genuinely justified rules, as desensitization (like porn), as fashion signaling, and as grammar (arbitrary but felt deeply). After analyzing these analogies, Scott argues that artistic taste is most like a priesthood with semi-fake justifications, citing evidence like taste's rapid changes over time, disagreement among experts, political influences, and failed blind tests. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the 'canalization' theory in computational psychiatry and its refinement through deep learning concepts in the Deep CANAL model. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses a new paradigm in computational psychiatry called 'canalization', which models mental processes as an energy landscape with valleys representing attractors or persistent beliefs/behaviors. He then explores a follow-up paper that applies concepts from deep learning to refine this theory, introducing the Deep CANAL model. This model attempts to explain various mental disorders by mapping them onto different types of computational issues in artificial neural networks, such as overfitting/underfitting and the stability/plasticity dilemma. Scott expresses both interest and skepticism about this approach, noting its potential insights but also its limitations and potential contradictions with other theories. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of links covering AI, economics, politics, science, and culture, offering brief comments and insights on each topic. Longer summary

This post is a collection of links to various news articles, studies, and interesting tidbits. It covers a wide range of topics including AI, economics, politics, science, and culture. Some notable items include: a new AI that draws pictures based on captions, a study on the effectiveness of ballpoint pens for emergency tracheotomies, the cancellation of a basic income experiment, weaknesses in Xi Jinping's rule, and a study showing Hitler's speeches didn't measurably increase Nazi support. The post also touches on topics like climate change, antimalarial bed nets, polygenic scores for disease risk, and a replication of a famous psychology study on smiling and happiness. The tone is informative and occasionally humorous, with Scott providing brief comments or insights on many of the links. Shorter summary