Astral Codex Ten

Astralcodexten Com

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Astralcodexten Com

Article

Astralcodexten Com is a recurring organization in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 71 times across 71 issues between February 04, 2021 and April 01, 2026. The archive places it in contexts such as “Thanks to everyone who has waited patiently for more information on this”; “Subject: Astralcodexten Com”; “ket, carrying a sign that says ACX MEETUP”. It most often appears alongside ACX, Discord, Berkeley.

Metadata

  • Category: Organizations
  • Mention count: 71
  • Issue count: 71
  • First seen: February 04, 2021
  • Last seen: April 01, 2026

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Book Review Contest Final Rules
February 04, 2021 · Original source
I planned a book review contest for last summer, which I didn’t get to do because of my unexpected hiatus. I currently have 31 entries, none of which I've read yet.
Inline links: a book review contest
Thanks to everyone who has waited patiently for more information on this.
Open Thread 179
July 04, 2021 · Original source
3: In my review of PIHKaL a long time ago, I mention that Ann Shulgin claimed to, as a child, have a very odd series of specific visions almost every time she went to sleep - and also claimed to have met other people with similar experiences. I asked if any readers had this, and nobody spoke up. I recently met a friend who had done jhana meditation, and says that some aspects of Shulgin’s experience remind her of that. I’ve heard things about kids potentially experiencing jhanas when falling asleep, though most of them seem to grow out of it, so I consider this a pretty satisfying solution to this weird mystery.
Inline links: my review of PIHKaL
Please Take The Reader Survey [Update: Now It Is Closed And You Can Stop Taking It]
July 16, 2021 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Meetups Everywhere 2021: Times And Places
August 23, 2021 · Original source
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (RSVP) Contact: DS, 87robertjames[at]gmail[dot]com Time: 3:00 PM, Sunday, September 5 Location: Delta Park, within 100m of the parking area on the west. I will be wearing a red shirt or jacket, carrying a sign that says ACX MEETUP. Coordinates: https://w3w.co/holiday.crashing.custom
Inline links: RSVP, https://w3w.co/holiday.crashing.custom
Washington DC Meetup This Saturday
September 10, 2021 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 200
November 28, 2021 · Original source
This is the weekly visible open thread. In fact, it’s the two hundredth open thread! For historical reference, you can find Open Thread 1 here. Post about whatever you want. Also:
Inline links: here
Open Thread 222
May 01, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Berkeley Meetup This Saturday
May 06, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 223
May 08, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 227
June 05, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 230
June 27, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 232
July 10, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Your Book Review: The Righteous Mind
July 15, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 237
August 14, 2022 · Original source
2: I’m still interested in testing some prompts on one of the bigger post-DALLE2 image models (PARTI? Imagen?) in order to resolve a bet. Please get in touch with me (scott@slatestarcodex.com) if you can help.
Open Thread 241
September 12, 2022 · Original source
1: Book Review Contest winners should have received their money and subscriptions. If you think you should have, but haven’t, email me at scott@slatestarcodex.com. I haven’t received payment details for Roger or Chaostician; please email me, and if you’ve already tried emailing me please include “This is a genuine nonspam message” in your email to make sure my spam filter didn’t get it.
Open Thread 243
September 26, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 246
October 17, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 247
October 24, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 253
December 05, 2022 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 261
January 30, 2023 · Original source
2: A team from the University of East London is doing much-needed research into Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder, where people who use psychedelics continue to hallucinate for months or years after the drug has left their system. If you have this condition, they would appreciate it if you took their survey.
Inline links: Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder, took their survey
Impact Market Mini-Grants Update
March 03, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Spring Meetups Everywhere 2023
April 10, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Highlights From The Comments On IRBs
April 17, 2023 · Original source
Regarding (2), see the full story of my IRB experience written up here for how the attempt to get a waiver of consent went.
Inline links: the full story of my IRB experience written up here
Open Thread 273
April 24, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 274
May 01, 2023 · Original source
2: Related: if you think you entered the contest, but your review isn’t included in the documents or isn’t listed as an option on the dropdown in the rating form, please email scott@slatestarcodex.com with “This is a genuine nonspam message” somewhere in the text so my spam filter doesn’t eat it, let me know what’s missing, and maybe send me a backup copy in case the original got lost.
Open Thread 275
May 08, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 278
May 29, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 286
July 23, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 287
July 30, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Your Book Review: The Mind Of A Bee
August 18, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Meetups Everywhere 2023: Times & Places
August 25, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 295
September 25, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 298
October 16, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 299
October 23, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 302
November 13, 2023 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 310
January 08, 2024 · Original source
1: I‘m looking for an EEG expert, a TCMS expert, and a very-finicky-high-level statistics expert to (on a volunteer basis) review certain ACX Grants proposals. This would require anywhere between 10 - 60 minutes of work (depending on how thoroughly you wanted to review it) looking over one or two grant proposals in your area and telling me how likely they are to work. If this is you, please email me at scott@slatestarcodex.com. Please don’t apply if you’re involved in any of the grant proposals under review. Update: I’ve already gotten enough volunteers for this, thank you!
24
February 20, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 318
March 04, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Spring Meetups Everywhere 2024 - Call For Organizers
March 08, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Spring Meetups Everywhere 2024
March 30, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 324
April 08, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 329
May 13, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 333
June 10, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 336
July 01, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Your Book Review: Two Arms and a Head
August 02, 2024 · Original source
But most of us will die by very slow decay.
Inline links: by very slow decay
Meetups Everywhere 2024: Times & Places
August 29, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Berkeley Meetup This Saturday
September 14, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 348
September 23, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
How Often Do Men Think About Rome?
September 24, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 350
October 07, 2024 · Original source
1: I sent Book Review Contest finalists and Honorable Mentionees an email requesting a short biography to use in the announcement post. But because I foolishly included the word “congratulations”, many people said it got caught in their spam filter. If you’re a finalist and didn’t get the email, either retrieve it from your spam filter, or just send me (scott@slatestarcodex.com) a short bio of yourself like the ones here, including however you want me to publicly list your name (pseudonym? etc). I’ll announce winners Friday.
Inline links: here
Open Thread 354
November 04, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 366
January 27, 2025 · Original source
1: I’m working as a media/writing consultant for an AI forecasting project, and we’re looking for leads on a mainstream news outlet (eg NYT, WaPo) and a policy/defense/intelligence/foreign affairs journal/magazine who would be willing to let us pitch you an article on the future of AI. The main author would be an ex-OpenAI researcher previously profiled in major publications (eg NYT), who is running a big forecasting project and wants to do a media push around the time they release their results. The forecast is shaping up to be “superintelligence by 2028” - but if your target audience isn’t into that, they also have plenty of predictions and recommendations about normal stuff like China, arms races, chips, etc in the 2025 - 2027 period that they think the policy community might want to know about. Send me an email at scott@slatestarcodex.com if you’re interested or know someone who might be.
Open Thread 372
March 10, 2025 · Original source
2: Thanks to everyone who went to the PEPFAR protest on Friday. Reports from the front say that everything went well, although I am told that at least one person mangled the “Let’s fight AIDS! Let’s save babies!” chant into “Let’s fight babies!” If you have more effort to spare on this topic, the next step would be to call your senator; see here for more information.
Inline links: see here
Open Thread 380
May 05, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 383
May 26, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 386
June 16, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 391
July 21, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Your Review: The Astral Codex Ten Commentariat (“Why Do We Suck?”)
July 26, 2025 · Original source
The SSC-era is highlighted in blue. You can see that it shows something a bit like a classic sigmoidal adoption curve (but wearing a top hat). Post engagement starts low, before rapidly shooting up in 2014-15. It peaks in April 2016 – which is highlighted in red in this and all subsequent graphs so you can track peak engagement - before dropping back to a steady level of around 400-600 comments per post for the next three years. Notably, the run of posts that most people regard as being the ‘Golden Age’ for Scott’s writing happens much earlier than peak engagement with the comments section. People disagree about where this run of exceptionally good posts in quick succession start and ends, but I think you could safely say it has definitely begun by the time of The Control Group is Out of Control (although I would date it a little earlier, personally) and ends with either The Toxoplasmosa of Rage or Untitled – basically 2014 has a high density of ‘important’ posts.
Inline links: The Control Group is Out of Control, Toxoplasmosa of Rage, Untitled
Complexity of thought – Perhaps the most important feature distinguishing the ACX Commentariat from other, lesser, blogs is that some really smart people comment here and give novel and well-nuanced takes on a topic. If this ever disappeared it would not matter about any of the other three features, because the Commentariat would effectively be dead anyway. To me, these broad categories represent the unique and positive features of the SSC/ACX Commentariat, and the extent to which they are present is a reasonable indicator of comment section quality, especially if they are all present at the same timepoint and that timepoint happens to line up with peak engagement in 2016 (this is foreshadowing). To generate data on the ACX Commentariat, I scraped the comments section of every post Scott has made since 2013. The Old Ones whisper of a blog that existed before even Slate Star Codex, but since I’m not 100% certain we’re encouraged to talk about the older blog (and nobody dates the golden era of Scott’s writing to pre-2013 anyway) I kept my scraping to just the two websites we’re definitely allowed to talk about; Slate Star Codex (SSC) and Astral Codex Ten (ACX). The main points of failure with my scraping were Subscriber-only threads (which my algorithm virtuously refused to read as it wasn’t a subscriber) and battling with the Substack UI to get all the comments to load for me simultaneously on larger threads. Nevertheless, between my incompetent code and the jaunty Substack UI I only dropped a few comments on even very long threads, so I figured the data scrape would be adequate for the use-case I had for it. I then used a bunch more janky code (some written by me, some written by ChatGPT) to try and quantify the levels of depth, freedom, politeness and complexity of each comment. I captured 2460 individual posts, and approximately 1.8m comments. Of the 24,486 unique comment authors, around 40% have made only one comment to the blog. The most prolific poster is the irrepressible Deiseach, at 20,685 contributions. Deiseach is also the only commentor to have made a comment on both the first post in my sample and the last, so has been with the blog a very long time! Only one other commentor has made more contributions than Scott (11,249), and this is John Schilling (11,607). The quality of data on individual users is not great for the ACX era (Substack seems to record missing author data in a few different ways, and sometimes swallow data for no reason) but I’m happy to give the rank ordering of anyone else who cares to know their specific level of clout in this niche community - I myself am the 799th most prolific contributor to the comments section (225 comments). I’m also delighted to share my raw data with anyone interested – the summary statistics per post are here. The scraped comments themselves are about 2Gb so I don’t know where I can host them but if anyone has any ideas (and Scott doesn’t mind) I’ll share them too. I know that some of the post titles seem to have turned into hieroglyphics, but as far as I can tell it is cosmetic only and won’t affect any of the actual data – it is a symptom of a cool hidden feature of Microsoft Excel where it open UTF-8 encoded CSVs in a way that garbles special characters for no particular reason. Considering each of these factors in turn: Depth of engagement with a topic
Inline links: first post, the last, here
This graph shows that around 9% of comments will contain at least one token indicating the comment is discussing a sensitive topic, with a range of about 6% to 14%, disregarding the very early years where small sample size made the data more variable. There wasn’t any one ‘sensitive’ token in particular which correlated exceptionally well with the rise and fall of this 6% to 14%, which implies to me that we have correctly identified a general factor of ‘willingness to discuss sensitive topics’ (or possibly that the peaks and troughs correspond to peaks and troughs in the external landscape – ie specific touchpoints and lulls in the Culture War – which would also be fine for the purpose we’re putting it to). This is an imperfect measure because it only tracks if someone is using a sensitive phrase and not whether they are using it in a heretical way (cf. ‘fifty Stalins’ here). However, I thought in the context of ACX posts the approach was probably reasonable – sensitive phrases are only likely to appear if they are being discussed a lot, and we know from the previous section that discussion depth is high both now and during the 2016 peak engagement period. It isn’t necessarily true that deep discussion implies spirited debate - some political discussions on reddit can go into the thousands of comments without anyone ever actually expressing a counter-orthodoxy view – but I think in the specific context of ACX it is reasonable, because we don’t generally have norms of expressing substanceless agreement. Hopefully, therefore, the changing ratio of socially or professionally sensitive phrases to phrases not included in my dictionary would tell us something about the willingness of the comment section to engage in potentially emotive discussions at any point in time. The relationship of occurrence of these tokens to engagement with the comment section is hard to draw clear conclusions from – although the peak does indeed look to be about 2016 or 2017 the data are noisy, and strongly affected by the choice of words to include in my dictionary. I picked the dictionary before I saw the data, but perhaps a different set of words would have given a different result, especially if I had a better way of identifying sensitive discussions around COVID (‘ivermectin’ was the only COVID-related word I could think of that became politicised in the same way ‘microaggression’ or ‘misgender’ did). Nevertheless, I would say this gives some weak support to the idea that 2016 was a turning point in SSC Commentariat free speech norms (and strong support to the idea that the start of ACX was a low point for discussion of sensitive topics) I include below a few specific sensitive phrases which I thought were interesting. Do note the different scales on each graph. Of particular interest to me is the ‘SJW’ graph, which has a really clear peak at exactly the high point of Commentariat engagement. I will return to this graph later in the review. Politeness
Inline links: here, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DD3w!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd75c3c55-0fc8-4c3e-bd67-7d1f406d2df5_723x428.png
Open Thread 392
July 28, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Fall Meetups Everywhere - Call for Organizers
August 06, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Meetups Everywhere 2025: Times and Places
August 29, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 398
September 08, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 408
November 17, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 412
December 15, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 415
January 05, 2026 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 417
January 19, 2026 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 418
January 26, 2026 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 419
February 02, 2026 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 421
February 16, 2026 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Open Thread 424
March 09, 2026 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Meetups Everywhere Spring 2026: Times & Places
April 01, 2026 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.