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Links For October 2025

42 min • 6,423 words • 803 comments • 211 likes • podcast (38 min)

Scott Alexander presents 51 links covering AI progress and safety, political developments, scientific research, cultural oddities, and ongoing philosophical debates about miracles and education reform. Longer summary

Scott Alexander shares 51 links covering diverse topics including AI developments (agents, safety, consciousness research), political news (Ukraine policy, UK politics, Trump administration), science updates (climate predictions, genetics, bacteriophages), cultural curiosities (Shakespeare superfan plastic surgery, Soviet naming conventions, flag cones), health research (Alzheimer's prevention, shingles vaccine reducing dementia, kidney donation), and philosophical debates (Hume's argument against miracles, the Fatima miracle discussion). The post maintains Scott's characteristic blend of serious analysis and quirky observations, touching on everything from Bach's descendants in Oklahoma to the mystery of why AI still struggles with laundry folding despite mastering protein folding. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: book review (212), AI safety (69), links (62), genetics (58), climate change (33), Eliezer Yudkowsky (30), links roundup (28), OpenAI (27), AI progress (15), Anthropic (12), education reform (7), Freddie deBoer (5), Richard Hanania (5), kidney donation (3), Curtis Yarvin (2), Kelsey Piper (2), dementia prevention (2), cultural history (2), political news (2), David Hume (2), NVIDIA (2)

Nov 30, 2022

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Highlights From The Comments On Semaglutide

41 min • 6,260 words • 123 comments • 64 likes • podcast (36 min)

Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to comments on his post about semaglutide, covering corrections, additional information, and user experiences with the weight loss drug. Longer summary

Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to comments on his previous post about semaglutide, a weight loss drug. The highlights include corrections to his original analysis, additional information on obtaining semaglutide cheaply, discussion of other weight loss drugs and treatments, challenges to Scott's predictions, debate over whether weight loss is maintained after stopping the drug, personal anecdotes from users, and mentions of some tangential debates in the comments. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: prediction markets (85), highlights from the comments (67), obesity (18), drug pricing (11), personal anecdotes (6), weight loss (4), semaglutide (2)

Mar 16, 2022

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Highlights From The Comments On Zulresso

12 min • 1,804 words • 16 comments • 37 likes • podcast (14 min)

Scott Alexander highlights and responds to expert comments on his previous posts about Zulresso and Zuranolone, covering various aspects of these drugs and related topics. Longer summary

Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to comments on his previous posts about Zulresso and Zuranolone. The post covers various topics including drug pricing, mechanism details of GABA receptors, etymology of drug names, tolerance development, progesterone's effects, and personal experiences with progesterone. Scott expresses appreciation for the expertise of his commenters, particularly in biomedical topics, and acknowledges learning new information from them. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: highlights from the comments (67), drug pricing (11), tolerance (5), Zulresso (3), postpartum depression (3), drug mechanisms (3), hormone therapy (3), Zuranolone (2), progesterone (2)

Jan 27, 2022

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Highlights From The Comments On Health Care Systems

59 min • 9,034 words • 205 comments • 52 likes • podcast (60 min)

Scott Alexander compiles reader comments on healthcare systems in various countries, discussing economics, drug pricing, and personal experiences. Longer summary

This post is a collection of reader comments on healthcare systems in various countries, focusing on the US, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Australia, Switzerland, and several others. It covers topics like drug pricing, healthcare economics, and personal experiences with different systems. The post is structured into four main sections: comments on US healthcare, discussions on drug pricing and subsidies, explanations of why healthcare economics are unique, and detailed accounts of healthcare systems in specific countries. Shorter summary

Recurring tags: highlights from the comments (67), healthcare costs (22), healthcare policy (20), drug pricing (11), healthcare economics (3), healthcare systems (3), US healthcare (2)

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