The hottest Social Science Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Science Topics

Social Scientists Are Lazy

Cremieux Recueil • 477 implied HN points • 25 Mar 26
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Researchers often use between-person comparisons that aren’t causally informative even when within-person or sibling designs are possible, so their estimates can be biased by unmeasured confounders.
  2. When you run within-family or within-person analyses, many headline associations (for example, claims that more social media use lowers cognition) disappear, suggesting those original results were artifacts of confounding.
  3. The field routinely skips basic robustness checks and measurement-invariance tests; empowering methodologists, providing better tools, and enforcing stricter editorial standards would greatly improve research reliability.

Why You Need to Learn about Trivers' Theory of Self-Deception

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 1560 implied HN points • 17 Mar 26
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Trivers' theory of self-deception is a fundamental framework for understanding politics and social life, and it changes how we interpret people's statements and actions.
  2. Grifting and sincere belief can be complementary, not opposites—people can genuinely hold an idea while also acting in ways that benefit them.
  3. Asking whether someone "really believes" something or is "grifting" is often too simplistic and needs more precise distinctions, because belief, motivation, and signaling frequently overlap.

What If We Looked At All Of Questionspace?

Knowingless • 1566 implied HN points • 12 Mar 26
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Scales are groups of survey items found with factor analysis that let you measure hidden traits efficiently, but they need lots of questions and many respondents to be reliable, and metrics like Cronbach’s alpha can be gamed by redundant items.
  2. Which items you include strongly shapes what factors you find, so a narrow or biased question set will miss whole traits; crowdsourcing a huge swath of questions can reveal unexpected dimensions but doesn’t eliminate sampling or submission bias.
  3. When you open up question-space widely, the biggest stable dimensions that tend to pop out are political left–right, belief/mysticism versus rationality, and a happy-versus-sad emotional axis, with many smaller subfactors depending on how finely you break the data.

Me vs. the Entire Field of Fetish Research

Knowingless • 4389 implied HN points • 05 Feb 26
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. A lot of top fetish/kink surveys use small or convenience/targeted samples and often lack full anonymity, which makes them prone to selection bias and limits how much we can trust their conclusions.
  2. Very large internet surveys, even if imperfect, can outperform many academic studies on sample size and breadth and often replicate known psychological patterns, making them valuable for studying relationships even if raw base-rate estimates are shaky.
  3. Structural problems—publication incentives, peer-review politics, restrictive IRBs, and uneven statistical skill—are major reasons the field stays small-scale and cautious instead of improving methods and collecting bigger, better data.

Do conversations end when people want them to?

Experimental History • 29903 implied HN points • 22 Jul 25
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Most conversations don't end when people want them to. A lot of people feel like they either want to leave sooner or keep talking longer than what actually happens.
  2. People often guess wrong about their conversation partner's feelings on when to end the chat. They usually don't know how long the other person wants to talk, which leads to mismatched expectations.
  3. Even though many conversations might seem awkward or boring, most people report that they actually enjoy the experience. It's often better to leave a conversation wanting more!
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Should economists read Marx?

Noahpinion • 37588 implied HN points • 13 Jan 25
🚌 Education Social Science
  1. Many economists don't need to read the original works of thinkers like Marx or Smith to understand economics. They usually study practical models and theories that help solve real-world economic problems.
  2. Modern economic education often emphasizes foundational papers by influential economists, which explain key concepts like market failures and public goods, rather than focusing on Marxist ideas.
  3. Reading Marx can be useful, but mainly as a cautionary tale about how economic theories, if misapplied, can lead to disastrous outcomes in real life. It reminds economists to approach their work with humility.

How Your Survey Responder Lies

Knowingless • 1364 implied HN points • 15 Jan 26
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Where and how you ask matters: public, informal polls (like Twitter) invite people to joke or troll on simple/funny questions, while private or more formal surveys tend to get more accurate answers.
  2. Some questions are especially vulnerable to ego or incentives—people give more flattering or different answers when they expect feedback or visibility (e.g., claiming to be above average or reporting horniness), but other sensitive items (like certain sexual fantasies) may not change much.
  3. There’s no one-size-fits-all rule for survey reliability; good survey design requires thinking about your audience’s incentives and visibility, testing specific questions, and adjusting phrasing or format to reduce trolling and bias.

Dentists are bad

Slow Boring • 10672 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Social Science
  1. Dentistry industry is poorly regulated and full of shady practices.
  2. Dental insurance can be problematic due to low coverage and pre-pay model.
  3. Dentists make a lot of money compared to other professions, and the industry lacks scientific evidence and ethics oversight.

Why I am not a polygenic score nihilist

Wyclif's Dust • 5365 implied HN points • 01 Jul 25
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Polygenic scores can explain significant aspects of outcomes like education, despite having low R-squared values. This means they can still be useful even if they don't account for everything.
  2. The effects of genetics on educational attainment can be large, showing that having a higher polygenic score can significantly increase the chances of going to university.
  3. It's important not to dismiss polygenic scores just because they have low explanatory power. They can have real, substantial effects that matter for understanding outcomes.

Sociology's Pervasively Dubious Assumptions

Unsafe Science • 476 implied HN points • 22 Dec 25
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. The field treats social forces as the primary drivers of outcomes and assumes humans are blank slates, which sidelines biological, psychological, and other non-social causes.
  2. That framework makes inequality seem inherently unjust, privileges social change as normatively good, and centers identity categories as the main lens for explaining society.
  3. Sociology should broaden its toolkit to consider mixed causes (including biology and human nature) and study both social stability and change without presuming existing order is merely oppressive.

Using AI to Reveal Bad, Biased, and Bullshit Published Scholarship

Unsafe Science • 152 implied HN points • 26 Jan 26
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. AI tools can do careful, time-consuming critical reviews in minutes instead of days, making it possible to audit many papers quickly.
  2. Much microaggression research relies on self-reports, treats perceptions as objective facts, overstates causation from correlational data, and often uses circular logic that makes the claims hard to falsify.
  3. Scaling AI-driven critique could expose biased or low-quality scholarship and improve accountability, but its findings need human verification and there are real risks when criticism is dismissed as racism to avoid scrutiny.

things will have to change

Never Met a Science • 188 implied HN points • 15 Jan 26
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. AI is now powerful enough to reshape how research is produced, and academic institutions must adapt quickly or be overwhelmed by a flood of AI-assisted work.
  2. AI offers clear benefits like automated replication and more frequent updating of knowledge, but we need institutional safeguards about ownership, verification, and corporate control of the tools.
  3. The role of scholars should shift toward curating and filtering knowledge and maintaining deep expertise, supported by metascientific reforms that preserve epistemic authority and make inductive approaches credible.

Peer Review of Microaggression Scholarship is an Unmitigated Disaster

Unsafe Science • 79 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Many microaggression studies rely on correlational, nonexperimental data but still claim causal relationships between racism, microaggressions, and outcomes.
  2. Concluding that microaggressions cause negative health or mental-health impacts from simple correlations is not justified without stronger causal evidence.
  3. Peer review has often failed to catch these methodological flaws, allowing unsupported causal claims to persist in the literature.

A way to think about scientism

Wyclif's Dust • 1609 implied HN points • 05 Jun 25
đź“– Philosophy Social Science
  1. Scientism can happen when researchers make general claims about science without considering the limits of their studies. It's important for scientists to recognize when their findings may not apply broadly.
  2. Social scientists often use big concepts that sound scientific, but they sometimes fail to acknowledge the unique context of their studies. This can lead to misleading conclusions about complex issues.
  3. The way some researchers present their findings may resemble 'cargo cult science,' where they follow scientific methods superficially but miss the deeper understanding needed for true insights. It's essential to connect the rigor of research with the actual realities of the world.

The Shallowness of Garett Jones’ Immigration Research

Heterodox STEM • 298 implied HN points • 30 Nov 25
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. A major critique is that some immigration research adds little original empirical or theoretical insight and omits important peer‑reviewed studies that directly bear on its claims.
  2. The common measure of "generalized social trust" used to link trust and economic growth is argued to be flawed — problems include questionable survey validity, weak prediction of real trusting behavior, sample bias, omitted variables, and a lack of incorporation into formal growth models; when addressed, the purported trust–growth relationship can vanish.
  3. Scholarly disputes are criticized for relying on vague accusations, deleted public comments, and a failure to make specific, formal challenges to peers or journal editors, highlighting a need for clearer, evidence‑based engagement.

“Focus like a laser on merit!”

Unsafe Science • 97 implied HN points • 10 Jan 26
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Claims about widespread unconscious bias and pervasive anti‑female hiring discrimination are often overstated; measures like the IAT tap associations in memory rather than proven unconscious prejudice and do not reliably predict discriminatory behavior.
  2. Many DEI and anti‑bias trainings lack solid evidence that they change real‑world behavior and can have unintended costs or even provoke reverse bias, so interventions should be rigorously evaluated for both benefits and harms.
  3. The best practical approach is to focus like a laser on merit by using clear, job‑relevant criteria and individualized evidence, and to improve credibility through adversarial collaboration and honest communication about uncertainty.

What is "Theory"?

Never Met a Science • 200 implied HN points • 09 Dec 25
đź“– Philosophy Social Science
  1. Natural-language theories fit inside one human brain and are therefore limited by our cognitive capacity, so they struggle to capture complex social systems and often give only vague answers.
  2. The machine-learning 'bitter lesson' shows that scaling data and computation often beats hand-built symbolic theories, so social science should rethink the theory-first paradigm and embrace more data-driven, computational approaches.
  3. Theory should be treated as code and engineered artifacts, and metascience must evaluate platforms, practices, and forecasting so science gains direct apertures to the world and can tell which theories actually work in practice.

Unsafe Science Retrospective

Unsafe Science • 106 implied HN points • 26 Dec 25
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. An independent newsletter platform can protect free inquiry and host open discussion with guest contributors. Paid subscriptions can be used to fund research, backstop projects, and launch alternative journals and conferences.
  2. Academic mobs and cancellation campaigns can target critics of diversity initiatives. Careful public documentation and rebuttal can turn attacks into increased support, new scholarship, and career opportunities.
  3. A central theme is that DEI programs and the politicization of scholarship can be ineffective or harmful. If academia remains highly partisan, it risks losing funding, credibility, and the ability to function effectively.

Open Thread 310

Astral Codex Ten • 4749 implied HN points • 08 Jan 24
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Weekly open thread for sharing anything or asking questions.
  2. Seeking volunteers in different expertise areas for reviewing proposals.
  3. Discussion on the impact of distinctively black names on job interviews and life outcomes.

Inequality Has Become Its Own Explanation

Journal of Free Black Thought • 50 implied HN points • 23 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Social Science
  1. Calling disparities "systemic racism" without naming specific policies or institutional practices and showing they caused the outcomes is circular and not an explanation.
  2. Rare acts of discrimination can produce large group gaps in competitive selection processes, so low measured rates of discriminatory acts can coexist with big disparities—but that dynamic alone does not identify a discriminatory system.
  3. Programs like implicit bias training and generic DEI often have weak effects; a more effective approach is structuring decisions so evaluators must consider concrete, job‑relevant individuating information, which greatly reduces biased judgments.

Defining Interpersonal Trust

Heterodox STEM • 71 implied HN points • 11 Dec 25
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Leading researchers treat the World Values Survey question “most people can be trusted” as a measure of interpersonal trust, not just trust in people you personally know.
  2. Factor analyses show that this question loads with trust in strangers rather than with trust in friends and family, so it captures a generalized form of interpersonal trust toward unfamiliar people.
  3. As a result, mainstream social-science studies use that survey item to measure interpersonal trust in research on social capital and economic growth, contradicting narrower definitions that limit interpersonal trust to known individuals.

The Effect of Education on Fertility

Bet On It • 176 implied HN points • 20 Aug 25
🚌 Education Social Science
  1. People with higher education tend to have fewer children compared to those with lower education levels. This trend is seen not just in the U.S., but also in many countries worldwide.
  2. Education has a strong influence on fertility rates, with women's education having a greater impact than men's. More educated women often choose to delay or limit having kids.
  3. While some might see education as a good way to control population growth, low fertility rates in developed countries could be a concern for future generations. This shows that education's effects on population are complex.

An Exam for the Social Code

In My Tribe • 182 implied HN points • 19 Jul 25
🚌 Education Social Science
  1. Understanding social issues is complex and requires different thinking than just what works for small groups.
  2. It's important to recognize that truth about society isn't always clear, and not everyone sees it the same way.
  3. We need better ways to manage discussions, especially on social media, to help everyone share their views constructively.

New Models presents Kevin Munger on Vilem Flusser's Communicology

Do Not Research • 259 implied HN points • 14 Dec 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Social Science
  1. Kevin Munger delves into Vilém Flusser's 'Communicology' thesis, published by Stanford University Press in 2022
  2. Flusser's work highlights a significant shift in communication methods seen in the 1970s, now accelerated by modern networked media
  3. The lecture on 'Communicology' was presented by Munger at Trauma Bar und Kino, Berlin, emphasizing the evolving landscape of human communication

being honest about dishonesty

bad cattitude • 203 implied HN points • 28 May 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Social Science
  1. Dishonesty in academia has become a major issue, especially in progressive studies. Many researchers manipulate data to fit their narratives rather than focusing on truthful outcomes.
  2. There is a conflict between facts and the narratives some groups promote. This often leads to the suppression of real data to support specific ideologies or agendas.
  3. It’s important to question the integrity of studies that align closely with political beliefs. If researchers prioritize their ideologies over honest research, it can damage the credibility of science.

The Buckingham Manifesto for a Post-Progressive Social Science

Unsafe Science • 122 implied HN points • 04 Aug 25
🚌 Education Social Science
  1. The social sciences have become too focused on progressive ideals, which can stifle diverse viewpoints and limit research. It's important to promote openness to different ideas and approaches in these fields.
  2. A fresh perspective called 'Critical Woke Studies' is needed to understand the rise of wokeness in academia and its impact on society. This study can help uncover the historical roots and motivations behind this ideology.
  3. There is a call for a new type of university or research center that values free inquiry and diverse opinions. This new approach could help rebuild trust in academic institutions and foster productive discussions.

New Vindication for the Regnerus Same-Sex Parenting Study

Unsafe Science • 103 implied HN points • 20 Aug 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Social Science
  1. The Regnerus study looked at the outcomes of children raised by same-sex parents compared to those with biological parents. It found that children with biological parents generally fared better across many areas.
  2. Recent analyses have confirmed the original findings of the Regnerus study, even under various scrutiny and different analytical methods. This suggests that the study's conclusions about family structures are more robust than previously thought.
  3. Critiques of the Regnerus study focused on its classifications and methodology, arguing they might have overstated the differences. However, newer analyses argue that both family transitions and the involvement of same-sex parents have measurable impacts on child outcomes.

Work in progress on natural selection in the US

Wyclif's Dust • 1073 implied HN points • 17 Sep 23
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Polygenic scores predicting education levels also predict fertility in opposite directions.
  2. Economic theory explains the relationship between income, education, and number of children.
  3. US data on natural selection shows differences compared to the UK, possibly influenced by factors like welfare support and class distinctions.

Two more random studies I found interesting

Samstack • 807 implied HN points • 14 Nov 23
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Support for right-wing parties may increase after right-wing terrorist attacks, contrary to previous evidence on political violence.
  2. Discrimination against women for jobs historically held by men has been non-existent since 2009, but there may still be bias in favor of female applicants.
  3. Meta-analyses, like the one discussed, offer valuable insights when designed carefully and with expert input to avoid bias.

NIH Staff Revolt Promotes Propaganda about Diversity

Unsafe Science • 91 implied HN points • 11 Jun 25
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Some NIH staff signed a declaration to object to Trump administration policies, especially regarding diversity in research funding. They believe these policies hurt scientific progress.
  2. The declaration claims that diverse research teams are essential for better outcomes. However, this claim has faced criticism for lacking strong evidence.
  3. Critics argue that many signatories may not be qualified to comment on social science issues since their expertise is primarily in STEM fields, which could undermine the credibility of their statements.

Metascience Manquè

Never Met a Science • 50 implied HN points • 17 Jul 25
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. Metascience is struggling because it's too focused on just replicating studies, rather than exploring deeper questions about what science is and how it could improve. This limits its potential.
  2. Communication between different scientific fields can be helpful, but it often leads to misunderstandings about methods and goals. This can result in a distorted view of what science really is.
  3. To make science better, we need to rethink how we share knowledge. Relying only on traditional formats like PDFs isn't working anymore. More flexible and collaborative ways of sharing research could lead to better science.

Addressing Research Fraud

The Good Science Project • 89 implied HN points • 27 Jan 25
🔬 Science Social Science
  1. The Good Science Project aims to help investigate research fraud and support whistleblowers. They want to make it easier for people to report misconduct in science.
  2. Research fraud is a common problem, with many scientists admitting to questionable practices. Reports suggest that a significant number of researchers have seen or engaged in misconduct.
  3. The project plans to provide legal and educational resources for those worried about speaking out against fraud. They want to empower more people to come forward about their concerns.

How Dare They Not Denounce Me as a Racist!

Unsafe Science • 122 implied HN points • 28 Oct 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Social Science
  1. Critics of microaggression research often face accusations of racism, which can stifle scientific discussion. It's important for science to allow critical evaluation without labeling dissenters negatively.
  2. Many claims about microaggressions lack strong scientific backing. Researchers have not effectively shown that microaggressions are widespread, harmful, or caused by racism.
  3. The current approach to discussing microaggressions may threaten free speech and genuine academic inquiry. It's essential to keep an open mind and question research claims for a healthy scientific environment.

Confronting Hereditary Talent and Its Social Consequences

Holodoxa • 99 implied HN points • 14 Mar 23
đź“š Literature Social Science
  1. In his book _The Cult of Smart_, Fredrik deBoer argues against the notion that intelligence defines human worth, highlighting how society disproportionately rewards the academically gifted.
  2. DeBoer challenges the blank slate ideology, emphasizing the influence of genetic variation on cognitive traits over social or environmental factors, leading to implications in education and policy.
  3. DeBoer proposes societal reforms like universal healthcare and basic income to address the unequal distribution of inherited talents, challenging the idea of meritocracy as the ultimate goal for a fair society.

Is capitalism making you lonely?

inexactscience • 2 HN points • 13 Aug 24
đź“– Philosophy Social Science
  1. There is a loneliness epidemic seen around the world, and some people think capitalism might be contributing to it.
  2. Research shows a moderate negative relationship between economic freedom and loneliness. When economic freedom increases, loneliness tends to decrease.
  3. While there are arguments that capitalism could increase loneliness, such as encouraging long working hours and individualism, the data suggests that capitalism, in fact, may help reduce feelings of loneliness.

Sex, Violence, and Cognitive Prisons

Journal of Free Black Thought • 21 implied HN points • 28 Jul 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Social Science
  1. Science should focus on facts without being influenced by personal beliefs or ideologies. Keeping scientific information objective helps everyone understand issues better and make informed decisions.
  2. Gender and biological sex are different, and confusing them can lead to misunderstandings in research. It's important to clarify these terms for clearer communication and accurate results.
  3. Addressing concerns around safety and fear should consider human nature and perceptions. Understanding the reasons behind fear can lead to more effective solutions rather than relying on ideological perspectives.

SociaLLM: proposal for a language model design for personalised apps, social science, and AI safety research

Engineering Ideas • 19 implied HN points • 19 Dec 23
đź•ą Technology Social Science
  1. SociaLLM is a foundation language model trained on chat, dialogue, and forum data with stable message authors and timestamps.
  2. Industrial applications of SociaLLM include personalized content recommendations, customer service, education, and mental health support.
  3. SociaLLM has research and AI safety applications in social science, collective intelligence, and studying mechanisms to prevent deception and collusion in AI.

"A Theory of Everyone" by Michael Muthukrishna

Optimally Irrational • 33 implied HN points • 18 Nov 24
đź“š Literature Social Science
  1. Muthukrishna's book looks at human behavior and society through four key ideas: energy, innovation, cooperation, and evolution. These ideas help explain how life and societies develop over time.
  2. The author connects concepts from physics and social sciences, showing how energy sources have influenced human progress and how cooperation among people has been crucial for success.
  3. The book also offers insights into today's social issues, suggesting ways to improve democracy and education, while pushing for more cooperation and innovation to tackle challenges like inequality and political division.