The review examines Yukichi Fukuzawa's autobiography, highlighting his role in modernizing Japan and his humorous, insightful account of 19th century Japanese society. Longer summary

This review discusses the autobiography of Yukichi Fukuzawa, a prominent figure in 19th century Japan whose face appears on the ¥10,000 note. The reviewer describes Fukuzawa's life, from his childhood as a low-ranking samurai to his role in modernizing Japan during the Meiji Restoration. The autobiography is praised for its humor and insights into Japanese society during a time of great change. Fukuzawa's experiences learning Dutch and English, his travels abroad, and his efforts to spread Western knowledge in Japan are highlighted. The review concludes by considering how Fukuzawa's approach to cultural arbitrage might be applied to addressing Japan's current challenges. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the effectiveness of education by analyzing knowledge retention, questioning the value of schooling beyond basic skills. Longer summary

Scott Alexander analyzes the effectiveness of education by examining how much factual knowledge people retain after schooling. He presents survey data showing that many adults, including college students, struggle to recall basic facts taught in school. The post explores why this might be, discussing the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve and spaced repetition. Scott proposes that people mainly remember information they encounter regularly in daily life, rather than what they learned in school. He concludes by questioning the usefulness of most schooling beyond basic skills, suggesting that cultural osmosis might be more effective for long-term knowledge retention. Shorter summary

Kieran Egan's educational theory proposes rebuilding school curricula around five kinds of understanding to create more engaging and effective learning experiences. Longer summary

This review explores Kieran Egan's educational theory outlined in his book 'The Educated Mind', which proposes a new approach to education based on five kinds of understanding: Somatic, Mythic, Romantic, Philosophic, and Ironic. Egan argues that schools fail because they ignore cognitive tools that have worked for centuries and instead try to balance three incompatible educational goals. He suggests rebuilding the curriculum around these cognitive tools to create more engaging and effective learning experiences. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores various explanations for why top students attend the best colleges, including optimistic views about maximizing potential and cynical views about signaling and 'privilege laundering'. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the question of why top students are sent to the best colleges, presenting both optimistic and cynical explanations. He discusses the potential benefits of matching high-performing students with expert teachers, but also considers the signaling theory of education. The post delves into a fascinating hypothesis about elite colleges functioning as 'privilege laundering' machines, mixing meritocratic and privileged students to create a universally recognized signal of merit. Scott examines the potential advantages and drawbacks of this system, concluding that while imperfect, it may be preferable to alternatives that completely disregard merit. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores the difficulties in contextualizing statistics, providing numerous examples to show how the same data can be presented to seem significant or trivial. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the challenges of putting statistical findings into context, showing how different comparisons can make the same statistic seem either significant or trivial. He provides numerous examples of effect sizes and correlations from various fields to illustrate this point. The post aims to promote awareness of how statistics can be manipulated and encourages readers to be vigilant when interpreting contextual comparisons. Scott also acknowledges the limitations of using standardized effect sizes but argues for their utility in certain situations where more specific measures are difficult to comprehend. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes survey data on different schooling types, finding home schooling associated with highest satisfaction but noting significant limitations in the data. Longer summary

Scott Alexander analyzes the results of the 2020 Slate Star Codex Survey regarding different schooling types and their outcomes. He looks at satisfaction with education, life satisfaction, social satisfaction, SAT scores, and other metrics across public, private, religious, home schooling, and unschooling. The analysis accounts for confounding factors like religion, social class, and age. Key findings include home schooled respondents reporting the highest satisfaction with their education, no significant social or romantic disadvantages for home schooled individuals, and potential concerns about unschooling outcomes. However, Scott emphasizes the survey's limitations due to the highly selected nature of SSC readers and other confounding factors. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the poor quality of research on homework effectiveness, finding only one well-designed study showing positive effects for high school algebra. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the lack of reliable research on the effectiveness of homework. He critiques existing studies for their flawed methodologies, particularly their reliance on self-reported time spent on homework as a proxy for homework amount. The post highlights issues with confounding factors and poor study designs. Alexander finds only one well-designed, randomized study on homework effectiveness, which shows a positive effect for 9th-grade algebra homework. However, he notes that this single study doesn't provide enough evidence to draw broad conclusions about homework effectiveness across different subjects and grade levels. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander analyzes a study showing Concerta improves ADHD children's attention but not their learning, and speculates on the reasons behind this unexpected result. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses a recent study on the effects of Concerta (a long-acting form of Ritalin) on ADHD children's learning in a summer camp setting. The study found that while Concerta improved attention, reduced disruptive behavior, and slightly improved test scores, it didn't significantly enhance learning of the course material. Scott explores potential reasons for this counterintuitive result, drawing parallels to other studies and speculating on the nature of learning and intelligence. He considers factors such as redundancy in teaching, innate intelligence limits, and the possibility of 'difficulty thresholds' for learning. The post ends with a speculative comparison to AI scaling laws, suggesting there might be human equivalents to parameters, training data, and compute in learning. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores new data on birth order effects among his blog readers, finding social factors likely explain firstborns' overrepresentation. Longer summary

Scott Alexander revisits the birth order effect he discovered in his blog readership in 2018, presenting new data from a 2020 survey. He confirms the original findings that firstborns are overrepresented among his readers, especially when age gaps between siblings are small. The post explores potential explanations, concluding that social factors, particularly parental attention, likely play a larger role than biological factors. This challenges some established views on the impact of early childhood experiences on adult outcomes. Scott acknowledges limitations in his analysis and calls for further research to better understand these effects. 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 presents brief descriptions of 66 diverse projects seeking funding or support as part of the ACX Grants program. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the closing part of ACX Grants, presenting brief descriptions of projects that he couldn't fully fund himself. He invites readers to consider donating money, time, or other resources to these projects. The post includes 66 diverse project proposals, ranging from scientific research to social initiatives, each with a short description and contact information for interested parties. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines why certain families produce multiple generations of high achievers, exploring genetic, environmental, and psychological factors. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the phenomenon of highly accomplished families, such as the Huxleys, Darwins, and Curies, who have produced multiple generations of notable scientists, artists, and leaders. He discusses potential explanations for this trend, including privilege, genetics, and unique family environments. The post delves into the role of assortative mating, large family sizes, and the correlation between different types of talents. It also touches on the concept of a 'Hero License' - the idea that coming from an accomplished family might instill the confidence to pursue ambitious goals. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines a genetic study distinguishing cognitive and non-cognitive skills in educational attainment, revealing unexpected correlations with mental health conditions. Longer summary

This post discusses a genetic study on educational attainment, focusing on the distinction between cognitive and non-cognitive skills that contribute to it. The study, by Demange et al, uses a method called 'GWAS-by-subtraction' to isolate genes associated with non-cognitive skills from those linked to intelligence. Scott Alexander analyzes the results, which show correlations between these genetic factors and various traits, personality factors, and mental health conditions. He highlights surprising findings, particularly the positive correlation between schizophrenia genes and non-cognitive skills beneficial for educational attainment, contrary to previous beliefs about schizophrenia genes being purely detrimental. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explores various applications and recent developments in prediction markets and forecasting, covering topics from election betting to teacher evaluation and social media moderation. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses several topics related to prediction markets and forecasting. He starts with the concept of a Keynesian beauty contest applied to long-term forecasting, then analyzes recent developments in PredictIt markets, particularly the Virginia gubernatorial election. He explores the idea of using prediction markets to evaluate teacher performance, and examines some recent Metaculus predictions on SpaceX valuation, college enrollment, and AI code assistance adoption. The post also covers Vitalik Buterin's proposal for using prediction markets in social media moderation, and concludes with various links to prediction market-related news and articles. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander discusses and responds to comments on his article about the effects of missing school, exploring various perspectives and reflecting on education's value and impact. Longer summary

This post discusses the comments on Scott Alexander's previous article about the effects of missing school on children's education. It covers various perspectives, including personal anecdotes of people who missed school and succeeded, concerns about the impact on disadvantaged children, debates about the value of schooling beyond test scores, and Scott's reflections on the reactions to his original post. The author also shares his thoughts on the nature of education, forced activities for children, and the ethical implications of arguing for weaker positions while holding stronger views. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues that missing a year or two of school is unlikely to have significant long-term effects on children's education, presenting evidence and critiquing contrary studies. Longer summary

Scott Alexander argues that missing a year or two of school due to COVID-19 or other reasons is unlikely to have significant long-term effects on children's education. He presents evidence from various studies and experiments, such as the Benezet experiment, unschooling, and different countries' school hours, to support his claim. Scott also critiques studies that show negative effects of school absences, arguing they are often correlational and fail to account for confounders. He acknowledges some potential non-academic benefits of schooling and provides his confidence levels on various predictions about the effects of missing school. Shorter summary

The review examines John Holt's 'How Children Fail', critiquing traditional education and suggesting modern alternatives to improve learning. Longer summary

This book review discusses John Holt's 'How Children Fail', a critique of traditional schooling methods. The reviewer, who read the book as a child, presents Holt's observations on why children struggle in school, including issues with strategy, fear, and boredom. The review explores how school's structure, with its focus on external motivation and accountability, can hinder natural learning processes. It also touches on the long-term psychological effects of schooling and the trade-off between efficiency and control in education. The reviewer concludes by suggesting that modern technology might offer solutions to some of the problems Holt identified, and calls for rethinking our approach to education in light of recent disruptions to traditional schooling. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines Próspera, a new charter city project in Honduras, detailing its plans, governance, and potential impact while addressing criticisms and limitations. Longer summary

Scott Alexander provides a comprehensive overview of Próspera, a new charter city project in Honduras. He explains its origins, current status, ambitious plans, governance structure, and potential impact. The post also addresses criticisms and concerns about the project, while acknowledging its limitations and potential benefits. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'The Cult of Smart' by Freddie DeBoer, praising its main arguments while criticizing several aspects, particularly DeBoer's stance on education reform. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Freddie DeBoer's book 'The Cult of Smart', which argues that intelligence is largely innate and that society's obsession with academic achievement is misguided. The review praises the book's main theses but criticizes DeBoer's arguments on race, meritocracy, and education reform. Alexander particularly takes issue with DeBoer's support for expanding public education despite acknowledging its limitations, leading to a passionate critique of the school system as harmful to children. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander advocates for 'Socratic grilling' as a valuable learning tool, urging people not to mistake genuine confusion and questioning for arrogance or challenges to authority. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the importance of allowing and encouraging 'Socratic grilling' - a process where students ask challenging questions to resolve their confusion about a topic. He argues that this process, which may appear confrontational, is crucial for developing critical thinking skills and should not be discouraged. The post uses an example of a student questioning germ theory to illustrate how this process works and why it's valuable. Scott emphasizes that misinterpreting these questions as arrogance or challenges to authority can be detrimental to learning. He also touches on the difficulty of signaling a desire to learn without being accused of arrogance, especially in online discussions. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews a book about Chinese education, comparing it to criticisms of US schools and examining evidence for discipline-focused vs. creativity-focused approaches to education. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews a book review of 'Little Soldiers', which describes the Chinese education system. The book's author, Lenora Chu, initially resists the strict methods but eventually sees benefits in her son's behavior. Scott compares this to criticisms of the US education system and discusses the debate between discipline-focused and creativity-focused approaches. He examines various pieces of evidence, including twin studies, historical examples, and trends in US education, but finds no conclusive answer. Scott suggests the Polgar method of intense but interest-driven education as a potential compromise. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to reader comments on his article about increasing competition in college admissions, covering various factors and perspectives on the issue. Longer summary

This post highlights comments on Scott Alexander's original article about college admissions. The comments cover various aspects, including factors influencing college selectivity, the impact of college prestige on careers, the role of rankings and admissions rates, the importance of extracurricular activities, the influence of student loans, and comparisons between the US and Canadian university systems. Some commenters offer personal experiences and perspectives on the increasing competitiveness in college admissions and other fields. The post also touches on broader themes of increasing competition in society and possible explanations for this trend. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander announces winners of the adversarial collaboration contest and shares participant feedback, while reflecting on potential issues with the format. Longer summary

Scott Alexander announces the winners of the adversarial collaboration contest, with prizes awarded for collaborations on education, transgender children, vaccination, and Islam's compatibility with democracy. He shares detailed feedback from the collaborators on their experiences, including initial positions, how much their views shifted, and advice for future participants. Scott then reflects on some concerns raised by the process, such as collaborators avoiding core disagreements or inadvertently legitimizing fringe views. Despite these issues, he expresses interest in continuing to promote the format and calls for ideas to improve it. Shorter summary

The post discusses comments on DC's low graduation rates, focusing on strict attendance policies, challenging teaching environments, and systemic issues in the school district. Longer summary

This post highlights comments on DC's low graduation rates, focusing on the strict attendance policy and its effects on students. The main issues discussed are the '80-20' rule, how it disproportionately affects poor and single-parent households, and how it contributes to failing grades. Other comments describe the challenging teaching environment in DC schools, including student misbehavior, lack of administrative support, and systemic corruption. The post also touches on comparisons with other school districts and questions about centralized vs. localized control of education systems. Shorter summary

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