4 ms·

Thanks for this comment. It's been a strange journey for me following this magazine, where at first it seemed like they were writing about topics that other wes

Thanks for this comment. It's been a strange journey for me following this magazine, where at first it seemed like they were writing about topics that other western media were not, but eventually it became dominated by well-worn talking points of the American right. Or perhaps the American right shifted in the direction of this magazine? Either way, it all started to feel a bit tedious so I gave up.

15457345234 3y ago
Their article 'Complex systems won't survive the competence crisis' was an interesting read and made some good points, it appeared that they were approaching the issue from a perspective of troubleshooting and rectification, i.e. genuine governance. Other articles give the impression that they're more into the 'nuclear lifeboat'/'galt's gulch' strategy and give off sinister vibes. I personally wouldn't use the word 'cryptofascist' but others might. Like you I have the same conclusion... interesting at first, gets alarming & repetitive.
- walterbell 3y ago
  Any recommendations for publications which cover similar topics?
  - 15457345234 3y ago
    I can't think of any other magazines that are likely to host articles such as ' “The Universe Wants Us to Take Her Clothes Off” With Grimes ' sorry
    - walterbell 3y ago
      Sorry for being unclear. Other magazines which cover topics such as these: > Their article 'Complex systems won't survive the competence crisis' was an interesting read and made some good points, it appeared that they were approaching the issue from a perspective of troubleshooting and rectification, i.e. genuine governance.
      - 15457345234 3y ago
        I think for intellectual commentary from the US perspective you can try The Atlantic & The New Yorker, there's another similar one but I forget the name. For slightly less commentary and more facts The Economist is good, that's from a UK perspective. If you're Australian, Quillette is the only one I know
  - alephnerd 3y ago
    I used to work in the space, so probably a mix of - Academic books (generally HUP, OUP, UCUP though the occasion PUP is alright) - White Papers from top tier think tanks (use the UPenn Rankings [0]) - Axios and Politico - their target readership is aimed directly at those working on the Hill or Hill adjacent Just sticking with these 3 types of resources should be enough. Also, IGNORE anything on Twitter, Reddit, or HN. The lesswrong/r\credibledefense types are all idiots ime. Using an "objective" tone doesn't make rubbish "objective" [0] - https://www.bruegel.org/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2020-Global-Go-To-Think-Tank-Index-Report-Bruegel.pdf https://www.bruegel.org/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploa...
    - 15457345234 3y ago
      Axios and Politico Both of these, in my experience, are dreck-tier sources and Politico was bought vaguely recently by Axel Springer which emits Business Insider, which is also a reddit-tier publication.
      - alephnerd 3y ago
        The only place I have ever seen the kind of sentiment you mentioned is on Reddit and then on LessWrong (not sure which came first). Don't tell me about the resources I read to do my daily job. Axel Springer hasn't touched the Politico operation (if it did, I would be the first to have heard). And Axios is heavily used in the dealmaking community. They hired most of the ex-Protocol, Reuters, Bloomberg, NYT, TechCrunch, and Politico reporters who's beat was the intersection of dealmaking and policy.
- jonstewart 3y ago
  The best way to combat the competence crisis, proven over centuries, would be to fund public education, yet it’s a curiously absent policy position in their publication (because, ick, taxes).
  - thaumasiotes 3y ago
    Public education is already very heavily funded. As of last report, the correlation between funding and student performance was negative, suggesting that additional funding is unlikely to achieve much.
    - nonrandomstring 3y ago
      Indeed. Money won't solve it. The crisis in education is cultural. It's profound, deep, and I think it will end us more surely than climate change, war or disease. We're heading toward an inability to replicate our own essential cultural DNA, whether in institutions or in common values. We've become anti-intellectual, iconoclastic, lazy and idolatrous - and sadly one cause of this is technology and our misplaced belief in systems rather than human values - in certainty rather than toil. "Competence" is a jolly complex thing. It's more than the ability to pull levers and operate systems that someone else put in place. It involves transcendent thinking, leadership and confidence, but also duty, patience, loyalty, love and dozens of other qualities we now think we "are better than".
      - bigbillheck 3y ago
        > We've become anti-intellectual, iconoclastic, lazy and idolatrous Perfect example of the crisis in education. (We've always been this way.)
        nonrandomstring 3y ago
        > We've always been this way. That makes it fine then.

15457345234 3y ago

Their article 'Complex systems won't survive the competence crisis' was an interesting read and made some good points, it appeared that they were approaching the issue from a perspective of troubleshooting and rectification, i.e. genuine governance. Other articles give the impression that they're more into the 'nuclear lifeboat'/'galt's gulch' strategy and give off sinister vibes. I personally wouldn't use the word 'cryptofascist' but others might. Like you I have the same conclusion... interesting at first, gets alarming & repetitive.

walterbell 3y ago
Any recommendations for publications which cover similar topics?
- 15457345234 3y ago
  I can't think of any other magazines that are likely to host articles such as ' “The Universe Wants Us to Take Her Clothes Off” With Grimes ' sorry
  - walterbell 3y ago
    Sorry for being unclear. Other magazines which cover topics such as these: > Their article 'Complex systems won't survive the competence crisis' was an interesting read and made some good points, it appeared that they were approaching the issue from a perspective of troubleshooting and rectification, i.e. genuine governance.
    - 15457345234 3y ago
      I think for intellectual commentary from the US perspective you can try The Atlantic & The New Yorker, there's another similar one but I forget the name. For slightly less commentary and more facts The Economist is good, that's from a UK perspective. If you're Australian, Quillette is the only one I know
- alephnerd 3y ago
  I used to work in the space, so probably a mix of - Academic books (generally HUP, OUP, UCUP though the occasion PUP is alright) - White Papers from top tier think tanks (use the UPenn Rankings [0]) - Axios and Politico - their target readership is aimed directly at those working on the Hill or Hill adjacent Just sticking with these 3 types of resources should be enough. Also, IGNORE anything on Twitter, Reddit, or HN. The lesswrong/r\credibledefense types are all idiots ime. Using an "objective" tone doesn't make rubbish "objective" [0] - https://www.bruegel.org/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2020-Global-Go-To-Think-Tank-Index-Report-Bruegel.pdf https://www.bruegel.org/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploa...
  - 15457345234 3y ago
    Axios and Politico Both of these, in my experience, are dreck-tier sources and Politico was bought vaguely recently by Axel Springer which emits Business Insider, which is also a reddit-tier publication.
    - alephnerd 3y ago
      The only place I have ever seen the kind of sentiment you mentioned is on Reddit and then on LessWrong (not sure which came first). Don't tell me about the resources I read to do my daily job. Axel Springer hasn't touched the Politico operation (if it did, I would be the first to have heard). And Axios is heavily used in the dealmaking community. They hired most of the ex-Protocol, Reuters, Bloomberg, NYT, TechCrunch, and Politico reporters who's beat was the intersection of dealmaking and policy.
jonstewart 3y ago
The best way to combat the competence crisis, proven over centuries, would be to fund public education, yet it’s a curiously absent policy position in their publication (because, ick, taxes).
- thaumasiotes 3y ago
  Public education is already very heavily funded. As of last report, the correlation between funding and student performance was negative, suggesting that additional funding is unlikely to achieve much.
  - nonrandomstring 3y ago
    Indeed. Money won't solve it. The crisis in education is cultural. It's profound, deep, and I think it will end us more surely than climate change, war or disease. We're heading toward an inability to replicate our own essential cultural DNA, whether in institutions or in common values. We've become anti-intellectual, iconoclastic, lazy and idolatrous - and sadly one cause of this is technology and our misplaced belief in systems rather than human values - in certainty rather than toil. "Competence" is a jolly complex thing. It's more than the ability to pull levers and operate systems that someone else put in place. It involves transcendent thinking, leadership and confidence, but also duty, patience, loyalty, love and dozens of other qualities we now think we "are better than".
    - bigbillheck 3y ago
      > We've become anti-intellectual, iconoclastic, lazy and idolatrous Perfect example of the crisis in education. (We've always been this way.)
      - nonrandomstring 3y ago
        > We've always been this way. That makes it fine then.