Freddie deBoer argues that Harvard ditching the SAT is a money maker. I think the issue is framed as a false dichotomy in which elite schools must choose between meritocracy or money. The evidence shows, however, that it’s possible to have both, and that optimizing for merit also maximizes donations. It’s a common misconception that… Continue reading Ending Legacy Favoritism Will Likely Not Cost Harvard Money

Usually Freddie articles are pretty good, but he has gotten considerable pushback in the comments in his latest post You Don’t Get to Withdraw “Your Share” of Public Expenditures, Doofus. He is right, broadly: 1. that schools are very limited in their ability to boost individual achievement, and that differences of pedagogical methods at best… Continue reading You Don’t Get to Withdraw “Your Share” of Public Expenditures

Bitcoin continues to unravel, down 40% in 2 months. The question is how did so many people, supposedly experts, get it so wrong. Here is Josh hyping Bitcoin and MicroStrategy in February 2021: One year ago, MicroStrategy was a mundane, third-tier publicly traded software concern with a moribund stock price that hadn’t moved in nearly… Continue reading So much for that, Bitcoin edition

Saw this interesting Lex Fridman interview of Ray Dalio Mr. Dalio argues that America’s indebtedness, poor PISA test scores, and the rise of China is evidence of America’s decline. Dalio mentions that education is an essential ingredient for the prosperity of a country, and that China is more educated than the U.S., and over the… Continue reading Ray Dalio on America and China

Some people are mad at Joe Rogan for being wrong in regard to covid and myocarditis. Here is the relevant clip. So the argument is that the incidence of myocarditis is higher among young people who get Covid, compared to young people who are vaccinated. So case closed, huh? Not so fast. This compassion makes… Continue reading myocarditis and covid

The big secret is that practically ALL competitive sports are unhealthy. That, in addition to the fact that anything competitive damages your soul. https://t.co/gFBs5a5d4J — Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) January 10, 2022 How about being a blowhard who blocks anyone who disagrees with him on Twitter? Is that any healthier. I think Taleb is projecting… Continue reading Taleb reflects on his Mediocrity

This is pretty funny…it looks like Vox Day is sperging out about Scott Adams, in regard to the latter’s alleged betrayal and flip-flopping in regard to vaccines. Below is Scott’s response to Vox Day’s blogpost: Compare my actual Covid prediction record (the best in the nation): https://t.co/bZiYmvFsvn with the interpretation below and spot the cognitive… Continue reading Scott Adams vs. Vox Day

Over the weekend the following two posts went hugely viral: Reddit: I Am a New York City Public High School Student. The Situation is Beyond Control. …and from Freddie deBoar Many Kids Don’t Have a Warm, Safe, Healthy Home in Which to Do “Remote Learning” Finally, two years after the hype-demic began, there is now… Continue reading Over the weekend the following two posts went hugely viral

Regarding the Elizabeth Holmes conviction, he writes: Ripping off rich people. This was Madoff’s big mistake. You steal from the poor, you have a better shot at skating. You steal from the wealthy and they pull levers. Not only the wealthy – she also stole from powerful people – a General and a former Secretary… Continue reading The Theranos fraud, discussion