Scott Alexander examines why life hacks don't seem to reach universal adoption in society, despite potential competitive advantages. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of life hacks reaching fixation in society, similar to how beneficial mutations reach fixation in genetics or how new technologies become widespread. He notes that despite the competitive nature of human society, he can't think of any life hacks that have reached universal adoption. He proposes several explanations for this, including the possibility that there are no exceptionally good life hacks, that life hacks are too individualized to reach fixation, or that useful life hacks that have reached fixation are no longer recognized as such. He grudgingly accepts some examples like organizational tools and 'diet and exercise', but notes these don't fit the typical image of a life hack. The post ends with an edit accepting caffeine as a possible example of a life hack reaching fixation. Shorter summary