People don’t pass you information because it is true, they pass you information because it benefits them to do so. People don’t study information because it is true, people study what information benefits them. This isn’t a slight at scientists. Few people would suggest that scientists ought to spend time studying information that has no benefit. Many scientists study information based off of flawed premises built within the culture. Few scientists get grants from disinterested parties. The force that links “knowledge” to accuracy or truth is incentives.
Tag: value
Brandon’s Journey, Defiant Personalities, & Open-Mindedness (1h19m) – Episode 104
Episode 104 welcomes Brandon McKean to the podcast for a chat with Skyler. Topics include: working with his hands, childhood and adolescence, employment at a young age, woodworking, managing a crew, Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers and David & Goliath, property rights and his Scottish ancestors, crime in society, responsibility, schooling, Christian values and agnosticism, Murray Rothbard, voting, freemasonry, open-mindedness toward the possibilities of deity, the afterlife, past life regression, and the paranormal, and more.
Self Regulation Should be a Higher Value
Another topic I have been thinking about recently however is, protesters are demanding the likes of Apple and Facebook make their products and services less enjoyable/provide less value. These protesters claim that Apple holds them captive or Facebook is too addictive and hurting social cohesion. I don’t disagree with this view but I don’t see this as a reason we need to protest.
Capitalism vs. Socialism: Reply to Bruenig
Since Elizabeth Bruenig has posted her whole opening debate statement, I thought I’d reply point-by-point. She’s in blockquotes; I’m not. Before I get started, though, let me say that personally, Elizabeth seems a gracious and kind human being. Still, even if I were an avid socialist, I’d be baffled by the way she tackles the issue.
Capitalism vs. Socialism: The Bruenig-Caplan Debate
“Capitalism” and “socialism” – what do these words even mean? You could just say that capitalism is the economic system of countries like the United States, and socialism is the economic system of countries like the former Soviet Union. In that case, I’d say that capitalism is at least ok, while socialism is hell on earth. Perhaps my opponent would even agree! It’s more fruitful, though, to treat capitalism and socialism as positions on the ideal economic system. Something like: the capitalist ideal is that government plays very little role in the economy – and the socialist ideal is that government plays the leading role in the economy. In that case, I say that capitalism is awesome, and socialism is terrible.
Why Intellectuals Should Leave Academia
Professors and teachers: The best way to increase the quality and engagement of students is to separate your instruction from accredited institutions. Don’t complain about low quality students; they’re not there for you and mostly don’t care about your ideas. They’re there for a piece of paper they think is a magic ticket to acceptance in the world and they suffer through your class at a cost. You’re too good to deal with students like that who don’t value your work!
Pay Attention To What You Laugh At
It’s too bad that laughter which comes from shock sounds about the same as laughter which comes from delight. The practical effect of that is that the person saying reprehensible things feels that you are in on their joke. They feel affirmed. And many conversations go just this way.
School Writing vs. Real Writing
The entire education apparatus, from kindergarten through college, teaches skills relevant to how to succeed in academia, and nothing relevant to how to succeed in the free-market. Take writing as one example.
What if Everyone Was Forced to go to Auto Mechanic School?
There’s nothing bad about auto mechanic school. But it’s easy to spot the absurdity of forcing every person to spend 12 or 16 or 20 years in it and telling them it will be valuable no matter their interests, goals, or future career. It’s no less absurd to do what we currently do and force everyone to go to professor school for most of their young life.
Not All Molestation is Sexual
Your “polite” neighbors believe cops have a legitimate function: to molest bad guys by stopping them from hurting people or violating property. And if they actually did that without molesting the rest of us, I wouldn’t be completely against policing. But they don’t– because they can’t. Molestation is built into the “job” and is a result of every encounter with them.