Modern Wisdom

#531 - Russ Roberts - An Economist’s Guide To Life’s Big Decisions

Sep 26, 2022

01:03:39

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Episode guests

Russ Roberts

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Quick takeaways

Rational decision-making falls short when it comes to important life decisions that involve values and meaning beyond immediate pleasure or pain.

Decisions like marriage, having children, and choosing a career cannot be reduced to simple calculations and expected outcomes.

Understanding the anticipation effect and fading affect bias can help individuals navigate uncertainty and make decisions that maximize enjoyment and fulfillment in life.

Deep dives

The Limitations of Rational Decision-Making

Rational decision-making falls short when it comes to important life decisions that involve values and meaning beyond immediate pleasure or pain. The economist toolkit of cost-benefit analysis and maximizing utility may not be applicable in these situations.

Confucius and Confucianism

01:00

Reverse the Anxiety Cost With the Anticipation Effect

03:24

What Do You Want to Be?

03:31

Understanding the Principles and the Artistry of Life

01:45

Introduction

5min

You Have Infinite Wants, but You Can't Always Get What You Want

2min

The Economist Toolkit Is What's in It for Me?

4min

The City of Emergence

5min

The Expected Value Calculator for a Parent's Choice

2min

What Do You Want to Be?

4min

Release the Tiller

2min

The Pro-Marriage Column

5min

You Can't Go Back

2min

10.

The Anxiety Cost

5min

11.

Reverse the Anxiety Cost With the Anticipation Effect

3min

12.

Is the Unexamined Life Really Not Worth Living?

2min

13.

Is Ignorance Bliss?

5min

14.

Getting Things Done

5min

15.

Is There a Narrative Fallacy?

2min

16.

Having Robust Principles and Hard Rules That Scale

2min

17.

Is There a One-Way Street?

2min

18.

Is There a Best One for You?

4min

19.

What Are You Looking For?

4min

Russ Roberts is an economist, a research fellow at Stanford University, an author and a podcaster.

Economics promised us a model which works for all of life's decisions. From what to buy for lunch to investing in a company. But when you're faced with decisions like where to live, how many children to have, whether to get married or what sort of person you want to be, it falls short. Thankfully Russ has a new toolkit.

Expect to learn why Charles Darwin made a checklist before marriage which said his wife was slightly better than a dog, why the decision about whether to have children is so difficult to predict, whether rationality is totally incompatible with the decisions that define us, why happiness is overrated as an optimising function, whether tradition is any use and much more...

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Modern Wisdom

#531 - Russ Roberts - An Economist’s Guide To Life’s Big Decisions

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Limitations of Rational Decision-Making

The Complexity of Life's Big Decisions

Navigating Life's Wild Problems

The Power of Irreversible Decisions

The Role of Anticipation and Pain in Decision-Making

Confucius and Confucianism

Reverse the Anxiety Cost With the Anticipation Effect

What Do You Want to Be?

Understanding the Principles and the Artistry of Life

Get the Snipd
podcast app

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

Save any
moment

Share
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AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

Modern Wisdom

#531 - Russ Roberts - An Economist’s Guide To Life’s Big Decisions

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Limitations of Rational Decision-Making

The Complexity of Life's Big Decisions

Navigating Life's Wild Problems

The Power of Irreversible Decisions

The Role of Anticipation and Pain in Decision-Making

Confucius and Confucianism

Reverse the Anxiety Cost With the Anticipation Effect

What Do You Want to Be?

Understanding the Principles and the Artistry of Life

Get the Snipdpodcast app

AI-poweredpodcast player

Discoverhighlights

Save anymoment

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