Top Posts

So, where to start reading Scott Alexander? Most of Scott's writing comes from two blogs, the late Slate Star Codex (SSC) started in 2013, and its replacement since 2021, Astral Codex Ten (ACX). He also wrote and cross-posted on the rationalist forum LessWrong.

  1. A great place to start is this page written by Scott on SSC, where he gives a tour of his blog and tips on navigating his most popular SSC posts.
  2. You can also just find his 10 most popular posts from SSC listed below on this page.
  3. The Library of Scott Alexandria (external link) is a great curated list, posted on LessWrong by one of its users.
  4. You can find reading lists and his sortable LessWrong posts on his user page over there (external link, LessWrong posts are not included in this website at the moment).

Unfortunately, there are currently no curated list of Top Posts for ACX and I don't have the first party data to create one myself (I don't have the historic view count). If you want to explore it yourself you can go to the homepage and play with filters and sorting to find the most active posts, or check out the Tags page.

10 most popular posts from Slate Star Codex

Dec 12, 2014
ssc

Beware The Man Of One Study

21 min • 2,880 words • 270 comments • podcast (22 min)
Scott Alexander cautions against basing opinions on limited research, using examples from medicine and economics to show how cherry-picking studies can lead to opposing conclusions. Longer summary
Scott Alexander warns against relying on a single study or a limited selection of studies to form opinions on complex issues. He illustrates this with examples from medical research and the minimum wage debate, showing how cherry-picking studies can lead to opposing conclusions. The post emphasizes the importance of considering the full body of evidence, including meta-analyses and expert opinions, while also being aware of potential biases in research and reporting. Scott concludes by advocating for skepticism and thorough investigation when evaluating claims backed by scientific studies. Shorter summary
Jul 30, 2014
ssc

Meditations On Moloch

107 min • 14,894 words • 736 comments • podcast (107 min)
Scott Alexander analyzes Moloch as a metaphor for destructive societal coordination problems, using various examples to show how competing incentives can lead to negative outcomes. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the concept of Moloch as a metaphor for destructive coordination problems in society, drawing on Allen Ginsberg's poem and various examples to illustrate how competing incentives can lead to negative outcomes for all. Shorter summary
Sep 30, 2014
ssc

I Can Tolerate Anything Except The Outgroup

66 min • 9,226 words • 161 comments • podcast (68 min)
Scott Alexander examines political tribalism in America, arguing that people often claim tolerance while harboring strong prejudices against their outgroups. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the concept of outgroups and ingroups, arguing that people often claim to be tolerant of all groups except their perceived outgroup. He suggests that in modern American society, political tribes (Red and Blue) have become more significant than traditional demographic divisions. The essay analyzes how these tribes interact, criticize each other, and sometimes engage in self-criticism that may actually be veiled attacks on the opposing tribe. Alexander ultimately reflects on his own biases and the difficulty of genuine self-criticism and tolerance. Shorter summary
Apr 27, 2016
ssc

Book Review: Albion’s Seed

71 min • 9,826 words • 287 comments • podcast (71 min)
Scott reviews 'Albion's Seed' by David Fischer, exploring how four British cultural groups that settled colonial America shaped regional cultures and may still influence modern US political divisions. Longer summary
This post reviews David Fischer's book 'Albion's Seed', which examines four distinct British cultural groups that settled different regions of colonial America: the Puritans in New England, the Cavaliers in Virginia, the Quakers in Pennsylvania, and the Borderers in Appalachia. Scott explores how these groups' distinct values and practices shaped American regional cultures and may still influence modern political divisions. He discusses interesting facts about each group and speculates on how their legacies might relate to current 'Blue Tribe' and 'Red Tribe' cultural divides in the US. The post ends by wrestling with the implications of deep-rooted cultural differences for democracy and national unity. Shorter summary
Dec 19, 2014
ssc

Nobody Is Perfect, Everything Is Commensurable

26 min • 3,581 words • 428 comments • podcast (26 min)
Scott Alexander argues that donating 10% of income to effective charities is a more impactful way to do good than political activism, and recommends joining Giving What We Can. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses the moral obligation to engage in politics and activism, comparing it to other forms of doing good, particularly charitable giving. He argues that while many feel pressured to be politically active, donating money to effective charities is often a more impactful way to help others. The post suggests that instead of feeling guilty for not doing enough, people should aim to give 10% of their income to charity as a reasonable and achievable goal. This standard, promoted by organizations like Giving What We Can, is presented as a balanced approach to making a positive difference without falling into despair or inaction. Scott concludes by recommending readers consider joining Giving What We Can. Shorter summary
Apr 28, 2014
ssc

The Control Group Is Out Of Control

36 min • 4,977 words • 197 comments • podcast (38 min)
Scott Alexander critiques a meta-analysis supporting psychic phenomena to illustrate flaws in scientific methodology and meta-analysis. Longer summary
Scott Alexander examines a meta-analysis by Daryl Bem that claims to provide strong evidence for psychic phenomena (psi). While Bem's analysis follows many best practices for scientific rigor, Alexander argues it likely suffers from experimenter effects and other biases that can produce false positive results. He uses this to illustrate broader issues with the scientific method and meta-analysis, concluding that even seemingly rigorous studies and meta-analyses can produce incorrect conclusions. This challenges the idea that scientific consensus and meta-analysis are the highest forms of evidence. Shorter summary
Feb 09, 2017
ssc

Considerations On Cost Disease

52 min • 7,262 words • 21 comments • podcast (51 min)
Scott Alexander examines the phenomenon of cost disease, where costs for basic services like education and healthcare have increased dramatically without corresponding improvements in quality or wages. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the concept of cost disease, where costs for essential services like education, healthcare, and housing have increased significantly over the past few decades without corresponding improvements in quality or wages. He presents data showing how these costs have risen much faster than inflation, while worker salaries in these fields have remained stagnant or even declined. Alexander considers various potential explanations for this phenomenon, including market failures, increased regulation, lawsuit fears, and changing risk tolerance. He argues that this cost disease is a major factor behind many current political and economic debates, and expresses concern about its impact on living standards and economic progress. Shorter summary
Jun 07, 2014
ssc

Archipelago and Atomic Communitarianism

49 min • 6,855 words • 271 comments • podcast (47 min)
Scott Alexander proposes 'Archipelago', a society of voluntary communities, as a potential solution to issues in modern politics and social organization. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'Archipelago', a hypothetical society where people can form voluntary communities based on shared values and principles. He argues that this model could potentially solve many problems of modern liberalism and conservatism, while preserving individual freedoms and addressing issues of oppression. The post discusses the challenges of implementing such a system in the real world, but suggests that increasing societal fracture into subcultures and online communities might be a step in that direction. Shorter summary
Nov 21, 2014
ssc

The Categories Were Made For Man, Not Man For The Categories

39 min • 5,455 words • 727 comments • podcast (38 min)
Scott Alexander discusses how categories are human constructs that should be flexible when it serves a useful purpose, using examples from biology, astronomy, and transgender identity. Longer summary
This post discusses the concept of categorization and how it applies to various topics, including the classification of whales as fish, the definition of planets, and transgender identity. Scott argues that categories are not inherently true or false but are tools we use to make sense of the world, and that we should be flexible in our categorizations when it serves a useful purpose. He uses examples from biology, astronomy, geography, and psychiatry to illustrate his points. The post concludes by addressing criticisms of transgender identity and arguing for compassion and practicality in how we treat people with gender dysphoria. Shorter summary
Jul 17, 2013
ssc

Who By Very Slow Decay

29 min • 4,039 words • 98 comments • podcast (30 min)
Scott Alexander provides a stark, critical look at end-of-life care in hospitals, challenging idealized notions of death and the concept of 'cultivating a culture of life'. Longer summary
Scott Alexander describes the harsh realities of end-of-life care in modern hospitals, contrasting it with common idealized notions of death. He details the often undignified and painful process many patients go through, criticizes the concept of 'cultivating a culture of life' in hospitals, and expresses his personal wishes for a dignified death. The post is divided into three sections: a graphic description of typical hospital deaths, a critique of hospital poetry, and personal reflections on death and euthanasia. Shorter summary
Apr 21, 2015
ssc

Universal Love, Said The Cactus Person

22 min • 2,950 words • 470 comments
A fictional DMT trip where the narrator tries to prove the reality of entities by asking them to factor a number, but receives cryptic responses about love and joy instead. Longer summary
This post is a fictional story about a person's DMT trip, where they encounter a cactus person and a big green bat in a surreal landscape. The narrator tries to prove the reality of the DMT entities by asking them to factor a large number, based on a methodology suggested in a paper. However, the entities respond with cryptic messages about universal love and transcendent joy, frustrating the narrator. The story explores themes of spirituality, enlightenment, and the limitations of rational thinking in understanding psychedelic experiences. It ends with a humorous twist where the entities actually know the answer but don't reveal it until after the narrator has left. Shorter summary