How to explore Scott Alexander's work and his 1500+ blog posts? This unaffiliated fan website lets you sort and search through the whole codex. Enjoy!

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4 posts found
Oct 29, 2021
acx

Jhanas and the Dark Room Problem

5 min • 606 words • 222 comments • 111 likes • podcast (6 min)
Scott explores the connection between the Dark Room Problem in neuroscience, meditative jhanas, and theories of beauty, suggesting that intense focus on regular stimuli can produce extreme bliss. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses the Dark Room Problem in neuroscience and its connection to meditative states known as jhanas. He explores the idea that sitting quietly in a dark room, or focusing intently on a single stimulus, can lead to extreme bliss. This perspective, shared by Andrés Gómez Emilsson, suggests that regularity, predictability, and symmetry in stimuli can produce intense pleasure when one can concentrate deeply enough. The post compares this to theories of beauty and discusses how it might explain the appeal of music and other forms of art. Shorter summary
Feb 13, 2021
acx

The Precision Of Sensory Evidence

16 min • 2,167 words • 156 comments • 172 likes • podcast (15 min)
Scott Alexander examines a theory proposing that depression, anxiety, and trauma are characterized by low precision of sensory evidence, leading to overreliance on negative priors. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses a paper by Van der Bergh et al. that proposes a unified theory of negative emotionality, including depression, anxiety, and trauma. The theory suggests that these conditions are characterized by a processing style that assigns unusually low precision to sensory evidence, leading to an overreliance on negative priors. Scott explores the implications of this theory, including its support for various psychotherapies, somatic therapies, and meditation. He also discusses potential pharmacological interventions and how this model ties together various concepts in psychiatry and predictive processing. Shorter summary
Apr 17, 2020
ssc

Depression: The Olfactory Perspective

12 min • 1,671 words • 100 comments • podcast (12 min)
Scott examines the bidirectional relationship between depression and sense of smell, exploring potential mechanisms and treatment implications. Longer summary
This post discusses the relationship between depression and olfactory function. It reviews studies showing that depressed people have a worse sense of smell, and people with impaired smell are more likely to be depressed. The post explores potential reasons for this connection, including depression's general effect on sensory acuity and the unique emotional salience of smell. It also discusses implications for depression treatment, including the effects of antidepressants on smell and potential olfactory-based therapies. The tone is analytical and somewhat humorous, with Scott critically examining various studies and hypotheses. Shorter summary
Mar 17, 2014
ssc

What Universal Human Experiences Are You Missing Without Realizing It?

10 min • 1,343 words • 913 comments
Scott Alexander explores the idea that people might be missing universal human experiences without realizing it, using examples from various senses and personal anecdotes. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the concept of missing universal human experiences without realizing it. He starts with Galton's experiments on visual imagination, then discusses a conversation about food preferences, and shares stories about anosmia and color blindness. He reflects on his own experiences with asexuality and emotional blunting from SSRIs. The post concludes by questioning whether differences in experiences, like appreciating jazz music, might have biological roots rather than just social ones. Shorter summary