this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2025
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Has anyone with psychiatry training ever commented on Scott Alexander's ideas? (awful.systems)
submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by CinnasVerses@awful.systems to c/sneerclub@awful.systems
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I used to think that psychiatry-blogging was Scott Alexander's most useful/least harmful writing, because its his profession and an underserved topic. But he has his agenda to preach race pseudoscience and 1920s-type eugenics, and he has written in some ethical grey areas like stating a named friend's diagnosis and desired course of treatment. He is in a community where many people tell themselves that their substance use is medicinal and want proscriptions. Someone on SneerClub thinks he mixed up psychosis and schizophrenia in a recent post.

If you are in a registered profession like psychiatry, it can be dangerous to casually comment on your colleagues. Regardless, has anyone with relevant qualifications ever commented on his psychiatry blogging and whether it is a good representation of the state of knowledge?

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[–] Soyweiser@awful.systems 10 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Sorry not in that profession, but if somebody who is reacts, I'd also like an answer to the question of: 'if a member if one of your organisations commits suicide, claiming sexual abuse, and is not your patient, would it be unethical to claim they are crazy/cast doubts on their ability to interpret the real reality, as an basically embedded psychiatrist?'. More of a question for an ethics committee I guess.

[–] BlueMonday1984@awful.systems 6 points 5 days ago (2 children)

I'm not in the profession either, but that sounds horrendously unethical.

[–] CinnasVerses@awful.systems 6 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

unethical

His post on a woman in the EA/LW world who took her own life after saying she had been sexually harassed is https://archive.is/I85mC and there are discussions on Old! SneerClub here and there. I am not comfortable going into this without training in how to talk about self-harm and first-hand knowledge but yeesh.

The Tumblr he cites belongs to Kelsey Piper, a self-identified journalist and meatspace friend who receives donations from people and orgs in the Effective Altruism world and keeps reporting on how EA ideas and people are great.

[–] BlueMonday1984@awful.systems 6 points 5 days ago

Okay, "unethical" was a colossal understatement for Scott's actions, the guy should be blacklisted from practicing and have his license revoked

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