Scott Alexander examines a pseudoscientific claim about the Great Pyramid of Giza to illustrate how coincidences can appear more significant than they are, relating this to challenges in evaluating scientific studies. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses a pseudoscientific claim that the Great Pyramid of Giza's location encodes the speed of light to seven decimal places. He breaks down the coincidence, explaining how it's less impressive than it initially appears due to various degrees of freedom in the calculation. He then uses this as a jumping-off point to discuss how similar issues can arise in legitimate scientific studies, referencing Andrew Gelman's 'garden of forking paths' concept. The post concludes by emphasizing the difficulty of fully dissecting such coincidences, even when actively looking for explanations, and how this applies to evaluating scientific studies. Shorter summary

A links roundup examining various scientific studies, social developments, and historical findings, with a particular focus on recent research about confounding variables and replication issues in science. Longer summary

This is an extensive links post covering various scientific studies, news items, and interesting facts. Scott discusses several studies about confounding variables and replication in science, historical findings about ancient civilizations, new research on topics ranging from climate change to criminology, and various social and political developments. The post starts with methodological concerns in science, moves through various research findings and historical tidbits, and ends with news about ongoing projects and obituaries. The tone is analytical but casual, with Scott often adding his own commentary and pointing out interesting implications or contradictions. Shorter summary