Why Is Pig Milk the One Milk We Don’t Drink? (NSQ Ep. 71)
Also: what’s a food you love that seems disgusting to everyone else? * * * Relevant Research & References Here’s where you can learn more about the people and ideas in this episode: SOURCES
RESOURCES
EXTRAS The post Why Is Pig Milk the One Milk We Don’t Drink? (NSQ Ep. 71) appeared first on Freakonomics. Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://annadesuza.blogspot.com/2021/10/why-is-pig-milk-one-milk-we-dont-drink.html October 25, 2021 at 10:18AM
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Marc Davis Can’t Stop Watching Basketball — But He Doesn’t Care Who Wins (People I (Mostly) Admire Ep. 48)
His childhood dream of playing in the N.B.A. led him to a career as a referee. Marc is one of the league’s top performers after over 20 seasons, but he still reviews every single one of his calls. He talks with Steve about being scrutinized by players, fans, and management; how much work — and data — go into being fair; and why he talks about race with his colleagues and his kids. Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. The post Marc Davis Can’t Stop Watching Basketball — But He Doesn’t Care Who Wins (People I (Mostly) Admire Ep. 48) appeared first on Freakonomics. Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://annadesuza.blogspot.com/2021/10/marc-davis-cant-stop-watching.html October 22, 2021 at 09:18PM
Money Dials: The Reason You Spend the Way You Do According to Ramit Sethi
I always say, “Show me a person’s calendar and I’ll show you their priorities.” Well, I have a newer version of that: Show me a person’s spending, and I can show you what they love. I spent years talking to people about their spending habits, and I boiled them down to 10 “Money Dials.” They’re called Money Dials because you can “tune” them up or down — just like a dial. If you were to look at someone else’s spending for 10 minutes, you would instantly know what their Money Dial was. And if I were to look at your spending, I could tell you what yours is. Money Dials allow you to understand why people make the choices they do … and then go deeper than you ever thought possible. I find Money Dials fascinating for several reasons: People go where their time and money go. For example, fit people spend time and money to be fit. Fashionable people spend time and money reading fashion magazines and shopping. The most fascinating part is when we’re misaligned. For example, some people say, “Family is #1,” but if you look at their calendars and spending, family is not even in the top 10. Money Dials are an easy way to diagnose what you claim is important vs. what is actually important.
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Every one of us has an area that we naturally love to spend money on. I’ve identified 10 Money Dials that we LOVE to pour our money into. If you look at your own spending, what gets you excited?
If you had $25,000 to spend on any of the above, which would you put your money into? Your answer — the one you instinctively came to within seconds — is likely your #1 Money Dial.
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Knowing your Money Dial can transform the way you think about your spending, because it lets you understand what you spend money on and why, and it enables you to redirect your spending from other areas to spend extravagantly on your Money Dial. THIS is what true Conscious Spending looks like. Money Dials are the evolution of Conscious Spending and zoom in on the concept of spending extravagantly — guilt-free. Below, I’m going to show you examples of people with different Money Dials. But the common theme is that whatever Money Dial a person chooses, they can build a life that allows them to spend extravagantly and unapologetically on the things that truly matter to them but also cut costs mercilessly on the things that don’t matter to them. This is the power of Money Dials. My favorite part of Money Dials is that once you understand your own, and you accept it, you can zoom in on what you love by TURNING THE DIAL ALL THE WAY UP. Finding your own Money DialsTo find your Money Dials, you just have to ask yourself one question: What do you LOVE to spend money on? That can be a deeply uncomfortable question to ask. It can actually be a little scary. Our culture and society love to demonize spending, especially when it comes to spending on ourselves. It comes with guilt, shame, and judgment. Don’t believe me? Here are some comments I’ve received on my various spending posts: What a judgmental reaction — as if it’s forbidden and downright evil to spend on the things you love (and have the means to purchase). But what if we take these same judgmental people and examine their spending for a month? I bet I’d be able to find areas in their life where others would think they’re “wasting” their money too. It’s OK to recognize that you have areas you naturally love and want to spend on. What others think of your spending doesn’t matter because everyone has different Money Dials. It’s simply a matter of different priorities! In other words, what you value will be different from what others value. If you LOVE to spend your money on week-long trips to exotic locales, but someone else would rather spend that same amount of money on having the latest iPhone, that’s great — and perfectly normal! It’s just being true and honest to ourselves about what our Money Dials are. In fact, when we’re honest about acknowledging our Money Dials, we can adjust the dial (hence the term) as we need to be moderate, or turn them all the way up to spend even more on the things that bring us joy and more pleasant experiences (think splurging on first-class tickets instead of economy all the time, for example). This is crucial psychologically. Not only will we have more money and energy to spend on the things that bring us happiness, but we’ll be able to spend on those things guilt-free, since we know we’ve freed up the money by ignoring everything else. It’s intimidating and liberating at the same time. It allows us to say, “Hey, this is important to me — and that’s not.” The most successful people I’ve met are all very conscious about how they spend their money. That doesn’t mean they don’t spend at all. It means that they choose HOW and WHERE to spend their money, and are unapologetic in allocating significant resources to live a better life.
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10 most common Money DialsDo you know what you naturally gravitate toward spending on? Most people don’t — even though everyone tends to have a few overriding priorities for their discretionary spending. When it comes to Money Dials, though, people’s spending almost always matches up with these 10 priorities.
I want to take a look at the four most common Money Dials. As you read, take note of how they fit into your spending habits. Here are the categories again:
Let’s take a look at what each of these Money Dials looks like. As you read, take note of how they fit into your own spending habits. Money Dial #1: ConvenienceThis Money Dial means spending on anything that makes your life more convenient. Examples:
I love spending my money on convenience. I’ve turned the Money Dial all the way up. I spend more than $50,000 a year on a personal trainer, chef, and other luxury services to streamline my life and reduce stress in those areas. And I also have a VA who:
When a friend tells me a story about how they built a system that lets their assistant manage their workout schedule to save them an hour a week, I’m like “What! How’d you do it? I want that. I need that!” In other words, anything related to convenience gets me really fired up. It’s just how I’m wired. I love it. If you want more convenience, simpler examples would be buying pre-cut vegetables at the grocery store so you can avoid the messy and time-consuming chopping at home. Here are other examples from our readers: “For a year we spent money on Blue Apron. It made life easier to come home and know what we were having for dinner and everything was right there in the fridge…I love buying back my time!” “Splurged on a luxury car service to take me from Los Angeles to Huntington Beach. Cost hundreds more than an Uber would have, but I wanted the convenience of knowing I’d have a ride at the time I wanted. I rode in style and comfort and didn’t need to worry about the logistics of that trip: I learned that when you splurge on a ‘luxury’ experience, they take care of things like showing up on time for you — you don’t need to worry about that.” “The $350 I spent on a Roomba was a game-changer in the dog hair game.” Money Dial #2: TravelWhat do average people do for travel? Maybe they take a one-week vacation at Christmas, and a one-week vacation in the summer. But if travel was their #1 Money Dial, what would that look like? Here are some basic examples:
But what if someone REALLY loves travel? Here are some extreme examples:
If you turn this Money Dial all the way up, it means traveling for months every year; joining a travel group; splurging on high-end travel experiences like a safari, Inspirato membership, or multi-generational travel; and developing strong perspectives on travel, including which friends to invite, how much “authenticity” matters, and specific parts of the world to return to. Here are some examples from our readers who value travel as their primary Money Dial: “I didn’t really think it would be travel, but realized that my husband and I have owned three campers now (which is still much cheaper than a flight — so it doesn’t feel extravagant) but still eats into a significant amount of our free time and discretionary funds. I am not into camping at all, so this is shocking to me. Having a camper allows us to travel with our dogs without worrying about whether a place will be pet-friendly or trying to get them on a plane. My husband gets to do the type of travel that he wants, which is to be in the middle of nowhere, and I get to do the type of travel I want — which is to explore a new city — all in the same trip because we can move every day (or not) without the inconvenience of changing hotels. Between the payment, insurance, and parking, our monthly cost is about $550. That doesn’t include gas or fees for parks (if we stay in one). That is a lot of money on our budget, but it’s worth it because it gives us the type of freedom we want to explore.” “We have spent $15,000 two years in a row (and will probably do it for another five years, even though it extends our budget and we make sacrifices in other places) for a week-long family trip with kids (8 and 11) to Tavarua Island in Fiji. Best family time, surf time (my passion), and dedicated time with family and friends every year. My kids want us to book it for next year the second we start to pack up. May have to sacrifice a year or two at some point to make sure we keep overall finances in check.” “I spent on family Disney vacation. We stayed at the Disney’s Polynesian (right on the Monorail line) and bought the full meal plan and the full ‘Park Hopper’ tickets for the entire vacation. I know it was a crap ton of extra money than trying to go cheap. But my family and I spent the entire vacation just having fun. We never worried about food. We never worried about where we wanted to go that day, because we had complete freedom. The memories are priceless.”
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Money Dial #3: Health / fitnessLeBron James spends $1.5 million a year keeping his body in top form, according to this article from The Ringer, investing in nuanced health-promoting practices like cryotherapy and hyperbaric chambers. Not to mention his personal chefs and trainers who help him adhere to a strict diet and routine. I LOVE IT. Everything in his life, down to the last detail, is focused on achieving peak physical fitness. He’s not just spending $100 on a massage and calling it good. His #1 Money Dial is health and fitness, and so he’s architected his life and finances around physical fitness and investing a significant amount of money in it. Here are some other examples:
Taken to its logical extreme, the health and fitness Money Dial can mean annual yoga retreats, always checking restaurant menus before you go, and joining social groups based on fitness. Here are some additional examples from readers: “Currently paying a nutritionist $275/month for a six-month program.” “I spend around $12,000 per year in personal trainer for Pilates and Gyrotonics class. It’s absolutely worth it.” “Right now I am spending a bit more than average of my monthly income to go to a specific karate dojo in town. I take classes with one of the best masters of karate in Europe. It was one of the best decisions. I am in better shape than ever, physically and mentally (this master is old school so he includes all the spiritual parts of karate in his classes).” Money Dial #4: ExperiencesThe experiences Money Dial is perfect for anyone who values novelty and unique experiences over material possessions. Examples:
Recently, I’ve been turning up my experiences Money Dial. I decided that my dream was to take my whole family to a huge house somewhere in the Caribbean. We could all be together, the kids could be playing in the pool, we could rent this big house. There would be someone there to make the beds and clean. My mom wouldn’t have to cook. We did it, and we ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. It was amazing to see the family together in this awesome environment for a week together. We just played and built great memories spending time together. I also took a factory tour of one of my favorite Italian clothing brands, because I love learning about craftsmanship. On our honeymoon, we spontaneously decided to hire a photographer at the Taj Mahal, something we would normally never do. I have those photos sitting on our living room table. I really love these photos and these memories, because normally I would have never done this. But the photographer was there. Yes, he charged more than I normally would have paid, but I thought to myself, “This is something we’ll never forget.” So I was happy to do it. Here are some more examples from our readers: “I always buy concert tickets VIP. Box seats have a great view, private wait staff with better food, etc. I’m not smashed next to sweaty armpits (I am short so this is reality), and VIP parking is usually included and is extremely close to the venue. Sometimes there’s a catered event pre-show or meet and greet with different bands. I’m not 15 anymore — roughing it is not my style. I’ve spent $100 and [as much as] $1,000 on a single concert ticket. It’s like a game to find the best tickets, and I never regret going to a show.” “I bought 2017 World Series tickets: $2,600 for two bad tickets, but I HAD to experience it.” “I spent $1,000+ (a LOT of money for me) to go to Las Vegas to see Stevie Wonder in concert. I didn’t care about going to Vegas, but it was one of only two places Stevie was performing this year. He is my favorite living musician, but I’d never seen him live before. I splurged and got a great seat — on the floor, in the center, 13 rows back. He was, as you would expect, a wonderful performer, and I had a fantastic time. It made me so happy to be alive. I would absolutely do it again.” Money Dial #5: FreedomFor me, a Rich Life is about freedom. It’s about not having to think about money all the time and being able to travel and work on the things that interest me. It’s about being able to use money to do whatever I want, and not having to worry about taking a taxi or ordering what I want at a restaurant or how I’ll ever be able to afford a house. People with a freedom Money Dial value the ability to do what they want, when they want. Money is no longer a major constraint in their lives. In fact, cost is rarely the first thing they consider. More often, it’s time, quality, experience, relationships, or simply “I want it.” Here are some examples from readers: “Self-funding our own 1-year mat leave. A lot of our friends have full-time jobs that they hate but stick around because it ‘has benefits.’ People also believe that because we run our own business, that ‘Oh, it’s too bad you don’t have benefits or mat leave to fall back on.’ It makes me feel awesome that we have a profitable business that we love to work on and that pays us more than enough to self-fund our own mat leave. It’s still a work in progress (we’re planning to start a family 2 years from now) but it feels great to know that we’ll be ready and can enjoy the early parenting experience without worrying about money.” “My wife is about to finish medical residency, and it doesn’t matter if she works, how many days she works, or how much money she makes for the days she does work. She can literally pick exactly the job and hours she wants without having to worry about our overall family financial health. Freedom!” “I set aside enough money to free up some of my time to focus on my writing and dream of becoming a screenwriter. After ‘dabbling’ in short fiction and documentaries for years, I gave myself a 5-year time limit to get my first feature in the movie theatres. Turns out I didn’t need much money to get by without feeling like I was losing out on anything.” Money Dial #6: RelationshipsI have a friend who’s 40-something and works in tech. He earns multiple 6 figures per year. By most accounts, he has enough money to do anything he wants in life. Travel the world, retire early, or buy expensive watches and cars. Instead, he chooses to live in Palo Alto — one of the most expensive areas in the U.S — to be close to his family. He’s not considered rich in Palo Alto. If anything, he’s middle class there. He also chooses to send his kids to private school, which costs tens of thousands per year. To top it off, he just bought a property and is building a dream house with a special suite for his parents. The trade-off means that, despite his high income, he almost never goes on lavish trips or buys anything fancy for himself — but none of those things matter to him. Whenever we talk, he loves talking about his family. It makes perfect sense. That’s because his relationship with his family is his #1 Money Dial. That’s one flavor of making relationships your #1 Money Dial. I’ve got another friend who sends a “FUN LIST” email to all his friends once a month with events and activities in NYC. It’s packed with things like a “Taste of Tribeca” food tour, a Cinco de Mayo event and fundraiser, and something called “Intrepid Summer Movie Series,” where you watch movies on an aircraft carrier. Then he goes with friends to the ones they get excited about. This is a great example of someone who spends his time and money on relationships with friends. Here are a few great examples from readers: “Greeting cards, like for birthdays or bridal showers. No matter the level of relationship, I skip the cheap options and get a bomb-ass card. I keep a lot of the cards I receive and a quality or special card is a really nice touch for a gift or milestone.” “We booked both our parents on a 7-night cruise (our treat) for their anniversaries. This is something they wouldn’t have thought of or done otherwise. It made us happy that we could do this for them, especially after everything they have done for us.” “My brother and I took my mom (and dad and our families) to Rome for 10 days. A Latin teacher her whole life, my mom (shockingly) had never been to the very place she taught kids about for decades! That changed in 2016 when we plunked down a bunch of $$$ (thanks to my part-time wedding photography business) and spent over a week in the eternal city. We STILL reminisce about the pizza and gelato! Best $$$ ever spent!!!”
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Money Dial #7: GenerosityMost people donate to charity at the end of the year. Or they volunteer at their kids’ school every now and then. Maybe they offer to drive their friend to the airport. But if generosity was your #1 Money Dial, what would that look like?
A few years ago, my wife and I held a fundraiser in NYC. We both come from families of immigrants and we wanted to raise money for families being separated at the border. What we saw made us feel helpless, outraged, and sad. But we also know that we’re in the enviable position of being able to do something about it. So we did. When this is your #1 Money Dial, you can be truly generous. Here are other generosity examples from readers: “When Beyoncé was on tour a couple years ago I bought tickets for my wife and whichever 4 friends she wanted to bring with her (five people in one car). The tickets were around $200 each, so around a grand total. The look in her eyes after I gave her the tickets was something I’ll remember forever and she still talks about that concert.” “On an annual basis, I donate $15,000 to various charities. I consider this as luxury living and some may call me crazy because I could have had fancy dinners, BMW, jewelry, etc. Giving back is my priority.” “One of my best friends was in some credit card debt and was killing herself to pay it off … but worked for a nonprofit (read: doesn’t get paid much). It was going to take her years! Two of us went in and paid it off for her, just like that. Writing a $5,000 check that frees a friend from chains without having to think twice? Priceless.” Money Dial #8: LuxuryMost people think of luxury as “excess.” It’s someone paying more than they “should” for something that you can get for a lot less. Or it’s something that’s “totally unnecessary.” Who needs a $20,000 watch? A $15 Timex has the same, or even better, functionality. But luxury is about the emotion, the feeling, the packaging. It’s about the identity you create by indulging in a luxury product.YOU choose what luxury means to you. Notice our first reaction: “LOL, stupid people. Don’t they know they’re getting ripped off?” But it’s not stupid. I might think it’s insane, your college friend might think it’s insane, but if you’re getting superlative value from it, that’s luxury. Why do you think Mercedes-Benz chose “The best or nothing” as their slogan? Can’t a Honda Civic get you from place to place without premium sound or a 577 horsepower engine? Of course. But Mercedes owners want more than functional transportation. They want an experience. Here are a few examples of luxury from readers: “A well-designed high-quality backpack. I spend a lot of time commuting on public transit, so having a bag where everything is easily accessible when you’re in a cramped space is crucial. I recently got a Peak Design backpack and I love it.” “I spend $300 a pop on Allen Edmonds shoes (I own two now). People freak out when I tell them what I paid. It’s such a luxury purchase that most of my friends and family can’t conceive of having $300 extra to spend on something as ‘frivolous’ as shoes. However, everyone comments on how nice they are and what it does for my overall appearance.” “Paid thousands for an Eames lounge chair. Haven’t regretted it for a moment, and it automatically improves my day every time I sit in it. Worth every penny.” “I spent $700 on a pair of boots over 7 years ago and at the time it was an insane luxury. I almost hyperventilated when I bought them, I felt irresponsible, I was anxious, and I LOVED THEM! … 7 years later I still have them and I still wear them and they’re still hot!! I still get compliments.” Money Dial #9: Social statusSocial status may at first seem a bit shallow — and sometimes it is! We remember back in high school when we were judged by the brand of clothing we wore. Ugh. But there can also be good reasons to value social status. For example, a Rolex watch or Loro Piana sweater is functionally the same as something 1/100th the cost, but it signifies certain things about who’s wearing it. Don’t laugh — most people scoff at status (which is ironic since every one of us factors in status to other parts of our lives: the college we attend, the neighborhood we live in, the job we take). But these items convey a subtle status that can garner people “in” status because it says something about their income or personal taste or style. Airlines, hotels, credit cards, retail stores, and others offer loyalty cards that can get you extra benefits — better rooms, higher cash back, free trips, and so on. Having a higher status can be worth thousands of dollars per year. Here are a few other examples of what the social status Money Dial looks like: “I was scheduled to have a vanilla wash and wax on Sunday, and instead I asked them what their highest level of service was. They told me they often prep cars for car shows or dealer rooms, everything from high end exotics to antique cars, and can do everything from mirror shine polishes to full paint jobs. I ended up paying them just shy of $1,000 to do a full paint correction and a bunch of other stuff. Basically 3 guys rubbed stuff on my car for about 8 hours. I don’t know exactly what all it entailed, but it looks badass and I feel like a badass.” “Three months ago I signed up for a $159 monthly subscription to Rent the Runway, a designer clothing site that sends you 4 pieces at a time to keep for as long as you want. I spend less time making decisions about what to wear, I feel and look better wearing well-made clothes, and I’m never bored with my closet. It feels a bit extravagant but it’s so worth it.” “I bought a $1,500 tailored full-canvas construction suit made in the U.S. People say ‘You know how many suits I can buy for $1,500?? Just buy off the rack and get alterations.’ It’s hard to buy suits in my size. The first time I wore a tailored suit, my VP at the time said, ‘Dude, you look like a model.’ I continue to get comments like that. With the above purchase, people assume you take yourself seriously and they, in turn, take you seriously. This is worth far more than a few grand.” “I pay $450/year for a Chase Sapphire Reserve card that gets me airline lounge access for comfort and relaxation plus car rental status to get any car off the lot (from Corvettes to SUVs and I only pay for midsize).” Money Dial #10: Self-improvementThere are several ways most people spend money on self-improvement:
I’m a big reader (I try to read two books a week). In fact, I came up with “Ramit’s Book-Buying Rule”: If you think a book looks even remotely interesting, buy it. Don’t even waste five seconds debating it. If you glean just one idea from the book, it makes it even more than worth the price. That idea could be the one that changes your life or simply challenges long-held beliefs you’ve always had. And those moments are invaluable to your development. Another great way to think about self-improvement is called “The Hotshot Rule.” It comes from former Cinnabon president Kat Cole: Four times a year, Cole would go somewhere quiet, think about the state of the company, and ask herself: “Let’s say a hotshot takes over my job today. What two or three things would the hotshot look at and say, ‘That’s unacceptable’”? I think that’s a great rule not only for business but also for every area of life. If someone else came in and looked at a certain aspect of my life — what food I eat, my relationships, my health — what would they say is unacceptable? When you identify those areas, you can focus on making changes. Here are some examples from readers of how self-improvement is their Money Dial: “Ski instruction. I do it every day we go. It has changed my abilities, and with greater abilities you get much better experiences (views, terrain, thrills, peace) on the mountains.” “I spent $15k on a sales coach. Turned out to be the best investment I ever made. More than doubled my income in less than a year. Was promoted, then later headhunted for an incredible job. About 9 months later, work volunteered to start paying for it. New co I’ve joined sends the other managers to similar programs now. My only regret is not doing it sooner.” “I love to spend money on improving my electric guitar skills by taking lessons from really good people. I recently had the chance to take lessons with the lead guitarist of an international touring heavy-metal band from the Bay Area. I have looked up to these guys for years and my abilities have gone through the roof.” What’s your Money Dial?One thing you may have noticed is that several of these Money Dials overlap — some things we spend money on appear in two categories. For example, a Rolex can be both a luxury and provide social status. Or hiring a trainer can be for health / fitness and for self-improvement. That’s OK! If something that you spend money on appears in two categories, see if you can quickly identify the primary category it belongs to. If it still isn’t clear, look at other things you spend on. Are they in one of those two Money Dials? Once you identify your #1 Money Dial, it flows through your life, and it affects everything about how you spend your money. It’s your personal strategy. And the ways you spend your money are the tactics to implement that strategy. You are now the CEO of your life. My favorite part of Money Dials: Once you recognize yours, and you accept it, you can zoom in on what you love by turning the dial all the way up, as I’ve done for myself for convenience. This might seem extreme to some — but for me it’s a complete no-brainer. Because I know my Money Dial and can focus on it, I actually free up time to invest in my company … and I can earn even more money as a result. Money Dial challengeHere’s my challenge for you: If you can afford to, take $500 and spend it extravagantly on something you love. That’s going to be a lot of money for some of you — but that’s the point. Spending money on the things you love can be uncomfortable at first. Especially when you consider all the “Invisible Scripts” — the ubiquitous assumptions that we no longer question in our lives — and noise around spending. But when you do, you’ll feel the value these things bring to you. And that allows you to tailor your spending so that you can live your Rich Life. Do you know your earning potential?Take my earning potential quiz and get a custom report based on your unique strengths, and discover how to start making extra money — in as little as an hour. Money Dials: The Reason You Spend the Way You Do According to Ramit Sethi is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich. Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://annadesuza.blogspot.com/2021/10/money-dials-reason-you-spend-way-you-do.html October 22, 2021 at 12:18PM
The Economist’s Guide to Parenting: 10 Years Later (Ep. 479)
In one of the earliest Freakonomics Radio episodes (No. 39!), we asked a bunch of economists with young kids how they approached child-rearing. Now the kids are old enough to talk — and they have a lot to say. We hear about nature vs. nurture, capitalism vs. Marxism, and why you sometimes don’t tell your friends that your father is an economist. Listen and follow our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Below is a transcript of the episode, edited for readability. For more information on the people and ideas in the episode, see the links at the bottom of this post. * * * In the first Freakonomics book that Steve Levitt and I wrote, there was one chapter called “What Makes a Perfect Parent?” We put forward a collage of data suggesting that much of what modern parents do — or are encouraged to do — probably doesn’t matter all that much. Especially when it comes to what you might call “obsessive parenting” — trying to maximize your child’s potential with an abundance of culture cramming and extracurricular activities. There might be a strong correlation between obsessive parents and successful kids, but it’s not necessarily a causal relationship. In other words, the kind of parent most likely to parent obsessively was also likely to have bestowed upon their kids some even more powerful tools: a high IQ, for instance, or a strong work ethic. A few years after that first Freakonomics book, right when I started this podcast, we did an episode called “The Economist’s Guide to Parenting.” We interviewed a variety of economist parents to see how they approached the task. The results were predictably nerdy. From the very beginning of parenthood:
To preparing their kids for the real world:
We also heard some hardcore self-reflection:
At the end of that episode, we wondered aloud whether we should check in with those economists’ kids 10 years later to see how they were doing. It was kind of a joke: I’d started the podcast on a lark; I certainly wasn’t planning on doing it for 10 years. But joke’s on me. It’s been 10 years since that episode. So we decided to get back in touch with the economists and, even better, their kids. We discovered that some of them did not fall far from the economist-parent tree:
But some absolutely did:
And some of them are just really good at doing what kids have been doing to parents forever:
Today on Freakonomics Radio: 10 years later, the kids are all right. What about the parents?
* * *
Matilda Wolfers is the daughter of Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson; Matilda also has an eight-year-old brother named Oliver. Both her parents are economics professors at the University of Michigan. Stevenson has also served on the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House and as chief economist at the Department of Labor. Of all the economist parents we interviewed in our episode 10 years ago, Stevenson and Wolfers were among those most devoted to following the evidence. They’d read a lot of research in order to create what they saw as a menu of best parenting practices. As a result, Matilda was already taking music and preschool prep classes; she had been taught sign language before she could speak; she was also being raised completely sugar-free until her third birthday.
The family lived in Washington when we visited them for that first episode. Here’s Matilda, not even two years old, with Ellen, the family’s nanny.
Ellen was a former schoolteacher; Stevenson and Wolfers were paying her $50,000 a year.
I asked Matilda — 12-year-old Matilda — to name some of the things her parents did that she would be sure to copy if or when she has kids.
At 12 years old, Matilda Wolfers still has a lot of her formative years ahead of her, so it’s hard to say how much she has been shaped by her parents. Let’s hear from another economist’s kid, this one a young adult.
Bruce Sacerdote is an economics professor at Dartmouth. A lot of his research is focused on education — specifically, the impact that family can have. His wife Michele is a teacher at a Montessori school. They have two sons — 16-year-old Sam and 12-year-old Leo — and Sofia is 21.
Sofia is planning to attend medical school, also at Brown, after graduating next year. People go to medical school for all sorts of reasons. In this case, you get the sense it is the continuation of a mission that’s been underway for a while. As an undergrad, Sofia has been working at a clinic that provides medical care and housing services for people who were formerly incarcerated. How much of this mission comes from the family Sofia grew up in? In our episode 10 years ago, we talked to Bruce Sacerdote about his research on twins and adoption. When he analyzed the data on Korean children who’d been adopted into American families, he found that parents didn’t have that large an effect on their kids’ educational outcomes. But you could imagine that parents have a powerful impact on their children’s worldview. So I wanted to know if he saw Sofia’s worldview as inconsistent with the economic worldview he’s devoted his career to.
Sofia uses the pronouns “they” and “she.”
For all Sofia’s appreciation, for all the striving from both Sofia and Bruce to see the commonalities in their worldviews, you can’t deny that Sofia Sacerdote doesn’t exactly sound like the offspring of an academic economist. Coming up after the break, we hear from the offspring of another economist who has also pointed out that parenting isn’t as influential as we think. Except maybe in the case of his kids, who happen to be twins. Twin one:
And twin two:
And we’ll hear from Steve Levitt, who’s expecting his seventh child. Surely, he must have all the answers by now:
And don’t forget to check out Levitt’s podcast; it’s called People I (Mostly) Admire. In one recent episode, he interviewed his two oldest daughters, Amanda and Lily. It is an amazing episode, and I encourage you to listen; it’s Episode 46 of the People I (Mostly) Admire podcast — which, like all shows in the Freakonomics Radio Network, you can follow, for free, on any podcast app. We’ll be right back. * * * The next stop on our tour of economists’ children brings us to a pair of 18-year-old twins.
Bryan’s wife, Corina, is a lawyer; they also have two younger children. As an economist, Caplan is best known for his libertarian views. In addition to writing about the education system, he also wrote a book arguing in favor of open borders to boost the global economy, as well as a book called Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids. In that one, he argues that parenting should be fun and that parents are less influential than most people think. So how influential has Bryan Caplan been to his 18-year-old sons? I asked Aidan and Tristan to describe their economic philosophies. Aidan first:
And Tristan:
A “minarchist” being an advocate of minarchism, which is essentially libertarianism with minimal government.
“A selective nonconformist.” Someone who “doesn’t worry what society expects or cares about.” That sounds like another economist I know, the economist I know best.
Levitt is my Freakonomics friend and co-author. He has always marched to the beat of his own weird drum. In my view, that’s one reason he’s always done such interesting and unusual research, on topics that other scholars probably wouldn’t even consider. Collusion among sumo wrestlers. Discrimination among game-show contestants. And let’s not forget his ground-breaking research on the relationship between legalized abortion and crime. Levitt is also unusual — at least in 21st-century America — in having a relatively large family.
There was also a son, Andrew, the first-born, who died at age 1 from pneumococcal meningitis.
On a recent episode of his podcast People I (Mostly) Admire, Levitt had a conversation with Amanda and Lily, his other oldest daughter. Here’s a clip of Lily talking to her dad. She’s a student at Vassar College, majoring in psychology and minoring in economics:
I asked Levitt now how he felt about one of his kids wanting to impress him by following in his economist footprints.
This is a big question for any parent, whether you’ve got a Ph.D. in economics or not: how powerful are the hereditary forces of nature versus the many factors that constitute nurture, and how do nature and nurture blend in a given person? It’s plainly not a simple thing to sort out. Just think about schooling. The older a kid gets, the more time they spend outside the home, with their peers. There’s some evidence that peer influence can be very powerful; that said, parents are the ones who choose the school their kids will attend — and, to a lesser degree, what kind of peers their kids will spend time with. So if you had to summarize the nature-versus-nurture research from an economist’s perspective?
That, again, is Bryan Caplan of George Mason University.
Caplan, remember, home-schooled his twin sons Aidan and Tristan.
I asked Justin Wolfers, father of Matilda, for his take on the power of nature versus nurture.
Hey, what do you think: should we check in with Matilda — and Aidan and Tristan and Sofia — in another 10 years if we’re still around? I’d love to know what you thought of this episode; we’re at [email protected]. Thanks to Ascha Miles and several other listeners who wrote in to suggest that we do this 10-year follow-up episode. Also, one more reminder to check out the episode of Steve Levitt’s podcast, People I (Mostly) Admire, where he interviews his daughters Amanda and Lily; it’s episode No. 46. Thanks to all the young people who spoke with us today and to their economist parents, too. * * * Freakonomics Radio is produced by Stitcher and Dubner Productions. This episode was produced by Mary Diduch. Our staff also includes Alison Craiglow, Greg Rippin, Joel Meyer, Tricia Bobeda, Zack Lapinski, Ryan Kelley, Emma Tyrrell, Lyric Bowditch, Jasmin Klinger, Eleanor Osborne, and Jacob Clemente. Our theme song is “Mr. Fortune,” by the Hitchhikers; the rest of the music this week was composed by Luis Guerra. You can follow Freakonomics Radio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here’s where you can learn more about the people and ideas in this episode: SOURCES
RESOURCES
EXTRAS
The post The Economist’s Guide to Parenting: 10 Years Later (Ep. 479) appeared first on Freakonomics. Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://annadesuza.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-economists-guide-to-parenting-10.html October 20, 2021 at 10:18PM
3 conversational skills everyone should master
Social event: check. Standing in the corner creepily observing guests hoping someone will come over: check. It doesn’t take a genius to know that staring people into a conversation doesn’t work. Quite the opposite, in fact. But what if you’re just not social? Here’s the thing. Founder of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Ramit Sethi, has discovered something influencers and easy communicators already know: Being a better conversationalist is a skill. And if it’s a skill, you can learn it. Let’s get started with our best tips for improving your conversational skills!
It’s never too late to start building healthy habits. Download Ramit Sethi’s Ultimate Guide to Habits to get started TODAY.
1. Write a scriptThe perfect conversation starter depends on the situation and where you find yourself. For some reason, we tend to gravitate to the cliched, “So what do you do?”, which might help you launch a conversation, but it makes people feel ick. Not everyone wants to be defined by their job, more importantly, a social event allows them to step away from their corporate work for a change. So instead of defaulting to the weather or what the other person does to pay the bills, how about getting to know them first? Here are three simple scripts you can use to start a conversation:
Do these seem dead simple? Good. Conversation starters should be simple! Your script doesn’t have to be Shakespearean in nature – it just has to open the door for good conversation to flow. 2. Practice your social skillsIf you’re not great in social situations, you need to practice in order to improve. It may feel uncomfortable, but it’s the only way to get better. It also helps if you have fun with it! No need to take yourself too seriously.
3. Start at small, personal gatheringsBefore running a marathon, it’s worth taking a jog around the neighborhood to make sure your lungs and legs can cope. Then, build up slowly until the full race feels achievable. The same with social skills. Don’t wait until that all-important business networking meetup to test your scripts. Use it on smaller events like the neighborhood cookout, a birthday party, even a small wedding. The key is to build your skills before you jump into a major soiree.
It’s never too late to start building healthy habits. Download Ramit Sethi’s Ultimate Guide to Habits to get started TODAY.
4. Put your script to practiceWhile a script will help you get things started, only practice will enable you to gracefully enter and exit a conversation without being obvious. Or weird. Here are the tools you need to start, join, and hold a conversation. Start a conversationLook for that one person standing by themselves, possibly in the opposite corner. Approach them and introduce yourself. Now, this is the fun part, you’re going to smile and you’re going to use one of those three conversation starters, or even all three. Reminder on the conversation starter scripts:
Just pretend that you’re meeting a potential future friend or colleague. Join a conversation in progressYou might have to eavesdrop a little to get this one right. The best part about eavesdropping at a social event is that it happens to be a great conversation starter. Introduce yourself by saying, “I couldn’t help overhearing that you guys are discussing cause and effect in early childhood development. I’ve just completed this great course, you guys might have heard of it. By the way, I’m John.” Hold the conversation“So how do you know Sally?” you ask. “We met in high school,” they respond. “Oh cool.” you kill the conversation. Questions are a natural way to let the conversation take a different direction and allow you to build rapport with the other party. Even if it includes a little bit of small talk. Not every conversation has to be about big philosophical life questions. Some conversations can be about whether bulletproof coffee has run its course or whether pineapple belongs on a pizza (although that last one may cause spirited debate). But be warned. No one likes feeling interrogated. So tweak your script with a few guidelines:
5. Psyche yourself upYou’ve done about five outfit changes and read just about every book you can on how to improve your conversation skills, yet you’re still sweaty-palmed and dry-mouthed at social gatherings. You bristle like a porcupine when anyone comes near you, even though you actually crave the distraction of conversation. Here’s the thing. You can get those nerves under control. What’s more, you’re not going to need five scotches and a beer to do it.
6. Master your body languageMaster these body language hacks, and you’ll be amazed at how strongly and positively they impact the people around you.SmilingHow to improve: This week, when you greet someone, try smiling more than you normally would. Think about your best friend. Think about the funniest situation you’ve ever encountered. Whatever it takes to get that smile. Notice the difference between a smile with no emotion behind it and a smile when you are thinking about your best friend doing something hilarious. Way different, right? The boring smile makes you look crazy or fake, while the other smile makes you happy. That’s what you want to do every time. EnergyHow to improve: Take whatever energy level you’re at now and add 50% more energy. Test it in small, anonymous places like at a coffee shop. See what kind of reactions you get. Then work up to using it at work and with your friends. You’ll be amazed at the difference.Talk slowerHow to improve: If you’re a fast talker, try forcing yourself to slow down by at least 50% It will feel sluggish to you but perfect for everyone else. One easy hack to help you slow down is to focus on enunciating your wordsUse your handsHow to improve: First, make a mental note of how you currently use your hands. Then test different ways of using them. Notice how the more you use your hands, the more open your body language becomes. The result: The more open your body language is, the more welcoming and confident people will think you are. Eye contactHow to improve: we have two suggestions for improving how you use eye contact:
7. Learn from the prosEver try to bake a souffle from the recipe and it turned out a dud, but watched a YouTube tutorial and aced it? Learning from the social butterflies in your social circle is pretty much the same thing. You know who they are and this is the only time we’ll give you that nod of approval to just stand around at socials and observe. Take a cue from that coworker that has a war story for every occasion. If you stick around long enough, chances are you’ll hear those stories more than once. Ramit often talks about the toolbox for interviews which allows you to skirt difficult questions with stories that you’ve memorized and tweaked accordingly. There are also story and question toolboxes to improve conversation skills. Wing it while you’re learning how to relate stories naturally. More importantly, see how successful communicators use their toolbox.
8. Ask for feedbackThis is a toughy, but a goodie, and that’s because you may need to shoulder some criticism, but all in the spirit of growth. There are different ways to approach this, according to your level of comfort. Friends and loved onesPossibly the hardest group to ask because the feedback will feel brutal. But take it in your stride and enjoy a few laughs and giggles as you work your way through their points.
Your followersIf you happen to have a following on social media, you already have a test group ready and waiting to give you feedback. Harness the resources you have to build the best social version of yourself. The bottom lineImproving your conversational skills may take a little time, especially if your idea of a good night out is watching the late-night movie by yourself so you can wear your pajamas without judgment. It will take more than a good jacket or a new pair of shoes. Your social skills depend on how well you can connect with the other person and form relationships. It’s as simple and hard as that!
It’s never too late to start building healthy habits. Download Ramit Sethi’s Ultimate Guide to Habits to get started TODAY.
Do you know your earning potential?Take my earning potential quiz and get a custom report based on your unique strengths, and discover how to start making extra money — in as little as an hour. 3 conversational skills everyone should master is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich. Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://annadesuza.blogspot.com/2021/10/3-conversational-skills-everyone-should.html October 18, 2021 at 08:18AM
How Much Do Your Friends Affect Your Future? (NSQ Ep. 31 Replay)
Also: which professions have the happiest people? Listen and follow No Stupid Questions on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. * * * Here’s where you can learn more about the people and ideas in this episode: SOURCES
RESOURCES
EXTRAS
The post How Much Do Your Friends Affect Your Future? (NSQ Ep. 31 Replay) appeared first on Freakonomics. Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://annadesuza.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-much-do-your-friends-affect-your.html October 17, 2021 at 04:18AM Ken Jennings on How a Midlife Crisis Led Him to Jeopardy! (People I (Mostly) Admire Ep. 4 Replay)10/16/2021
Ken Jennings on How a Midlife Crisis Led Him to Jeopardy! (People I (Mostly) Admire Ep. 4 Replay)
It was only in his late twenties that America’s favorite brainiac began to seriously embrace his love of trivia. Jeopardy!’s newest host also holds the show’s “Greatest of All Time” title. Steve digs into how Ken trained for the show, what it means to have a “geographic memory,” and why we lie to our children. Listen and follow People I (Mostly) Admire on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. * * * Here’s where you can learn more about the people and ideas in this episode: SOURCE
EXTRAS
The post Ken Jennings on How a Midlife Crisis Led Him to Jeopardy! (People I (Mostly) Admire Ep. 4 Replay) appeared first on Freakonomics. Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://annadesuza.blogspot.com/2021/10/ken-jennings-on-how-midlife-crisis-led.html October 15, 2021 at 10:18PM
How Can We Break Our Addiction to Contempt? (Ep. 478)
Arthur Brooks is an economist who for 10 years ran the American Enterprise Institute, one of the most influential conservative think tanks in the world. He has come to believe there is only one weapon that can defeat our extreme political polarization: love. Is Brooks a fool for thinking this — and are you perhaps his kind of fool? Listen and follow our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Below is a transcript of the episode, edited for readability. For more information on the people and ideas in the episode, see the links at the bottom of this post. * * *
The person I’m speaking with today is named Arthur Brooks.
The latent-demand strategy that Brooks mentioned — that’s the kind of thinking employed by entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs.
And what are we addicted to? Contempt. That’s his argument, at least. Now, who is Arthur Brooks, and why should we be listening to him? We’ll get into his full bio later but, briefly: before teaching leadership at Harvard, he ran the American Enterprise Institute, one of the most prominent conservative think tanks in the country. Before that, he was an economics professor. And, before that, a professional French horn player. So he’s already had several careers — and an unusual trajectory, which has led him to an unusual belief. Arthur Brooks believes that the best way to detoxify American politics — maybe the only way — is with love.
And how is this love offensive working so far?
Today on Freakonomics Radio: can love really conquer all? Is Arthur Brooks a fool for believing it can? And are you maybe his kind of fool? * * * Let’s say you are a bright, ambitious, civic-minded kid, in middle school maybe. And you’re considering a career in government, perhaps in Congress. So you tune in one day to see what’s happening on the House floor.
You find two representatives: Cedric Richmond of Louisiana --
— and Matt Gaetz of Florida --
— having the sort of high-minded debate our Founding Fathers must have envisioned.
Arthur Brooks again.
But surveys suggest that most of us hate this noise.
Brooks is referring to a 2018 survey run by an international group called More in Common, which tries to build stronger communities and fight polarization. Now, we shouldn’t pretend that political polarization is new; it’s more of a feature than a bug in many political systems. You can find incredible nastiness if you go back a century in American politics or a couple millennia in Roman politics. The current American polarization has been building for a while now. Here’s an example: in the 1960’s, only 42 percent of votes in the U.S. Senate were party-unity votes — that is, votes in which the majority of Republicans opposed the majority of Democrats, or vice versa. By the 2010’s, that number had risen to 63 percent. Here’s some more data to consider: in 1935, the Social Security Act was passed with 90 percent Democratic support and 75 percent Republican support. So — not unanimous, but united. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed with just 60 percent Democratic support but, again, 75 percent Republican. If you look at the major legislation passed in recent years, however, it’s a different story. ObamaCare made it through Congress with zero Republican votes. President Trump’s 2018 tax-reform bill made it through with zero Democratic votes. This political partisanship is clearly echoed in the public. Consider how people think about the media. In 2016, the Pew Research Center found that 83 percent of Democrats trusted information from national news organizations, along with 70 percent of Republicans. Today, 78 percent of Democrats still trust the major media but Republican trust in just a few years dropped from 70 percent to 35 percent. So, how did we get here? What’s been driving this intense spike in division and partisanship?
We should say: the number of people who actually binge on M.S.N.B.C., or the other cable-news networks, is relatively small. M.S.N.B.C. averages about 1.3 million viewers during primetime — not so many in a country of around 330 million. Fox News, the biggest cable news network, averages just over 2 million; C.N.N. is under a million. This one episode of Freakonomics Radio will be heard by more people than that. But the noise from the cable-news networks — the nearly constant volley of contempt — that noise reverberates, like someone shouting into a canyon. It disrupts any chance of peace you might have hoped for. So, how does Arthur Brooks propose to restore the peace?
And what does this all mean — if anything — for the future of politics?
* * * If I told you there was a public intellectual, a conservative, who wanted to fight political polarization and contempt with love — and that this person was trained in economics — you might not believe me. Economists are about supply and demand, costs and benefits — not love. But Arthur Brooks is not a typical economist.
Brooks grew up just outside Seattle. His mother was an artist, his father a math professor. Arthur started playing violin when he was four, and piano at five.
He spent the next 10 years playing French horn professionally, the last several with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra.
It worked. That woman, Ester Munt, now Ester Munt-Brooks, is still his wife. But his musical career didn’t last as long.
After his Ph.D., Brooks became a college professor, first at Georgia State and then Syracuse. He would spend 10 years in academia. He focused his research on philanthropy, primarily the motives that lead people to donate money. Out of this research came his first book, in 2006. It was called Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism.
That’s Arthur Brooks. What do you think: does the love and warm-heartedness he prescribes stand a chance against the contempt machine that seems to be running our country? * * * Freakonomics Radio is produced by Stitcher and Dubner Productions. This episode was produced by Ryan Kelley. Our staff also includes Alison Craiglow, Greg Rippin, Joel Meyer, Tricia Bobeda, Zack Lapinski, Mary Diduch, Emma Tyrrell, Lyric Bowditch, Jasmin Klinger, Eleanor Osborne, and Jacob Clemente. Our theme song is “Mr. Fortune,” by the Hitchhikers; the rest of the music this week was composed by Luis Guerra. You can follow Freakonomics Radio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here’s where you can learn more about the people and ideas in this episode: SOURCE
RESOURCES
EXTRA
The post How Can We Break Our Addiction to Contempt? (Ep. 478) appeared first on Freakonomics. Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://annadesuza.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-can-we-break-our-addiction-to.html October 13, 2021 at 10:18PM
In a Job Interview, How Much Does Timing Matter? (NSQ Ep. 70)
Also: why is it smart to ignore what your podcast hosts look like? * * * Relevant Research & References Here’s where you can learn more about the people and ideas in this episode: SOURCES
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The post In a Job Interview, How Much Does Timing Matter? (NSQ Ep. 70) appeared first on Freakonomics. Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://annadesuza.blogspot.com/2021/10/in-job-interview-how-much-does-timing.html October 10, 2021 at 05:18AM
Mayim Bialik on the Surprising Risks of Academia and Stability of Show Biz (People I (Mostly) Admire Ep. 2 Replay)
This new Jeopardy! host is best known for playing neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory, but she has a rich life outside of her acting career too, as a teacher, mother — and a real-life neuroscientist. Steve learns more about this one-time academic and Hollywood non-conformist, who is both very similar to him and also quite his opposite. Listen and follow People I (Mostly) Admire on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. * * * Here’s where you can learn more about the people and ideas in this episode: SOURCE
EXTRAS
The post Mayim Bialik on the Surprising Risks of Academia and Stability of Show Biz (People I (Mostly) Admire Ep. 2 Replay) appeared first on Freakonomics. Via Finance http://www.rssmix.com/via Blogger http://annadesuza.blogspot.com/2021/10/mayim-bialik-on-surprising-risks-of.html October 08, 2021 at 10:18PM |