Open Thread 158

This is the weekly visible open thread. Odd-numbered open threads will be no-politics, even-numbered threads will be politics-allowed. This one is even-numbered, so go wild. Otherwise, post about whatever you want. Also:

1. Thanks to everyone who commented on the amphetamines thread. The main things I learned: another way of thinking about the difference between racemic, d-, and meth- amphetamine is the ratio of central to peripheral effects. One major reason druggies prefer methamphetamine to unsubstituted is because it’s easier to make. I was wrong about Vyvanse; it gets cleaved by red blood cells, not the liver. And one reader links me to this conspiracy theory (sorry, it’s actually very reasonable, I just can’t help thinking of it that way) that Vyvanse doesn’t have superior pharmacokinetics to other amphetamines at all, and it’s all just Dexedrine + hype; I haven’t had enough time to examine the theory in depth but am interested in people’s thoughts.

2. On the Taxometrics post, most interesting comment was probably from Duncan, who argues that pedophilia might not be as taxonic as it appears - it’s just that you wouldn’t admit you’re a pedophile (or come to anyone’s attention as a pedophile) unless you have such a severe case that there’s no way for you to hide it. This made me think about how many of the supposedly-taxonic conditions were also unusually stigmatizing conditions; draw your own conclusions.

3. And better late than never - I recently learned that one of the economists I cited on my wage stagnation post on Slate Star Codex (February 2019) chimed in with a great comment on explaining her work - you can read it here.

4. Re: the series of Weyl posts - nostalgebraist weighs in. His explanation of what Weyl might have been trying to say helps it make more sense to me (which of course makes it suspect).