The Garden of Forking Paths

The Garden of Forking Paths

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Schemas and the Political Brain
The neuroscience and psychology of why better facts don't make winning arguments in politics.
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Brian Klaas
20
Brain Food
Ideas you can chew on for days.
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Brian Klaas
27
We're Living Brave New World, Not 1984
Orwell feared those who would ban books. Huxley feared that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one…
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Brian Klaas
36
The Crisis of Zombie Social Science
Why it's almost impossible to falsify social science theories and how to fix it.
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Brian Klaas
34

March 2025

On Power and Stupidity
Why do so many fools end up in positions of authority?
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Brian Klaas
60
An Ode to Life at Richelieu Rock
Evolutionary dispatches from a hidden world, as I explore one of the most fascinating underwater sites on the planet.
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Brian Klaas
24
"Knowingness" and the Politics of Ignorance
Much ink has been spilled about "polarization." Most of it ignores a major cause: the widespread, misplaced faith that we already know that which we do…
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Brian Klaas
39
Is American democracy doomed?
How to understand the concept of "competitive authoritarianism" and why it's crucial to push back now to avoid it.
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Brian Klaas
28
Brain Food
A buffet of intellectual ideas you never knew you wanted to know.
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Brian Klaas
24

February 2025

DOGE and the Coming Tsunami
Elon Musk is aggressively and foolishly courting catastrophic risk. We'd be wise to learn from the wisdom of the Moken people to stave off…
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Brian Klaas
34
The False Gospel of Stuff and Status
We have become disciples of a flawed creed. To chase passion and value people is a much wiser way to live; or Ikigai, Detectorists, and the real meaning…
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Brian Klaas
33
The Superb Owl and Nature's Stealth Wisdom
The Super Bowl is today, but why not first learn about the superb owl, and what they have to teach us about the ingenious wisdom of evolution.
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Brian Klaas
19
© 2025 Brian Klaas
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