Scott examines a new genetic study on missing heritability that both hereditarians and nurturists claim vindicates their position, concluding that despite the study's advances, the fundamental debate over how heritable traits like IQ actually are remains unresolved. Longer summary

This post discusses a new genetic study that attempted to resolve the "missing heritability" debate - the gap between high heritability estimates from twin studies (50-80%) and low estimates from molecular genetic studies (10-20%). The study used whole-genome sequencing to include rare genetic variants and found they could account for about 88% of expected heritability, but the actual heritability estimates themselves were only medium (30-40%). Both hereditarians and nurturists claimed victory: hereditarians because the gap was closed (proving the genes exist), nurturists because the total heritability found was still lower than twin studies suggested. Scott examines both sides' arguments, including measurement error corrections and various confounders, and concludes that despite everyone's claims, the debate remains fundamentally unresolved as different methods continue producing different estimates with no clear explanation why. Shorter summary

Scott explores the 'missing heritability' problem in genetics, where twin studies show traits like IQ and educational attainment are highly heritable but newer genomic methods find much lower heritability, analyzing various potential explanations for this discrepancy. Longer summary

The post examines the 'missing heritability' problem in genetics, where twin studies consistently show behavioral traits like IQ and educational attainment are substantially heritable (around 40-60%), while newer genomic methods find much lower heritability (around 15-20%). Scott reviews the history of behavioral genetics research, explains various study methodologies and their potential biases, and analyzes different hypotheses for this discrepancy. He examines whether twin studies might be flawed, whether newer methods might be missing important genetic effects, and whether educational attainment might be an unusually problematic trait to study. While acknowledging remaining mysteries, he tentatively concludes that twin studies are probably largely correct and that newer methods may be missing rare variants and genetic interactions. Shorter summary

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 reviews 'Unlearn Your Pain', finding its psychosomatic theory of chronic pain intriguing but overstated, while acknowledging the book's techniques may still be helpful via placebo effects. Longer summary

Scott reviews the book 'Unlearn Your Pain' by Dr. Howard Schubiner, which argues that most chronic pain is psychosomatic and can be cured through psychological techniques. While Scott finds some of the book's claims intriguing, he is skeptical of its more sweeping assertions about the psychological origins of pain. He examines the evidence for and against psychosomatic theories of chronic pain, concluding that while psychological factors likely play a role, the book overstates its case and ignores contradictory evidence. Scott suggests the book's techniques may work primarily through placebo effects rather than by addressing repressed trauma as claimed. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews research on teacher effectiveness, examining Value-Added Modeling (VAM) and its criticisms, while expressing uncertainty about claimed long-term impacts on adult earnings. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews research on teacher effectiveness, focusing on Value-Added Modeling (VAM) and its criticisms. He explores studies showing teachers account for about 10% of variance in student test scores, with effects decaying quickly over time. However, some controversial studies claim long-term impacts on adult earnings. Scott examines methodological issues, potential biases, and alternative explanations, ultimately expressing uncertainty about the validity of these long-term effects. He suggests non-cognitive factors like behavior might explain persistent impacts if they exist, but remains skeptical given the contrast with research showing minimal parental influence on outcomes. Shorter summary

Scott shares and comments on various news articles and studies, covering topics from police tactics and Trump's campaign to behavioral genetics and dietary research. Longer summary

A diverse collection of links covering various topics, with Scott Alexander's commentary on each. The post includes news about politics, scientific studies, and cultural phenomena. Highlights include a discussion of police tactics against drug dealers, updates on Trump's campaign, studies about bombing in Vietnam, diet research, and behavioral genetics. The post maintains a light and sometimes humorous tone while discussing serious topics, with Scott adding his characteristic analytical perspective and occasional wit to each link. Shorter summary