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

A collection of 41 interesting links and news items from April 2025, covering AI, politics, culture, and science, with Scott's commentary on each. Longer summary

This is a links roundup post featuring various interesting news, studies, and curiosities from April 2025. The post covers a wide range of topics including AI developments (particularly around OpenAI and truth-seeking AI), political updates (about Trump, immigration policy, and minimum wage effects), cultural items (like etymology of cowboy terms and medieval perception), and scientific findings. Scott maintains a light, sometimes humorous tone while sharing these diverse pieces of information, occasionally adding his own analysis or perspective on controversial topics. Shorter summary

The post explores the Far Out Initiative's goal to eliminate suffering through biotechnology, inspired by a pain-free woman and David Pearce's philosophy. Longer summary

This post discusses the Far Out Initiative, a project aimed at eliminating suffering through biotechnology. It begins by introducing Jo Cameron, a woman genetically incapable of feeling pain or anxiety, and explores the philosophical implications of her condition. The post then delves into David Pearce's suffering abolitionism philosophy and his practical approaches to ending suffering. Finally, it describes the Far Out Initiative's current efforts, led by Marcin Kowrygo, to create suffering-free animals through genetic engineering and potentially extend this to humans in the future. Shorter summary

Scott responds to various comments on his article about supplement labeling, addressing concerns about the industry and providing additional context and analysis. Longer summary

This post is a highlights reel of comments on Scott's previous article about supplement labeling. It covers various points raised by commenters, including skepticism about the supplement industry, concerns about heavy metal contamination, and a defense from the founder of LabDoor. Scott responds to each comment, providing additional context, analysis, and sometimes his own perspective on the issues raised. The post touches on topics such as the efficacy of supplements, the trustworthiness of supplement testing companies, and the potential risks associated with certain types of supplements. Shorter summary

TracingWoodgrains and Michael Pershan analyze the effectiveness of ability grouping, acceleration, and personalization software in serving advanced students in the education system. Longer summary

This post is an entry to the Adversarial Collaboration Contest by TracingWoodgrains and Michael Pershan, discussing whether the education system adequately serves advanced students. It examines three main approaches: ability grouping, acceleration, and personalization software. The authors review research on each approach, discuss their pros and cons, and explore the tensions between different educational goals. They conclude with practical advice for parents, educators, and educational reformers. Shorter summary

Scott reviews 'Unlearn Your Pain', finding its psychosomatic theory of chronic pain intriguing but overstated, while acknowledging the book's techniques may still be helpful via placebo effects. Longer summary

Scott reviews the book 'Unlearn Your Pain' by Dr. Howard Schubiner, which argues that most chronic pain is psychosomatic and can be cured through psychological techniques. While Scott finds some of the book's claims intriguing, he is skeptical of its more sweeping assertions about the psychological origins of pain. He examines the evidence for and against psychosomatic theories of chronic pain, concluding that while psychological factors likely play a role, the book overstates its case and ignores contradictory evidence. Scott suggests the book's techniques may work primarily through placebo effects rather than by addressing repressed trauma as claimed. Shorter summary

The post examines three major issues with generic medications: barriers to market entry, problematic FDA initiatives, and inconsistent pricing across pharmacies. Longer summary

This post discusses the problems with generic medications in the United States, focusing on three main issues. First, it explores why competitors don't easily emerge to challenge price gouging, using the example of Daraprim's price increase. The author suggests that FDA approval processes, including bioequivalence studies, create significant barriers to entry. Second, it critiques the FDA's Unapproved Drugs Initiative of 2006, which allowed companies to gain exclusive rights to public domain drugs by conducting studies, leading to price increases. Finally, it highlights the wide price disparities for generic drugs at different pharmacies, suggesting that comparison shopping can lead to significant savings. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander critiques a study claiming to have found biomarkers for suicide risk, arguing that the results are overstated and such a test would have limited clinical utility even if accurate. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques a study claiming to have found biomarkers predicting suicide risk with 92% accuracy. He points out that most of the predictive power likely comes from clinical instruments rather than biomarkers, and that the biomarkers alone were insignificant in 7 out of 8 tests. Even if the 92% accuracy claim were true, Scott argues it wouldn't be very useful in practice due to the low base rate of suicide attempts. He concludes that while research on biological factors in suicide is valuable, a blood test for suicide is unlikely to ever be clinically useful due to the complex nature of suicide involving both biological and environmental factors. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the theory linking inflammation to depression, finding it promising but cautioning against overconfidence, and discusses the potential and limitations of anti-inflammatory drugs as depression treatments. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the theory that depression may be caused by inflammation, reviewing evidence for and against it. He explains how inflammatory cytokines are linked to sickness behavior and depression-like symptoms, and how this theory connects to other known facts about depression. While finding the theory promising, he cautions against overconfidence given past experiences with other depression theories. The post also explores the potential of anti-inflammatory drugs as depression treatments, concluding that while celecoxib shows promise, its cardiovascular side effects make it unsuitable as a first-line treatment for most patients. Shorter summary

A collection of interesting links from November 2014 covering science, technology, politics, and culture, with Scott's commentary and analysis on each. Longer summary

This is a links post collecting various interesting stories and articles from around the web. The post covers a wide range of topics, from scientific discoveries like saltwater crops and hover technology, to social issues like online harassment statistics and Ethiopia's economic growth. Scott provides brief commentary and often humorous observations about each link, while maintaining his characteristic analytical approach to evaluating claims and studies. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that biological solutions to societal problems may be more effective and easier to implement than social interventions, challenging common perceptions about mutability of human characteristics. Longer summary

Scott Alexander challenges the stereotype that the Left believes human characteristics are socially determined and mutable, while the Right believes they are biologically determined and fixed. He argues that society is actually very difficult to change, while biological factors can often be more easily addressed. He provides examples such as drug abuse, obesity, and poor school performance, where social interventions have largely failed but biological solutions (like banning lead or vitamin supplementation) have shown promising results. The post suggests that we should not dismiss biological explanations and solutions to societal problems, as they may be more tractable than purely social approaches. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the mixed effectiveness of public awareness campaigns, presenting examples of both failures and successes, and analyzing possible explanations for their varying outcomes. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the effectiveness of public awareness campaigns, presenting examples of both failures and successes. He analyzes various theories about why some campaigns work while others don't, but ultimately concludes that it's difficult to predict the success of future campaigns. The post discusses failures like DARE, Scared Straight, and diversity training, as well as successes like anti-smoking campaigns and seatbelt promotion. Scott suggests that campaigns inflicted on captive audiences may be more likely to be counterproductive, but acknowledges that this theory doesn't fully explain all outcomes. He ends by expressing skepticism about public awareness campaigns, partly due to the implications for society if they were consistently effective. Shorter summary

Scott critiques the misuse of consent-based arguments to justify bans, arguing that they often disguise sacred values and can lead to more harm than good. Longer summary

This post critiques the misuse of consent-based arguments to justify banning practices. Scott starts with a satirical proposal to ban healthcare to prevent non-consensual treatment, then extends this to banning non-Democrat candidates to prevent accidental voting. He argues that these 'fake consensualism' arguments are often used to disguise sacred values as neutral principles. The post explains that while consent is important, banning practices entirely based on the possibility of non-consent often leads to more harm than good. Scott concludes by calling for a higher burden of proof for such arguments and suggesting that Basic Income Guarantee would be a better way to ensure genuine consent. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander provides a stark, critical look at end-of-life care in hospitals, challenging idealized notions of death and the concept of 'cultivating a culture of life'. Longer summary

Scott Alexander describes the harsh realities of end-of-life care in modern hospitals, contrasting it with common idealized notions of death. He details the often undignified and painful process many patients go through, criticizes the concept of 'cultivating a culture of life' in hospitals, and expresses his personal wishes for a dignified death. The post is divided into three sections: a graphic description of typical hospital deaths, a critique of hospital poetry, and personal reflections on death and euthanasia. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander debunks a study claiming Victorians were smarter than modern people, showing it's based on flawed data comparison and ignores crucial factors like selection bias and demographics. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques a study claiming Victorians were more intelligent than modern people based on reaction time measurements. He argues the study's conclusion is flawed due to significant selection bias in the Victorian data, which primarily came from wealthy, educated individuals. The modern data, in contrast, was more representative of the general population. Scott points out that the difference in reaction times can be explained by sampling from the top 20% of Victorian society versus a broader modern sample. He also highlights how the study ignores important factors like race and regional variations in IQ, which could further account for the observed differences. Scott concludes by urging readers not to cite this study as evidence for declining intelligence or civilization. Shorter summary