Want to dive into Scott Alexander's work and his thousands of blog posts? This fan website lets you sort and do semantic search through the whole codex. Enjoy!
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A review of 'Great and Desperate Cures' by Elliot Valenstein, which examines the history of lobotomy and psychosurgery, explaining how tens of thousands of patients underwent dangerous brain operations from the 1930s-1950s despite poor evidence of effectiveness.
A detailed investigation of the Sun Miracle of Fatima in 1917, where 70,000 people witnessed the sun appear to spin, change colors, and fall to earth, analyzing witness testimonies, skeptical explanations, and similar phenomena at other Marian apparition sites.
The review of 'The Mind of a Bee' examines the cognitive abilities of bees, raising questions about their intelligence and potential consciousness.
Scott Alexander presents a detailed guide on depression, covering its causes, symptoms, and various treatment options, including lifestyle changes, therapies, medications, and other interventions.
A diverse collection of links on topics ranging from gerrymandering and health insurance to tech bubbles and extinction risk estimates, presented with minimal commentary.
Scott examines how the 5-HTTLPR gene was wrongly linked to depression for years, discussing the implications for psychiatric research and genetic testing products.
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.
Scott Alexander reviews research on teacher effectiveness, examining Value-Added Modeling (VAM) and its criticisms, while expressing uncertainty about claimed long-term impacts on adult earnings.
Scott Alexander criticizes the idea that prisons have replaced mental hospitals, arguing for better community and forensic mental health care instead of long-term institutionalization.
Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'isolated demands for rigor' across philosophy, politics, and science, criticizing the selective application of rigorous standards.
This post systematically rebuts common Reactionary political beliefs on topics like societal decline, traditional governance, progress, and social issues through data analysis and historical examples.