Scott analyzes the results of the 2025 ACX reader survey, revealing interesting patterns in reader demographics, beliefs, and behaviors, with some surprising contrasts between vocal commenters and the general readership. Longer summary

Scott presents the results of the 2025 ACX survey, which had 5,975 respondents. He shares several interesting findings, including Trump's slight increase in favorability among readers, Long COVID trends, mask-wearing habits, architecture preferences, the impact of his voting guide, statistics about shoplifting and opinions on punishments, attitudes towards homeless encampments, cryptocurrency usage, and experiences with ayahuasca. The data shows some surprising contrasts between vocal commenters and the silent majority of readers, particularly on issues like crime and punishment. Scott makes the data publicly available with some privacy-protecting restrictions. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander presents and analyzes the results of the 2017 Slate Star Codex reader survey, revealing demographic and psychological insights about the blog's audience. Longer summary

Scott Alexander presents the results of the 2017 Slate Star Codex (SSC) reader survey, which gathered responses from 5,500 people. The post provides detailed breakdowns of demographics, opinions, and various psychological and behavioral traits of SSC readers. Scott also compares some of these results to a smaller sample of Mechanical Turk users. The data reveals interesting insights about the SSC readership, including their political leanings, educational background, and mental health statistics. Scott encourages readers to further analyze the publicly available dataset. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander presents results from a survey of 850 people rating various nootropics, showing a range of perceived effectiveness and exploring addiction potential for some substances. Longer summary

Scott Alexander presents the results of a survey on nootropics, substances that claim to improve mental function. The survey gathered ratings from 850 participants on various nootropics. The results show a range of effectiveness, with prescription drugs like Adderall and Modafinil scoring highly, along with LSD microdosing and Phenibut. Some less well-known substances like tianeptine, Semax, and ashwagandha also performed well. The survey also explored addiction potential for certain substances. Scott notes that while the survey lacks placebo control, the large sample size and consistency with previous results lend some credibility to the findings. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reports on a survey of nootropics users, finding mixed results for various substances and discussing methodological challenges in assessing their effectiveness. Longer summary

Scott Alexander presents the results of a survey on nootropics, substances claimed to improve mental functioning. The survey, taken by 162 respondents from online nootropics communities, asked about experiences with 28 different substances. Key findings include: caffeine and modafinil were rated most effective; some newer substances like phenylpiracetam and coluracetam showed promise; traditional medicines had mixed results; dose-response relationships were mostly inconclusive except for high-dose vitamin D; and there were unexpected correlations between effects of different substances. Scott discusses limitations of the survey and plans for future iterations. Shorter summary