Astral Codex Ten Podcast Links For September 2025
Sep 10, 2025
Dive into fascinating discussions about human genome mapping and the impact of social media on mental health. Explore the complexities of consciousness, AI's effects on various fields, and the intriguing insights from twin studies. Delve into quirky AI narratives and unexpected cultural anecdotes. Unpack mental health commitments and the complexities of consent laws, while navigating the politics of adulthood. Conclude with predictions on political unrest and compelling debates surrounding basic income and urban planning in African cities.
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Reference Genome Wasn't One Person
- The Human Genome Project reference genome was a mixture, largely from an anonymous sperm donor from Buffalo.
- This undermines the myth of a single "reference" individual and highlights sampling realities in large projects.
AI Writing Leaves Lexical Fingerprints
- Words like "significant" and "notably" surged in documents likely written by AI between 2022 and 2024.
- "chat GPT" appears extremely overrepresented, indicating detectable stylistic markers of AI text.
Interpret Social Media Study Effects Carefully
- Consider effect sizes: deactivating social media produced a tiny happiness gain (~0.05 SD) over six weeks.
- Don't equate this with major clinical effects like SSRIs, which often show ~0.25 SD.
