Jason Crawford
Things that can kill you quickly
There are things that kill you instantly, like a bullet to the head or a fall from twenty stories....
27th Dec 2022
There are things that kill you instantly, like a bullet to the head or a fall from twenty stories. First aid can’t help you there. There are also things that kill you relatively slowly, like a bacterial infection. If you have even hours to live, you can get to the emergency...
Jason Crawford
The lessons of Xanadu
One of my all-time favorite articles is “The Curse of Xanadu,” by Gary Wolf, which ran in WIRED...
7th Aug 2022
One of my all-time favorite articles is “The Curse of Xanadu,” by Gary Wolf, which ran in WIRED Magazine in 1995. On the surface, it’s a piece of tech history, a story of a dramatic failure. But look closer, and you can find deep philosophical insight.
Xanadu was a grand vision...
Jason Crawford
My simple guide to life
I first made a version of this chart seven years ago today. It’s worth a re-up (and it’s never been...
3rd Apr 2022
I first made a version of this chart seven years ago today. It’s worth a re-up (and it’s never been on my blog).
The meaning of this chart is:
Everything you do should be justified either by being inherently enjoyable, or by being important for some other purpose. Absolutely...
Jason Crawford
Reflections on six months of fatherhood
To be fed from a spoon requires three distinct skills. First, you must open your mouth when the...
31st Jan 2022
To be fed from a spoon requires three distinct skills. First, you must open your mouth when the spoon approaches. Second, you must close your mouth around the spoon once it has fully entered the mouth (and not before). Third, you must swallow the food that remains in your mouth...
Jason Crawford
Precognition
It’s almost impossible to predict the future. But it’s also unnecessary, because most people are...
13th Jun 2021
It’s almost impossible to predict the future. But it’s also unnecessary, because most people are living in the past. All you have to do is see the present before everyone else does.
To be less pithy, but more clear: Most people are slow to notice and accept change. If you can...
Jason Crawford
Who is Scott Alexander and what is he about?
Scott Alexander is my favorite blogger. I’d like to recommend him to more people, but it’s hard to...
13th Feb 2021
Scott Alexander is my favorite blogger. I’d like to recommend him to more people, but it’s hard to know where to start, since he’s written over 1,500 posts. A little while ago a friend asked me to make a list of my favorite pieces of his. So, here is a beginner’s guide to the...
Jason Crawford
Announcing Progress Studies for Young Scholars
Excited to announce that I’m launching an online high school summer program in the history of...
19th May 2020
Excited to announce that I’m launching an online high school summer program in the history of technology: Progress Studies for Young Scholars.
Daily online content, plus a speaker series featuring Tyler Cowen, Patrick Collison, Max Roser, Joel Mokyr, Deirdre McCloskey, and more....
Jason Crawford
What went wrong with the ventilator stockpile?
The New York Times reports on how the federal government tried and failed to increase the stockpile...
1st Apr 2020
The New York Times reports on how the federal government tried and failed to increase the stockpile of ventilators. Some are reading this as a story about the private sector, the profit motive, or “greed”. I think it’s a story about incompetent project management.
The story in...
Jason Crawford
“Ascend the Hierarchy”: Let’s improve online discourse
Many years ago Paul Graham wrote an essay, “How to Disagree”, that proposed a hierarchy of...
29th Mar 2020
Many years ago Paul Graham wrote an essay, “How to Disagree”, that proposed a hierarchy of disagreement with seven levels, from DH0, “name-calling”, to DH6, “refuting the central point”. Someone then created a pyramid diagram based on this.
Recently when someone commented...
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