This is currently #1 on HN. I suspect that a lot of people will read this and decide not to look into relevant scholarship because the text here is packaged nicely and it is presented by somebody that this community (rightly) respects very deeply.
In other contexts I've seen Tao cite scholarship outside of his field when engaging with it. I wish he'd done that here.
I don't think being an expert in one field means you need to constantly engage in an academic level of discourse. It's extremely normal for blog posts featuring vibes-based hot takes to hit #1 on HN. I think that's fine, if the take is good.
By exercising their judgment, I suppose. How does anyone know if any take is good? Even experts sometimes post bad takes. There's no substitute for critical reading.
Citing scholarship would be good. Personally this has only piqued my curiosity and has probably only increased the chance I look into the relevant scholarship.
In other contexts I've seen Tao cite scholarship outside of his field when engaging with it. I wish he'd done that here.