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Astral Codex Ten Podcast

Nov 23, 2023

The phrase “I see Satan fall like lightning” comes from Luke 10:18. I’d previously encountered it on insane right-wing conspiracy theory websites. You can rephrase it as “I see Satan descend to earth in the form of lightning.” But “lightning” in Hebrew is barak. So the Bible says Satan will descend...


Nov 20, 2023

The psychiatric study everyone’s talking about this month is ”Randomized trial of ketamine masked by surgical anesthesia in patients with depression”.

Ketamine is a dissociative drug - it produces weird drug effects like feelings of bodylessness and ego death. Recent research suggests it’s a powerful...


Nov 20, 2023

Thanks to everyone who commented on Quests And Requests.

There was a predictable failure mode: lots of people said “I have relevant expertise and would be willing to help with #X”, and then those comments just sat there. Many fewer people said “I’m going to be team lead on #X and start contacting everyone...


Nov 16, 2023

[previously in series: 2016, 2020; expansion of this]

MODERATOR: Hello, and welcome to the third Republican primary debate. To shore up declining voter interest, we’ve decided to make things more interesting tonight. In this first round, each candidate will have to avoid using a specific letter of the alphabet in...


Nov 16, 2023

[original post: My Left Kidney]

1: Comments From People Who Are Against This Sort Of Thing
2: …From Other People Who Have Donated Kidneys
3: …From People Who Have Received Kidneys
4: …About Opt-Out Organ Donation
5: …On Radiation Risk
6: …About Rejections
7: …On Polls About Who Would Donate
8: …On...