"Economic methodology, in turned out, demanded a level of respect for humanity that is often missing in other social sciences. In studying how people make choices, for example, economists don’t presume that, 'People drive too fast because (unlike me) they’re too stupid to understand the dangers.' Economists, instead, must ask, 'Why do intelligent people drive too fast, given that they know and understand the dangers of doing so?' It turns out that assuming that people are smart is more challenging than assuming they’re stupid. But assuming they’re smart yields far greater insights."~ David Henderson from his post 'Robert Graboyes on the Minds of Economists'
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Friday, 2 February 2024
"Assuming that people are smart is more challenging than assuming they’re stupid — and yields far greater insights"
1 comment:
We welcome thoughtful disagreement.
But we do (ir)regularly moderate comments -- and we *will* delete any with insulting or abusive language. Or if they're just inane or off topic. It’s okay to disagree, but pretend you’re having a drink in the living room with the person you’re disagreeing with. This includes me.
PS: Have the honesty and courage to use your real name. That gives added weight to any opinion.
Yes. There’s no doubt a lot of stupidity in the world. However it’s easy to overstate or unjustly label someone’s actions as stupidity because it seems stupid based on our own hierarchy of values, but isn’t stupid for theirs.
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