Psychology Terms You’re Probably Misusing

November 18, 2025

A lot of psychological terms don't mean what people think they mean (at least, not according to psychologists). There's an increasing drift between how they get used colloquially in everyday language and the commonly accepted definitions among psychologists. There's a sense in which the lay usage is "wrong" (in that it doesn't match more scientific, precise, or technical usage), but of course, language has always been and always will be in flux. At the end of the day, a word does mean what p...

Facts That Contradict Common Narratives About The United States

November 17, 2025

There are a ton of false narratives that circulate widely in and about the US. To help combat that, here's a list I've been compiling of facts that contradict common narratives related to the US that many people believe. In some cases, these facts contradict common beliefs that most Americans hold, whereas in other cases, they contradict beliefs held mainly just by some subgroups (e.g., subgroups on the far right or far left). While I've spent a bunch of time fact-checking these, I'm very in...

Categorizing The Causes Of Bad Things In The World

November 17, 2025

What causes bad things? It sounds like a huge question, but maybe it's not as big as it seems. Here's my updated/improved list of high-level causes of bad things in the world. Note that these are not mutually exclusive categories. I've also added some potential solutions for each cause. I'd be interested to know: what is missing from my new list of causes of bad things and potential types of solutions? Thanks to those of you who commented on my prior version! Causes of bad things in the w...

If AI Replaces Human Labor Does That Have To Strip Human Lives Of Meaning?

November 16, 2025

A common worry is that technological development, and increasingly advanced AI in particular, will necessarily remove meaning from our lives. For instance, if humanity ends up in a situation of extreme material abundance, but at some point there is a lack of ability for most (or all) people to do work that's value-additive, will that lead to widespread depression and lack of meaning? While I think there are very serious concerns that advancing technologies, and AI in particular, raise (such ...

Common Misconceptions About Anger?

November 3, 2025

People often say things like the following about anger's relationship to other emotions - but are they B.S.? They say: "Depression is anger turned inward." "Anger is sadness's bodyguard." "Anger is just a manifestation of sadness." "There is an anger iceberg (anger on top, with sadness, fear, or shame beneath)." "In men, sadness and depression show up as anger." While there is debate about these ideas among people in the field, my opinion is that these statements are mislead...

But Does Social Media Use Actually Cause Bad Mental Health?

November 2, 2025

It's interesting how studies on the negative effects of social media on mental health are mixed: some find an effect, some don't (or only find a very small effect). Some take this as proof that social media is actually fine for mental health. My hypothesis is different. I think that the effects of social media are extremely heterogeneous based on app, population, and dosage: that in some subgroups, some social media apps (when used in high doses) have substantially negative effects on mental...

Something Unexpected That May Help Some Common Chronic Medical Conditions

October 30, 2025

There's something really interesting and potentially important happening in the space of people suffering from chronic medical conditions that modern medicine provides no good solutions for, such as Long COVID, IBS, functional dyspepsia, fibromyalgia, chronic back or joint pain without injury/disease, ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, PTLDS/Chronic Lyme disease, and so on. I'm talking here specifically about people where all other reasonable explanations for their conditions (e.g., cancer, injury, a...

To What Extent Are Women In The U.S. Actually More Social Justice Oriented Than Men?

October 30, 2025

There's a claim growing rapidly in popularity that organizations in the US have become much more social justice-oriented/woke over the decades because of the increasing fraction of women in them. Note that this is not a claim about organizations becoming generically progressive or liberal, or about women being progressive-leaning. It's a much more specific claim: that institutions in the US became much more social justice-oriented/woke in (a specific belief system held by some pro...

The Pattern Where Populist Leaders Rise To Power And Take Advantage Of The Populace

October 23, 2025

There's a pattern that has repeated many times throughout history, which leads to countries suffering under terrible leadership. It's important to understand this pattern because it's likely to continue to repeat. Here are the steps of how this happens, as I see it, though not every one of these steps occurs in every single case: (1) Many people feel dissatisfied with the state of their society and its impact on their lives, and blame the groups that have long remained in power. (Sometime...

Paradoxical Goals That Fail If You Pursue Them Directly

October 14, 2025

Many things in life are most effectively pursued by going after them directly (e.g., if you want coffee, make some coffee). But some of the most important things are most effectively pursued indirectly. For example: If you want to be happy right now, don't try really hard to be happy right now. Instead, do something that's both meaningful and pleasurable. If you want to find someone to fall in love with, don't go on dates with the goal of determining if you could fall in love with each...