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Book Review: Superforecasting
Scott Alexander reviews 'Superforecasting' by Philip Tetlock, discussing the traits of highly accurate predictors and the book's validation of rationalist techniques.
14 min read 2,156 words
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book review
Essays tagged “book review”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Essays on book review
221 essaysSSC
List Of Passages I Highlighted In My Copy Of “Hive Mind”
Scott Alexander shares and comments on highlighted passages from Garrett Jones' 'Hive Mind', covering various aspects of IQ research and its societal implications.
20 min read 3,031 words
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Book Review: Hive Mind
Scott Alexander reviews 'Hive Mind' by Garett Jones, which argues that national IQ matters more for economic success than individual IQ, while raising several criticisms of the book's methodology and conclusions.
29 min read 4,487 words
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Book Review: Manufacturing Consent
Scott reviews 'Manufacturing Consent' by Chomsky and Herman, analyzing its arguments about media bias and US foreign policy atrocities.
55 min read 8,497 words
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Book Review: Chronicles Of Wasted Time
Scott Alexander reviews Malcolm Muggeridge's autobiography, examining his experiences exposing Stalin's regime and the West's willful ignorance of Soviet crimes.
48 min read 7,335 words
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Book Review: The Machinery Of Freedom
Scott reviews 'The Machinery of Freedom' by David Friedman, discussing libertarian ideas and anarcho-capitalist proposals while expressing both interest and skepticism.
35 min read 5,343 words
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List Of Passages I Highlighted In My Copy Of “Willpower”
Scott Alexander shares intriguing excerpts from 'Willpower', a book on self-control, while cautioning readers about the claims' reliability and expressing skepticism about some assertions.
16 min read 2,369 words
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Book Review: Willpower
Scott Alexander reviews 'Willpower' by Baumeister and Tierney, finding it disappointing for its pop science approach and failure to address controversies in willpower research.
14 min read 2,131 words
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Practically-A-Book Review: Dying To Be Free
Scott Alexander reviews an article on heroin addiction treatment, advocating for suboxone use while criticizing ineffective rehab programs and regulatory obstacles.
14 min read 2,017 words
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Book Review: What’s Wrong With The World
Scott Alexander reviews G.K. Chesterton's 'What's Wrong With The World', analyzing its critiques of early 20th century society and its proposed solutions.
29 min read 4,381 words
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Book Review: On The Road
Scott Alexander critically reviews 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac, highlighting its problematic glorification of irresponsible behavior and flawed philosophy.
25 min read 3,819 words
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Book Review: A Future For Socialism
Scott reviews 'A Future for Socialism', finding its economic proposals underwhelming but valuable for its insights on corporate governance and principal-agent problems.
18 min read 2,666 words
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Book Review: Red Plenty
Scott reviews 'Red Plenty', a book about Soviet economic planning, discussing its initial promise, challenges, and ultimate failure.
28 min read 4,221 words
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Book Review: Singer on Marx
Scott Alexander reviews Singer's book on Marx, finding Marx's ideas deeply flawed, particularly his refusal to plan for communist governance and his belief in infinitely malleable human nature.
21 min read 3,159 words
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Book Review and Highlights: Quantum Computing Since Democritus
Scott Alexander reviews 'Quantum Computing Since Democritus' by Scott Aaronson, sharing insights gained despite the book's complexity and his own mathematical limitations.
21 min read 3,139 words
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Book Review: The Two-Income Trap
Scott Alexander reviews Elizabeth Warren's 'The Two-Income Trap', which argues increased two-income families have led to more competition for positional goods without improving financial security.
45 min read 6,948 words
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List Of The Passages I Highlighted In My Copy Of Jonathan Haidt’s “The Righteous Mind”
Scott Alexander shares and briefly comments on various insightful quotes from Jonathan Haidt's 'The Righteous Mind', covering topics like psychology, politics, and religion.
11 min read 1,609 words
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Book Review: The Perfect Health Diet
Scott Alexander reviews 'The Perfect Health Diet', praising its science-based approach but criticizing its tendency to ignore contrary evidence and present controversial claims as settled science.
19 min read 2,814 words
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Book Review: After Virtue
Scott Alexander critiques Alasdair MacIntyre's 'After Virtue', finding fault with its arguments for virtue ethics and its historical claims about morality in ancient societies.
15 min read 2,290 words
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Book Review: Infinite Jest (alternate title: “Look At Me! I Read Infinite Jest!”)
A review of David Foster Wallace's 'Infinite Jest', exploring its themes, structure, and critique of postmodern society through comparison with 'Illuminatus' and analysis of its complex narrative.
24 min read 3,598 words
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Book Review: The Root of Thought
Scott reviews a book arguing that glial cells are crucial for cognition (not just neuron support), and uses this century-long scientific oversight as a cautionary tale about how entire communities can miss important phenomena.
11 min read 1,605 words