Scott Alexander criticizes a New York Times article for misrepresenting economists' views on education vouchers, showing the data actually indicates more support than opposition among economists. Longer summary

Scott Alexander critiques a New York Times article about economists' views on education vouchers. The article claims economists generally don't support free market approaches to education, but Scott points out that the survey data cited actually shows more economists support vouchers than oppose them. He argues this misrepresentation is poor journalistic practice and hopes for a correction. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes the health risks of eating processed meat, demonstrating how to put such risks in perspective and interpret mortality statistics accurately. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the importance of putting health risks in perspective, using the example of a recent study linking processed meat consumption to increased cancer risk. He calculates that eating processed meat daily might reduce life expectancy by about three weeks, or roughly a minute per serving. He then expands on how to interpret relative risk increases in mortality, explaining that a 20% increase in mortality doesn't mean reducing lifespan by 20%, but rather a much smaller effect. The post emphasizes the need to distinguish between absolute and relative risk, and to consider the trade-offs between health risks and quality of life when making dietary decisions. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander shares and comments on highlighted passages from 'The Two-Income Trap', covering various economic and political issues related to bankruptcy and financial distress. Longer summary

This post lists and comments on various passages highlighted by Scott Alexander in his copy of 'The Two-Income Trap' by Elizabeth Warren. The excerpts cover topics such as bankruptcy trends, job insecurity, gender differences in financial distress, public school perception, housing affordability, and political maneuvering around bankruptcy legislation. Scott provides his own commentary on these passages, often highlighting unexpected trends, questioning statistical presentations, or noting interesting political dynamics. Shorter summary