Scott Alexander examines the Forer Effect, reframing common 'psychic' statements as insights about human nature and self-compassion tools. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the Forer Effect, a psychological trick used by astrologers and psychics. He analyzes a list of Forer statements, explaining why they seem accurate to most people. Scott then reframes these statements as potential updates to our understanding of others and as self-compassionate affirmations. He discusses how this relates to concepts of 'normies' and 'neurotypicals', and questions whether the perceived differences between these groups and others are real or imagined. The post ends with uncertainty about whether certain groups truly experience less interiority or if it's a matter of differing communication styles. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines seven cognitive traps that lead doctors to believe they're above-average, potentially applying to other client-choice professions. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores why doctors often believe they're above-average practitioners. He presents seven cognitive traps that contribute to this belief: 1) Doctors mainly see patients who left worse doctors, 2) Patient retention creates a positively biased sample, 3) Patient departures are often unnoticed, 4) Long-term patients are usually success stories, 5) Doctors are aware of others' mistakes but not their own, 6) Successes are attributed to skill while failures are attributed to circumstances, and 7) Doctors excel at metrics they personally value. Scott suggests these biases might apply to other professions where clients choose their service providers. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews a study on 'enlightenment', finding it involves internal changes in self-perception and cognition, often without noticeable external effects. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews a paper by Jeffery Martin on Persistent Non-Symbolic Experience (PNSE), a scientific term for enlightenment. The study interviewed 50 self-reported 'enlightened' individuals, finding common experiences like changes in sense of self, cognition, and perception. Notably, these internal changes often didn't affect external behavior significantly. The paper highlights discrepancies between participants' self-reported experiences and observable reality, such as claims of no stress contradicted by physical signs. Scott appreciates the paper for providing a minimalist account of enlightenment, suggesting it's more about altered internal experience than drastic personality changes or superhuman abilities. Shorter summary