Astral Codex Ten Podcast

Exploring the origins of modern wokeness, legal challenges in workplaces, the evolution of the woke movement, quota systems in Brazil, and perspectives on workplace discrimination and test usage.

Richard Hanania, author of The Origins Of Woke, challenges the idea that wokeness stems from civil rights law, arguing instead that US civil rights law is flawed. The podcast covers the unintended consequences of civil rights legislation, navigating corporate 'wokeness,' workplace harassment laws, a legal battle over racial discrimination at a Tesla plant, and the influence on conservative policy perspectives.

Debating health care efficacy, straw-manning arguments, exploring public health impact, navigating healthcare decision complexities, contrasting views on medical treatments in cancer and heart attack cases, scrutinizing gun violence and medical inefficiencies.

In November 2022, Aella posted this Twitter poll: 19% of women without pre-menstrual symptoms believed in the supernatural, compared to 39% of women with PMS. I can’t do chi-squared tests in my head, but with 1,074 votes this looks significant. Weird! Here’s another one Now 72% of people with PMS self-describe as neurotic, compared to only 45% without. Aella writes more about this here, and sebjenseb confirms here. I’m less weirded out by this one, because you can imagine that people feel neurotic because of PMS symptoms, but it’s still a surprisingly strong effect. https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/survey-results-pms-symptoms 

Exploring flawed comparisons between disproven fears like overpopulation and concerns about AI safety, with a focus on the irrationality of equating these scenarios and the historical significance of events like the 'coffeepocalypse'. Analyzing fallibility of predictions and moral panics, discerning between groundless fears and valid concerns. Emphasizing constructing persuasive arguments using evidence and the complexities of evaluating reasoning in diverse contexts.

Robin Hanson, known for his belief that medicine doesn't work, discusses the effectiveness of medical interventions, challenges biases in medical literature, and explores the impact of health insurance on outcomes. The podcast dives into historical perspectives on medical practices, advances in cancer treatment, and the complexities in studying medication effectiveness.

[previously in series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5] When that April with his sunlight fierce The rainy winter of the coast doth pierce And filleth every spirit with such hale As horniness engenders in the male Then folk go out in crop tops and in shorts Their bodies firm from exercise and sports And men gaze at the tall girls and the shawties And San Franciscans long to go to parties. https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/ye-olde-bay-area-house-party 

Lumina, the genetically modified anti-tooth-decay bacterium that I wrote about in December, is back in the news after lowering its price from $20,000 to $250 and getting endorsements from Yishan Wong, Cremieux, and Richard Hanania (as well as anti-endorsements from Saloni and Stuart Ritchie). A few points that have come up: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/updates-on-lumina-probiotic

Saar responds to zoonosis arguments while Peter clarifies his trolling calculations. Discussion on lab leak theory, COVID in Brazilian wastewater, early cases data analysis, virologists' claims, and challenges of investigating COVID origins. Delve into statistical tests, genetic data, ascertainment bias, and probabilities in the debate.

Exploring unique British political designations, evolution of daylight saving time, a religious amusement park's Tower of Babel ambition, AI competitions, invasion literature, African cash systems, transgender identity controversy, San Francisco housing policies, noise pollution issues, AGI perspectives, IQ enhancement methods, alt-right tactics, tech mogul's donation, educational shifts, and ways to support the podcast.