How to explore Scott Alexander's work and his 1500+ blog posts? This unaffiliated fan website lets you sort and search through the whole codex. Enjoy!

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4 posts found
Feb 25, 2021
acx
26 min 3,512 words 1,607 comments 542 likes podcast (24 min)
Scott Alexander suggests Republicans should focus on fighting cultural classism to broaden their appeal and unite their base. Longer summary
Scott Alexander proposes a strategy for the Republican Party to pivot towards fighting classism as a way to maintain relevance and appeal to a broader base. He suggests that the party should focus on the cultural aspects of class rather than economic ones, positioning themselves as champions of the working class against the upper class. The post outlines several potential policy areas, including reforming higher education, challenging the concept of expertise, critiquing upper-class media, and reframing the debate on 'wokeness' as a class issue. Alexander argues that this approach could unite various Republican constituencies and potentially attract new voters, including minorities. Shorter summary
Feb 18, 2021
acx
61 min 8,427 words 492 comments 73 likes podcast (49 min)
Scott Alexander responds to comments on his review of 'The Cult of Smart', addressing criticisms and expanding on topics like charter schools, meritocracy, and education reform. Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses various reactions to his review of Freddie DeBoer's book 'The Cult of Smart'. He addresses criticisms of charter schools, clarifies his stance on meritocracy, and elaborates on his negative experiences with schooling. The post also explores ideas about reforming education systems, the tension between order and freedom in schools, and ways to empower less advantaged people in society. Shorter summary
Apr 10, 2018
ssc
12 min 1,596 words 295 comments podcast (13 min)
Scott analyzes the projected drop in DC's high school graduation rates, exploring various explanations and comparing DC to other states, ultimately suggesting widespread inflation of graduation rates elsewhere. Longer summary
This post discusses the projected drop in high school graduation rates in Washington DC from 73% to 42%. Scott examines possible explanations, including incompetent administration, unique challenges due to demographics, and overcorrection from previous fraud. He analyzes test scores and compares DC to other states, finding that DC's scores, while low, don't justify such a low graduation rate. Scott suggests that many other cities might be using fraud and low standards to inflate their graduation rates, and that DC's projected rate might be an overcorrection that unfairly penalizes students. He hopes DC will find ways to graduate more students to align with national norms. Shorter summary
Dec 02, 2016
ssc
45 min 6,286 words 608 comments
Scott Alexander critiques arguments against school vouchers, discussing potential efficiency gains and drawbacks of privatization in education, while proposing experimental approaches to school reform. Longer summary
Scott Alexander critiques Nathan Robinson's arguments against school vouchers, discussing the potential efficiency gains and drawbacks of privatization in education. He compares education to other sectors like healthcare and grocery stores, analyzes the rising costs in public education, and proposes experimental approaches to school reform, including a system of small, home-based schools. Shorter summary