Wow, I get it is an opinion piece so it shouldn't be fact-checked, but still, what an absolutely ignorant and naive take on the subject.
It seems like the author has never come across the concept of what a "Behavioral sink" is, which is not really hard to find/understand; as well as the many other sources of data, experiments and thoughts that would easily invalidate the purported benefits he portrays.
"More geniuses, more R&D investment, more ambitious projects, better aesthetics, better careers, more niche communities, more niche markets"; no correlation between this and population size. If you take a look at the most populated cities on Earth, about 8/10 are FAR from being "an aesthetic population center where people live happy and fulfilled lives, with artists and geniuses together to improve human progress". Had the author not traveled outside the US ever in life?
"but that's due to economic and social factors that have kept them subdued for centuries"
1. It's not ...
2. ... even if it was, why would a larger population get rid of those issues instead of making them worse?
It seems like the author has never come across the concept of what a "Behavioral sink" is, which is not really hard to find/understand; as well as the many other sources of data, experiments and thoughts that would easily invalidate the purported benefits he portrays.
"More geniuses, more R&D investment, more ambitious projects, better aesthetics, better careers, more niche communities, more niche markets"; no correlation between this and population size. If you take a look at the most populated cities on Earth, about 8/10 are FAR from being "an aesthetic population center where people live happy and fulfilled lives, with artists and geniuses together to improve human progress". Had the author not traveled outside the US ever in life?
"but that's due to economic and social factors that have kept them subdued for centuries"
1. It's not ...
2. ... even if it was, why would a larger population get rid of those issues instead of making them worse?