Scott Alexander shares the results and data from the 2018 SSC Survey, which received over 8,000 responses, and invites readers to explore the findings. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the results of the 2018 SSC Survey, which received 8,077 responses. He provides links to view the survey questions, results, and a comparison survey conducted on Mechanical Turk. Scott also shares downloadable data files for the 7,298 respondents who agreed to have their responses shared publicly. He mentions plans to post longer analyses later, including those related to pre-registered hypotheses, and invites readers to investigate the data themselves. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander proposes a utopian scientific system using prediction markets and impartial researchers to eliminate bias and efficiently resolve controversies. Longer summary

Scott Alexander describes a utopian scientific system in the fictional culture of Raikoth. In this system, anyone can do exploratory research, but confirmatory experiments are funded through prediction markets and conducted by impartial consultant scientists. The system includes pre-registration of experiments, public statements of predictions by experts, and financial incentives for accurate predictions. This approach aims to eliminate bias, increase transparency, and efficiently resolve scientific controversies. The post ends by highlighting the benefits of such a system, including the elimination of pseudoscience and the creation of a comprehensive, dynamic list of scientific hypotheses and their probabilities. Shorter summary