Scott announces the annual ACX reader survey for 2025, offering free subscriptions to random participants and highlighting interesting findings from previous years. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the 2025 ACX Survey, a yearly tradition that helps him understand his readership while enabling him to investigate interesting hypotheses and replicate psychological findings. He references several interesting findings from past surveys, including studies on birth order effects and sexual harassment rates in different fields. The post includes a link to this year's survey and mentions a reward of free one-year paid subscriptions for five random participants. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander replicates and analyzes data showing higher rates of long COVID among bisexuals, suggesting a significant psychosomatic component to the condition. Longer summary

Scott Alexander attempts to replicate a CDC finding that bisexuals were 50% more likely to report long COVID than heterosexuals. Using data from his own ACX survey, he finds that bisexual women were twice as likely, and bisexual men 50% more likely, to report long COVID compared to their heterosexual counterparts. He also notes correlations between long COVID and various mental illnesses. Scott suggests these results indicate that a substantial portion of long COVID cases may be psychosomatic, potentially classifying excess cases as a culture-bound mental illness. He proposes compassionate treatment for unavoidable cases alongside 'unawareness campaigns' to minimize avoidable psychosomatic ones. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander attempts to replicate a study linking beef jerky consumption to manic episodes in bipolar disorder, finding no significant relationship in his analysis of SSC survey data. Longer summary

Scott Alexander attempts to replicate a study that claimed beef jerky consumption could trigger manic episodes in bipolar disorder. He uses data from the 2019 Slate Star Codex survey to compare beef jerky consumption between people with and without a history of bipolar mania hospitalization. Contrary to the original study, Scott's analysis finds no significant relationship between beef jerky consumption and manic episodes. He discusses the limitations of his data, such as relying on self-reporting and having a smaller sample size of manic patients, but also notes some strengths like a more detailed measure of beef jerky consumption. Scott concludes by urging further research on this topic, highlighting the importance of replication in scientific studies. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander presents a case for skepticism about psychedelic therapy in psychiatry, outlining seven points of concern while still supporting further research. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses reasons for skepticism about the potential of psychedelic therapy in psychiatry. He outlines seven main points of concern: small studies by enthusiasts leading to unreplicable results, the tendency for all psychotherapies to have amazing success stories, comparison with ketamine's underwhelming results, the case of NSI-189 which failed in trials despite anecdotal success, the lack of obvious effects given widespread psychedelic use, the possibility that insights from psychedelics are illusory, and potential FDA restrictions limiting access and effectiveness. Despite these concerns, Scott supports psychedelic research and hopes to be proven wrong. Shorter summary

A collection of interesting links covering various topics from scientific studies, social issues, and current events, including problems with brain imaging studies, AI safety developments, and surprising research findings. Longer summary

This is one of Scott's regular link posts where he shares and briefly comments on interesting articles and studies he's found. The post covers diverse topics including medical research critique (particularly brain imaging and psychiatric studies), current events (like the Chinese government's actions against Buddhist monks), and technological developments in AI safety. Scott adds his characteristic analytical commentary to many of the links, pointing out surprising implications or potential flaws in the studies. The format is casual but informative, with Scott often expressing personal opinions or humorous observations about the material he's sharing. Shorter summary