Scott reviews a biography of John von Neumann, exploring the mathematician's life, genius, and views on existential risk from technology. Longer summary

This post reviews 'The Man From The Future', a biography of John von Neumann by Ananyo Bhattacharya. It covers von Neumann's early life and education in Hungary, his extraordinary intellectual abilities, his work on various scientific fields, and his views on existential risks from technology. The review explores theories about why so many geniuses emerged from Hungary in the early 20th century, details von Neumann's personality and social skills, and discusses his controversial views on nuclear war. It ends with von Neumann's thoughts on how humanity might survive the dangers of rapid technological progress. 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

Scott Alexander argues for valuing thinkers who produce original ideas, even if they're often wrong, criticizing the tendency to dismiss intellectuals for their mistakes. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the value of thinkers who generate original ideas, even if they also produce many incorrect ones. He uses the metaphor of a 'black box' that generates hypotheses, arguing that even with a low success rate, such a device would be incredibly valuable. He then applies this concept to real-world geniuses like Newton and Einstein, who despite some questionable ideas, produced groundbreaking work. Scott argues for 'positive selection' in intellectual pursuits, where a single good idea should outweigh multiple bad ones. He criticizes the tendency to dismiss thinkers entirely for having some wrong ideas, which he terms 'intellectual outrage culture'. The post concludes by emphasizing that even deeply flawed thinkers can provide valuable insights. Shorter summary

The post reviews Laszlo Polgar's book on raising genius children, discussing his educational philosophy and methods, while noting that his success likely comes from early specialization, focus, and one-on-one instruction. Longer summary

This post reviews Laszlo Polgar's book 'Raise A Genius!', which details his methods for educating children to become geniuses. The author notes that while Polgar doesn't reveal many specific secrets, he emphasizes early specialization, intensive focus on a single subject, and continuous learning. The book discusses Polgar's educational philosophy, including the importance of making learning enjoyable, fostering a sense of accomplishment, and adapting instruction to the child's age and abilities. The review also explores Polgar's views on play, peer interaction, curriculum design, and competition. The author concludes that while Polgar's advice is mostly common sense, his success may be attributed to starting early, focusing on one subject, providing one-on-one instruction, and being a naturally gifted educator. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores Laszlo Polgar's successful educational methods that produced chess prodigies, analyzing possible explanations and lamenting the unavailability of Polgar's book on his techniques. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the extraordinary success of Laszlo Polgar's educational methods, which produced three chess prodigy daughters. He examines possible explanations for their success, including genetic factors, practice, and potential unique educational techniques. Scott expresses frustration at being unable to find Polgar's book detailing his methods, and considers the implications of such effective educational techniques. He compares the Polgar sisters' education favorably to typical public schooling, questioning why such potentially revolutionary methods aren't more widely known or implemented. Shorter summary

Scott examines the phenomenon of Hungarian scientific geniuses in the early 20th century, attributing it to a high concentration of high-IQ Ashkenazi Jews in Budapest rather than exceptional education. Longer summary

Scott explores the phenomenon of Hungarian scientific geniuses in the early 20th century, initially attributed to exceptional education. He debunks this theory, showing that many of these geniuses were prodigies before formal schooling. Scott then reveals that all these geniuses were Jewish, linking their success to the high IQ of Ashkenazi Jews as explained by Cochran, Hardy, and Harpending's theory. He notes that Hungary, particularly Budapest, had an unusually high concentration of Jews at that time. The post concludes by discussing the tragic end of this golden age due to the Holocaust, and speculates on whether we've lost something unique from that era of scientific progress. Shorter summary