Have you taken a look at my new website mathlabs.app? I just added 4 new labs: Percents, Percent Change, Multiplication, Factors & Multiples. I also created a dedicated X account @MathLabsApp. Please give it a follow for updates on the site.
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Was thinking about this the other day.
What if try out “digital libraries” in cities - add some publicly accessible terminals for interacting with the whole of human knowledge, put a local coffee shop in the front (you’ve got adequate heating built in), then recapture waste heat and pipe it directly into city district heating systems to warm homes and municipal buildings, giving residents discounted heating in the cooler seasons (maybe even include a savings tracker in the coffee shop).
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A fair and balanced look at Alpha from @BradleyKBusch (who also hosts a wonderful podcast everyone interested in learning and education should check out).
I went to visit some Alpha schools yesterday.
I spoke to students, principals, the learning scientists and the people developing their apps.
Here are my reflections…🧵
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Justin Shell retweeted
It took me a long time to realize the key lesson of the Trojan Horse. It's not that it took bravery, that if they failed, they would all die (they would). It's much worse than that. If they failed, nobody would say "good effort" "heroic" "tragic" "iconic". No, everyone would say "what a bunch of stupid f*cking weirdos!! Hahaha, losers. Thought you were tricky? Hide in a wooden horse? WTF??? Serves you right". And that's a fear that holds a lot more people back from greatness than the fear of death.
after reviewing 10,000+ Thiel Fellowship applications, Michael and Danielle developed some pretty unusual ideas about what makes a great founder.
edge control. hyperfluency. the toilet plunger. Danielle's "Friday Night Dyson sphere."
none of these are a personality test.
we're bastards who always find a way.
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The difference in education is that basketball has a single, well-defined goal.
Education often has many, and it’s very hard to get a large enough group that agrees not only on the set of goals, but which ones should take precedence.
Education often has many, and it’s very hard to get a large enough group that agrees not only on the set of goals, but which ones should take precedence.
It’s disappointing how many awful takes on learning come from within the field of education itself.
Imagine some portion of pro basketball coaches deciding that all they'll do during practice is have a group discussion about the sport and their relationship with it.
Thanks to the level of accountability and incentives in athletics, that situation would naturally resolve: the team would get their butt handed to them every game, and the coach would get fired.
It all comes down to measuring performance and holding coaches accountable for obtaining performance results.
But in education, lots of people avoid measuring performance or hide behind nebulous proxy metrics instead (e.g., engagement).
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I agree, but the term “critical thinking” bothers me a bit because it’s somewhat abstract and squishy.
In my mind, critical thinking is the coordination of relevant knowledge with methods of reasoning.
These talks are my effort to focus on the latter.
In my mind, critical thinking is the coordination of relevant knowledge with methods of reasoning.
These talks are my effort to focus on the latter.
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In the recent past we’ve focused on decision making (economics ideas) like tradeoffs, opportunity cost and zero sum/positive sum.
We also did attention (both limits of working memory and how it matters what we spend attention on - which tied to opportunity cost).
Failure and errors (these feel bad but they’re just important signals, not inherently morally bad)
My list that I add to when an idea comes to mind includes (in no special order):
- correlation versus causation
- changing your mind
- uncertainty and probability
- measurement
- habits and defaults
- practice and forming habits
- agency
- incentives
- compounding
- resilience
- fairness
- “obedience to the unenforceable” - norms and manners
We also did attention (both limits of working memory and how it matters what we spend attention on - which tied to opportunity cost).
Failure and errors (these feel bad but they’re just important signals, not inherently morally bad)
My list that I add to when an idea comes to mind includes (in no special order):
- correlation versus causation
- changing your mind
- uncertainty and probability
- measurement
- habits and defaults
- practice and forming habits
- agency
- incentives
- compounding
- resilience
- fairness
- “obedience to the unenforceable” - norms and manners
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Absolutely. It’s really dependent on prerequisite knowledge, but there are a ton of important ideas that have very few prereqs.
And sometimes the introduction and discussion of those ideas surfaces interesting prereq gaps that can be easily filled!
And sometimes the introduction and discussion of those ideas surfaces interesting prereq gaps that can be easily filled!
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Just lots of examples and using the term regularly. They assimilate things really well with enough practice.
I also regularly use the trick of “…this is something not a whole lot of people know about. Want me to tell you about it?”
I also regularly use the trick of “…this is something not a whole lot of people know about. Want me to tell you about it?”
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Zero sum vs positive sum has been the “idea of the month” in our house.
Doubted the younger kids would get it, but my 4yo was upset about her brother getting accolades for helping out, and my 6yo says “It’s not a zero sum game. Just because I got it doesn’t mean you can’t.”
Well played young man.
Doubted the younger kids would get it, but my 4yo was upset about her brother getting accolades for helping out, and my 6yo says “It’s not a zero sum game. Just because I got it doesn’t mean you can’t.”
Well played young man.
Milton Friedman: “Most economic fallacies derive from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another.”
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What if try out “digital libraries” in cities - add some publicly accessible terminals for interacting with the whole of human knowledge, put a local coffee shop in the front (you’ve got adequate heating built in), then recapture waste heat and pipe it directly into city district heating systems to warm homes and municipal buildings, giving residents discounted heating in the cooler seasons (maybe even include a savings tracker in the coffee shop).
I took this pic last week. Opposing datacenters has now turned into a virtue signal. That’s bad
It’s a lot harder to overcome an objection once it hardens into a public commitment or an identity
If you’ve built a reputation around saying no to datacenters (like some politicians r expensive to flip, even if new info emerges or your original concerns get addressed
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Justin Shell retweeted
Big news from KaiPod Learning! 🚀
We're excited to announce additional investment to accelerate our impact.
With 125+ schools across 21 states, we're building the infrastructure to power the next generation of schools—and we're just getting started! Check out the post below! 👇
We're excited to announce additional investment to accelerate our impact.
With 125+ schools across 21 states, we're building the infrastructure to power the next generation of schools—and we're just getting started! Check out the post below! 👇
A new generation of schools is emerging across America. And at @KaiPodCo, we've spent the last six years building the infrastructure to power it.
Today, I'm excited to announce additional investment from our existing investors—Reach Capital, EO Ventures, and Ulu Ventures—to nd expand our impact.
We've built something unique in education: an integrated platform that helps educators launch, operate, and grow great schools. Here's what that looks like today:
🚀 125+ schools across 21 states, serving children from all backgrounds in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
🏫 KaiPod Catalyst is the country's largest school launch program, helping hundreds of educators turn their dreams of starting a school into reality.
💻 KaiPod Newton supports more than 100 schools, bringing modern, purpose-built technology to a sector that's long relied on spreadsheets and software designed for daycares or large institutions.
🤝 We're expanding our work with states and school districts, bringing new schools to more communities.
I've never been more optimistic about the future of education than I am today.
The pieces for meaningful change have finally fallen into place. Families are demanding more choices. Educators are creating new schools. Policymakers are making those options more accessible. And as more great schools emerge, competition is raising the bar for everyone.
Regardless of where we stand on education policy or politics, I believe we share a common goal: more great schools where every child can thrive. We've spent years building the infrastructure for this moment. Now, we're ready to scale it.
And, if you’re an educator, partner, or someone who wants to help build the future of education, I'd love to connect!
I've shared a short video about our journey and where we're headed next.
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I also see bribes as something you give before the task, while incentives are something given afterwards to reward completion.
I.e. I wouldn’t consider someone’s salary a bribe.
I.e. I wouldn’t consider someone’s salary a bribe.
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You said age sorting makes sense because schools need to teach other things like interacting with other kids. Doesn’t that suggest that the age sorting is a critical component of that effort?
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