Ep. 211: Viewing The World Through The Eyes Of An Economist W/ Steven Landsburg

Greetings, SuperFriends!

Today we are joined by Steven Landsburg. Steven is a professor of economics at the University of Rochester, and he's written a number of books including More Sex is Safer Sex, The Armchair Economist, and, most recently, Can You Outsmart An Economist?.

You may be wondering about what economics has to do with Becoming SuperHuman. Well, the reason I wanted to interview Dr. Landsburg is because of the way that he looks at the world. Economists as a whole see the world differently and are able to understand the reasons behind the things that the rest of us don't see, or think are completely random. You'll immediately see this in the examples that he gives. As it turns out, his latest book's subtitle is "100+ puzzles to train your brain", and I think you'll understand why.

Through the course of the episode, we go deeper and deeper into the logic, rational thinking, and critical thinking that economics has trained Steven to be an expert in. On top of that, we also learn why even a basic study of these kinds of problems, helps him and anyone who studies this stuff better understand the world around them.

It's an absolutely fascinating episode, which I really enjoyed recording, and I know you will enjoy it too!

-Jonathan Levi