A replication of a 2023 neuroscience study on brain entrainment and learning found that the original effect likely doesn't exist, revealing how the study obscured key issues through statistical averaging and highlighting how AI tools are democratizing scientific scrutiny. Longer summary

Sasha Putilin received an ACX grant to replicate a 2023 study claiming that flickering lights synchronized to individual brain rhythms could boost learning speed threefold. The $32,000 replication with 12 participants (versus 80 in the original) found no such effect. Upon examining the original data more closely, Putilin discovered the apparent effect was driven entirely by a few participants with large negative learning rates (getting worse over time) who happened to all be in one experimental group. The original study had obscured this pattern by presenting averaged data rather than individual results. Putilin argues this exemplifies 'cargo-cult statistics' where researchers mechanically apply statistical rituals without critically examining underlying data. The post concludes by suggesting AI tools are democratizing meta-science, enabling anyone to audit published research that previously required expert-level effort. Shorter summary

Scott argues that projects attempting to "solve debate" through argument mapping or similar technologies are fundamentally doomed because real arguments don't work like logical syllogisms, people don't actually want structured debates, and there's no evidence this approach has ever worked. Longer summary

Scott explains why he consistently rejects grant applications for projects aimed at improving online debates through argument mapping or similar technologies. He outlines several fundamental problems: real arguments don't decompose into simple logical premises and conclusions as these tools assume; arguments rarely hinge on simple factual errors or logical fallacies but on different weightings of evidence; these platforms face an impossible bootstrapping problem since people don't actually want structured debates (they want to express opinions and be agreed with); and unlike dating apps, there's no historical precedent for this type of technology working over thousands of years of human argumentation. Shorter summary

Scott announces the results of the 2025 ACX Grants round, awarding $1.5 million to 42 projects out of 654 applications, covering areas from genetic engineering and disease prevention to AI safety and educational reform. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the results of the 2025 ACX Grants program, which received 654 applications and funded 42 projects across diverse areas including global health, AI safety, metascience, animal welfare, and development economics. The grants range from $5,000 to $150,000 and support initiatives like genetically engineered nutritious corn, screwworm eradication, lead-acid battery recycling programs, organ donation improvement, AI bias research, and various biosecurity and pandemic prevention projects. Scott thanks the funders, Manifund team, and numerous expert evaluators who helped assess applications, and notes that some projects remain in stealth mode. The post concludes with extensive credits to contributors and mentions that the next grants round will likely occur in late 2026 or early 2027. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander announces the 2025 ACX Grants program offering $1M in microgrants for charitable and scientific projects, with a new equity-sharing component for projects that become startups. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the 2025 ACX Grants program, a microgrants initiative funding charitable and scientific projects from ACX readers. He plans to contribute $200K with an expected additional $800K from other donors, for grants ranging from $5K to $50K. This year introduces a new feature where some grants will be replaced with SAFEs or convertible grants, giving ACX Grants equity claims if projects become successful startups. The post details application processes, timelines, types of projects they're interested in, and various ways others can help as funders, VCs, evaluators, or friendly professionals. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander outlines five key strategic questions facing the ACX Grants program, including whether to fund for-profit companies and how to handle various funding scenarios. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses several open questions regarding the ACX Grants program, focusing on key organizational and strategic decisions. He explores whether to fund for-profit companies with charitable aims, whether to donate or invest in such companies, how to handle nonprofits that transition to for-profit status, how to manage requests for prestige without funding, and how to evaluate last year's impact market grants. Each question is presented with arguments for different approaches and their potential drawbacks, showing the complexity of these decisions. Shorter summary

Scott reviews updates from two cohorts of ACX Grants recipients (from 2021 and 2024), analyzing their progress and sharing lessons learned about what makes grants successful. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews progress updates from two cohorts of ACX Grants recipients - the first cohort from 2021 (after 3 years) and the second from 2024 (after 1 year). The post methodically goes through each grant's status, with many showing significant progress in areas like AI safety advocacy, animal welfare, scientific research, and political lobbying. Scott then analyzes patterns in what made grants successful, finding that lobbying organizations and animal welfare projects were particularly effective, while scientific grants were harder to evaluate. He concludes that while not all projects succeeded, the $3 million program generated good value through both direct impact and startup creation, and he plans to continue it with some adjustments. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander proposes various project ideas for ACX Grants, ranging from scientific research to social initiatives, and encourages readers to pursue them. Longer summary

Scott Alexander proposes several project ideas for the upcoming ACX Grants round. These range from replicating brain entrainment learning results to creating an open-source polygenic score for educational attainment. Other suggestions include campaigns similar to John Green's anti-tuberculosis effort, a novel approach to language teaching, an automatic Implicit Association Test generator, a new dating site concept, a foundation to promote classical art and architecture, and a primer on political change. Scott encourages readers to take on these projects, offering potential publicity and connections to funders. Shorter summary

Scott updates readers on the Impact Market Mini-Grants project, detailing recent developments and the project timeline. Longer summary

Scott Alexander provides an update on the Impact Market Mini-Grants project, which tests a new model of charitable funding. The post outlines recent developments, including an increase in the potential funding pot, the submission of 16 projects, and the start of the investment phase for accredited investors. It also details the current schedule for the project, from the deadline for submissions to the final funding decisions in September. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander announces a $20,000 grants round for forecasting projects using impact certificates, explaining the process for creators and investors. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the Forecasting Impact Mini-Grants, a $20,000 grants round for forecasting projects using impact certificates. The post explains how creators can propose projects on Manifund, how accredited investors can participate, and how the funding will work. It also covers the role of Manifold Markets, the legal and financial aspects, and addresses various questions about eligibility, funding sources, and potential risks. The initiative aims to test impact markets as a charitable funding mechanism while supporting forecasting-related projects. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander announces the 2023 Book Review Contest, detailing submission guidelines, prizes, and deadlines for book review entries. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the 2023 Book Review Contest, inviting readers to submit reviews of any book they choose. The contest details include submission guidelines, prize amounts, and judging criteria. Entries should be submitted through a Google Form by April 5th, with the actual review in an unlocked Google Doc. Scott emphasizes the importance of anonymity in the review document to ensure fair judging. Prizes range from $500 to $2,500, with additional benefits for winners and finalists. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander provides updates on the ACX Grants project, summarizing the progress of grantees and their ongoing needs. Longer summary

This post provides updates on the ACX Grants project, where Scott Alexander awarded grants to various individuals and organizations for innovative projects. The post summarizes the progress of each grantee, their self-assessed performance on a scale of 1-10, and any additional help or funding they are seeking. The projects range from scientific research and technology development to policy advocacy and social initiatives. Scott also reflects on lessons learned from the grant program and announces the creation of an ACX Grantees Discord for grantees to connect with each other. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander shares the second half of ACX Grants, presenting 59 diverse project proposals seeking funding or support. Longer summary

Scott Alexander presents the second half of ACX Grants, a list of projects seeking funding or support that he couldn't fully fund himself. The post includes 59 diverse project proposals (numbered 67-125) covering topics such as medical research, technology development, social initiatives, and scientific studies. Each proposal includes a brief description of the project, its goals, and contact information for those interested in supporting or collaborating. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander presents brief descriptions of 66 diverse projects seeking funding or support as part of the ACX Grants program. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the closing part of ACX Grants, presenting brief descriptions of projects that he couldn't fully fund himself. He invites readers to consider donating money, time, or other resources to these projects. The post includes 66 diverse project proposals, ranging from scientific research to social initiatives, each with a short description and contact information for interested parties. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander announces Grants ++, asking unfunded ACX Grant applicants to resubmit concise proposals for potential reader funding. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the next phase of ACX Grants called Grants ++, where unfunded proposals will be published for readers to potentially offer funding. Due to challenges with unclear instructions and the large volume of proposals, Scott is asking applicants to resubmit their proposals in a concise one-paragraph format (max 1500 characters). He provides examples of the desired format and sets guidelines for inclusion, such as allowing startups only if they have a charitable aspect. Applicants are instructed to submit their paragraphs through a provided link by January 28, 2022, with the understanding that submissions are final and cannot be changed once sent. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander announces the results of the ACX Grants program, awarding funding to various projects and individuals across different fields. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the results of the ACX Grants program, which awarded funding to various projects and individuals across different fields. He provides details on the awardees, their projects, and the grant amounts. Scott also discusses the challenges of the grant-making process, acknowledges the help he received, and outlines future steps for the program. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander announces ACX Grants, offering $250,000 to fund promising research and projects, with potential for additional funding through partnerships. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces ACX Grants, a program to fund good research and projects with minimal paperwork. He's allocating $250,000 of his own money and hopes to supplement with more from other sources. The grants aim to support projects that could make the world better but might not attract traditional funding. Applications are open for two weeks, with winners announced 2-4 weeks later. Scott also introduces ACX Grants+ and ACX Grants++, which involve forwarding promising projects to other potential funders or publicizing them on his blog, respectively. Shorter summary