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Michael Strong✓
@flowidealism
Founder @Socraticexp. 35 years turning school from your family's biggest stress into its greatest relief. K-12, Socratic seminars, 1:1 mentorship, worldwide.
2.8K Following30.4K Followers19.5K Posts
- The collapse in boys spending time outside.Vegard Skirbekk @VSkirbekkAmerican teenage boys now spend far less time outdoors: from over 60 minutes a day around 2010 to under 40 in 2023. The gender gap has closed, not because girls go out more, but because boys go out less. New study of 14,235 US adolescents, 2003–2023001314
Vegard Skirbekk@VSkirbekkAmerican teenage boys now spend far less time outdoors: from over 60 minutes a day around 2010 to under 40 in 2023. The gender gap has closed, not because girls go out more, but because boys go out less. New study of 14,235 US adolescents, 2003–20231152.4K- “Already obvious 50 years ago.”Greg Lukianoff @glukianoffOne professor punished for speech? An anecdote. A hundred? Cherry-picked. A thousand? Selection bias. Surveys? Bad questions. Better surveys? Methodological concerns! I've spent 25 years watching defenders of the higher ed status quo turn every new piece of evidence into yet another demand for proof, creating a never-ending cycle of increasingly impossible standards for demonstrating problems that were already obvious 50 years ago!002499
One professor punished for speech? An anecdote. A hundred? Cherry-picked. A thousand? Selection bias. Surveys? Bad questions. Better surveys? Methodological concerns! I've spent 25 years watching defenders of the higher ed status quo turn every new piece of evidence into yet another demand for proof, creating a never-ending cycle of increasingly impossible standards for demonstrating problems that were already obvious 50 years ago!125643915.3K- I love arguing angrily with authors in the margins, and am excited when our students begin angrily arguing with authors in the margins. It is sad that this noble tradition has been taught to students as “annotating” texts which most students experience as a banal, meaningless school assignment.Zena Hitz @zenahitzHatred can be enormously useful in the life of the mind106646
- Michael StrongRT @zenahitz: DyingStuart Buck @stuartbuck1Overheard in NY just now: Man at the next table: "Wait, you don't know what Sesame Street is?" Woman: hems and haws Man: "you actually thought it was like Jane Street?!" Woman: "well I thought it was an imitation."01065
Overheard in NY just now: Man at the next table: "Wait, you don't know what Sesame Street is?" Woman: hems and haws Man: "you actually thought it was like Jane Street?!" Woman: "well I thought it was an imitation."42795.6K- This is potentially a very high leverage position.Director Michael Kratsios @mkratsios47.@NSF is hiring the inaugural Head of its Office of Metascience to apply the scientific method to how we fund, organize, and evaluate research. Continuous improvement will accelerate discovery. If you care about the science of science, apply:006926
.@NSF is hiring the inaugural Head of its Office of Metascience to apply the scientific method to how we fund, organize, and evaluate research. Continuous improvement will accelerate discovery. If you care about the science of science, apply:208034238.4K- Imagine a world in which it is considered problematic if your child is too advanced . . .Wendy @teachthemx3A similar situation happens when you send your 5 year old who reads chapter books to kindergarten. They're told to sit quietly and read while the teacher works with students who don't know what an "A" is. I'm surprised the coach in this video didn't ask the child to be a peer tutor.60181.5K
A similar situation happens when you send your 5 year old who reads chapter books to kindergarten. They're told to sit quietly and read while the teacher works with students who don't know what an "A" is. I'm surprised the coach in this video didn't ask the child to be a peer tutor.2036614.1K- Wow.Jason Scharf @Jason_A_ScharfI think the battle for Autonomous Austin might already be over. Source: @RtaxiTracker10141.8K
- Plato and Shakespeare are the two essential canonical authors in Western civilization.Joshua D Phillips @JoshPhillipsPhDOnce more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead. In peace there's nothing so becomes a man As modest stillness and humility: But when the blast of war blows in our ears, Then imitate the action of the tiger; Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage Henry V23161.2K
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead. In peace there's nothing so becomes a man As modest stillness and humility: But when the blast of war blows in our ears, Then imitate the action of the tiger; Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage Henry V44382.2K- Island of Blue Dolphins is an amazing book. Every child I’ve recommended it to loved it.WindTalker @nmlinguaphileThe Nicoleño (nee-koh-LAY-nyoh) were the Indigenous people of San Nicolas Island, the most remote of California’s Channel Islands. Archaeological evidence shows people lived there for thousands of years. They were Uto-Aztecan speakers closely related to the Tongva (Gabrielino) of the mainland. By the early 1800s their numbers had fallen sharply from disease, a deadly 1814 clash with Russian-American Company otter hunters, and other colonial pressures. In 1835 the remaining small group left for the mainland on the Mexican schooner Peor es Nada. The removal was arranged for their safety after years of decline. A sudden storm forced the ship to sail, and one woman stayed behind with her son. She lived with him for years until a shark or orca took his life while he was fishing. After that she was alone. Captain George Nidever’s party found her in 1853, about 50 years old, living in a whale-bone hut and a nearby cave, wearing a dress of cormorant feathers sewn with sinew, and surviving on shellfish, fish, seals, and seabirds. She greeted the men warmly and spoke a language no one on the mainland understood. Taken to Santa Barbara, she stayed with the Nidever family, was noted for her cheerful manner, was baptized Juana María on her deathbed, and died of illness on October 19, 1853, just seven weeks after leaving the island. Her story inspired Island of the Blue Dolphins. No photograph of her survives. The painting by Holli Harmon shows her on a coastal bluff at Corral Harbor, wearing a dark feather dress, holding a woven basket, and looking out to sea, with a dog, seabirds, and yellow wildflowers around her.73351.9K
The Nicoleño (nee-koh-LAY-nyoh) were the Indigenous people of San Nicolas Island, the most remote of California’s Channel Islands. Archaeological evidence shows people lived there for thousands of years. They were Uto-Aztecan speakers closely related to the Tongva (Gabrielino) of the mainland. By the early 1800s their numbers had fallen sharply from disease, a deadly 1814 clash with Russian-American Company otter hunters, and other colonial pressures. In 1835 the remaining small group left for the mainland on the Mexican schooner Peor es Nada. The removal was arranged for their safety after years of decline. A sudden storm forced the ship to sail, and one woman stayed behind with her son. She lived with him for years until a shark or orca took his life while he was fishing. After that she was alone. Captain George Nidever’s party found her in 1853, about 50 years old, living in a whale-bone hut and a nearby cave, wearing a dress of cormorant feathers sewn with sinew, and surviving on shellfish, fish, seals, and seabirds. She greeted the men warmly and spoke a language no one on the mainland understood. Taken to Santa Barbara, she stayed with the Nidever family, was noted for her cheerful manner, was baptized Juana María on her deathbed, and died of illness on October 19, 1853, just seven weeks after leaving the island. Her story inspired Island of the Blue Dolphins. No photograph of her survives. The painting by Holli Harmon shows her on a coastal bluff at Corral Harbor, wearing a dark feather dress, holding a woven basket, and looking out to sea, with a dog, seabirds, and yellow wildflowers around her.
28343048.2K- I’m directionally aligned with much of this. I recommend to my students that they become better at being human, which includes identifying and creating value for others - and selling/educating/communicating to others how you will add value.Elizabeth Yin 💛 @dunkhippo33A friend recently told me she's really worried about AI. In fact, a lot of my friends ask me how bad it's going to be and how they should be raising their kids. I wish I had a crystal ball, but here's how I think about it with my own children. Read on >>35663.8K
A friend recently told me she's really worried about AI. In fact, a lot of my friends ask me how bad it's going to be and how they should be raising their kids. I wish I had a crystal ball, but here's how I think about it with my own children. Read on >>71112445.2K- Certainly a compelling hypothesis.scott 🌞 @scottdomesextremely bullish on shadow work in the age of AI, because if you have access to infinite intelligence that can construct a reasonable-sounding argument for any perspective, the limiting factor is in the discernment of the human being - and that discernment gets better or worse depending on their ability to pay attention to their own blindspots & complexes0291.6K
extremely bullish on shadow work in the age of AI, because if you have access to infinite intelligence that can construct a reasonable-sounding argument for any perspective, the limiting factor is in the discernment of the human being - and that discernment gets better or worse depending on their ability to pay attention to their own blindspots & complexes8161457.5K- Pretty much.Liza Libes @pensandpoisonImagine studying music and being taught that Beethoven's greatest achievement was revealing the class structures of nineteenth-century Europe. That's essentially what happens in far too many English departments.00101.6K
Imagine studying music and being taught that Beethoven's greatest achievement was revealing the class structures of nineteenth-century Europe. That's essentially what happens in far too many English departments.516496296.2K- Europe is in for a very rough time ahead.Michael A. Arouet @MichaelAArouetThere is an important implication of the AI revolution that will profoundly impact Europe’s future, one most people don’t grasp yet. Europe’s high labor costs, driven by astronomical taxes and social contributions funding extensive welfare systems and overblown state spending, create a far stronger incentive to automate than in the US. With labor taxes accounting for over half of EU tax revenue, replacing workers with AI and robotics will directly shrink the tax base sustaining pensions, healthcare, and public spending. The US faces automation pressures as well but holds a structural advantage, its dominant AI companies (holding roughly three-quarters of global AI computing capacity versus Europe’s roughly 5%) generate taxable profits and capital gains at home. Higher taxes on tech firms or shareholders can offset lost labor based tax revenue. Europe has no such option. Attempts to tax US providers more heavily would risk restricted access, higher prices, or delayed releases for European users. Without competitive AI, European goods and services will lose competitiveness against those made with superior tools, further eroding corporate and labor tax bases in a reinforcing cycle. Europe would lose both income and corporate tax revenues to sustain its welfare, pensions, and big state systems, while facing a wave of displaced workers expecting benefits. High energy costs (often roughly double US industrial prices) and data rules constraining training make large-scale European domestic AI development basically impossible. This stems from bad left policy choices that raised labor and energy costs while limiting flexibility and data needed for tech innovation with excessive regulations. Bad left policies have always had serious consequences, in the current AI-turbocharged world, they will shake the foundations of European economies and societies. The unrest and riots now seen in many European cities will feel like a walk in the park compared to what is coming.00131.6K
There is an important implication of the AI revolution that will profoundly impact Europe’s future, one most people don’t grasp yet. Europe’s high labor costs, driven by astronomical taxes and social contributions funding extensive welfare systems and overblown state spending, create a far stronger incentive to automate than in the US. With labor taxes accounting for over half of EU tax revenue, replacing workers with AI and robotics will directly shrink the tax base sustaining pensions, healthcare, and public spending. The US faces automation pressures as well but holds a structural advantage, its dominant AI companies (holding roughly three-quarters of global AI computing capacity versus Europe’s roughly 5%) generate taxable profits and capital gains at home. Higher taxes on tech firms or shareholders can offset lost labor based tax revenue. Europe has no such option. Attempts to tax US providers more heavily would risk restricted access, higher prices, or delayed releases for European users. Without competitive AI, European goods and services will lose competitiveness against those made with superior tools, further eroding corporate and labor tax bases in a reinforcing cycle. Europe would lose both income and corporate tax revenues to sustain its welfare, pensions, and big state systems, while facing a wave of displaced workers expecting benefits. High energy costs (often roughly double US industrial prices) and data rules constraining training make large-scale European domestic AI development basically impossible. This stems from bad left policy choices that raised labor and energy costs while limiting flexibility and data needed for tech innovation with excessive regulations. Bad left policies have always had serious consequences, in the current AI-turbocharged world, they will shake the foundations of European economies and societies. The unrest and riots now seen in many European cities will feel like a walk in the park compared to what is coming.469548538.1K- I’m not certain about one neuron, but the body (or even the brain) is way beyond simulations.001634
- Read (or re-read) “The Housing Theory of Everything,”Marc Porter Magee 🎓 @marcportermageeNYT: “This, like so many laments about what things cost in America, is a housing story. Student housing — even in university-owned residences — can cost more than tuition and related fees.”125946
NYT: “This, like so many laments about what things cost in America, is a housing story. Student housing — even in university-owned residences — can cost more than tuition and related fees.”
75456.1K- The greatness of acknowledging one had the weaker case.John Tasioulas @JTasioulas"He wiped the floor with me" How is philosophical excellence - even greatness - incubated? In a culture of searching questioning and criticism, not the faux politeness of softball questions and cosy "fireside" chats that is all too prevalent today. Key to this culture is recognizing that others taking your ideas seriously enough to subject them to rigorous criticism is itself a mark of respect. Here is Elizabeth Anscombe on when the young Wittgenstein met Frege003855
"He wiped the floor with me" How is philosophical excellence - even greatness - incubated? In a culture of searching questioning and criticism, not the faux politeness of softball questions and cosy "fireside" chats that is all too prevalent today. Key to this culture is recognizing that others taking your ideas seriously enough to subject them to rigorous criticism is itself a mark of respect. Here is Elizabeth Anscombe on when the young Wittgenstein met Frege
3211158.6K- Robust political economy, lower right hand quadrant, is the only relevant quadrant for most real world issues for democratic governments. (small quasi-authoritarian states may be run more like a corporation, eg Dubai or Singapore).Daniel J. Smith @SmithdanjWhat is the role of the economist? It depends on their assumptions about politicians' knowledge and incentives (and whether they care about doing relevant work).004641
What is the role of the economist? It depends on their assumptions about politicians' knowledge and incentives (and whether they care about doing relevant work).
31171.6K- And, yes, this is a cool use of AI.Adrien | L’Analyste Curieux @analystecurieuxIdée de génie. C’est ça qu’on veut voir sur X. Du partage, des découvertes, de la bienveillance.0011919
Idée de génie. C’est ça qu’on veut voir sur X. Du partage, des découvertes, de la bienveillance.
685366.9K664K- Jowett’s commitment to Plato (grok summary), clearly influential on me well beyond having lovingly used his translations: “Jowett’s commitment to Plato was deep, lifelong, and primarily educational and ethical rather than narrowly metaphysical. It shaped both his scholarship and his vision of Oxford teaching. The translations His most lasting monument is the complete English translation of Plato’s dialogues (first published in 1871, with later revisions). For roughly a century it was the standard version in English and remains widely available. He accompanied the translations with lengthy introductions and analyses in which he presented Plato as “the father of Idealism” in philosophy, politics, and literature—explicitly setting this reading against the utilitarian approach of George Grote. He treated Plato as a creative philosophical genius whose ideas supplied instruments of thought for later ages, not as a system to be adopted wholesale or measured by any modern standard. Lectures and curriculum As Regius Professor of Greek he lectured extensively on the Republic and other dialogues. These lectures helped establish Plato’s central place in the Oxford Greats curriculum. Jowett regarded the Republic in particular as the greatest of the dialogues for its breadth, style, and capacity to raise the mind above ordinary concerns of commerce or self-interest. Educational and moral purpose Jowett’s commitment was practical. He believed that sustained engagement with Plato—especially through the tutorial system he helped shape—would form character. Undergraduates reading Plato for their Greats tutorials would, he hoped, absorb an idealism that kept “devotion to duty and the public good” alive when they entered government, the civil service, or imperial administration. Idealism here meant a moral and political orientation that elevated individuals and states above mere routine or commercial calculation, not a strict adherence to the theory of Forms or to Hegelian metaphysics (of which Jowett grew critical). In short, Jowett’s Plato was the Socratic-idealist educator of character and civic capacity. The translation and the tutorial practice were two expressions of the same commitment: to make Plato’s dialogues instruments for training independent, public-spirited minds.”004594
- The “Socratic” element of @socraticexp is rooted in the Socratic tradition at @stjohnscollege whose program was developed by two Rhodes scholars inspired by their education at Oxford. The Oxford roots of this Socratic tradition (grok summary): “Early associations (19th century) Benjamin Jowett is the clearest early link. Students and later accounts repeatedly compared his method to Socrates. One frequently cited remark is that “his great skill consisted, like Socrates, in helping us to learn and think for ourselves.” When Jowett became Vice-Chancellor in 1882, secondary sources describe his approach as establishing a pattern of Socratic dialogue for the wider university. These comparisons appear in memoirs and later historical summaries rather than in contemporary statutes or official university documents framing the system as “the Socratic method.” Reinforcement through the curriculum (late 19th–mid-20th century) The association strengthened because of the structure of Literae Humaniores (“Greats”). For a long period, the study of Plato’s dialogues was a major and, for stretches of time, compulsory element of the degree. Oxford tutors and students were regularly reading texts that themselves depict Socratic questioning of young interlocutors. This created an obvious parallel between the set texts and the weekly practice of a student defending an essay under questioning. Robin Lane Fox later noted that, because of Greats, the Oxford tutorial “was widely believed to pursue the Socratic method.” The belief was strong enough that, by the mid-20th century, some students and tutors held a recognizably “Socratic self-conception” of the exercise.”0010827
