A thread through the archive
Essays tagged “education”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Scott argues that AI 'hallucinations' should be called 'shameless guesses' because they work the same way as students guessing on tests - making their best attempt when uncertain rather than admitting ignorance, revealing an alignment problem.
This review explores how schools are primarily designed to maximize motivation rather than learning, explaining why age-graded classrooms and seemingly inefficient group learning have persisted despite numerous attempts at reform.
A parent details their year-long experience with Alpha School in Austin, examining how this innovative program achieves accelerated learning through a combination of technology, personalized instruction, and incentive systems.
Brandon Hendrickson presents a method to teach Bayes' theorem effectively to everyone by making it visual, intuitive, emotionally engaging, and a tool for rational discourse.
Scott analyzes poor NAEP test scores and explores whether COVID school closures, systemic changes in education standards, or other factors are responsible for the decline.
Scott responds to comments about Lynn's IQ data, addressing how IQ testing might break down in under-educated populations and how this relates to the apparent disconnect between test scores and real-world capabilities.
Scott Alexander examines Richard Lynn's controversial national IQ estimates and argues they are actually consistent with environmental rather than genetic explanations of IQ differences, while explaining common misconceptions about what low IQ means.
Scott Alexander analyzes survey results on how often people think about the Roman Empire, finding little gender difference but a significant overall cultural impact.
The review examines Yukichi Fukuzawa's autobiography, highlighting his role in modernizing Japan and his humorous, insightful account of 19th century Japanese society.
Scott Alexander examines the effectiveness of education by analyzing knowledge retention, questioning the value of schooling beyond basic skills.
Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of 38 links and news items, covering topics from book reviews and religious history to AI developments and political trends, with brief summaries and comments on each.
Kieran Egan's educational theory proposes rebuilding school curricula around five kinds of understanding to create more engaging and effective learning experiences.
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'.
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.
Scott Alexander analyzes survey data on different schooling types, finding home schooling associated with highest satisfaction but noting significant limitations in the data.
Scott Alexander shares 57 diverse links and brief commentaries on topics ranging from politics and psychology to technology and culture.
Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of interesting links and news items from July, covering topics from linguistics and AI to politics and economics.
Scott Alexander examines the poor quality of research on homework effectiveness, finding only one well-designed study showing positive effects for high school algebra.
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.
Scott Alexander explores new data on birth order effects among his blog readers, finding social factors likely explain firstborns' overrepresentation.
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.
Scott Alexander presents brief descriptions of 66 diverse projects seeking funding or support as part of the ACX Grants program.
Scott Alexander shares 34 varied links and pieces of information on topics including science, history, politics, and technology, with brief commentary on many items.
Scott Alexander examines why certain families produce multiple generations of high achievers, exploring genetic, environmental, and psychological factors.
Scott Alexander examines a genetic study distinguishing cognitive and non-cognitive skills in educational attainment, revealing unexpected correlations with mental health conditions.