(I am now on Twitter , so you can follow this blog there too if you prefer it. --Boaz) Between Zoom meetings and deadlines, I thought I'd jot down a few of my impressions so far on what lessons we can draw from this period on how well research and education can work online. I've … Continue reading Lessons from COVID-19: What works online and what doesn’t

(If you're not already following him, I highly recommend reading Luca Trevisan's dispatches from Milan, much more interesting than what I write below.) On the topic of my last post, Ross Douthat writes in the New York Times that "In the fog of coronavirus, there are no experts", even citing Scott Aaronson's post. Both Aaronson … Continue reading Experts shmexperts

Scott Aaronson blogged in defense of "armchair epidemiology". Scott makes several points I agree with, but he also advocates that rather than discounting ideas from "contrarians" who have no special expertise in the matter, each one of us should evaluate the input of such people on its merits. I disagree. I can judge on their … Continue reading In defense of expertise