Signaling and credential inflation -- not learning -- can explain why education pays in the labor market, and why we shouldn't invest (any more) in it, argues Bryan Caplan, economics professor at George Mason University and author of the book The Case Against Education: Why the Education System is a Waste of Time and Money. But is it really... a waste of time and money? Doesn't education have other benefits at least, like "learning to learn"; or sorting personality traits for employers at least; or helping developing economies even? And isn't it interesting that all the people (not just Caplan, but many in Silicon Valley and elsewhere) who argue against education are in fact, ahem, educationally credentialed themselves? This episode of the a16z Podcast, hosted by Marc Andreessen with Sonal Chokshi, takes on Caplan's "cynical idealist" take to probe both the cynical (problems, realities) and idealist (implications, solutions) aspects of education, no matter one's politics. And finally, where does tech (and a bit of sci-fi) come in??
It was a fantastic pleasure to speak to Bryan Caplan for a third time on the podcast! His most recent book is Don't Be a Feminist: Essays on Genuine Justice. He explains why: - Feminists are mostly wrong, - Having centi-billionaires is socially optimal contra Scott Alexander, - Decolonization should have emphasized human rights over democracy, - Visiting Easter Europe convinced him we could accept millions of refugees. Episode website + Transcript: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/bryan-caplan-3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3TFajZo Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3CLSDVn Buy Bryan's Book "Don't Be a Feminist": https://amzn.to/3SWRHE4 Follow Bryan: https://twitter.com/bryan_caplan Follow me: https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Preview 01:03 Don’t Be a Feminist 17:44 Western Feminism Ignores Infanticide 20:58 Why The Universe Hates Women 32:56 Women's Tears Have Too Much Power 46:52 Bryan Performs Standup Comedy! 51:31 Affirmative Action is Philanthropic Propaganda 54:26 Peer-effects as the Only Real Education 58:09 The Idiocy of Student Loan Forgiveness 1:09:00 Why Society is Becoming Mentally Ill 1:11:49 Open Borders & the Ultra-long Term 1:15:51 Why Cowen’s Talent Scouting Strategy is Ludicrous 1:22:21 Surprising Immigration Victories 1:37:19 The Most Successful Revolutions 1:55:27 Anarcho-Capitalism is the Ultimate Government 1:57:41 Billionaires Deserve their Wealth
It was a fantastic pleasure to speak to Bryan Caplan for a third time on the podcast! His most recent book is Don't Be a Feminist: Essays on Genuine Justice. He explains why: - Feminists are mostly wrong, - Having centi-billionaires is socially optimal contra Scott Alexander, - Decolonization should have emphasized human rights over democracy, - Visiting Easter Europe convinced him we could accept millions of refugees. Episode website + Transcript: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/bryan-caplan-3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3TFajZo Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3CLSDVn Buy Bryan's Book "Don't Be a Feminist": https://amzn.to/3SWRHE4 Follow Bryan: https://twitter.com/bryan_caplan Follow me: https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp Follow me on Twitter for updates on future episodes. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Preview 01:03 Don’t Be a Feminist 17:44 Western Feminism Ignores Infanticide 20:58 Why The Universe Hates Women 32:56 Women's Tears Have Too Much Power 46:52 Bryan Performs Standup Comedy! 51:31 Affirmative Action is Philanthropic Propaganda 54:26 Peer-effects as the Only Real Education 58:09 The Idiocy of Student Loan Forgiveness 1:09:00 Why Society is Becoming Mentally Ill 1:11:49 Open Borders & the Ultra-long Term 1:15:51 Why Cowen’s Talent Scouting Strategy is Ludicrous 1:22:21 Surprising Immigration Victories 1:37:19 The Most Successful Revolutions 1:55:27 Anarcho-Capitalism is the Ultimate Government 1:57:41 Billionaires Deserve their Wealth
I interview the economist Bryan Caplan about his new book, Labor Econ Versus the World, and many other related topics. Podcast website + Transcript: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/bryan-caplan-2 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3AIeFYe Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cAI4vk Follow me on Twitter to be notified of future content: https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp Buy Bryan's book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QF44HHG Timestamps: 0:00:00 Intro 0:00:33 How many workers are useless, and why is labor force participation so low? 0:03:47 Is getting out of poverty harder than we think? 0:10:43 Are elites to blame for poverty? 0:14:56 Is human nature to blame for poverty? 0:19:11 Remote work and foreign wages 0:24:43 The future of the education system? 0:29:31 Do employers care about the difficulty of a curriculum? 0:33:13 Why do companies and colleges discriminate against Asians? 0:42:01 Applying Hanania's unitary actor model to mental health 0:50:38 Why are multinationals so effective? 0:53:37 Open borders and cultural norms 0:58:13 Is Tyler Cowen right about automation?
I interview the economist Bryan Caplan about his new book, Labor Econ Versus the World, and many other related topics. Podcast website + Transcript: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/bryan-caplan-2 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3AIeFYe Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3cAI4vk Follow me on Twitter to be notified of future content: https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp Buy Bryan's book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QF44HHG Timestamps: 0:00:00 Intro 0:00:33 How many workers are useless, and why is labor force participation so low? 0:03:47 Is getting out of poverty harder than we think? 0:10:43 Are elites to blame for poverty? 0:14:56 Is human nature to blame for poverty? 0:19:11 Remote work and foreign wages 0:24:43 The future of the education system? 0:29:31 Do employers care about the difficulty of a curriculum? 0:33:13 Why do companies and colleges discriminate against Asians? 0:42:01 Applying Hanania's unitary actor model to mental health 0:50:38 Why are multinationals so effective? 0:53:37 Open borders and cultural norms 0:58:13 Is Tyler Cowen right about automation?
Bryan Caplan is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a New York Times Bestselling author. His most famous works include The Myth of the Rational Voter, The Case Against Education, and Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration. For the inaugural episode of The Lunar Society, Bryan Caplan talks with me about open borders, the idea trap, UBI, appeasement, China, the education system, and Bryan Caplan's next two books on poverty and housing regulation. Episode Website: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/bryan-caplan Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3TqzW16 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3QZlLOV Follow Bryan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bryan_caplan Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp
Bryan Caplan is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University and a New York Times Bestselling author. His most famous works include The Myth of the Rational Voter, The Case Against Education, and Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration. For the inaugural episode of The Lunar Society, Bryan Caplan talks with me about open borders, the idea trap, UBI, appeasement, China, the education system, and Bryan Caplan's next two books on poverty and housing regulation. Episode Website: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/bryan-caplan Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3TqzW16 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3QZlLOV Follow Bryan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bryan_caplan Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp