Scott reviews a book on Lacanian psychoanalysis, discussing its theories on desire and human development while expressing both skepticism and interest in some of its ideas. Longer summary

Scott reviews 'A Clinical Introduction To Lacanian Psychoanalysis' by Bruce Fink, exploring Lacan's theories on desire, psychoanalysis, and human development. He discusses Lacan's concepts of the Other, the paternal function, and the three diagnostic categories: psychosis, perversion, and neurosis. Scott expresses skepticism about many of Lacan's claims but finds some value in the ideas of desire as ego defense and the complexity of human sexuality. He compares psychoanalysis to superstring theory - an attempt to explain complex phenomena that may not fully work but represents a valiant effort. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that Free Energy/Predictive Coding and Perceptual Control Theory are fundamentally the same, and proposes using PCT's more intuitive terminology to help understand FE/PC. Longer summary

Scott Alexander compares two theories of cognition and behavior: Free Energy/Predictive Coding (FE/PC) and Perceptual Control Theory (PCT). He argues that while they've developed differently, their foundations are essentially the same. Scott suggests that understanding PCT, which he finds more intuitive, can help in grasping the more complex FE/PC. He provides a glossary of equivalent terms between the two theories and gives examples to illustrate how PCT's terminology often makes more intuitive sense. The post concludes by discussing why FE/PC is more widely used despite PCT's advantages in explaining certain phenomena, and suggests teaching both terminologies to aid understanding. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander attempts to understand and explain Karl Friston's complex 'free energy' principle in neuroscience, exploring its various interpretations and potential implications. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores Karl Friston's work on 'free energy', a complex concept in neuroscience that has been described as a unified brain theory. The post delves into various interpretations of free energy, from its mathematical origins in Bayesian equations to its application in explaining perception, cognition, homeostasis, and action. Scott struggles to fully grasp the concept, acknowledging its complexity and the widespread difficulty in understanding Friston's work. He presents different perspectives on free energy, including its role in uncertainty reduction, its connection to predictive processing, and its potential to explain biological systems and the origin of life. The post concludes with a tentative synthesis of these ideas and raises questions about the implications of the free energy principle for machine ethics. Shorter summary