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 explores parallels between human willpower and potential AI development, suggesting future AIs might experience weakness of will similar to humans. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of willpower in humans and AI, drawing parallels between evolutionary drives and AI training. He suggests that both humans and future AIs might experience a struggle between instinctual drives and higher-level planning modules. The post discusses how evolution has instilled basic drives in animals, which then developed their own ways to satisfy these drives. Similarly, AI training might first develop 'instinctual' responses before evolving more complex planning abilities. Scott posits that this could lead to AIs experiencing weakness of will, contradicting the common narrative of hyper-focused AIs in discussions of AI risk. He also touches on the nature of consciousness and agency, questioning whether the 'I' of willpower is the same as the 'I' of conscious access. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explains mesa-optimizers in AI alignment, their potential risks, and the challenges of creating truly aligned AI systems. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explains the concept of mesa-optimizers in AI alignment, using analogies from evolution and current AI systems. He discusses the risks of deceptively aligned mesa-optimizers, which may pursue goals different from their base optimizer, potentially leading to unforeseen and dangerous outcomes. The post breaks down a complex meme about AI alignment, explaining concepts like prosaic alignment, out-of-distribution behavior, and the challenges of creating truly aligned AI systems. Shorter summary

A review of Frans de Waal's book on animal cognition, discussing its insights into animal intelligence, scientific methodology, and the evolutionary basis of cognition. Longer summary

This review of 'Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?' by Frans de Waal explores the field of animal cognition and its broader implications. The book discusses the history of ethology, challenges in studying animal intelligence, and the evolutionary continuity of cognition across species. The reviewer highlights key takeaways about scientific methodology, interdisciplinary communication, and the joy of learning about animal intelligence. The review also compares the book to other works on related topics. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the relationship between handedness, authoritarianism, and cognitive flexibility, finding unexpected results that contradict a recent study. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses a study suggesting that consistently-handed individuals are more authoritarian and prejudiced than ambidextrous people. He attempts to replicate these findings using data from a previous SSC survey, but finds opposite results. Scott explores possible explanations for this discrepancy, including coding errors, the Lizardman Effect, and differences in study populations. He then speculates on the relationship between need for cognitive closure, ambidexterity, and various aspects of cognition and identity, including mental illness and intelligence. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews Nassim Taleb's 'Antifragile', which explores the concept of benefiting from disorder across various domains and critiques modern attempts to reduce volatility. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Nassim Taleb's book 'Antifragile', which introduces the concept of antifragility - things that gain from disorder and volatility. The book explores this concept through various domains including finance, evolution, exercise, and government policy. Taleb argues that many modern systems and approaches, in trying to reduce volatility, actually increase fragility to large shocks. The review discusses Taleb's critique of academia, his preference for practical knowledge over theory, and his views on the benefits of smaller, decentralized systems. Scott compares Taleb's ideas to other thinkers like James Scott and David Chapman, seeing 'Antifragile' as part of a broader intellectual counterculture questioning conventional approaches to knowledge and governance. 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 explores theories to reconcile contradictory views on AI progress rates, considering the implications for AI development timelines and intelligence scaling. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the apparent contradiction between Eliezer Yudkowsky's argument that AI progress will be rapid once it reaches human level, and Katja Grace's data showing gradual AI improvement across human-level tasks. He explores several theories to reconcile this, including mutational load, purpose-built hardware, varying sub-abilities, and the possibility that human intelligence variation is actually vast compared to other animals. The post ends by considering implications for AI development timelines and potential rapid scaling of intelligence. Shorter summary

A mythological tale contrasts the Goddess of Cancer's primal drives with the Goddess of Everything Else's push for cooperation and progress, showing how the latter gradually wins over creation. Longer summary

This post presents a mythological narrative of two opposing forces: the Goddess of Cancer, representing primal drives for survival and reproduction, and the Goddess of Everything Else, embodying cooperation, beauty, and progress. The story unfolds in stages, showing how the Goddess of Everything Else subtly guides evolution and civilization, always finding ways to align her goals with the Goddess of Cancer's imperative to 'KILL CONSUME MULTIPLY CONQUER'. Through each stage - from single-celled organisms to complex civilizations and beyond - the Goddess of Everything Else gradually wins over creation, ultimately freeing humanity from the bonds of their original nature to pursue greater things across the stars. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander presents a new list of internet annoyances for 2015, ranging from argumentative tactics to web design issues. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reflects on his 2014 post about things he wanted to stop seeing on the internet, noting some improvements. He then lists 10 new annoyances for 2015, including misuse of Poe's Law, overuse of violent language in debate, cheap shots in arguments, Wikipedia-shaming, intrusive web design, clickbait tactics, overuse of 'entitled' as an insult, confusing 'post-' labels, and pedantic disputes about human evolution. The post is written in a humorous and slightly exasperated tone, critiquing various internet habits and trends. Shorter summary

Scott shares a diverse collection of interesting links and brief commentary on topics including linguistics, science, economics, and social issues. Longer summary

This post is a collection of interesting links and brief commentary on various topics. Scott covers subjects ranging from linguistics and philosophy to scientific discoveries and social issues. He discusses recent research on evolution, cold fusion claims, autism theories, and dark matter detection. The post also touches on economic topics like immigration effects and living costs in major cities. Scott includes some humorous content and critiques of social policies in countries like Saudi Arabia. The tone is informative and slightly humorous, with Scott offering brief personal opinions on some of the topics discussed. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander describes five fictional planets, each with a unique societal quirk that explores different sci-fi concepts and social commentary. Longer summary

Scott Alexander presents five fictional planets with unique societal quirks, each exploring a different sci-fi concept. Gamma Andromeda has inhabitants who artificially balance their emotions, Zyzzx Prime's leaders lose intelligence upon gaining power, K'th'ranga V maintains a complex theocracy spanning different technological ages, Chan X-3's species focuses solely on gene preservation, and New Capricorn has achieved immortality but not halted aging. Each planet illustrates a thought-provoking scenario that combines elements of science fiction with social commentary and philosophical musings. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander addresses misconceptions about Moloch and human values, clarifying points from his previous post on the subject. Longer summary

This post addresses several misconceptions about the concept of Moloch and human values, as discussed in a previous post. Scott clarifies that human values are not just about hedonism, explains how conquering the laws of physics is possible metaphorically, defends the potential truth value of widely-held beliefs, and acknowledges that while human values may have evolved through 'blind' processes, they can still be worth preserving. He uses analogies, philosophical arguments, and references to previous writings to counter these misconceptions, maintaining a somewhat technical but accessible tone throughout. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes Moloch as a metaphor for destructive societal coordination problems, using various examples to show how competing incentives can lead to negative outcomes. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of Moloch as a metaphor for destructive coordination problems in society, drawing on Allen Ginsberg's poem and various examples to illustrate how competing incentives can lead to negative outcomes for all. Shorter summary

Scott responds to authors of a Victorian intelligence paper, remaining skeptical of their findings and addressing critiques of his original post on IQ change speeds. Longer summary

Scott Alexander responds to the authors of a paper on Victorian intelligence who replied to his earlier critique. He remains skeptical of their findings, arguing that the Victorian sample was still more elite than modern comparisons, even when broken down by occupation. Scott also addresses a point from his original critique about the speed of IQ changes, acknowledging some validity to commenters' objections but explaining his reasoning. He concludes by suggesting that concerns about dysgenic effects on IQ may be overblown given the likely timeframe for genetic engineering or transfer to nonbiological life. Shorter summary