In office, Reagan typically governed the high-rung way: steadfast about principles but flexible about policies.

If the genie is the product of human collaboration, the golem is the emergent property of human obedience. Golems are what happen when humans act like ants.

Over the past generation, Americans have become more educated, which has made them more mobile. The Economist notes that “45% of young Americans with a college degree moved states within five years of graduating, whereas only 19% of those with only a high-school education did.”

A common practice is what we might call trend-anecdote swapping. It’s simple: If you come across an anecdote that supports the narrative, you frame it as evidence of a larger trend to make it seem representative of broader reality. Meanwhile, if there’s an actual trend happening that really is representative of broader reality—but it’s a trend that

Oppression has been a regular feature of human societies since the dawn of time, and in the Power Games, the primary tool to fight oppression has been violence. Free speech offers a better way. The rich are protected and empowered by their money, the elite by their connections, the majority by their vote, while minority views often end up left out.

Golems rely on a common enemy for unity and for might. The stronger and more dangerous the rival Them seems, the stronger and more united the Us group will typically be.

Animals are just a hack these outlier genes came up with—temporary containers designed to carry the genes and help them stay immortal.

So skilled thinkers work hard to master the art of skepticism. A thinker who believes everything they hear is too gullible, and their beliefs become packed with a jumble of falsehoods, misconceptions, and contradictions. Someone who trusts no one is overly cynical, even paranoid, and limited to gaining new information only by direct experience. Nei

In his book The Big Sort, Bill Bishop examines how Americans have shifted geographically in relation to political leaning—and he found that Americans are far less likely to live in politically diverse areas than they used to be. The idea is that Americans have formed geographical Echo Chambers, where they find themselves surrounded by political lik