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Conversations with Tyler / episode intelligence

Tim Harford on Persuasion and Popular Economics

12 Feb 2020 30 published claims 2 attributable people
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Speakers in the public record

Tim HarfordTyler Cowen

Claim mix

belief 14evaluation 7preference 3uncertainty 2commitment 2recommendation 1observation 1

Evidence policy

Every row below preserves an exact excerpt. Identified speakers are linked; unresolved voices are labeled and excluded from people counts.

Claim ledger

The useful parts, with receipts.

30 published records

04 / observation

The vacuous reason was nevertheless persuasive. So, maybe the lesson is that the British have simply learned that it’s a good idea to provide a reason, and it doesn’t need to be a good reason.

“The vacuous reason was nevertheless persuasive. So, maybe the lesson is that the British have simply learned that it’s a good idea to provide a reason, and it doesn’t need to be a good reason.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

05 / belief

There’s obviously a risk in stripping away too much complexity — you strip away something that turned out to be very important. But in principle, I think we aspire to be, and often are quite good at, drawing analogies where things do not seem to be analogous and to say this thing is actually quite like this other thing, and drawing insight from that.

“There’s obviously a risk in stripping away too much complexity — you strip away something that turned out to be very important. But in principle, I think we aspire to be, and often are quite good at, drawing analogies where things do not seem to be analogous and to say this thing is actually quite like this other thing, and drawing insight from that.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

10 / belief

I should also say in Adapt, I do emphasize the importance of small experiments that give you a tremendous amount of information at the lowest possible cost. And I’m not sure Brexit has yet qualified, but I think you could say that about the EU as well.

“I should also say in Adapt, I do emphasize the importance of small experiments that give you a tremendous amount of information at the lowest possible cost. And I’m not sure Brexit has yet qualified, but I think you could say that about the EU as well.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

11 / belief

I think he’s possibly also underrated by fans of Shannon, who are frustrated that he spent most of the second half of his life noodling around, building wearable computers, trying to cheat the casino at Las Vegas, and juggling, and sending in weird poems to journals, rather than actually analyzing things, and just seemed to behave in a very, very frustrating way, and never really settled down, and ride off the back of his fame.

“I think he’s possibly also underrated by fans of Shannon, who are frustrated that he spent most of the second half of his life noodling around, building wearable computers, trying to cheat the casino at Las Vegas, and juggling, and sending in weird poems to journals, rather than actually analyzing things, and just seemed to behave in a very, very frustrating way, and never really settled down, and ride off the back of his fame.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

12 / belief

Let’s focus on what counts. It is astonishing that this organization, this institution that is now about 800, 900 years old, is still going, is still one of the — rightly, I think — one of the most admired universities in the world.

“Let’s focus on what counts. It is astonishing that this organization, this institution that is now about 800, 900 years old, is still going, is still one of the — rightly, I think — one of the most admired universities in the world.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

15 / belief

I think the people who like to rehearse end up rehearsing too much and being too stiff and not being willing to adapt to circumstances, whereas the people who are happy to improvise don’t rehearse enough, and so their comments are ill formed and ill considered.

“I think the people who like to rehearse end up rehearsing too much and being too stiff and not being willing to adapt to circumstances, whereas the people who are happy to improvise don’t rehearse enough, and so their comments are ill formed and ill considered.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

16 / commitment

By the time this podcast is out, I will be doing the edits on the second edition or the second book of 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy, so 50 Things, Season Two.

“By the time this podcast is out, I will be doing the edits on the second edition or the second book of 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy, so 50 Things, Season Two.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

19 / belief

Although I wasn’t very conscious of it, to observe how the Daily Mail and the Guardian and the Telegraph and the Times and the Sun — these classic British newspapers — might all report the exact same event, and to see how different their takes were, I think is a useful education.

“Although I wasn’t very conscious of it, to observe how the Daily Mail and the Guardian and the Telegraph and the Times and the Sun — these classic British newspapers — might all report the exact same event, and to see how different their takes were, I think is a useful education.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

22 / preference

First, a really good cup of coffee — filter coffee, just with the pour-over cone — doesn’t need to be fancy, just needs to be freshly ground, high-quality blend. I prefer it with milk and toast of some nature.

“First, a really good cup of coffee — filter coffee, just with the pour-over cone — doesn’t need to be fancy, just needs to be freshly ground, high-quality blend. I prefer it with milk and toast of some nature.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

23 / evaluation

” The nature of what popular economics is has changed, but the politicization, as well, of everything puts economist in a difficult position because, as any scientist who’s written about climate change or vaccines will tell you, people love scientists until they get into politically controversial territory.

“” The nature of what popular economics is has changed, but the politicization, as well, of everything puts economist in a difficult position because, as any scientist who’s written about climate change or vaccines will tell you, people love scientists until they get into politically controversial territory.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

27 / evaluation

A panel is almost always terrible, and the panel is terrible because people tend to agree with each other, and they don’t feel they’ve got permission to disagree even if they do disagree.

“A panel is almost always terrible, and the panel is terrible because people tend to agree with each other, and they don’t feel they’ve got permission to disagree even if they do disagree.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

28 / preference

I use my computer a lot, but to take notes and to manipulate information quickly — to-do lists, for example — much easier on paper, so it’d be my notebook and pen.

“I use my computer a lot, but to take notes and to manipulate information quickly — to-do lists, for example — much easier on paper, so it’d be my notebook and pen.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler

29 / evaluation

I’ve never seen any research into this, so it should be something that one could test empirically. But as an introvert, I love public speaking because I like being alone, and you’re never more alone than when you’re on the stage.

“I’ve never seen any research into this, so it should be something that one could test empirically. But as an introvert, I love public speaking because I like being alone, and you’re never more alone than when you’re on the stage.”
Speaker
Tim Harford
Publisher
Conversations with Tyler
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