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dopamine (7)
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study critique (270)
book review (223)
AI (112)
economics (105)
effective altruism (105)
education (93)
creative writing (91)
debate (90)
forecasting (89)
politics (89)
prediction markets (88)
science (85)
AI safety (79)
media criticism (76)
neuroscience (76)
rationality (76)
psychiatry (73)
psychology (72)
mental health (69)
highlights from the comments (68)
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domain: slatestarcodex.com (1128 posts)
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domain: astralcodexten.com (562 posts)
domain: lesswrong.com (492 posts)
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Remember which posts I've read on this device
7 posts
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Highlights From The Comments On Unpredictable Reward

Scott Alexander explores various commenters' insights on the neuroscience of reward, happiness, and relationships, expanding on his original post about unpredictable rewards.

acx
Sep 30, 2022 4,682 words 68 likes 31 comments Listen · 38 min Read Read Opened Opened

Toward A Bayesian Theory Of Willpower

Scott Alexander proposes a Bayesian theory of willpower as a process of weighing evidence from different mental processes to determine actions.

acx
Mar 26, 2021 1,995 words 146 likes 399 comments Listen · 15 min Read Read Opened Opened

The Chamber of Guf

Scott Alexander uses the Jewish legend of the Chamber of Guf as a metaphor for subconscious thoughts, exploring its implications for behavior, OCD, and self-defeating thoughts.

ssc
Oct 15, 2018 1,449 words 0 likes 124 comments Listen · 11 min Read Read Opened Opened

Guyenet On Motivation

Scott Alexander explores the motivational system as described in 'The Hungry Brain', connecting it to dopamine, willpower, and predictive processing theory.

ssc
Feb 7, 2018 1,864 words 0 likes 125 comments Listen · 15 min Read Read Opened Opened

It’s Bayes All The Way Up

The post explores how Bayesian processes in the brain might explain perception and various mental disorders, linking neurotransmitters to different aspects of Bayesian reasoning.

ssc
Sep 12, 2016 3,871 words 0 likes 215 comments Read Read Opened Opened

Antagonizing Opioid Receptors for (Prevention of) Fun and Profit

Scott explains how the Sinclair Method treats alcoholism by using naltrexone to block the brain's reward response to alcohol, breaking the learned association between drinking and pleasure through temporal difference learning.

lw
May 5, 2010 1,281 words 57 likes 35 comments Read Read Opened Opened

Are wireheads happy?

Scott discusses the neuroscientific split between 'wanting' and 'liking', showing how wireheads might not actually be happy, and explores the troubling implications this has for economics, philosophy, and AI alignment.

lw
Jan 1, 2010 1,606 words 189 likes 109 comments Read Read Opened Opened
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