The Knowledge Project #39 Tyler Cowen: Thinking About Thinking
Pace of Change
- Societal change has slowed down compared to the early 20th century.
- Tyler Cowen compares the rate of change experienced by his grandmother to his own.
Meta-Rationality
- Be "meta-rational" and recognize your limitations.
- Defer to algorithms and expert opinions, especially online.
Parenting Advice
- Expose children to diverse role models and mentors.
- Parental influence is limited, so broaden a child's social circle.
There are only a handful of websites that I read religiously. One of those is MarginalRevolution.com, started by my next guest, Tyler Cowen.
Other than hosting one of the most popular economic blogs in the world, Tyler is also an economics professor at George Mason University, a regular New York Times columnist, and the author of over a dozen books, including Average is Over, and The Complacent Class.
With such a prolific guest, it’s no wonder that we cover a lot of ground. In this episode, we discuss:
- How the future of labor will look drastically different than it does today, and what we can do to future-proof our livelihood
- The pros and cons of virtual reality and the impact it could have on society
- The fate of newspapers and how information will be more and more “bundled” according to our tastes and preferences
- Race relations in the world, and how in many ways we’ve taken discouraging steps backwards
- How we’re losing touch with the physical world, and some of the symptoms that indicate that we could be in for a rough ride
- What Tyler suggests doing to improve decision making and how important (and rare) that skill will be in the coming years
- Tyler’s advice to parents about how to foster resilience, tenacity and internal drive in their children
- Tyler’s “quake books” and the reading process he’s developed over the years that keeps him sharp
- Why giving books as gifts can be dangerous
- The one skill every person should possess before Googling anything
- What playing competitive chess as a child taught Tyler about how he thinks and views the world today
And much more, including Tyler’s thoughts on minimum wage, bitcoin, and his favorite television programs.
If you want to upgrade your thinking so you’re prepared for the brave new world that’s rapidly developing before our eyes, you won’t want to miss this fascinating episode.
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