Is It a Good Idea to Provide a Reason?

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I'd like to think that people are giving genuine reasons, but I do seem to remember one of these pieces of psychological research. It may have been Chaldini. People cut in line and sometimes people would just say, sorry, can I do this and would cut in line? And people didn't like that. But if people gave a reason, even if the reason was utterly vacuous, people found that perfectly acceptable. So maybe the lesson is that the British have simply learned that it's a good idea to provide a reason and it doesn't need to be a good reason. Under that hypothesis, the English are actually a more manipulative culture. Yeah, I mean, we, as

To Tim Harford, mistakes are fascinating. “We often only understand how something works when it breaks,” he says, explaining why there’s such an emphasis on errors throughout his work. They also tend to make great stories, which can stoke the curiosity necessary to change minds. A former persuasive speaking champion, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire “for services to improving economic understanding,” which he’s achieved through appearances on the BBC, columns for the Financial Times, several TED Talks and books, and now his latest podcast series Cautionary Tales.

Tim joined Tyler to discuss the role of popular economics in a politicized world, the puzzling polarization behind Brexit, why good feedback is necessary (and rare), the limits of fact-checking, the “tremendously British” encouragement he received from Prince Charles, playing poker with Steve Levitt, messiness in music, the underrated aspect of formal debate, whether introverts are better at public speaking, the three things he can’t live without, and more.

Note: This conversation was recorded in November 2019 and thus took place before the UK’s general election in December, which secured Boris Johnson a Conservative majority and ensured the passage of his Brexit deal in January 2020.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded November 11th, 2019 Other ways to connect

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