Scott Alexander analyzes survey results on how often people think about the Roman Empire, finding little gender difference but a significant overall cultural impact. Longer summary

Scott Alexander analyzes the results of a survey question about how often people think about the Roman Empire, inspired by a Twitter meme. The survey, part of the annual ACX survey, found that 38% of women and 43% of men had thought about Rome in the past 24 hours. Scott explores various demographic factors influencing these results, including religion, political views, education, and profession. He also shares representative answers about the contexts in which people thought about Rome, ranging from historical interest to pop culture references. The post concludes that while the gender difference is small, the enduring cultural impact of Rome is remarkable. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander tests a hypothesis about gender integration moderating political views using his survey data, finding no significant effect of sibling gender on political attitudes. Longer summary

Scott Alexander examines a claim about gender differences in political attitudes and tests a hypothesis using data from his 2022 survey. The post discusses a reported growing political gap between men and women, and a proposed explanation that increased gender integration might moderate political views. Scott tests this by comparing political attitudes of men and women with only brothers or only sisters. The results show no significant effect, suggesting that sibling gender doesn't influence political views in the way proposed. Scott also discusses potential limitations of using his survey data and mentions other explanations and challenges to the original finding. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander replicates and analyzes data showing higher rates of long COVID among bisexuals, suggesting a significant psychosomatic component to the condition. Longer summary

Scott Alexander attempts to replicate a CDC finding that bisexuals were 50% more likely to report long COVID than heterosexuals. Using data from his own ACX survey, he finds that bisexual women were twice as likely, and bisexual men 50% more likely, to report long COVID compared to their heterosexual counterparts. He also notes correlations between long COVID and various mental illnesses. Scott suggests these results indicate that a substantial portion of long COVID cases may be psychosomatic, potentially classifying excess cases as a culture-bound mental illness. He proposes compassionate treatment for unavoidable cases alongside 'unawareness campaigns' to minimize avoidable psychosomatic ones. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews John Gottman's marriage counseling methods, finding them intuitively appealing but scientifically questionable. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews John Gottman's book 'The Seven Principles For Making Marriage Work', summarizing Gottman's methods and then critically examining the scientific evidence behind them. The review begins with an overview of Gottman's reputation and claims, then details his approach to marital counseling, which focuses on liking your spouse, communication skills, and dealing with conflicts. Scott then investigates the statistical validity of Gottman's methods, finding significant issues with his claims of predictive accuracy and effectiveness. The review concludes with Scott's personal reflections on the challenges of relationship counseling and the nature of marital problems. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes SSC survey data on sexual roles, finding strong gender and orientation influences, but no connection to self-sabotaging behaviors or altruism. Longer summary

Scott Alexander analyzes survey data on sexual roles (dominance, submission, sadism, and masochism) from the SSC survey. He initially hypothesizes a connection between sexual masochism and self-sabotaging behaviors but finds no evidence for this. The analysis reveals that BDSM preferences are heavily gendered and influenced by sexual orientation. Among straight cis men, factors like good social skills, high risk-taking, ambition, and conservative political values correlate with a preference for dominance. Submissive men reported lower sex drive and fewer relationships. The post also briefly touches on sadism vs. masochism, noting similar patterns to dominance vs. submission. Two mildly interesting findings are mentioned: men with OCD are less likely to be sadists, and men who grew up poor reported higher rates of sexual sadism. The data showed no connection between sexual roles and prosocial behaviors like charitable giving. 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 analyzes a survey on readers' estimated probabilities of Kavanaugh's guilt, finding significant partisan differences and no clear consensus even with probabilistic thinking. Longer summary

Scott Alexander conducted a survey asking readers to estimate the probability of Judge Kavanaugh being guilty of sexually assaulting Dr. Ford. The post analyzes the results, breaking them down by political party, gender, and background knowledge. The average probability given was 52.64%, with significant partisan differences. The survey also explored whether respondents thought the accusations were sufficient to reject Kavanaugh's nomination. Scott notes that even when encouraged to think probabilistically, people's responses still showed strong partisan biases, and there was no clear consensus even among politically neutral respondents. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews and responds to comments on his survey about sexual harassment rates in different fields, addressing methodological issues and presenting additional demographic data. Longer summary

This post discusses comments and analyses related to the SSC Survey Results on Sexual Harassment Levels By Field. It covers various points raised by commenters, including attempts to reproduce the results, alternative interpretations of the data, methodological critiques, and additional factors that might influence harassment rates. The post also presents additional data on harassment rates by various demographic factors, while cautioning against drawing strong conclusions without proper statistical analysis. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes survey data showing lower sexual harassment rates in STEM fields compared to other industries, contradicting media narratives, while urging caution and calling for more research. Longer summary

Scott Alexander analyzes data from his blog's survey on sexual harassment rates across different fields. The survey found that STEM and traditionally male-dominated fields had lower rates of reported sexual harassment compared to more verbal/personal skills-oriented fields. This contradicts media narratives about tech having unusually high harassment rates. Scott notes the strong correlation between at-work and out-of-work harassment rates across fields, suggesting differences may be more related to the people in each field rather than workplace cultures. He urges caution in interpreting the results, acknowledges potential biases, and calls for more rigorous research on this topic given the lack of good comparative data across industries. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander critiques Adam Grant's article on gender differences in tech, arguing Grant misrepresents evidence and ignores key factors like innate interest differences between men and women. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques Adam Grant's article on gender differences, arguing that Grant misrepresents scientific evidence and ignores important factors like interest differences between men and women. Scott presents alternative explanations for gender imbalances in tech and other fields, emphasizing innate differences in interests rather than discrimination. He expresses concern about the hostile climate developing in tech around these issues. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that gender imbalances in certain movements are more likely due to inherent differences in interests between men and women rather than offensive attitudes, challenging the assumption that purging perceived sexism will achieve gender parity. Longer summary

Scott Alexander challenges the assumption that gender imbalances in movements like libertarianism are primarily due to offensive attitudes. He presents examples of groups with poor gender equality reputations that still have balanced gender ratios, such as Trump voters and the Catholic Church. He then explores research on gender differences in interests, particularly the 'interest in things vs. people' dimension, which shows a large difference between men and women. Scott suggests these underlying differences in interests and approaches to morality (e.g., utilitarianism) may better explain gender imbalances in certain fields and movements. He argues that attempts to achieve gender balance by purging perceived sexism may be misguided and could lead to unnecessary conflict within these communities. The post concludes by emphasizing the need to fight harassment and build a better world, but not with the expectation that it will automatically lead to gender parity in all fields. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander uses survey data to challenge claims that polyamory leads to a few men monopolizing women, showing these criticisms don't match reality in practice. Longer summary

Scott Alexander addresses criticisms of polyamory from both conservative and pickup artist perspectives, which claim it leads to a few high-status men monopolizing women. Using survey data from the Less Wrong community, he shows these criticisms don't match reality. The data suggests poly women have more partners on average than poly men, and poly men are less likely to be single than monogamous men. Scott acknowledges potential biases in the data but argues it still contradicts the critics' theories. He invites critics to suggest what data would convince them in future surveys. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines a failed replication of a study claiming analytical thinking promotes religious disbelief, and discusses the broader implications for understanding the relationship between thinking styles and religious belief. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews a study by Gervais and Norenzayan (G&N) that claimed analytical thinking promotes religious disbelief, and its subsequent failed replication attempts. The original study consisted of five experiments, including priming participants with images or word tasks before assessing their religious beliefs. The Reproducibility Project's replication of two of these experiments failed to find the same effects. Scott discusses the implications of this failure, noting that even studies that seem well-designed can fail to replicate. He then examines a meta-analysis by Pennycook et al. that found a small but consistent correlation between analytical thinking and irreligiosity across multiple studies. Scott concludes by summarizing key takeaways about the relationship between analytical thinking, IQ, and religious belief, as well as lessons about the replicability of psychological studies. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander critiques a study on fathers' influence on sons' obesity, highlighting statistical flaws and misleading publicity, while exploring the broader challenge of identifying genuine parental effects. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques a study claiming fathers have a unique influence on their sons' obesity. He points out statistical flaws, particularly the lack of adjustment for multiple comparisons, and criticizes the university's press release for overstating the findings. The post also discusses the challenge of separating parental effects from genetic or intrauterine factors, and asks for examples of credible studies showing gender-specific parental effects. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes 2D:4D ratio data from LW/SSC surveys, finding unexpected correlations with feminism and masculinity, despite failing to replicate basic gender differences in digit ratios. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses his analysis of the 2D:4D ratio (length of index finger divided by length of ring finger) and its correlations with psychological traits, using data from the Less Wrong and Slate Star Codex surveys. The study aimed to explore connections between digit ratio, gender, and various traits like feminism and autism. Despite failing to replicate the basic finding of men having lower digit ratios than women, the study found unexpected correlations between digit ratio and opinion of feminism in men, and between digit ratio and masculinity in women. Scott expresses confusion about these results, noting inconsistencies with previous research and unexpected patterns in the data. He concludes that while the study was messy, it managed to find clear signals in unexpected places, though he remains uncertain about the implications of these findings. Shorter summary

The post analyzes survey data to examine if effective altruism attracts people with mental disorders, finding slightly higher rates of autism but no evidence of unusual self-hate or scrupulosity. Longer summary

This post examines the theory that effective altruism (EA) attracts people with mental disorders. The author analyzes data from a Less Wrong survey, comparing rates of mental illness between EA and non-EA respondents. The findings show that EAs have similar levels of anxiety and OCD, slightly higher rates of depression, and significantly higher rates of autism compared to non-EAs. The post also discusses the relationship between consequentialism, gender, and EA, noting that EAs are much more consequentialist than non-EAs. The author concludes that while EAs may be slightly more autistic, they are not unusually self-hating or scrupulous compared to other rationalists, though both groups may differ from the general population in various ways. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores the potential link between falling testosterone levels and declining crime rates, finding the hypothesis intriguing but ultimately insufficient to explain observed crime trends. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the hypothesis that falling testosterone levels might be related to the secular decline in crime. He examines studies showing a significant drop in testosterone levels in American men from 1987 to 2004, and research linking higher testosterone to violent crime. However, he identifies several problems with this hypothesis, including timing discrepancies between testosterone decline and crime reduction, contradictory evidence, and the fact that crime is dropping in women at the same rate as in men. While intrigued by the potential connection, Scott concludes that the hypothesis doesn't fully explain the observed crime trends. He suggests further research, including studies comparing testosterone levels in violent criminals to the general population and proposing an examination of digit ratios in historical skeletal remains to track testosterone levels over time. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander discusses the lack of scientific research on nerds, exploring potential explanations for their distinct traits, including the possible role of testosterone. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the lack of scientific study on nerds, despite their distinct characteristics. He lists nine common traits associated with nerds and questions why these seemingly unrelated traits often appear together. The post considers various explanations, including social factors and biological determinism, with a focus on the potential role of testosterone. Scott examines research linking low testosterone to several nerdy traits in men, but also acknowledges conflicting evidence. He concludes by noting the complexity of sex hormones and their effects, mentioning observations about transgender individuals, and questioning whether female nerds form a distinct cluster like male nerds do. Shorter summary

Ozy Frantz provides a detailed critique of common 'manosphere' beliefs, particularly those of blogger Heartiste, using scientific studies and logical arguments to counter claims about human sexuality and dating. Longer summary

This post is a detailed rebuttal of many common beliefs within the 'manosphere', particularly focusing on the blogger Heartiste. The author, Ozy Frantz, argues against Heartiste's views on human sexual interaction, beauty standards, gender differences, and dating strategies. They provide counterarguments supported by scientific studies and logical reasoning, addressing topics such as physical attractiveness, femininity, sluttiness, and 'game' techniques. The post also touches on issues of evolutionary psychology, societal norms, and the nature of human sexuality. Throughout, Ozy maintains a skeptical stance towards many manosphere claims while acknowledging some gender differences do exist. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of links and brief commentary on topics ranging from climate change to social science research, with both serious analysis and humorous observations. Longer summary

This post is a collection of interesting links and brief commentary on various topics. Scott Alexander covers a wide range of subjects, including climate change, economics, social science research, technology, and current events. He shares studies, news articles, and personal observations, often with a skeptical or analytical perspective. The post includes both serious topics and more lighthearted content, reflecting Scott's diverse interests and tendency to explore unconventional ideas. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes a study revealing poor statistical literacy among doctors, critiquing both the study and its implications for medical decision-making. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses a study showing poor statistical literacy among doctors, particularly Ob/Gyn residents. The post highlights that only 42% of doctors correctly answered a question about p-values, and only 26% correctly solved a Bayesian probability problem about mammogram results. Scott critiques the study's questions and interpretation, notes the Dunning-Kruger effect in self-reported statistical literacy, and points out gender differences in self-assessment. He concludes by questioning the FDA's decision to restrict individuals' access to their genome information based on doctors' supposed superior statistical understanding. Shorter summary