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A batch of the best highlights from what Quinn's read, .
Everyone has a firmly held belief that an equally smart and informed person disagrees with.
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The Expert Identification Problem and the Challenges of Democratic Decision-Making
Key takeaways:
• The expert identification problem is a major concern when it comes to trusting experts in a democracy.
• Democracies aim to harness the intellectual power of diversity for better solutions.
• The challenge lies in recognizing the best solutions when they require expertise that the democratic entity may not possess.
• There is no clear solution to this problem, and democracy remains the best way to organize society according to the speaker.
Transcript:
Speaker 2
So for a long time I would say that the problem I've been most obsessed with is something I call the expert identification problem it's like how does the non-expert figure out which expert To trust if they don't have the expertise and one of the worries about a democracy is that it runs straight into the expert identification problem right like if we're democratically Voting on what to do we are aggregate non-experts I mean I'm not talking here about like oh we are the experts and you all are not even if you are the world expert in X you're a non-expert In a million other fields right so as an aggregate we are non-expert so here's the real worry for me if you have the right solution how would that get democratically approved Helen Landemore Is this a political theorist I really like she's part of a movement who are epistemic democrats and they think that democracies are the best way to harness the intellectual power of Diversity and the basic model is something like diverse people will come up with a better set of solutions and when you put them together the best solutions will rise to the top and my Worry is how will the democratic entity recognize which are the best solutions because if the best solution requires expertise to recognize and the democratic entity as an aggregate Is not an expert how will they figure it out and that's a problem I'm not sure there's a solution to and I also can't think of a better way to organize the world than democratically
Paul Smaldino & C. Thi Nguyen on Problems With Value Metrics & Governance at Scale
COMPLEXITY: Physics of Life
Selling Your Ideas Through Sheets Of Paper
Summary:
To make a positive first impression at events like South by Southwest, don't try to sell someone in person.
Instead, hand them a well-crafted pitch on a folded piece of paper and include your phone number. Leaving a memento and acknowledging their busy schedule can also help make a good impression.
Transcript:
Speaker 1
How do i make a positive first impression? Your job at south by southwest is to not make a bad impression. Oeh. Because if all you're doing is trying to sell someone, there are many different ways to do it, aside from coming to south by southwest. What i would recommend, especially ini an instance where you're trying to reach, say, an alister, write somebody who's getting mobbed and pitched all day long, like an anthony bordan, Or whoever it might be, don't try to give the pitch in person. Give them a folded up piece of paper with a page that you've painstakingly crafted. That is the perfect pitch. Include your phone number. You'd be surprised how many v ip folks like to call. Folks we esciped have a conversation. Is supposed to send you their personal emal for instance, don't make an impression. Leave a memento. Just say, hey, i realize you're super busy agout this long line of people. You're under a lot of pressure. I've thought about this. I think this will be of great interest to you.
#99 — How to Build a World-Class Network in Record Time
The Tim Ferriss Show
...catch up on these, and many more highlights
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