Nightmare Evolution

Evolution And Archaeology

Sarah Constantin | Rough Diamonds | 16th June 2022

When and why did Homo Sapiens become so smart? This is part one of a three-part series, so we will have to await the final answer, but it all kicks off promisingly with an overview of life on Earth, and scenarios showing how a modest early uptick in the human skill-set might have triggered positive feedback loops which briskly (by geological time) elevated humans into a league of their own (1,200 words)

Nightmares

Scott Alexander | Astral Codex Ten | 15th June 2022

Scott Alexander, a psychiatrist in offline life, shares for comment a draft article on treating nightmares. Nightmares happen "when the process of dream generation is biased by ambient stress" — so anything that reduces stress may help. Therapies include Image Rehearsal, Systematic Desensitization, and Lucid Dreaming. The "standard anti-nightmare drug" is Prazosin. Many good comments (2,100 words)