On this episode, I chat with Tyler Cowen, economics professor, author, and creator of the wildly popular blog, Marginal Revolution. We cover a lot of interesting ground, including advances in technology, thinking about thinking, complacency, and intelligently preparing for an uncertain future.
Now available on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Transcript
Other than hosting one of the most popular economic blogs in the world, Tyler is also an economics professor at George Mason University, a regular New York Times columnist, and the author of over a dozen books, including Average is Over, and The Complacent Class.
Here are a few highlights from our conversation:
- How the future of labor will look drastically different than it does today, and what we can do to future-proof our livelihood
- The pros and cons of virtual reality and the impact it could have on society
- The fate of newspapers and how information will be more and more “bundled” according to our tastes and preferences
- Race relations in the world, and how in many ways we’ve taken discouraging steps backwards
- How we’re losing touch with the physical world, and some of the symptoms that indicate that we could be in for a rough ride
- What Tyler suggests doing to improve decision making and how important (and rare) that skill will be in the coming years
- Tyler’s advice to parents about how to foster resilience, tenacity and internal drive in their children
- Tyler’s “quake books” and the reading process he’s developed over the years that keeps him sharp
- Why giving books as gifts can be dangerous
- The one skill every person should possess before Googling anything
- What playing competitive chess as a child taught Tyler about how he thinks and views the world today
And much more, including Tyler’s thoughts on minimum wage, bitcoin, and his favorite television programs.
If you want to upgrade your thinking so you’re prepared for the brave new world that’s rapidly developing before our eyes, you won’t want to miss this fascinating episode.
Enjoy!
