A review of 'The Family That Couldn't Sleep' by D. T. Max, discussing its exploration of prion diseases and their impact, with updated perspectives on the book's conclusions. Longer summary

This review discusses 'The Family That Couldn't Sleep' by D. T. Max, a book about prion diseases published in 2006. The review covers the book's exploration of various prion diseases, including fatal familial insomnia, kuru, mad cow disease, and chronic wasting disease. It highlights the book's focus on the historical, scientific, and cultural aspects of these diseases, as well as the key figures involved in prion research. The reviewer also provides updated information and critiques some of the book's conclusions in light of more recent research. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander discusses the concept of genetic and personal inferiority, arguing that while objective differences exist, framing comparisons in terms of inferiority is unproductive and potentially harmful. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of genetic inferiority, using cystic fibrosis as an example to distinguish between scientific/bioethical questions and potentially harmful social comparisons. He then extends this reasoning to personal comparisons, arguing that while objective differences between individuals exist, framing these as questions of superiority or inferiority is unproductive and potentially harmful. The post suggests that rejecting the framing of such comparisons is more beneficial than attempting to argue for equality in all aspects. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that using polygenic screening to select low-risk embryos can be considered as preventing genetic disorders, drawing parallels with other accepted preventive practices. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the ethical implications of using polygenic screening to select embryos with lower risk of genetic disorders, specifically schizophrenia. He argues that this practice can be considered as prevention of the disorder, despite objections that it's merely replacing a high-risk individual with a low-risk one. To support his argument, Scott presents three analogous situations: preventing fetal alcohol syndrome, selecting embryos in IVF, and preventing child abuse through parenting workshops. He concludes that polygenic selection is ethically comparable to these widely accepted practices and can be fairly described as preventing schizophrenia. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores how evolutionary processes explain the polygenic structure of schizophrenia and other complex traits, addressing concerns about genetic research and implications for future genetic interventions. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the polygenic nature of schizophrenia and other complex traits, explaining how evolution shapes genetic structures. He presents arguments by E. Fuller Torrey about the lack of large-effect genes for schizophrenia and its persistence despite negative fitness effects. Scott then explores how these seemingly contradictory points actually explain each other: evolution removes large-effect genes, leaving only small-effect genes that accumulate to cause disorders. He discusses three possible reasons for the persistence of these small-effect genes and their implications for genetic selection and engineering. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that schizophrenia should be described as predominantly genetic, addressing counterarguments and emphasizing the importance of this perspective for prevention strategies. Longer summary

Scott Alexander argues that it's fair and accurate to describe schizophrenia as predominantly genetic. He responds to various arguments against this characterization, comparing the situation to how we discuss smoking causing lung cancer. Scott emphasizes that while environmental factors play a role, genetic factors account for the majority of variance in schizophrenia risk. He argues that acknowledging the genetic nature of schizophrenia is important for developing effective prevention strategies, such as polygenic screening, rather than focusing solely on hard-to-control environmental factors. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander uses simulations to explain why seemingly counterintuitive arguments against the genetic basis of schizophrenia are misleading. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses two seemingly counterintuitive arguments against the genetic basis of schizophrenia and explains why they're not as compelling as they might appear. He uses a simplified simulation to demonstrate how a highly heritable disorder can have low twin concordance rates and why eliminating affected individuals doesn't significantly reduce prevalence in the next generation. The post aims to clarify common misunderstandings about polygenic disorders and their inheritance patterns. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander investigates the unexpectedly high prevalence of joint hypermobility in transgender individuals, exploring various theories and presenting survey data on the phenomenon. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the puzzling connection between transgender identity and hypermobile joints, particularly Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS). He presents four theories to explain this correlation: 1) It's a spurious result due to 'Instagrammable' conditions clustering together, 2) Estrogen effects on joints in trans women, 3) Genetic link between gender divergence and joint issues, and 4) Autism as a shared causative factor. Scott favors a theory linking proprioception issues to different reasoning styles, potentially leading to both autism and transgender identity. He presents data from his own survey showing higher rates of joint issues in trans respondents, though with some limitations. The post concludes with plans for further investigation in future surveys. Shorter summary

Scott summarizes reader comments on his 'Secrets of the Great Families' post, covering additional examples, statistical discussions, and personal perspectives on family achievement. Longer summary

This post highlights comments on Scott's previous article about famous families. It includes additional examples of notable families, discussions on the statistical significance of family clustering, insights from people with high-achieving families, perspectives from those with less successful backgrounds, and various other related topics. The post covers a wide range of fields including science, sports, literature, and politics, and discusses factors like genetics, environment, and family culture that may contribute to success across generations. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines why certain families produce multiple generations of high achievers, exploring genetic, environmental, and psychological factors. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the phenomenon of highly accomplished families, such as the Huxleys, Darwins, and Curies, who have produced multiple generations of notable scientists, artists, and leaders. He discusses potential explanations for this trend, including privilege, genetics, and unique family environments. The post delves into the role of assortative mating, large family sizes, and the correlation between different types of talents. It also touches on the concept of a 'Hero License' - the idea that coming from an accomplished family might instill the confidence to pursue ambitious goals. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines a genetic study distinguishing cognitive and non-cognitive skills in educational attainment, revealing unexpected correlations with mental health conditions. Longer summary

This post discusses a genetic study on educational attainment, focusing on the distinction between cognitive and non-cognitive skills that contribute to it. The study, by Demange et al, uses a method called 'GWAS-by-subtraction' to isolate genes associated with non-cognitive skills from those linked to intelligence. Scott Alexander analyzes the results, which show correlations between these genetic factors and various traits, personality factors, and mental health conditions. He highlights surprising findings, particularly the positive correlation between schizophrenia genes and non-cognitive skills beneficial for educational attainment, contrary to previous beliefs about schizophrenia genes being purely detrimental. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'The Cult of Smart' by Freddie DeBoer, praising its main arguments while criticizing several aspects, particularly DeBoer's stance on education reform. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Freddie DeBoer's book 'The Cult of Smart', which argues that intelligence is largely innate and that society's obsession with academic achievement is misguided. The review praises the book's main theses but criticizes DeBoer's arguments on race, meritocracy, and education reform. Alexander particularly takes issue with DeBoer's support for expanding public education despite acknowledging its limitations, leading to a passionate critique of the school system as harmful to children. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines whether psychiatric conditions result from evolutionary failures or tradeoffs, proposing that most disorders involve a combination of both. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the nature of psychiatric conditions, discussing whether they result from evolutionary failures or tradeoffs. He presents evidence for both hypotheses, noting that recent research favors the failure hypothesis. However, he argues that some conditions likely involve both failures and tradeoffs. He uses analogies from justice systems and nuclear war scenarios to illustrate how failures and tradeoffs can interact. The post concludes by suggesting that most psychiatric disorders exist on a spectrum from mostly-tradeoff to mostly-failure, and critiques the neurodiversity movement's blanket statements about conditions like autism. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes survey data to investigate whether assortative mating among highly analytical people increases autism risk in their children, finding no significant evidence for this hypothesis. Longer summary

Scott Alexander investigates whether assortative mating among highly analytical people in Silicon Valley increases the risk of autism in their children. He uses data from the 2020 Slate Star Codex survey, which included 8,043 respondents from highly analytical backgrounds. The study found that while the sample had higher rates of autism (4-8%) than the general population (2.5-5%), there was no significant increase in autism rates among children of couples where both partners were highly analytical. The autism rate for children in the sample was 3.7-5.2%, with only 0.6% having severe autism. Scott concludes that while the study has limitations, it provides evidence against strong versions of the assortative mating hypothesis for autism risk. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the paradoxical relationship between autism and intelligence, discussing genetic and environmental factors, and proposing explanatory models for the observed lower IQ in autistic individuals despite genetic links to higher intelligence. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the paradoxical relationship between autism and intelligence. While genetic studies show a link between autism risk genes and high IQ, autistic individuals generally have lower intelligence than neurotypical controls. The post discusses three main causes of autism: common 'familial' genes that increase IQ, rare 'de novo' mutations that are often detrimental, and non-genetic factors like obstetric complications. Scott examines various studies and proposes that even after adjusting for mutations and environmental factors, autism still seems to decrease IQ. He introduces a 'tower-vs-foundation' model to explain this phenomenon, where intelligence needs a strong foundation to support it, and an imbalance can lead to autism. The post concludes with a list of findings and their associated confidence levels. Shorter summary

Scott examines how the 5-HTTLPR gene was wrongly linked to depression for years, discussing the implications for psychiatric research and genetic testing products. Longer summary

This post discusses the history and eventual debunking of the 5-HTTLPR gene's supposed role in depression. Initially, numerous studies claimed to find links between 5-HTTLPR and various mental health conditions, interactions with stress, and even antidepressant efficacy. However, a recent large-scale study by Border et al. found no evidence for these claims, suggesting that hundreds of previous studies were likely false positives. The post explores the implications of this finding, including concerns about the reliability of psychiatric research, the tendency for studies to reinforce existing beliefs, and the questionable validity of pharmacogenomic testing products that rely on genes like 5-HTTLPR. Shorter summary

The post explores the diametrical model of autism and schizophrenia, suggesting they represent opposite ends of a spectrum from mechanistic to mentalistic cognition. Longer summary

This post discusses the diametrical model of autism and schizophrenia, which posits that these conditions are opposite ends of a spectrum from overly mechanistic to overly mentalistic cognition. The author explains how this theory accounts for observed similarities and differences between autism and schizophrenia, including genetic, neurological, and behavioral factors. The post explores the concepts of schizotypy and high-functioning autism, and how they relate to this model. It also touches on gender differences, mutational load, and how this theory might explain certain cognitive strengths and weaknesses associated with each condition. The author acknowledges that while there's limited scientific evidence for this model, it provides an interesting framework for understanding these complex disorders. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander uses the evolution of genetic science as a metaphor to explore how other fields might benefit from recognizing the polycausal nature of complex phenomena. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the evolution of genetic science, from the search for single genes responsible for complex traits to the current understanding that almost all genes contribute to these traits. He uses this as a metaphor for other sciences, particularly psychiatry, suggesting that many fields may be more polycausal than initially thought. The post explores the implications of this shift, including skepticism about personalized medicine and the potential need for new approaches to scientific research that can handle massive numbers of interacting causes. Scott concludes by imagining a hypothetical alien society where science is centered around polycausal scores, presenting this as a thought experiment for what science could aspire to be. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander challenges the popular interpretation of the Rat Park study, arguing that addiction is not solely caused by poor environments and emphasizing genetic factors in addiction susceptibility. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques the 'Rat Park' study and its popularized interpretation that drug addiction is primarily caused by poor social environments. He presents historical examples of addiction in seemingly happy or fortunate individuals, such as Ogedei Khan and Native Americans, to challenge this view. The post then discusses the genetic factors in addiction, citing twin studies and known genetic markers. Scott acknowledges that unhappiness likely contributes to drug use but argues that the relationship between environment and addiction is more complex than the Rat Park model suggests. He proposes a toy model where other sources of reward can help resist drug addiction, but maintains that biological interventions like deregulating suboxone and researching psychedelic therapy are more immediately effective for helping addicts. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the conflict between predictive processing theory and evolutionary psychology claims about innate knowledge, questioning how genes could directly encode complex preferences. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the tension between predictive processing (PP) theory and evolutionary psychology claims about innate knowledge. He argues that while PP can accommodate some genetic influences on cognition, it struggles to explain how genes could directly encode high-level concepts like 'attraction to large breasts.' The post questions how such specific preferences could be genetically programmed given the limited number of genes humans have. Scott acknowledges that instincts clearly exist in animals, but suggests that even seemingly innate traits like gender identity may involve some level of inference. He proposes a heuristic for evaluating evolutionary psychology claims, recommending skepticism towards ideas that genes can directly manipulate high-level concepts unless there's a compelling evolutionary reason. Shorter summary

Scott examines the phenomenon of Hungarian scientific geniuses in the early 20th century, attributing it to a high concentration of high-IQ Ashkenazi Jews in Budapest rather than exceptional education. Longer summary

Scott explores the phenomenon of Hungarian scientific geniuses in the early 20th century, initially attributed to exceptional education. He debunks this theory, showing that many of these geniuses were prodigies before formal schooling. Scott then reveals that all these geniuses were Jewish, linking their success to the high IQ of Ashkenazi Jews as explained by Cochran, Hardy, and Harpending's theory. He notes that Hungary, particularly Budapest, had an unusually high concentration of Jews at that time. The post concludes by discussing the tragic end of this golden age due to the Holocaust, and speculates on whether we've lost something unique from that era of scientific progress. Shorter summary

Scott reviews 'The Hungry Brain' by Stephan Guyenet, exploring the neuroscience of eating behavior and obesity, presenting a model focused on brain regulation of body weight. Longer summary

Scott reviews 'The Hungry Brain' by Stephan Guyenet, which explores the neuroscience of eating behavior and obesity. The book presents a 'third model' of obesity, focusing on how the brain regulates body weight through a complex system involving hormones like leptin. It discusses how modern hyperpalatable foods can overwhelm our natural satiety mechanisms and potentially damage the brain's weight regulation system. The review delves into various studies on obesity, including experiments with rats and humans, and explores the genetic factors influencing weight gain. Scott finds the book insightful but notes some ambiguity in reconciling different aspects of eating behavior and weight regulation. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander discusses a genetic study that largely confirms historical American migration patterns described in 'Albion's Seed', noting both its confirmations and areas of confusion. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews a genetic study that analyzes the population structure of North America, relating it to David Fischer's book 'Albion's Seed' and the concept of American Nations. The study used 770,000 genomes to create clusters that largely confirm historical migration patterns described in these works. Scott notes how the genetic clusters match with New Englander and Pennsylvania Quaker migrations, and their westward spread. He expresses confusion about the Southern/Appalachian region's genetic divisions and disappointment that the study doesn't confirm some theories about West Coast populations. Overall, Scott sees this as an elegant example of hard science confirming historical speculation. Shorter summary

Scott examines conflicting evidence on whether humans choose mates based on parental imprinting or genetics, concluding that mate choice might be based on mysterious romantic love. Longer summary

This post explores the question of how humans choose their mates, examining theories of imprinting on parents versus genetic influences. It reviews several studies on animals and humans, including twin studies, that provide conflicting evidence. The post starts by discussing psychoanalytic theories and animal studies supporting imprinting, then moves to human studies with mixed results. It then examines twin studies that surprisingly show little genetic influence on mate choice. The post ends with the suggestion that mate choice might be based on romantic love, which is beyond scientific understanding. Throughout, Scott maintains a skeptical and sometimes humorous tone, highlighting the complexity and contradictions in the research. Shorter summary

The post argues that 'non-shared environment' in twin studies is often misunderstood, encompassing more than just different experiences and potentially overestimating the impact of nurture on personality and life outcomes. Longer summary

This post discusses the concept of non-shared environment in twin studies, arguing that it's often misinterpreted. The author explains that the 50% attributed to non-shared environment in many twin studies isn't solely about different experiences, but includes measurement error, random chance, and biological factors. The post breaks down various components of non-shared environment, including measurement error, luck, biological noise, immune system differences, epigenetics, and genetic mutations. The author suggests that the actual impact of different experiences (nurture) on personality and outcomes may be smaller than commonly believed, citing a review by Eric Turkheimer. The post concludes by suggesting that this interpretation could mean nature is more important than previously thought, making social interventions more challenging and genetic engineering more tempting. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the concept of innate ability and argues for its acceptance, while cautioning against tying self-worth to intellectual achievement. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of innate ability and its impact on self-worth, using personal anecdotes and philosophical arguments. He discusses how attributing success to hard work alone can be problematic, as it ignores inherent differences in aptitude. The post compares attitudes towards intelligence with those towards other traits like weight or poverty, noting a inconsistency in how society views these issues. Scott argues for accepting innate differences while still encouraging effort, and suggests that self-worth should not be tied to intellectual ability or achievement. Shorter summary