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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60 posts found
Aug 13, 2024
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Why Does Ozempic Cure All Diseases?

32 min • 4,400 words • 586 comments • 593 likes • podcast (27 min)
Scott Alexander examines the surprisingly broad effects of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, exploring their mechanisms and speculating on why they seem to impact so many different conditions. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the wide-ranging effects of GLP-1 receptor agonist medications like Ozempic, which are approved for diabetes and obesity but show promise for many other conditions. He delves into the mechanisms behind their effects on diabetes, weight loss, and addiction, speculating on why these drugs seem to have such broad impacts. The post discusses how GLP-1 drugs work in the brain to reduce hunger and dampen reward systems, potentially explaining their effects on addiction. Scott also touches on their anti-inflammatory properties and potential benefits for neurodegenerative diseases, while cautioning that some reported effects may not replicate. Shorter summary
Jul 16, 2024
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Consciousness As Recursive Reflections

53 min • 7,338 words • 489 comments • 155 likes • podcast (43 min)
Daniel Böttger proposes a new theory of consciousness as recursive reflections of neural oscillations, explaining qualia and suggesting experimental tests. Longer summary
This guest post by Daniel Böttger proposes a new theory of consciousness, describing it as recursive reflections of neural oscillations. The theory posits that qualia arise from the internal processing of information within oscillating neural patterns, which can reflect on themselves. The post explains how this theory accounts for various characteristics of qualia and consciousness, and suggests ways to test the theory using EEG source analysis. Shorter summary
May 15, 2024
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Profile: The Far Out Initiative

30 min • 4,196 words • 903 comments • 283 likes • podcast (25 min)
The post explores the Far Out Initiative's goal to eliminate suffering through biotechnology, inspired by a pain-free woman and David Pearce's philosophy. Longer summary
This post discusses the Far Out Initiative, a project aimed at eliminating suffering through biotechnology. It begins by introducing Jo Cameron, a woman genetically incapable of feeling pain or anxiety, and explores the philosophical implications of her condition. The post then delves into David Pearce's suffering abolitionism philosophy and his practical approaches to ending suffering. Finally, it describes the Far Out Initiative's current efforts, led by Marcin Kowrygo, to create suffering-free animals through genetic engineering and potentially extend this to humans in the future. Shorter summary
Jan 25, 2024
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The Psychopolitics Of Trauma

45 min • 6,161 words • 574 comments • 501 likes • podcast (35 min)
Scott Alexander proposes that political hyperpartisanship might be a form of trauma, comparing PTSD symptoms to behaviors observed in political extremists. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores the idea that political extremism might be a form of trauma. He compares symptoms of PTSD to behaviors observed in politically hyperpartisan individuals, such as triggers, distorted cognitions, and hypervigilance. The post discusses how trapped priors in the brain might explain both cognitive and emotional aspects of political extremism. Scott also considers the implications of framing political partisanship as trauma, including potential risks of expanding the concept of trauma. Shorter summary
Nov 27, 2023
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God Help Us, Let's Try To Understand AI Monosemanticity

26 min • 3,513 words • 234 comments • 288 likes • podcast (24 min)
Scott Alexander discusses recent breakthroughs in AI interpretability, explaining how researchers are beginning to understand the internal workings of neural networks. Longer summary
Scott Alexander explores recent advancements in AI interpretability, focusing on Anthropic's 'Towards Monosemanticity' paper. He explains how AI neural networks function, introduces the concept of superposition where fewer neurons represent multiple concepts, and describes how researchers have managed to interpret AI's internal workings by projecting real neurons into simulated neurons. The post discusses the implications of this research for understanding both artificial and biological neural systems, as well as its potential impact on AI safety and alignment. Shorter summary
Aug 23, 2023
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Critical Periods For Language: Much More Than You Wanted To Know

17 min • 2,352 words • 248 comments • 144 likes • podcast (14 min)
Scott Alexander investigates the claim that children learn languages faster than adults, finding it partially true but more nuanced than commonly believed. Longer summary
Scott Alexander examines the claim that children learn languages faster than adults, finding it to be partially true but more complex than commonly believed. He explores various aspects of language acquisition, including critical periods for first language learning, age effects on second language learning, and differences in learning rates between children and adults. The post concludes that while children seem to pick up second languages faster than adults, this advantage is not as clear-cut as often thought, and factors like exposure, motivation, and declining learning rates with age play significant roles. Shorter summary
Aug 18, 2023
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Your Book Review: The Mind Of A Bee

42 min • 5,764 words • 253 comments • 190 likes • podcast (32 min)
The review of 'The Mind of a Bee' examines the cognitive abilities of bees, raising questions about their intelligence and potential consciousness. Longer summary
This book review of 'The Mind of a Bee' by Lars Chittka explores the complex cognitive abilities of bees, discussing their behaviors, brain structure, and potential for consciousness. The review covers topics such as the waggle dance, honeycomb construction, brain waves, and various experiments demonstrating bees' problem-solving skills. While not definitively answering whether bees are 'smart' or conscious, the review highlights the complexity of bee cognition and the challenges in studying animal intelligence. Shorter summary
Jun 03, 2023
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Your Book Review: Why Machines Will Never Rule the World

20 min • 2,750 words • 407 comments • 170 likes • podcast (17 min)
A review of 'Why Machines Will Never Rule the World', presenting its arguments against AGI based on complexity and computability, while critically examining its conclusions and relevance. Longer summary
This review examines 'Why Machines Will Never Rule the World' by Jobst Landgrebe and Barry Smith, a book arguing against the possibility of artificial general intelligence (AGI). The reviewer presents the book's main arguments, which center on the complexity of human intelligence and the limitations of computational systems. While acknowledging the book's thorough research and engagement with various fields, the reviewer remains unconvinced by its strong conclusions. The review discusses counterarguments, including the current capabilities of language models and the uncertainty surrounding future AI developments. It concludes by suggesting alternative interpretations of the book's arguments and questioning the practical implications of such theoretical debates. Shorter summary
Dec 08, 2022
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Know Your GABA-A Receptor Subunits

9 min • 1,161 words • 115 comments • 87 likes • podcast (9 min)
Scott explores GABA-A receptor subunits, their effects, and how various drugs interact with them, discussing potential for more selective drug development. Longer summary
This post explores GABA-A receptor subunits and their role in psychiatric drugs and supplements. It explains the structure of GABA-A receptors, focusing on the alpha subunits and their associated effects. The post discusses how different drugs like benzodiazepines and zolpidem (Ambien) interact with these subunits, and mentions attempts to create more selective drugs. It also touches on the role of GABA receptors in alcohol's effects and the classification of Z-drugs. The author includes personal experiences with supplements claiming to have selective GABA modulation. Shorter summary
Nov 08, 2022
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Highlights From The Comments On Brain Waves

29 min • 4,056 words • 41 comments • 53 likes • podcast (27 min)
Scott summarizes interesting comments on his 'Rhythms of the Brain' book review, covering various aspects of brain waves and related topics. Longer summary
This post highlights various comments on Scott's review of 'Rhythms of the Brain'. Topics include explanations of brain waves, their importance in AI and neuroscience, criticisms of their perceived significance, interesting facts about brain rhythms, discussions on phi and conduction delay, perspectives on synchrony, and some tangential discussions on other scientific naming conventions and cryptocurrency. Shorter summary
Oct 31, 2022
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Highlights From The Comments On Jhanas

52 min • 7,254 words • 369 comments • 90 likes • podcast (43 min)
Scott Alexander summarizes comments debating the reality and implications of jhanas, a meditative state of extreme bliss. Longer summary
Scott Alexander reviews and summarizes comments on his previous post about jhanas, a meditative state of extreme bliss. He discusses the debate over whether jhanas are real, how they compare to other pleasures like sex, whether they can substitute for other pleasures, what science says about them, and whether pursuing jhanas is good or bad. The post includes many quotes from commenters sharing their own experiences with jhanas and opinions on the topic. Shorter summary
Oct 27, 2022
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Nick Cammarata On Jhana

9 min • 1,203 words • 618 comments • 165 likes • podcast (8 min)
Scott Alexander examines the Buddhist concept of jhana, a blissful meditative state, through Nick Cammarata's experiences, exploring its implications for understanding pleasure and reinforcement. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses the concept of jhana, a state of extreme bliss achieved through meditation in Buddhism. He focuses on Nick Cammarata's experiences with jhana, describing it as incredibly pleasurable yet non-addictive. The post explores the paradox of jhana being more pleasurable than sex but less reinforcing, challenging conventional models of reward and pleasure. Scott also mentions the Qualia Research Institute's approach to understanding these phenomena and poses discussion questions about the nature of pleasure, reinforcement, and decision-making in relation to jhana. Shorter summary
Oct 20, 2022
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Book Review: Rhythms Of The Brain

32 min • 4,400 words • 186 comments • 152 likes • podcast (31 min)
Scott reviews 'Rhythms Of The Brain', exploring the nature and potential significance of brain waves in neuroscience and consciousness. Longer summary
Scott reviews 'Rhythms Of The Brain' by Gyorgy Buzsaki, exploring the nature and potential significance of brain waves. He discusses why brains produce oscillations, the characteristics of these waves, their possible functions, and speculates on their relationship to consciousness and spiritual experiences. The review concludes with thoughts on how the absence of brain-wave equivalents in AI might affect their development of consciousness or selfhood. Shorter summary
Sep 30, 2022
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Highlights From The Comments On Unpredictable Reward

34 min • 4,678 words • 29 comments • 67 likes • podcast (38 min)
Scott Alexander explores various commenters' insights on the neuroscience of reward, happiness, and relationships, expanding on his original post about unpredictable rewards. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses highlights from comments on his post 'Unpredictable Reward, Predictable Happiness', covering topics such as neuroscience of reward, dopamine, and relationships. He explores various perspectives on how the brain processes rewards, predictions, and happiness, including insights from neuroscientists, psychologists, and personal anecdotes. The post touches on topics like abusive relationships, polyamory, wealth and happiness, and the cognitive burden of poverty. Shorter summary
Jul 06, 2022
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Study: Ritalin Works, But School Isn't Worth Paying Attention To

11 min • 1,484 words • 198 comments • 127 likes • podcast (13 min)
Scott Alexander analyzes a study showing Concerta improves ADHD children's attention but not their learning, and speculates on the reasons behind this unexpected result. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses a recent study on the effects of Concerta (a long-acting form of Ritalin) on ADHD children's learning in a summer camp setting. The study found that while Concerta improved attention, reduced disruptive behavior, and slightly improved test scores, it didn't significantly enhance learning of the course material. Scott explores potential reasons for this counterintuitive result, drawing parallels to other studies and speculating on the nature of learning and intelligence. He considers factors such as redundancy in teaching, innate intelligence limits, and the possibility of 'difficulty thresholds' for learning. The post ends with a speculative comparison to AI scaling laws, suggesting there might be human equivalents to parameters, training data, and compute in learning. Shorter summary
May 13, 2022
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Your Book Review: Consciousness And The Brain

58 min • 8,038 words • 412 comments • 126 likes • podcast (53 min)
A review of Stanislas Dehaene's 'Consciousness and the Brain', discussing scientific findings on consciousness and their implications. Longer summary
This review discusses Stanislas Dehaene's book 'Consciousness and the Brain', which explores the scientific understanding of consciousness. The book defines consciousness as the ability to report on a perception, and describes experiments that differentiate conscious from unconscious processing. It explains what the brain can do unconsciously, what requires consciousness, and how consciousness operates in the brain. The review also covers the book's insights on topics like schizophrenia and the 'hard problem' of consciousness. Shorter summary
Mar 28, 2022
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Information Markets, Decision Markets, Attention Markets, Action Markets

22 min • 3,044 words • 118 comments • 76 likes • podcast (26 min)
Scott Alexander explores different types of prediction markets, their uses, limitations, and ethical considerations in decision-making and information gathering. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses various types of prediction markets, including information markets, decision markets, attention markets, and action markets. He explores their potential uses, limitations, and ethical considerations. The post covers how these markets can be used to predict past and present events, guide decision-making, allocate attention to important issues, and incentivize actions. Scott also discusses the challenges and potential pitfalls of each type of market, such as trust issues, the need for resolution, and potential for abuse. He concludes by drawing parallels between prediction markets and concepts in AI safety and neuroscience. Shorter summary
Feb 11, 2022
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Highlights From The Comments On Motivated Reasoning And Reinforcement Learning

25 min • 3,475 words • 75 comments • 34 likes • podcast (24 min)
Scott Alexander explores expert and reader comments on his post about motivated reasoning and reinforcement learning, discussing brain function, threat detection, and the implementation of complex behaviors. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses comments on his post about motivated reasoning and reinforcement learning. The post covers expert opinions on brain function and reinforcement learning, arguments about long-term rewards of threat detection, discussions on practical reasons for motivated reasoning, and miscellaneous thoughts on the topic. Key points include debates on how the brain processes information, the role of Bayesian reasoning, and the challenges of implementing complex behaviors through genetic encoding. Scott also reflects on his own experiences and the limitations of reinforcement learning models in explaining human behavior. Shorter summary
Feb 01, 2022
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Motivated Reasoning As Mis-applied Reinforcement Learning

6 min • 729 words • 335 comments • 122 likes • podcast (7 min)
Scott analyzes motivated reasoning as misapplied reinforcement learning, explaining how it might arise from the brain's mixture of reinforceable and non-reinforceable architectures. Longer summary
Scott explores the concept of motivated reasoning as misapplied reinforcement learning in the brain. He contrasts behavioral brain regions that benefit from hedonic reinforcement learning with epistemic regions where such learning would be detrimental. The post discusses how this distinction might explain phenomena like 'ugh fields' and motivated reasoning, especially in novel situations like taxes or politics where brain networks might be placed on a mix of reinforceable and non-reinforceable architectures. Scott suggests this model could explain why people often confuse what is true with what they want to be true. Shorter summary
Jan 26, 2022
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Against That Poverty And Infant EEGs Study

16 min • 2,164 words • 433 comments • 150 likes • podcast (22 min)
Scott Alexander critiques a study claiming cash payments to poor mothers increased infant brain function, highlighting statistical and methodological issues that undermine its positive conclusions. Longer summary
Scott Alexander critiques a recent study claiming that cash payments to low-income mothers increased brain function in babies. He points out several issues with the study, including the loss of statistical significance after adjusting for multiple comparisons, potential artifacts in EEG data visualization, and deviations from pre-registered analysis plans. He also discusses the broader context of research on poverty and cognition, noting the difficulty in finding shared environmental effects and the tendency for studies in this field to be flawed or overhyped. Scott concludes that while the study doesn't prove cash grants don't affect children's EEGs, it essentially shows no effect and should not have been reported as an unqualified positive result. Shorter summary
Oct 29, 2021
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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
Apr 14, 2021
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[LINK] Unifying Predictive Coding With Backpropagation

4 min • 540 words • 85 comments • 46 likes • podcast (5 min)
Scott Alexander discusses recent research unifying predictive coding in the brain with backpropagation in machine learning, exploring its implications for AI and neuroscience. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses a recent paper and Less Wrong post that unify predictive coding, a theory of how the brain works, with backpropagation, an algorithm used in machine learning. The post explains the significance of this unification, which shows that predictive coding can approximate backpropagation without needing backwards information transfer in neurons. Scott explores the implications of this research, including the potential fusion of AI and neuroscience into a single mathematical field and possibilities for neuromorphic computing hardware. Shorter summary
Apr 01, 2021
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Ambidexterity And Cognitive Closure

15 min • 2,096 words • 257 comments • 71 likes • podcast (16 min)
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
Mar 26, 2021
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Toward A Bayesian Theory Of Willpower

15 min • 1,991 words • 421 comments • 137 likes • podcast (15 min)
Scott Alexander proposes a Bayesian theory of willpower as a process of weighing evidence from different mental processes to determine actions. Longer summary
Scott Alexander proposes a new Bayesian theory of willpower, disagreeing with previous models like glucose depletion, opportunity cost minimization, and mental agent conflicts. He suggests willpower is a process of weighing evidence from different mental processes: a prior on motionlessness, reinforcement learning, and conscious calculations. The basal ganglia then resolves this evidence to determine actions. Scott explores how this model explains the effects of dopaminergic drugs on willpower and discusses implications for understanding mental illness and productivity. Shorter summary
Mar 16, 2021
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Sleep Is The Mate Of Death

16 min • 2,183 words • 258 comments • 160 likes • podcast (17 min)
Scott examines the relationship between sleep, synaptic homeostasis, and depression, exploring how sleep deprivation temporarily alleviates depression symptoms. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses a phenomenon where sleep deprivation temporarily alleviates depression, and explores the potential connection between sleep, synaptic homeostasis, and depression. He reviews the synaptic homeostasis hypothesis of sleep, which suggests that sleep helps renormalize synaptic connections, and connects this to research indicating that depression involves a deficit of synapses. The post then delves into various subtopics related to this theory, including the roles of REM and non-REM sleep, the effects of TMS and electroconvulsive therapy, and potential connections to circadian rhythms and bipolar disorder. Shorter summary