I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what Arnold Kling calls the inner life. But even with the added motivation of audience pre-commitment, I found it very challenging to write about myself in a personal way.
Finally I landed on a concept I didn’t hate that might accommodate the various loose threads that have been dominating my thinking these past weeks: a self-interview, lightly disciplined by asking friends to pose some of the questions.
As for the rest… several are drawn directly from the Talent appendix, while others emerged in consultation with Phantom Tyler Cowen and similar such muses. I hope you enjoy.
I’d like to start by asking you something about revealed preferences in a past lifetime. Assuming you were a sultan or a great prince previously, what did you do to get demoted?
Is my current life really a demotion from that of a sultan? That would be my first reaction, for the standard economic reasons…
In Latter-day Saint doctrine, there are past lives without reincarnation which adds an interesting dimension. If coming here is itself a choice after existing before as a spirit in the presence of God, revealed preference takes on a very deep significance.
In particular, there is a concept of more recent generations having been reserved for the latter days as both a test and an opportunity for influence at a time when so much more is possible. The pinnacle of existence is greater agency applied to a worthy purpose, and in that light I’ll say being born in America in this era is definitely a promotion from being a sultan.
What music has most influenced your worldview?
I don’t much listen to it anymore, but rap music has had a significant impact.
In high school, my friend downloaded Henry Adaso’s top 100 rap songs and I spent a lot of time with those artists. When Lupe Fiasco got grilled on the O’Reilly Factor, I remember being disappointed Bill didn’t engage with the music in a more serious way.
Since then I’ve had a number of experiences where rap served as an entry point to meaningful friendships and the cracking of cultural codes. I was also an early adopter of Rapchat.
Which logical fallacy has the most redeeming qualities?
I’ll stand up for the sunk cost fallacy. In some ways it’s goes along with over-optimism, which can be adaptive in motivation-scarce environments. I also wonder whether it helps mitigate collective action problems by keeping us invested in relationships beyond the point of selfish returns.
Are you a bullet-dodger or a bullet-swallower?
I have too many misgivings about iconoclasm to be a bullet-swallower, but “make a mental note of it and move on” isn’t an accurate description either. I mull over bullets.
What are your open browser tabs?
A lot of them are related to posts I envisioned writing at some time or another.
There’s one on the fragility of the coherent whole that involved looking into Andrei Kirilenko’s advanced stats and thinking about why holistic talent often falls short of potential. Another one speculates about Milton Friedman’s views on dysgenic effects.
For this post, I have a lot of Borges open along with quotes from various thinkers that manifest a desire to protect their inner identity from danger in various ways. Here is one I found striking:
Also—a short story my sister sent me and ChatGPT. And lots of Seth Roberts.
What MR posts deserve to be raised in status?
The ones people think are silly or obviously wrong.
What is one view held by the mainstream or as a consensus that you wholeheartedly agree with?
School helps people learn. Also, the education system is broken in many places.
Which of your beliefs are you least rational about?
I’m not so hung up on this anymore, but growing up I had a very hard time believing that anyone else was smarter than me. I invested a lot of mental energy in defining my own bespoke criteria under which I was the cleverest.
And I’m grateful I did.
Tell us something about your production function.
I’m not the most naturally consistent person, but I’ve learned to compensate by making the most of big moments. I’m good at recognizing opportunities and am usually bold enough to strike while the iron is hot.
Also persistence…
What is the last thing you changed your mind about?
That there is more than a kernel of truth to the contention that higher ed is shockingly right-wing. I think it follows that I am in fact a little bit woke in some manner.
How did you get the name Infovores?
From Arnold Kling. I was previously The Infovore.
You were an open tab on my Brave browser, which I'm trying to clean up. Saw it and thought - haven't seen much of you on Kling's site, what are you up to?
This was a fine neo-interview with Q&A. I have one more question for you: what one policy that seems politically realistic would you prioritize support for?
My (two not one) answers are a) 8 year term limits on being a Federal bureaucrat, including IC folk (who can go back to military or state law enforcement); and
b) require colleges to have at least 30% Republican professors & staff, as well as 30% Dems, in order to qualify for tax exempt status.