Scott Alexander responds to comments on his COVID-19 origins debate post, addressing criticisms and maintaining his support for the zoonosis theory. Longer summary

Scott Alexander provides a detailed response to comments and criticisms of his previous post on the COVID-19 origins debate. He addresses arguments against zoonosis, clarifies misunderstandings, and discusses the methodologies used by various parties in the debate. He maintains his position favoring zoonosis over lab leak, while acknowledging the complexity of the issue and the ongoing nature of the debate. 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 examines recent studies on the Fraternal Birth Order Effect, finding evidence for a broader sibling birth order effect on homosexuality, though its exact nature and mechanism remain debated. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews recent studies on the Fraternal Birth Order Effect (FBOE), which suggests that men with more older brothers are more likely to be gay. He discusses three key studies: Frisch and Hviid's large-scale Danish study that found no clear FBOE, Vilsmeier et al.'s meta-analysis that questioned the statistical validity of previous FBOE claims, and Ablaza et al.'s extensive Dutch study that found a significant effect of older siblings (both brothers and sisters) on homosexuality. Scott concludes that while the FBOE hypothesis has been forced to evolve, the core idea that more older siblings increases the likelihood of homosexuality seems to stand, though the biological mechanism remains uncertain. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander announces the winners of the 2019 Adversarial Collaboration Contest and reviews all entries, praising their strengths and noting their impact on readers. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the winners of the 2019 Adversarial Collaboration Contest. The winning entry is about calorie restriction and aging by Adrian Liberman and Calvin Reese, with a close second on the ethics of eating meat by David G and Froolow. Scott praises both entries for their different strengths: the calorie restriction piece for its focused approach on a factual question, and the meat ethics piece for its comprehensive review of arguments. He notes that the meat ethics collaboration had a significant impact on readers' eating habits. Scott then briefly reviews the other entries, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. He concludes by explaining the prize distribution and his decision not to run the contest next year, citing various challenges. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander announces winners of the adversarial collaboration contest and shares participant feedback, while reflecting on potential issues with the format. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the winners of the adversarial collaboration contest, with prizes awarded for collaborations on education, transgender children, vaccination, and Islam's compatibility with democracy. He shares detailed feedback from the collaborators on their experiences, including initial positions, how much their views shifted, and advice for future participants. Scott then reflects on some concerns raised by the process, such as collaborators avoiding core disagreements or inadvertently legitimizing fringe views. Despite these issues, he expresses interest in continuing to promote the format and calls for ideas to improve it. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander shares links to a debate between Gary Taubes and Stephan Guyenet about the health effects of sugar, praising the high-level discussion. Longer summary

This post discusses a debate about sugar's health effects, centered around Gary Taubes' work. Scott Alexander links to Stephan Guyenet's negative review of Taubes' book, then shares Taubes' counterargument. The debate involves multiple essays: Taubes' initial case against sugar on Cato Unbound, responses from Terence Kealy, Yoni Freedhoff, and Guyenet, and finally Taubes' rebuttal. Scott praises all participants for engaging in a high-level debate that has helped clarify his thinking on the topic. Shorter summary