Category: Education

  • The Five Best Nonfiction Books

    Okay fine, not the best. (Click bait!) But for me, the most important — the five books that, more than any others, taught me how to think about the world. A friend in my “classics” book group asked me for nonfiction book recommendations. Here’s what I wrote: The NF books that wow me, get me…

  • Is it Stupid to Get an English Degree Instead of a Business Degree?

    There’s lots of chatter out there these days about how college students are getting degrees in Lithuanian Folk Dancing instead of Mechanical Engineering, and how they should stop whining about their poor job prospects. Point well taken, but I was interested to come across this interactive table, courtesy of a link from Ryan Avent. Here,…

  • Yes: Machines Are Replacing Humans

    Q: Does technology complement or replace human labor? A: Yes. I’ve looked at this in some depth — with much thinking help from Robin Hanson — here, here and here. After thinking and reading about it for another year or so, I’m prepared to make the bald statement: Yes, an ever-increasing number of workers in America…

  • Religious Knowledge of a Devout (and Morally Committed) Atheist: 100%

    My results on the latest Pew survey: Here’s how you did on these 15 questions (excerpted from the larger U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey) compared with a nationally representative sample of 3,412 adults. Read the Full Report Your responses on the quiz do NOT affect the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey’s results. Take the test here. Or…

  • Does the Liberal Arts Model Deliver Life Success? National Success?

    My friend Steve wonders at all the college students who study Lithuanian folk dancing and the like, and wonders whether they shouldn’t study something useful instead, and pursue less remunerative interests when they’re past their prime earning years. This makes some sense to me, theoretically. But here’s what’s weird, something I’ve been wondering at myself…