Astral Codex Ten Podcast

[Classic] Against Interminable Arguments

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

[Epistemic status: something I've been thinking about recently. There's a lot of complication around these issues and this is more to start a discussi...

[Meetup Audio] Connor Leahy on GPT-3 as an AI Fire Alarm

17 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Connor Leahy discusses the idea of an 'AGI Fire Alarm' and argues GPT-3 might be the last such warning we'll receive before it's too late to act.

[Classic] Should You Reverse Any Advice You Hear?

13 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Suppose a lot of that stuff about bravery debates is right. That lots of the advice people give is useful for some people, but that the opposite adv...

Update on my Situation

13 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's been two and a half months since I deleted the blog, so I owe all of you an update on recent events. I haven't heard anything from the New York...

[Classic] SSC Gives A Graduation Speech

07 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Trigger warning: deliberately provoking horror about graduates' real-​world post-​college prospects. Epistemic status: intended as persuasive spee...

[Classic] Yes, We Have Noticed The Skulls

01 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

[Related: Tyler Cowen on rationalists, Noah Smith on rationalists, Will Wilkinson on rationalists, etc] If I were an actor in an improv show, and m...

NYT Is Threatening My Safety By Revealing My Real Name, So I Am Deleting The Blog

23 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

So, I kind of deleted the blog. Sorry. Here's my explanation. Last week I talked to a New York Times technology reporter who was planning to write a...

Slightly Skew Systems of Government

18 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/17/slightly-skew-systems-of-government/ [Related To: Legal Systems Very Different From Ours Because I Just Made T...

Open Thread 156.25 + Signal Boost for Steve Hsu

18 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/16/open-thread-156-25/   Normally this would be a hidden thread, but I wanted to signal boost this request for he...

The Vision of Vilazodone and Vortioxetine

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/15/the-vision-of-vilazodone-and-vortioxetine/   I. One of psychiatry's many embarrassments is how many of our dru...

Wordy Wernicke's

13 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/11/wordy-wernickes/   There are two major brain areas involved in language. To oversimplify, Wernicke's area in th...

[Classic] Proving Too Much

13 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/04/13/proving-too-much/ The fallacy of Proving Too Much is when you challenge an argument because, in addition to pr...

The Obligatory GPT-3 Post

12 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/10/the-obligatory-gpt-3-post/   I. I would be failing my brand if I didn't write something about GPT-3, but I'm no...

Take the New Nootropics Survey

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A few years ago I surveyed nootropics users about their experiences with different substances and posted the results here. Since then lots of new no...

Problems With Paywalls

06 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/04/problems-with-paywalls/   I. I hate paywalls on articles. Absolutely hate them. A standard pro-business argumen...

Book Review: Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/01/book-review-origin-of-consciousness-in-the-breakdown-of-the-bicameral-mind/ I. Julian Jaynes' The Origin Of Co...

Bush Did North Dakota

31 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/05/28/bush-did-north-dakota/   Continuing yesterday's discussion of fake news: Guess et al says that 46% percent of...

[Classic] Guided by the Beauty of Our Weapons

30 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/03/24/guided-by-the-beauty-of-our-weapons/   [Content note: kind of talking around Trump supporters and similar grou...

Creationism, Unchallenged

29 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/05/28/creationism-unchallenged/   How much should responsible news organizations report on stupid things? If they don...

"My Immortal" As Alchemical Allegory

28 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/05/26/my-immortal-as-alchemical-allegory/   I. From Vox: Solving The Mystery Of The Internet's Most Beloved And Not...

Coronalinks 5/18/20: When All You Have Is a Hammer, Everything Starts Looking Like a Dance

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/05/18/coronalinks-5-18-20-when-all-you-have-is-a-hammer-everything-starts-looking-like-a-dance/ It is the sixty-first...

[Classic] Cardiologists and Chinese Robbers

16 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/09/16/cardiologists-and-chinese-robbers/   I. It takes a special sort of person to be a cardiologist. This is not al...

Studies on Slack

14 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/05/12/studies-on-slack/   I. Imagine a distant planet full of eyeless animals. Evolving eyes is hard: they need to ev...

Book Review Contest: Call for Entries

07 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/05/05/book-review-contest-call-for-entries/   Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write a book revie...

[Classic] The Goddess of Everything Else

02 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/08/17/the-goddess-of-everything-else-2/ [Related to: Specific vs. General Foragers vs. Farmers and War In Heaven, ...

Predictions for 2020

01 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/29/predictions-for-2020/   At the beginning of every year, I make predictions. At the end of every year, I score...

Give Yourself Gout for Fame and Profit

29 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/27/give-yourself-gout-for-fame-and-profit/   I. Actually, no. You should not do this. Most of you were probably a...

Employer Provided Health Care Delenda Est

25 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/24/employer-provided-health-insurance-delenda-est/ My last post didn't really go to deep into why I dislike the ...

The Amish Health Care System

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/20/the-amish-health-care-system/   I. Amish people spend only a fifth as much as you do on health care, and their...

Depression: The Olfactory Perspective

17 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/17/depression-the-olfactory-perspective/   Depressed people have worse sense of smell, and people with worse sens...

A Failure, but Not of Prediction

16 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/14/a-failure-but-not-of-prediction/   I. Vox asks What Went Wrong With The Media's Coronavirus Coverage? They c...

Coronalinks 4/10: Second Derivative

12 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/10/coronalinks-4-10-second-derivative/ The second derivative is the rate of growth of the rate of growth. Over the...

2019 Predictions: Calibration Results

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/08/2019-predictions-calibration-results/   At the beginning of every year, I make predictions. At the end of ever...

Never Tell Me the Odds (Ratio)

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/07/never-tell-me-the-odds-ratio/ [Epistemic status: low confidence, someone tell me if the math is off. Title was ...

SSCJC: Real World Depression Measurement

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/06/sscjc-real-world-depression-measurement/ The largest non-pharma antidepressant trial ever conducted just confir...

Book Review: The Precipice

03 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/04/01/book-review-the-precipice/   I. It is a well known fact that the gods hate prophets. False prophets they punish...

SSC Journal Club: MacIntyre on Cloth Masks

02 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/31/ssc-journal-club-macintyre-on-cloth-masks/   Content warning: this is a complicated analysis of something peop...

Legal Systems Very Different From Ours, Because I Just Made Them Up

31 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/30/legal-systems-very-different-from-ours-because-i-just-made-them-up/   [with apologies to the real Legal Syste...

Coronalinks 3/27/20: We're Number One

28 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/27/coronalinks-3-27-20/   The United States now has more coronavirus cases than any other country, including Chin...

Face Masks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/23/face-masks-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/   There's been recent controversy about the use of face masks fo...

Coronalinks 3/19/20

21 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/19/coronalinks-3-19-20/   As before, feel free to treat this as an open thread for all coronavirus-related issues....

Book Review: Hoover

21 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/17/book-review-hoover/ You probably remember Herbert Hoover as the guy who bungled the Great Depression. Maybe you ...

For, Then Against, High-Saturated-Fat Diets

15 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/10/for-then-against-high-saturated-fat-diets/ I. In the 1800s, the average US man weighed about 155 lbs. Today, ...

[Classic] Book Review: Surfing Uncertainty

08 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/09/05/book-review-surfing-uncertainty/   [Related to: It's Bayes All The Way Up, Why Are Transgender People Immune...

Socratic Grilling

07 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/06/socratic-grilling/   Imagine an kid in school first hearing about germ theory. The conversation might go someth...

Coronavirus: Links, Speculation, Open Thread

05 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/02/coronavirus-links-speculation-open-thread/   [Epistemic status: Very weak – I'm still trying to figure all ...

Book Review: The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

01 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/02/27/book-review-the-seven-principles-for-making-marriage-work/   I. John Gottman is a legendary figure, and the le...

Book Review: Just Giving

26 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/02/24/book-review-just-giving/   I. Traditional book reviews tend to focus on a single book, such as Just Giving by...

Sleep Support: An Individual Randomized Controlled Trial

18 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/02/17/sleep-support-an-individual-randomized-controlled-trial/   I worry my sleep quality isn't great. On weekends, ...

Addendum to "Targeting Meritocracy"

16 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/02/14/addendum-to-targeting-meritocracy/   I've always been dissatisfied with Targeting Meritocracy and the comme...

Confirmation Bias As Misfire of Normal Bayesian Reasoning

15 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/02/12/confirmation-bias-as-misfire-of-normal-bayesian-reasoning/   From the subreddit: Humans Are Hardwired To Dism...

Welcome (?), Infowars Readers

15 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/02/12/welcome-infowars-readers/ Hello to all the new readers I've gotten from, uh, Paul Watson of Infowars. Before any...

Autogenderphilia Is Common and Not Especially Related to Transgender

12 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/02/10/autogenderphilia-is-common-and-not-especially-related-to-transgender/   "Autogynephilia" means becoming arouse...

Suicide Hotspots of the World

09 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/02/05/suicide-hotspots-of-the-world/   [Content warning: suicide, rape, child abuse. Thanks to MC for some help with...

Book Review: Human Compatible

02 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/01/30/book-review-human-compatible/   I. Clarke's First Law goes: When a distinguished but elderly scientist states...

Assortative Mating and Autism

29 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/01/28/assortative-mating-and-autism/   Introduction Assortative mating is when similar people marry and have childre...

Book Review Review: Little Soldiers

26 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/01/22/book-review-review-little-soldiers/   Little Soldiers is a book by Lenora Chu about the Chinese education sy...

SSC Survey Results 2020

21 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/01/20/ssc-survey-results-2020/   Thanks to the 8,043 people who took the 2020 Slate Star Codex survey. See the quest...

Contra Contra Contra Caplan on Psych

18 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/01/15/contra-contra-contra-caplan-on-psych/   I. In 2006, Bryan Caplan wrote a critique of psychiatry. In 2015, I ...

2019 Adversarial Collaboration Winners

16 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/01/13/2019-adversarial-collaboration-winners/   Thanks to everyone who participated and/or voted in the 2019 Advers...

What Intellectual Progress Did I Make in the 2010s?

11 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/01/08/what-intellectual-progress-did-i-make-in-the-2010s/   One of the best parts of writing a blog is being a...

A Very Unlikely Chess Game

09 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/01/06/a-very-unlikely-chess-game/   Almost 25 years after Kasparov vs. Deep Blue, another seminal man vs. mach...

Hardball Questions for the Next Debate (2020)

08 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/01/05/hardball-questions-for-the-next-debate-2020/   [Previously: Hardball Questions (2016), More Hardball Q...

Why Doctors Think They're The Best

03 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/01/02/why-doctors-think-theyre-the-best/   Ninety percent of drivers think they're above-average drivers, nin...

Please Take the 2020 SSC Survey!

30 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/30/please-take-the-2020-ssc-survey/   Please take the 2020 Slate Star Codex Survey. The survey helps me le...

Please Vote for ACC Winner

27 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/26/please-vote-for-acc-winner/   I've now posted all eight adversarial collaborations. In case you missed a...

[ACC Entry] How Much Significance Should We Ascribe to Spiritual Experiences?

26 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/25/acc-how-much-significance-should-we-ascribe-to-spiritual-experiences/   [This is an entry to the 2019 A...

[ACC Entry] Should You Have a Merry Christmas?

26 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/24/acc-should-you-have-a-merry-christmas/   [This is an entry to the 2019 Adversarial Collaboration Contes...

[ACC Entry] Will Automation Lead to Economic Crisis?

24 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/23/acc-will-automation-lead-to-economic-crisis/   [This is an entry to the 2019 Adversarial Collaboration ...

A Maximally Lazy Guide to Giving to Charity in 2019

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/22/a-maximally-lazy-guide-to-giving-to-charity-in-2019/ [Sorry for the interruption; we will return to our r...

[ACC Entry] When During Fetal Development Does Abortion Become Morally Wrong?

20 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/19/acc-when-during-fetal-development-does-abortion-become-morally-wrong/ [This is an entry to the 2019 Adve...

[ACC Entry] Should Gene Editing Technologies Be Used in Humans?

20 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/18/acc-should-gene-editing-technologies-be-used-in-humans/   [This is an entry to the 2019 Adversarial Col...

[ACC Entry] Should We Colonize Space to Mitigate X-Risk?

18 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/17/acc-should-we-colonize-space-to-mitigate-x-risk/ [This is an entry to the 2019 Adversarial Collaboration...

[ACC Entry] Does Calorie Restriction Slow Aging?

14 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/12/acc-does-calorie-restriction-slow-aging/   [This is an entry to the 2019 Adversarial Collaboration Cont...

[ACC Entry] Is Eating Meat a Net Harm?

13 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/11/acc-is-eating-meat-a-net-harm/   [This is an entry to the 2019 Adversarial Collaboration Contest by Da...

[ACC Entry] What Are the Benefits, Harms, and Ethics of Infant Circumcision?

11 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/10/acc-is-infant-circumcision-ethical/   [This is an entry to the 2019 Adversarial Collaboration Contest ...

2019 Adversarial Collaboration Entries

10 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/09/2019-adversarial-collaboration-entries/   Thanks to everyone who sent in entries for the 2019 adversaria...

Symptom, Condition, Cause

07 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/12/04/symptom-condition-cause/   On my recent post on autism, several people chimed in to say that "autism" was...

SSC Meetups Everywhere Retrospective

29 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/28/ssc-meetups-everywhere-retrospective/   Slate Star Codex has regular weekly-to-monthly meetups in a bunc...

Mental Mountains

29 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/26/mental-mountains/   I. Kaj Sotala has an outstanding review of Unlocking The Emotional Brain; I read t...

Book Review: All Therapy Books

24 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/20/book-review-all-therapy-books/   I. All therapy books start with a claim that their form of therapy will...

More Intuition-building on Non-empirical Science: Three Stories

20 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/18/more-intuition-building-on-non-empirical-science-three-stories/ [Followup to: Building Intuitions On Non-...

Autism and Intelligence: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

17 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/13/autism-and-intelligence-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ [Thanks to Marco DG for proofreading and offer...

Fish – Now by Prescription [Classic]

16 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/06/15/fish-now-by-prescription/   I. LOVAZA™®© (ask your doctor if LOVAZA™®© is right for you) is an ex...

Sleep – Now by Prescription [Classic]

16 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/09/28/sleep-now-by-prescription/   Ramelteon isn't a bad drug. It's just that its very existence stands as a co...

Book Review: The Body Keeps the Score

15 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/12/book-review-the-body-keeps-the-score/   I. The Body Keeps The Score is a book about post-traumatic str...

Building Intuitions on Non-empirical Arguments in Science

10 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/06/building-intuitions-on-non-empirical-arguments-in-science/   Aeon: Post-Empirical Science Is An Oxymoro...

Samsara

06 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/04/samsara/   I. The man standing outside my front door was carrying a clipboard and wearing a golden robe....

The Life Cycle of Medical Ideas [Classic]

02 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/09/12/the-life-cycle-of-medical-ideas/   I. About five years ago, an Italian surgeon with the unlikely name of...

New Atheism: The Godlessness That Failed

01 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/30/new-atheism-the-godlessness-that-failed/   Thucydides predicted that future generations would underest...

Financial Incentives Are Weaker Than Social Incentives but Very Important Anyway

01 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/28/financial-incentives-are-weaker-than-social-incentives-but-very-important-anyway/   NYT: Economic Incen...

Highlights from the Comments on PNSE

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/24/highlights-from-the-comments-on-pnse/   (original post) Alex M writes: I think one of the main proble...

Indian Economic Reform: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

25 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/23/indian-economic-reform-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/   From a recent Charter Cities Institute rep...

The PNSE Paper

25 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/21/the-pnse-paper/   I've mentioned this a few times, but it's worth going over in detail. The full title i...

Is Enlightenment Compatible With Sex Scandals?

22 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/16/is-enlightenment-compatible-with-sex-scandals/   Last year I reviewed The Mind Illuminated, a meditatio...

The Control Group Is Out of Control [Classic]

19 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/04/28/the-control-group-is-out-of-control/   I. Allan Crossman calls parapsychology the control group for sci...

Book Review: Against the Grain

17 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/14/book-review-against-the-grain/   Someone on SSC Discord summarized James Scott's Against The Grain as ...

Beware Isolated Demands for Rigor [Classic]

05 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/08/14/beware-isolated-demands-for-rigor/   I. From Identity, Personal Identity, and the Self by John Perry: ...

Too Much Dark Money in Almonds

22 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/09/18/too-much-dark-money-in-almonds/ Everyone always talks about how much money there is in politics. This is ...

Against Tulip Subsidies [Classic]

21 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/06/06/against-tulip-subsidies/ I. Imagine a little kingdom with a quaint custom: when a man likes a woman, he o...