Scott reviews Bryan Caplan's book arguing that modern parents can relax their intensive parenting, while wrestling with whether this advice still applies in the age of smartphones and social media. Longer summary

Scott reviews Bryan Caplan's book 'Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids', exploring its main arguments about how parents today spend much more time on childcare than previous generations despite evidence that parenting style doesn't greatly affect outcomes. The post explores historical childcare data, the cultural shift away from letting kids play unsupervised, and modern challenges like screen time. Scott, dealing with his own twins, finds the book's advice about relaxing parenting standards compelling but struggles with modern concerns about phones and technology that weren't relevant when the book was written in 2011. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues against Erik Hoel's claim that the decline of 'aristocratic tutoring' explains the perceived lack of modern geniuses, offering alternative explanations and counterexamples. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques Erik Hoel's essay on the decline of geniuses, which attributes this decline to the loss of 'aristocratic tutoring'. Scott argues that this explanation is insufficient, providing counterexamples of historical geniuses who weren't aristocratically tutored. He also points out that fields like music, where such tutoring is still common, still experience a perceived decline in genius. Scott proposes alternative explanations for the apparent lack of modern geniuses, including the increasing difficulty of finding new ideas, the distribution of progress across more researchers, and changing social norms around celebrating individual brilliance. He suggests that newer, smaller fields like AI and AI alignment still produce recognizable geniuses, supporting his view that the apparent decline is more about the maturity and size of fields than about educational methods. Shorter summary

The review examines Nicholson Baker's 'Double Fold', a critique of libraries replacing original books and newspapers with inferior microfilm copies. Longer summary

This review discusses Nicholson Baker's book 'Double Fold', which criticizes the widespread practice of American libraries discarding original books and newspapers in favor of microfilm copies. The review outlines Baker's arguments against this practice, including the loss of historical artifacts, the poor quality of microfilm, and the flawed science behind claims of paper deterioration. It also touches on the responses to Baker's book and reflects on its relevance 20 years after publication. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the history of increasing competitiveness in college admissions, analyzing causes and questioning whether the focus on elite college admission is justified. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the history of college admissions and the increasing competitiveness in recent years. He traces the evolution from a time when top colleges admitted almost anyone qualified to the current highly competitive landscape. The post examines various factors contributing to this change, including increased applications per student, changing demographics, and shifts in evaluation criteria. Scott also investigates whether the intense focus on college admissions is justified, given research suggesting that attending a selective college may not significantly impact most students' long-term outcomes. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of links on topics including architecture, history, science, politics, and economics, offering brief commentaries and insights on each. Longer summary

This post is a collection of various links and brief commentaries on diverse topics. Scott Alexander covers subjects ranging from architecture and history to science, politics, and economics. He discusses the Obama Presidential Library, unusual historical facts, effective altruism, AI policy careers, Bitcoin mining, and scientific studies on parenting and voter ID laws. The post also touches on topics like gender discrimination in tech, nuclear energy startups, and dietary trends. Throughout, Scott provides his characteristic mix of curiosity, skepticism, and humor in discussing these wide-ranging subjects. Shorter summary

A links post featuring various news stories, research findings, and interesting facts, from Jewish pirates to ancient Roman artifacts to the fallout of various Trump-related controversies. Longer summary

This is a links post covering diverse topics in news and research. Stories include historical facts (like Jewish pirates in the Caribbean), scientific research (BDNF and sunlight correlation, Leek & Jager's paper on scientific findings), current events (Trump's FDA pick, immigration numbers, anti-Semitic incidents), technological developments (Uber self-driving cars, electric planes), and various social and political topics. The post follows Scott's typical links format, offering brief commentary and often humorous observations on each link. Shorter summary

A collection of interesting links covering topics like Chinese religion, economics, science, and technology, with commentary on their broader implications. Longer summary

This is a links post collecting various interesting news and studies from around the internet. Topics range from Chinese religion to Venezuelan economics, from police body cameras to psychedelics research. Notable items include studies about police body cameras reducing misconduct, BPA affecting brain development, and psychedelics potentially protecting against mental illness. The post also covers geopolitical developments like Cuba-US relations and Venezuela's economic troubles, as well as scientific advances like AI poker and mammoth cloning. Shorter summary

A links roundup covering topics from ISIS dating sites to space exploration, scientific studies, and cultural observations, featuring Scott's commentary and analysis on each item. Longer summary

This is a links post presenting various news and studies. It covers diverse topics including a dating site run by ISIS, space exploration news about Orion and SpaceX, studies about omega-3 fats and psychosis, Chinese censorship of puns, controversies around doxxing in Ferguson, research on glial cells and intelligence, poker tournament winners linked to effective altruism, and various other scientific studies and cultural observations. Shorter summary

A monthly links post collecting and commenting on various interesting articles and studies from around the web, ranging from scientific research to philosophy to economics. Longer summary

This is a links post collecting various interesting articles and studies from around the web. Topics range from scientific research (like glucosamine effects on lifespan) to economics (like Amazon's employee policies) to philosophy (like debates on free will). Scott provides commentary and analysis on each link, often connecting them to previous discussions or adding his own insights. The post covers a wide variety of subjects including medicine, politics, evolution, and technology, with a mix of serious academic content and more lighthearted items. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander defends social psychology against conservative criticism, arguing that it correctly balances situational and personality factors in human behavior, and proposes a progressive approach that leverages human nature for positive outcomes. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques a conservative perspective on social psychology, arguing that the field correctly recognizes the importance of both situation and personality in human behavior. He explains that social psychology's focus on situational effects doesn't negate the existence of personality traits or genetic influences. Scott uses an analogy of the heart as a series of levers to illustrate how the brain might be hard-coded for malleability. He then shares a hospital anecdote to demonstrate how progressive approaches can effectively use knowledge of human nature to create better outcomes. The post concludes by defining Scott's brand of progressivism as using knowledge of human nature to create structures that encourage prosocial behavior. Shorter summary

Scott argues that social psychology is often misused in political discourse, presenting counterintuitive claims to demonstrate how easily it can be manipulated to support various agendas. Longer summary

This post critiques the use of social psychology in political discourse, arguing that it's often misused to support preexisting beliefs. Scott presents six counterintuitive social psychology claims that oppose common narratives, such as media violence preventing crime and fighting stereotypes increasing prejudice. He argues these claims, while not definitively proven, are as plausible as their more commonly accepted opposites. The post highlights the dangers of using speculative social psychology to justify social engineering, emphasizing that poorly replicated short-term studies can prove almost anything. Scott concludes by advocating for caution and subtlety when applying social psychology findings to social policy. Shorter summary

Scott shares his monthly collection of interesting links spanning science, technology, history, and culture, with commentary on each story's significance or peculiarity. Longer summary

A collection of interesting links from February 2013, covering various topics from scientific discoveries to cultural oddities. The post includes stories about DNA data storage, unusual medical cases, economic statistics, technological advances in AI, historical curiosities like Irish slaves and green children, and various social and political observations. Scott presents these with his characteristic mix of intellectual curiosity and witty commentary, often noting when claims appear exaggerated or deserve skepticism. Shorter summary