The Garden of Forking Paths

The Garden of Forking Paths

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The Myth of the Secret Genius
From Elon Musk to Elizabeth Holmes and Donald Trump, many very rich people are effective at convincing us of a myth: they're secretly a genius, and…
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Brian Klaas
11
The Death of the Student Essay—and the Future of Cognition
One professor's reflections on the end of an era, as AI tools such as ChatGPT have murdered the student essay (RIP). Here's why that threatens the…
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Brian Klaas
61
The Evolution of Stupidity (and Octopus Intelligence)
What we can learn about intelligence, stupidity, and ourselves—from some of the smartest, strangest, alien-like creatures on the planet.
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Brian Klaas
26
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
Against Optimization
We are bombarded by messages telling us to worship the gods of efficiency and optimization, life hacking our way to prosperity. It's a trap. Resilience…
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Brian Klaas
27
The Mirthful Assyriologist, the Real Noah's Ark, and the Oldest Writing in the World
Irving Finkel is a delightful, eccentric genius. Enter his world for a captivating glimpse of the secrets embedded within humanity's earliest writing.
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Brian Klaas
34
How I Write
If you want to learn what you think about something, write about it. Here's how I do it.
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Brian Klaas
29
"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
42
How many politicians are psychopaths?
So-called "Dark Triad" traits are clearly over-represented in positions of power. Are the halls of Congress and Parliament overrun with psychopaths?
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Brian Klaas
30
In a sea of disinformation, why is Wikipedia so accurate?
Wikipedia was once an unreliable source, used as a tool for advancing biased agendas. Today, it's extraordinarily accurate, a modern wonder in a world…
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Brian Klaas
35
Substack Economics
The media world is splintering into a mililion different fragments. Is that good for humanity?
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Brian Klaas
57
Trump's Deal with an Authoritarian Hitman
The Trump administration is trying to outsource immigration policy to a dictator who hunts down and murders his political opponents with ruthless…
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Brian Klaas
14
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