In 'The Case Against Education,' Bryan Caplan argues that a significant portion of the benefits of education are not due to the acquisition of skills or knowledge, but rather to signalling preexisting abilities. He contends that this signalling effect is prevalent across all levels of education, from elementary school to graduate programs. Caplan supports his argument with extensive data, tables, and graphs, as well as personal anecdotes and observations. He also proposes alternative educational approaches, such as technical and vocational training, which he believes are more effective in improving worker productivity. The book is known for its provocative and well-argued critique of the current education system, suggesting reforms like reduced school time and relaxed child labor laws[1][3][4].
Derek Parfit's "Reasons and Persons" is a landmark work in contemporary philosophy, profoundly impacting discussions on personal identity, ethics, and rationality. Parfit challenges traditional notions of the self, arguing that our sense of personal identity is less coherent than we assume. He explores the implications of this for our moral obligations, particularly concerning future generations. The book delves into the complexities of decision-making under uncertainty, examining how we should weigh our present interests against the potential consequences of our actions for the future. Parfit's rigorous analysis and thought-provoking arguments have had a lasting influence on various fields, including ethics, political philosophy, and decision theory. His work continues to stimulate debate and inspire new research.
In 'Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions,' Jeffrey Selingo provides an insightful look into the college admissions process. Embedded in three different admissions offices—a selective private university, a leading liberal arts college, and a flagship public campus—Selingo observed the often agonizing and sometimes life-changing decisions made by admissions officers. He followed select students and their parents, and met with high school counselors, marketers, and other key figures in the admissions process. The book reveals that admissions decisions are frequently more about the college’s agenda than the applicant’s merit, considering factors like diversity, financial considerations, and the likelihood of enrollment. Selingo offers practical advice for students and parents, encouraging them to broaden their notion of what constitutes a 'good college'.
Today's episode is a compilation of interviews I recently recorded for two other shows,
Love Your Work and
The Neoliberal Podcast.
If you've listened to absolutely everything on this podcast feed, you'll have heard four interviews with me already, but fortunately I don't think these two include much repetition, and I've gotten a decent amount of positive feedback on both.
First up, I speak with David Kadavy on his show, Love Your Work.
This is a particularly personal and relaxed interview. We talk about all sorts of things, including nicotine gum, plastic straw bans, whether recycling is important, how many lives a doctor saves, why interviews should go for at least 2 hours, how athletes doping could be good for the world, and many other fun topics.
• Our annual impact survey is about to close — I'd really appreciate if you could take 3–10 minutes to fill it out now.
• The blog post about this episode.
At some points we even actually discuss effective altruism and 80,000 Hours, but you can easily skip through those bits if they feel too familiar.
The second interview is with Jeremiah Johnson on the Neoliberal Podcast. It starts 2 hours and 15 minutes into this recording.
Neoliberalism in the sense used by this show is not the free market fundamentalism you might associate with the term. Rather it's a centrist or even centre-left view that supports things like social liberalism, multilateral international institutions, trade, high rates of migration, racial justice, inclusive institutions, financial redistribution, prioritising the global poor, market urbanism, and environmental sustainability.
This is the more demanding of the two conversations, as listeners to that show have already heard of effective altruism, so we were able to get the best arguments Jeremiah could offer against focusing on improving the long term future of the world.
Jeremiah is more of a fan of donating to evidence-backed global health charities recommended by GiveWell, and does so himself.
I appreciate him having done his homework and forcing me to do my best to explain how well my views can stand up to counterarguments. It was a challenge for me to paint the whole picture in the half an hour we spent on longterm and I expect there's answers in there which will be fresh even for regular listeners.
I hope you enjoy both conversations! Feel free to email me with any feedback.
The 80,000 Hours Podcast is produced by Keiran Harris.
80,000 Hours Podcast 
