A review of Joe Henrich's 'The Weirdest People in the World', examining its argument that the Western Church's marriage regulations led to WEIRD psychology and modern economic growth. Longer summary

This book review examines Joe Henrich's 'The Weirdest People in the World', which argues that the Western Church's Marriage and Family Program (MFP) dismantled intensive kinship networks, leading to WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) psychology and modern economic growth. The reviewer discusses the book's scientific approach to European history, its extensive coverage of various topics, and raises questions about the intentionality of historical actors and the future implications of WEIRD psychology. 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 reviews Julian Jaynes' controversial theory that ancient people lacked consciousness and instead heard hallucinated voices of gods, critiquing some aspects while finding value in the idea of theory of mind as culturally constructed. Longer summary

Scott reviews Julian Jaynes' book 'The Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind'. The book argues that ancient people lacked theory of mind and instead heard hallucinatory voices they interpreted as gods giving them commands. Jaynes traces the development of consciousness through ancient texts, showing how mental processes were described differently before and after this shift. Scott critiques some aspects of Jaynes' theory but finds value in the idea that theory of mind is culturally constructed and can vary significantly between groups. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander compares the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade to traditional civic and religious celebrations, arguing that it has evolved into a form of civil religion similar to American patriotism. Longer summary

Scott Alexander describes his experience at the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade, drawing parallels between it and traditional civic and religious celebrations like Easter in Guatemala and Fourth of July parades in America. He argues that the Gay Pride celebration has evolved into a form of civil religion, similar to how American patriotism has functioned as a civil religion. The post explores how the gay rights movement, which started as a counterculture, has become mainstream and incorporated many elements of traditional civic celebrations. Scott suggests that this evolution mirrors the historical development of other religions, particularly Christianity, which also started as a countercultural movement before becoming an established institution. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the hypothesis that sexual purity taboos evolved to prevent STI spread, considering historical STI prevalence and cross-cultural taboos. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the hypothesis that cultural evolution created sexual purity taboos to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). He discusses the historical prevalence of STIs, particularly syphilis, and examines common sexual purity taboos across cultures. The post considers both STIs and false paternity as potential drivers of these taboos, weighing evidence for each. Scott also investigates taboos on homosexuality, discussing their variation across cultures and potential links to STI transmission. While he concludes that STIs likely played a role in the evolution of these taboos, he acknowledges that the evidence is circumstantial and more research is needed. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to various comments on his review of 'The Secret of Our Success', covering topics from language evolution to cultural practices and critiques of the book's claims. Longer summary

This post highlights comments on Scott Alexander's review of 'The Secret of Our Success'. It covers various topics including language creation, human strength compared to apes, cultural evolution, traditional practices, and the interplay between tradition and rationality. The post also touches on critiques of the book's claims, discussions on illegible preferences, and parallels with psychoanalytic concepts. It ends with perspectives on labor practices in Dubai and insights from StarCraft 2 strategies as metaphors for cultural evolution. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander explains a reactionary philosophy model distinguishing between culturally evolved (right-wing) and memetically evolved (left-wing) policies, exploring its implications and potential applications. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses a key insight into reactionary philosophy, proposing a model where right-wing policies are those selected by cultural evolution, while left-wing policies are selected by memetic evolution or the marketplace of ideas. He explores the implications of this model, including how it categorizes various political movements and the challenges democracies face in balancing these forces. The post then examines the reactionary idea of a system of small dictatorships as a way to facilitate cultural evolution, discussing its potential benefits and drawbacks. Scott concludes by reflecting on the increasing speed of memetic evolution in modern times and the need to understand and possibly strengthen the role of cultural evolution as a counterbalance. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines how increased rational debate doesn't always lead to truth, using personal and societal examples, and suggests ways to carefully approach traditions and changes. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of asymmetric weapons, which work better for good guys than bad guys, and how sometimes this asymmetry can be reversed. He discusses how increased rational debate and resources don't always lead to truth, using examples like minimum wage debates and personal habits. The post then examines societal-level examples, such as debates about politicians' salaries and early 20th-century socialism. Scott concludes with suggestions on how to approach traditions and changes carefully, emphasizing the importance of understanding before discarding, tolerating unexplained behaviors, and gradually improving on obsolete traditions. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander shares and comments on excerpts from Joseph Henrich's 'The Secret of Our Success', exploring cultural evolution and its impact on human societies. Longer summary

This post highlights various passages from Joseph Henrich's book 'The Secret of Our Success', covering topics such as cultural evolution, gene-culture coevolution, social norms, and the development of human cognition and technology. Scott Alexander provides commentary and analysis on these excerpts, drawing connections to other ideas and contemporary issues. Shorter summary

Scott reviews 'The Secret of Our Success' by Joseph Henrich, which argues that culture, not raw intelligence, is key to human success and explores the evolutionary basis for cultural transmission. Longer summary

Scott reviews Joseph Henrich's book 'The Secret of Our Success', which argues that culture, not raw intelligence, is the key to human success. The book explores how humans evolved to transmit culture with high fidelity, how cultural practices often contain hidden wisdom that individuals can't easily figure out on their own, and how reason can sometimes lead people astray from beneficial cultural traditions. Scott finds the book's arguments compelling and sees it as an important contribution to understanding the value of tradition. Shorter summary

Scott proposes that value differences arise from people crystallizing heuristics at different levels, rather than from fundamental, incomprehensible differences in values. Longer summary

Scott explores the idea that value differences stem from people operating at different levels of a conceptual ladder, from explicit models to emotional experiences to reified essences to endorsed values. He argues that this perspective can help people understand each other better, as differences often arise from where individuals choose to crystallize heuristics rather than from fundamental, incomprehensible value differences. The post discusses various examples of this process, from nutrition to punishment to environmental preservation, and examines factors that influence where people place themselves on this ladder, such as intelligence, education, and personal experience. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines and critiques the claim that good-vs-evil narratives in popular culture are a recent, nationalism-driven phenomenon, offering alternative explanations for their prevalence. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the theory that good-vs-evil narratives in popular culture are a relatively recent invention, emerging after 1700 and possibly tied to nationalism. He critiques this idea, pointing out examples of good-vs-evil stories in older myths and religious texts. Scott proposes alternative explanations for the rise of these narratives, including democratization, expanding moral circles, and the memetic superiority of well-crafted good-vs-evil stories. He draws parallels between the spread of Christianity and the popularity of good-vs-evil narratives, suggesting that both offer a more appealing worldview than their predecessors. The post ends by speculating on the future evolution of such narratives. Shorter summary

Scott reviews David Friedman's book on unconventional legal systems, exploring how different societies have developed unique ways to enforce laws and resolve conflicts without centralized government. Longer summary

This book review explores David Friedman's 'Legal Systems Very Different From Ours', which examines various historical and contemporary legal systems that differ significantly from modern state-run systems. The review highlights how these systems, from medieval Iceland to Gypsy communities, solve problems of law enforcement and conflict resolution without a centralized state. It discusses the economic incentives and cultural evolution that shape these systems, and how they often rely on community enforcement rather than imprisonment. The review also touches on the book's optimistic view of cultural evolution and its relevance to current debates about police and government reform. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'Seeing Like A State', examining how state efforts to standardize and control societies often backfire by ignoring local knowledge. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'Seeing Like A State' by James Scott, which examines how states have historically tried to make societies more 'legible' through standardization and top-down planning, often with disastrous results. The book covers examples from forestry, urban planning, agriculture and more, contrasting the failures of high modernist schemes with the success of local, traditional knowledge (metis). While acknowledging some benefits of standardization, the review explores the book's critique of overzealous state planning that ignores local conditions and wisdom. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander theorizes that ancient religions were inseparable from culture, comparing them to modern American civil religion and explaining how they evolved into distinct belief systems. Longer summary

Scott Alexander proposes a theory about the origin of religion, arguing that ancient religions were inseparable from culture and daily life. He compares ancient religions to modern American civil religion, highlighting similarities in customs, taboos, and mythologies. The post suggests that religion evolved from culture in a world where cultural differences were more pronounced, and became ossified and separated from context over time. Scott argues that writing down cultural practices and attributing them to gods provided justification for maintaining these practices. He also discusses how newer religions like Christianity and Islam underwent a similar process of ossification, preserving elements of their original cultural context. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines tribalism, arguing that ideologies often serve as 'rallying flags' for tribes rather than defining their core identity. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explores the concept of tribalism, arguing that ideologies and beliefs often serve as 'rallying flags' for tribes rather than being the core of what defines them. He examines various examples including religious sects, disability communities, and online subcultures to illustrate how tribes form, develop, and sometimes dissolve. The post suggests that understanding groups as tribes with historical context rather than purely ideological entities can provide insight into many social phenomena and conflicts. Shorter summary

A dialogue critiques Michael Huemer's view on objective moral truths, arguing that moral changes are driven by wealth and societal conditions rather than convergence on objective truth. Longer summary

This post presents a dialogue between Achitophel and Berenice discussing Michael Huemer's view on objective moral truths. Berenice argues against Huemer's perspective, suggesting that changes in moral values are primarily driven by increasing wealth and changing societal conditions rather than a convergence on objective moral truth. She provides examples such as changes in fashion, the impact of disease prevalence on moral foundations, and the influence of economic factors on moral decisions. Achitophel initially defends Huemer's view but gradually concedes some points to Berenice's arguments. The dialogue concludes with a discussion on whether certain moral foundations, particularly Care/Harm, might be more fundamental than others. Shorter summary

Scott examines five potential mechanisms of cultural evolution, discussing their strengths and limitations, and concludes that they don't strongly justify preserving specific cultural features. Longer summary

This post discusses various ways cultural evolution can occur, based on comments from a previous post. It explores five scenarios: super-innovations allowing one culture to dominate others, differential breeding rates between groups, evolution of subcultures, accretion of beneficial practices, and prehistoric cultural evolution. Scott analyzes each scenario, noting their strengths and limitations. He concludes that while cultural evolution has potential to be interesting, it doesn't provide a strong argument for preserving specific cultural features without additional justification. Shorter summary

The post examines cultural evolution, arguing that while within-culture evolution is effective, between-cultures evolution is too slow and weak to justify cultural practices like opposition to gay marriage. Longer summary

This post discusses the concept of cultural evolution, distinguishing between two types: within-culture and between-cultures evolution. The author argues that while within-culture evolution (like Inuit survival techniques) is obvious and effective, between-cultures evolution (like arguments against gay marriage) is much weaker and slower. The post challenges the idea that cultural practices persisting over time necessarily prove their value, pointing out that cultural changes often take centuries and that the advantages of specific cultural traits are hard to isolate. The author concludes that appeals to intercultural evolution to justify cultural practices are on shaky ground, and that intracultural evolution can't override people's own assessments of their happiness and well-being. Shorter summary

Scott argues that even if past cultures were superior, restoring them is impossible because cultures evolve to fit their technological conditions, which have changed dramatically. Longer summary

This post argues against Reactionary ideas, even if one grants their assumptions about the superiority of past cultures. The main points are: 1) Historical changes are driven by technological progress, not individual actors. 2) Cultures evolve to adapt to their technological conditions. 3) Past cultures were adapted to past conditions, not current ones, so restoring them wouldn't work. 4) Many negative aspects of modern society are due to technological changes, not political ones. Scott uses analogies like computer operating systems and puppets to illustrate these ideas. He concludes by outlining possible counterarguments Reactionaries could make to save their position. Shorter summary