I tend to assume my long-time readers are the first to find my content in other far-flung forums, but just in case not, I want to alert everyone to a free daily series of five pieces I’ve been releasing this week on Substack. Think of it as a little thank you to everyone who was so quick to subscribe when I launched, and a quick sampler of some of my core themes and obsessions for those still weighing whether to sign on for the Substack paid content stream (a combination of occasional deep dives in a written format + weekly (or more frequent) podcasts, as well as the gated comment community).
Whether I remember to cross-promote here on the blog or not, you’ll get automatically alerted to these occasional free releases if you’re on the free Substack list, so whether paid or free, I hope you’ll take a second to get on my Substack list today.
Day 1, I surveyed the evolving landscape of biotech:
In the late 2000s Peter Thiel and Tyler Cowen made waves arguing that technological progress had declined since the middle of the 20th century. Having spent my adulthood in the period between 2000 and 2020, I was quite open to the idea. I watched the Jetsons. We don’t live in the world of the Jetsons.
Day 2, I made the case that to begin to understand China today, you really need to know your Zhou, a pervasive influence on Chinese society down to the present day that dates back 3000 years:
It’s a meme that China has “5,000 years of history.” This is false. The first historically attested dynasty is the Shang, which emerged approximately 3,600 years ago. And even the Shang are semi-historical, insofar as many of the details of the Shang society and state are known only superficially. The Shang are shadows to us, not flesh and blood narratives.
Day 3, Today, IQ gets its due: I look back over centuries of human achievement and interest in such measurement. And then I examine what history suggests might await us as we pitch out this long-used bulwark against entrenched elite hoarding of prestige opportunities:
Homo sapiens are very smart. They are very smart because they have large brains. This is not controversial. In relation to our body size, humans have bulging craniums housing large brains. About 20% of our caloric intake feeds our brain when we’re resting even though it’s only 2% of our body weight. It’s a calorically expensive organ.
Day 4 and Day 5 remain.
And if you’re one of those still considering whether to sign up for the paid Substack or whether to give it as a gift this holiday season, now’s a good time to lock in the forum’s lowest allowed pricing. I’ll be adjusting it up after the new year.
Do realize the original story-line that Hanna Barbera came up with for the Jetsons was the year 2062, 100 years following the release of the cartoon in 1962. We still have plenty of time to get the “Jetson’s” future by then.
I would seriously consider subscribing to Khan’s substack, but I don’t seem to be able to find out how much it would cost without first signing up. Am I missing something? I believe Khan does everything in good faith, but it does feel like poor form to force you to sign up for a list that you might just have to cancel anyway once you are faced with full information.
just sign up as free. you can upgrade later if you want.
here’s the direct subscribe link with pricing (i’m bumping up in jan probably) https://razib.substack.com/subscribe
I don’t see pricing at that link. My experience with substack is that you need to sign up at the free tier before learning pricing. This annoys me, but probably you should trust substack that it’s the right design (but don’t claim the subscribe link includes pricing). Pricing is visible at the gift link which is not easy to find on most substacks, including yours.
ok
well right now it’s $5/month and $50/year
this is the lowest monthly rate possible. on jan 1 it’s going to go to $8/month and $80/year. the low price has had a pretty good response, and to be entirely honest i may not be worth the bryne hobart premium finance/econ price, but i don’t think i’m that much lower than noah smith 😉