Scott Alexander shares and comments on excerpts from Joseph Henrich's 'The Secret of Our Success', exploring cultural evolution and its impact on human societies. Longer summary

This post highlights various passages from Joseph Henrich's book 'The Secret of Our Success', covering topics such as cultural evolution, gene-culture coevolution, social norms, and the development of human cognition and technology. Scott Alexander provides commentary and analysis on these excerpts, drawing connections to other ideas and contemporary issues. Shorter summary

Scott reviews 'The Secret of Our Success' by Joseph Henrich, which argues that culture, not raw intelligence, is key to human success and explores the evolutionary basis for cultural transmission. Longer summary

Scott reviews Joseph Henrich's book 'The Secret of Our Success', which argues that culture, not raw intelligence, is the key to human success. The book explores how humans evolved to transmit culture with high fidelity, how cultural practices often contain hidden wisdom that individuals can't easily figure out on their own, and how reason can sometimes lead people astray from beneficial cultural traditions. Scott finds the book's arguments compelling and sees it as an important contribution to understanding the value of tradition. Shorter summary