Episode 264 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: an article he wrote in August 2018 on his rethinking of the concept of prosperity by divorcing it from the concept of material abundance.
Day: January 8, 2019
On Voluntaryists III
A popular ethical thought experiment is the question of given the ability to time travel, would you kill baby Hitler? Allow me to nip this supposed quandary in the bud. The voluntaryist approaches this differently than a coercivist. Killing baby Hitler would prevent Hitler’s involvement with the Third Reich, but so would many other actions toward baby Hitler.
Learning Is the Ultimate Motivational Tool
Most people feel unmotivated not because they lack good pep talks, but because they lack good perspective. The key to inspiration is better information.
The Current Career Landscape in 8 Short Points
1. Young people mistakenly assume the way to start their career is to go into debt, spend four years taking tests, following rules, chasing grades and getting a degree. 2. Paper credentials won’t launch your career. Employers don’t care about degrees, they care about the right skills.
Tampering with The Data
The town I used to live near was famous for its coldness. The locals were proud of this. Then, someone (government?) decided that the “official temperature” should be recorded at the airport instead of at the radio station just outside of town (about halfway between town and my house). So, instead of being in a pasture, the “official” thermometer was now located around buildings and a large expanse of concrete.
Banfield on the Hyperbole of Urban Bankruptcy
“When a mayor says that his city is on the verge of bankruptcy, he means that when the time comes to run for reelection he wants to be able to claim credit for straightening out a mess that was left to him by his predecessor.”
Always Be Prepared (To Engage In Trade)
By trading, we performed one of the most profound acts of civilization in an uncivilized place. And in the act of trading my bit of civilization (oranges) for his (hot chocolate), we both gained civilization.