Author Archives: Scott Alexander

SSC Survey Results 2020

EDIT: This post presents open-access data from a large survey that anyone is allowed to download and analyze. It’s gone viral because a Twitter user named Philippe Lemoine downloaded the data and used it to investigate politics and mental illness. … Continue reading

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Last Chance To Take The Survey

This is your last chance to take the 2020 SSC survey. Remember, it’s open to anyone who has read posts on this blog, it should take about 30 minutes to finish, and don’t click on a link unless you’re sure … Continue reading

Contra Contra Contra Caplan On Psych

I. In 2006, Bryan Caplan wrote a critique of psychiatry. In 2015, I responded. Now it’s 2020, and Bryan has a counterargument. I’m going to break the cycle of delay and respond now, and maybe we’ll finish this argument before … Continue reading

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2019 Adversarial Collaboration Winners

Thanks to everyone who participated and/or voted in the 2019 Adversarial Collaboration Contest. And the winner is… … … Adrian Liberman and Calvin Reese, for Does Calorie Restriction Slow Aging?. An extraordinarily close second place (26.9% vs. 26.2% of votes) … Continue reading

Open Thread 145

This is the bi-weekly visible open thread (there are also hidden open threads twice a week you can reach through the Open Thread tab on the top of the page). Post about anything you want, but please try to avoid … Continue reading

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What Intellectual Progress Did I Make In The 2010s?

One of the best parts of writing a blog is being able to answer questions like this. Whenever I felt like I understood new and important, I wrote a post about it. This makes it easy to track what I … Continue reading

A Very Unlikely Chess Game

Almost 25 years after Kasparov vs. Deep Blue, another seminal man vs. machine matchup: Neither competitor has much to be proud of here. White has a poor opening. Black screws up and loses his queen for no reason. A few … Continue reading

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Hardball Questions For The Next Debate (2020)

[Previously: Hardball Questions (2016), More Hardball Questions (2016). I stole parts of the Buttigieg question from Twitter, but don’t remember enough details to give credit, sorry] Mr. Biden: Your son Hunter Biden was on the board of directors of Burisma, … Continue reading

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Why Doctors Think They’re The Best

Ninety percent of drivers think they’re above-average drivers, ninety percent of professors think they’re above-average professors etc. The relevant studies are paywalled, so I don’t know if I should trust them. Our recent discussion of therapy books would make more … Continue reading

Please Take The 2020 SSC Survey!

Please take the 2020 Slate Star Codex Survey. The survey helps me learn more about SSC readers and plan community events. But it also provides me with useful informal research data for questions I’m interested it, which I then turn … Continue reading

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