The Basics of Understanding Data

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We spend years and years, like the interesting years of people's math development, teaching them things that they don't need to know. Wouldn't it be nice to teach people how to use excel when they're in high school? Or, you know, just to think about data. So much of what we do in life is story telling. I mean, your story teller, obviously, but we can also tell stories with data. And so that's really what i have a mind for the math curriculum, and maybe some financial literacy in there as well.

Choices! Trade-offs! Money! How much should you save? And how much should stimulus checks be? Don’t be scared by the term “economics,” especially since it doesn’t end in -ology. This 2-part Economic Sociology bonanza addresses the behavior that motivates the fiscal systems of the world, from avocado toast to retirement funds. Economist, professor and “Freakonomics” co-author Steven Levitt joins to chat about why we learn too much of the wrong math and how everything from marriage to dinner parties involves little choices rooted in economic principles. Rising economics star and Harvard Fellow Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman graces us with her thoughts on macroeconomics, human capital, when to outsource your work and how she realized she loved Econ. Also: how these interviews helped me make one of my life’s biggest decisions.

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