In 'Voters as Mad Scientists', Bryan Caplan examines various aspects of political irrationality, including social desirability bias and the ideological Turing test. The book critiques populist narratives and discusses how unselfish but misinformed voters can lead to societal outcomes that are worse than those driven by selfishness.
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].
Is following important political and international news a civic duty — or is it our civic duty to avoid it?
It's common to think that 'staying informed' and checking the headlines every day is just what responsible adults do.
But in today's episode, host Rob Wiblin is joined by economist Bryan Caplan to discuss the book Stop Reading the News: A Manifesto for a Happier, Calmer and Wiser Life — which argues that reading the news both makes us miserable and distorts our understanding of the world. Far from informing us and enabling us to improve the world, consuming the news distracts us, confuses us, and leaves us feeling powerless.
Links to learn more, summary, and full transcript.
In the first half of the episode, Bryan and Rob discuss various alleged problems with the news, including:
- That it overwhelmingly provides us with information we can't usefully act on.
- That it's very non-representative in what it covers, in particular favouring the negative over the positive and the new over the significant.
- That it obscures the big picture, falling into the trap of thinking 'something important happens every day.'
- That it's highly addictive, for many people chewing up 10% or more of their waking hours.
- That regularly checking the news leaves us in a state of constant distraction and less able to engage in deep thought.
- And plenty more.
Bryan and Rob conclude that if you want to understand the world, you're better off blocking news websites and spending your time on Wikipedia, Our World in Data, or reading a textbook. And if you want to generate political change, stop reading about problems you already know exist and instead write your political representative a physical letter — or better yet, go meet them in person.
In the second half of the episode, Bryan and Rob cover:
- Why Bryan is pretty sceptical that AI is going to lead to extreme, rapid changes, or that there's a meaningful chance of it going terribly.
- Bryan’s case that rational irrationality on the part of voters leads to many very harmful policy decisions.
- How to allocate resources in space.
- Bryan's experience homeschooling his kids.
Producer and editor: Keiran Harris
Audio Engineering Lead: Ben Cordell
Technical editing: Simon Monsour and Milo McGuire
Transcriptions: Katy Moore
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