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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2 posts found
Sep 13, 2023
acx
75 min 10,417 words 985 comments 317 likes podcast (49 min)
Scott reviews Ashlee Vance's 2015 Elon Musk biography, analyzing Musk's personality, work ethic, and business strategies to understand his successes and controversies. Longer summary
This book review analyzes Ashlee Vance's 2015 biography of Elon Musk, examining Musk's personality, work ethic, and business strategies. The review explores Musk's engineering abilities, management style, and the reasons behind his companies' successes despite controversial decisions. It discusses Musk's intense focus, his tendency to set unrealistic timelines, and his impact on employees. The review also touches on Musk's social skills, his approach to PR, and speculates on his future success with Twitter/X. Shorter summary
May 28, 2021
acx
55 min 7,635 words 288 comments 58 likes podcast (50 min)
A critical review of Rutger Bregman's 'Humankind', analyzing its argument that human nature is fundamentally good, while highlighting both flaws and valuable insights in the book. Longer summary
This review critiques Rutger Bregman's book 'Humankind', which argues that human nature is fundamentally good. The reviewer analyzes Bregman's arguments, pointing out logical inconsistencies and cherry-picked data, while also acknowledging some valuable insights. The book covers topics such as human behavior during crises, the nature of empathy and power, and alternative approaches to management and democracy. The review concludes that while Bregman's thesis has flaws, his core message about trusting and respecting others more has merit. Shorter summary