A thread through the archive
Essays tagged “education”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Scott Alexander argues that polyamory's low black representation is part of a broader pattern across many subcultures, proposing general explanations and criticizing how this issue is often weaponized.
Scott Alexander shares a diverse collection of interesting links with brief commentaries, covering topics from education and politics to science and technology.
Scott Alexander argues that biological solutions to societal problems may be more effective and easier to implement than social interventions, challenging common perceptions about mutability of human characteristics.
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.
Scott Alexander gives a satirical graduation speech questioning the value of formal education and proposing an alternative basic income system, emphasizing kindness and epistemic humility.
Scott shares emotionally charged thoughts on various topics, including education, relationships, free speech, rape statistics, medical residency, and a humorous Hitler anecdote.
Scott shares and comments on a diverse collection of news items and interesting links from March 2014, covering topics from medical advances to political issues and quirky stories.
Scott Alexander presents a diverse collection of interesting links on topics ranging from meditation to global poverty, offering brief summaries and personal commentary.
Scott shares and comments on various interesting links from February 2014, covering science, medicine, education, technology, and politics.
Scott Alexander investigates and humorously addresses a recurring search query about 'alien thickness', tracing it to a 7th-grade science assignment and offering guidance on solving the problem.
Scott Alexander describes his increasing hesitation to have children due to his experiences with rare genetic disorders and difficult patients in psychiatry and medicine.
Scott proposes creating fictional stories isomorphic to complex scientific concepts as a memory aid, inspired by the ease of remembering Game of Thrones details compared to biochemistry facts.
Scott Alexander presents Raikoth, his fictional utopian society, which strives for perfection in language, government, and population through unique systems and practices.
Scott Alexander explores the concept of 'floor jobs' as easily accessible employment options that can serve as a safety net, presenting various examples and their pros and cons.
Scott argues for the value of studying historical philosophy by 'reading it backwards' to unlearn assumptions and broaden perspective, even when past ideas seem obviously wrong.
Scott defines signaling and explains how it works through examples ranging from college degrees to diamond necklaces, emphasizing both its necessity for conveying credible information and its potential for wasteful resource destruction.
Scott calculates that on exams penalizing wrong answers at half the reward for correct ones, guessing always has positive expected value, but none of his intelligent classmates would accept this logic despite clear explanations.
Scott analyzes why people are more curious about pseudoscience than real science, arguing that our sense of mystery is an evolutionary algorithm that responds to solvability, worldview-altering potential, social status, and human-level problems rather than actual importance.