Questions Are Velcro
Why all good learning starts with a question that matters.
Aaron Miller
66 posts
Contrarianism isn’t intelligence
Alex Tabarrok drew attention a couple of weeks ago to this study: disagreement with the consensus on controversial topics corresponds with worse understanding of non-controversial knowledge, like that we breathe oxygen from plants or that electrons are smaller than atoms. The authors then correlate respondents’ scores on the objective (uncontroversial)
Weekly Digest - Dec 7-13, 2025
5 min read
Here's what I published from Sunday, December 7, 2025 to Saturday, December 13, 2025: AI is a magnifier, which is wonderful and terrible “Money doesn’t make you into a different person; it just makes you more of who you already are.” Not a semester goes by where
Daily Newsletter - Wednesday, December 10, 2025
5 min read
Here's what I published on Wednesday, December 10, 2025: AI is a magnifier, which is wonderful and terrible “Money doesn’t make you into a different person; it just makes you more of who you already are.” Not a semester goes by where I miss the chance to
AI is a magnifier, which is wonderful and terrible
4 min read
The ability to do more doesn’t equate with wise judgment or good character. What we bring to AI matters at least as much as what AI can actually do.
Weekly Digest - Nov 30-Dec 6, 2025
1 min read
Here's what I published from Sunday, November 30, 2025 to Saturday, December 6, 2025: After historic declines, global poverty may increase after 2030 The global reductions in poverty over the last 50 years have been unprecedented, bordering on miraculous. But the rapid and easy gains in wellbeing might
Daily Newsletter - Saturday, December 6, 2025
1 min read
Here's what I published on Saturday, December 6, 2025: After historic declines, global poverty may increase after 2030 The global reductions in poverty over the last 50 years have been unprecedented, bordering on miraculous. But the rapid and easy gains in wellbeing might be behind us. Based on
After historic declines, global poverty may increase after 2030
The global reductions in poverty over the last 50 years have been unprecedented, bordering on miraculous. But the rapid and easy gains in wellbeing might be behind us. Based on current trends, progress against extreme poverty will come to a halt. As we’ll see, the number of people in
Patience is a sacred pause
In times of injustice, anger, or outrage, patience can both inform and fortify us. Booker states, “Practicing patience doesn’t mean that you push your anger aside, that you don’t acknowledge it…Bringing patience in to support your anger can feel like a sacred pause, a deep listening as
Weekly Digest - Nov 23-29, 2025
Here's what I published from Sunday, November 23, 2025 to Saturday, November 29, 2025: If someone forwarded you this email, you can subscribe here
Weekly Digest - Nov 16-22, 2025
Here's what I published from Sunday, November 16, 2025 to Saturday, November 22, 2025: If someone forwarded you this email, you can subscribe here
Weekly Digest - Nov 9-15, 2025
2 min read
Here's what I published from Sunday, November 9, 2025 to Saturday, November 15, 2025: Cheating Is Expensive for Everyone Apropos to my post from last week on AI and Universities, here’s Yascha Mounk on the topic, noting the terrible incentives involved. If (1) AI is treated as