Lots of theories for why older science and art seem to have an easier time getting critical acclaim.

https://www.cold-takes.com/reader-reactions-and-update-on-wheres-todays-beethoven/

Want more innovation? Think about population, not recapturing "golden age" culture.

https://www.cold-takes.com/why-it-matters-if-ideas-get-harder-to-find/

Why is no composer today as acclaimed as Beethoven, no author as acclaimed as Shakespeare? A data-driven look at a few possible explanations.

https://www.cold-takes.com/wheres-todays-beethoven/

An attempt to help visualize utopia, without running into pitfalls I covered previously.

https://www.cold-takes.com/visualizing-utopia/

The activity that has been most formative for the way I think: suspending my trust in others and digging to the bottom of some claim.

https://www.cold-takes.com/minimal-trust-investigations/

Homicide rates have fallen over the past 1000+ years, but wars and genocides may have gotten bigger. How does it net out?

https://www.cold-takes.com/has-violence-declined-when-we-include-the-world-wars-and-other-major-atrocities/

Five clashing pictures of how to help the world, and the questions about history they raise.

https://www.cold-takes.com/rowing-steering-anchoring-equity-mutiny/