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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3 posts found
Feb 18, 2021
acx
65 min 8,989 words 1,131 comments 388 likes podcast (53 min)
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
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
Dec 04, 2016
ssc
17 min 2,256 words 197 comments
Scott summarizes diverse perspectives from comments on his school choice article, covering topics like education costs, charter schools, and potential market failures in education. Longer summary
This post summarizes key points from the comment thread on Scott's previous article about school choice. It covers various perspectives on for-profit vs. nonprofit schools, cost increases in education, food deserts, charter schools, and potential market failures in education. Scott notes some arguments that made him more pessimistic about charter schools, but maintains that careful experimentation is needed. The post concludes by acknowledging that Betsy DeVos' policies don't qualify as careful experimentation. Shorter summary