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Aug 25, 2021
acx

Carbon Costs Quantified

21 min • 2,884 words • 384 comments • 56 likes • podcast (38 min)
Scott Alexander presents a chart quantifying carbon emissions from various sources, discussing the implications and providing advice on addressing climate change responsibly. Longer summary
Scott Alexander presents a chart quantifying carbon emissions from various activities, lifestyle changes, and actors. He emphasizes the approximate nature of these numbers and explains the methodology behind the calculations. The post discusses the implications of these figures, including the relative impact of individual actions versus larger systemic changes. Scott also provides advice on how individuals can responsibly address climate change, such as staying informed, supporting climate-conscious politicians, and considering carbon offsets. The article concludes with an extensive list of sources for the data presented. Shorter summary
Jul 11, 2019
ssc

Do People Like Their Mental Health Care?

5 min • 675 words • 51 comments • podcast (8 min)
Scott Alexander presents survey results on people's satisfaction with mental health care, showing varied preferences across different types of therapy and conditions. Longer summary
Scott Alexander analyzes the results of the SSC survey regarding people's experiences with mental health care. The post presents various graphs showing satisfaction ratings for different types of therapy, medication, and mental health issues. Key findings include an average rating of 5.7/10 for both psychotherapy and medication, higher satisfaction with therapy from books compared to in-person or online therapy, and varying preferences for medication vs. therapy depending on the mental health condition. The author emphasizes that the results are exploratory and subject to biases. Shorter summary
Apr 02, 2016
ssc

Beware Regional Scatterplots

9 min • 1,168 words • 199 comments
Scott Alexander cautions against drawing strong conclusions from regional scatterplots, demonstrating how apparent correlations can be artifacts of regional clustering rather than true relationships. Longer summary
Scott Alexander warns about the potential misinterpretation of regional scatterplots, using an example of a seemingly strong correlation between rainfall and gender balance in US states. He explains that such correlations can be misleading due to regional clustering, where the relationship appears strong between clusters but may not exist within them. The post discusses how this issue affects interpretation of data in various fields, including gun violence, national happiness, and income correlations. Scott emphasizes the importance of careful analysis and consideration of confounding factors when drawing conclusions from such plots. Shorter summary
May 19, 2015
ssc

Beware Summary Statistics

5 min • 657 words • 215 comments
Scott Alexander explores how summary statistics can be misleading when describing relationships between variables, using examples of IQ's correlation with crime and income. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses two examples where summary statistics can be misleading. The first example involves the relationship between IQ and crime, where a large difference in average IQ between offenders and non-offenders coexists with a low correlation coefficient. The second example concerns the relationship between IQ and income, where substantial differences in average income across IQ deciles coexist with a relatively low correlation coefficient. In both cases, Scott emphasizes the importance of looking beyond summary statistics and considering the full distribution of data, potentially by examining scatter plots. Shorter summary
Jul 24, 2014
ssc

Some Antibiotic Stagnation

9 min • 1,171 words • 44 comments
Scott Alexander debunks a misleading graph on antibiotic discovery and presents more accurate data, discussing reasons for the decline in antibiotic development. Longer summary
Scott Alexander critiques a misleading graph about antibiotic discovery, pointing out its numerous errors and omissions. He then presents his own data on antibiotic discovery rates, showing a decline but not as severe as the original graph suggested. The post discusses potential causes for this decline, including scientific challenges, economic factors, and regulatory issues. Scott also notes that using antibiotics as a measure of scientific progress may be unfair due to the nature of their discovery, and contrasts this with the rapid progress in antidiabetic drugs. Shorter summary
Jul 21, 2014
ssc

No Skyscraper Stagnation

14 min • 1,830 words • 157 comments
Scott Alexander refutes claims of American decline based on skyscraper construction, presenting data showing continued growth and recent boom in supertall buildings. Longer summary
This post debunks the claim that a decline in American skyscraper construction indicates a decline in American civilization. Scott presents data showing that America's capacity to build skyscrapers has not decreased, and in fact, there has been a recent boom in supertall skyscraper construction. He provides graphs showing the height of the tallest skyscrapers over time, the number of supertall skyscrapers, and the cost per foot of skyscraper construction. The post also points out that the period from 1940 to 1970, often considered a time of great technological progress, actually saw a decline in skyscraper construction, suggesting that skyscrapers are not a good indicator of technological or societal progress. Shorter summary