Quote of the Day (Tim Harford, on Why Conspiracy Believers Fall for Lies)

“Many of the most corrosive lies currently circulating have taken hold not because the conspiracy believers will believe anything, but because they start by trusting nothing. In order to believe that Covid-19 was a con or that the 2020 election was stolen, one must first disbelieve traditional media outlets, scientific journals and institutions of longstanding. All three, alas, sometimes give us reasons to doubt them, but those reasons shouldn’t lead people into a dogmatic rejection of anything the ‘mainstream’ says. That defensive doubt might feel smart, but it’s really a cognitive surrender born out of a sense of helplessness and despair.” — “Underground Economist” columnist Tim Harford, “How to Turn Our Children Into Truth Sleuths,” The Financial Times, Mar. 18-19, 2023

Quote of the Day (Tim Harford, on Using the 3 C’s To Make Sense of Numbers)

 

“When advising people how to make sense of the world, I emphasise three C’s: calm, context and curiosity. Calm, because our emotional reactions to the numbers we see in the news are often stronger than rational thought; we should notice those reactions and try not to let them overwhelm us. Context, because numbers are meaningless without it; we need to understand whether they are large or small, rising or falling and the methods behind them. And curiosity, because the most important step in understanding the world around us is to want to understand. All too often we seize on factual claims to win an argument or signal loyalty to a viewpoint, rather than because we are eager to know more.”— “Underground Economist” columnist Tim Harford, “How to Turn Our Children Into Truth Sleuths,” The Financial Times, Mar. 18-19, 2023

Quote of the Day (Tim Harford, on That Obnoxious ‘Redundant Reminder Email’)

“The redundant reminder email: Surely I do not need an email from an airline or train company or theatrical impresario reminding me to bring my ticket? Surely I do not need an email from an airline or train company or theatrical impresario reminding me to bring my ticket? A helpful reminder to the hopelessly inept, they are a colossal annoyance to everyone else. Given that the Covid rules might have changed, or the departure time rearranged, it’s risky to delete them without careful scrutiny. But when that careful scrutiny merely reveals that I will not be allowed on the plane if I don’t bring my passport, then you’re wasting the time of your 99.9 per cent least incompetent customers.”— “Underground Economist” columnist Tim Harford, “The Seven Types of Email You Should Never, Ever Send,” The Financial Times, Jan. 7-8, 2023

Quote of the Day (Tim Harford, on Why Writing a Holiday Newsletter is Difficult)

“The genre [the holiday newsletter] is a difficult one. A classic holiday letter must—like a Facebook post —mean something sensible to a wide variety of recipients. Too upbeat and it feels boastful or fake. Share unpleasant details and it's Too Much Information. Keep it light and you risk seeming banal. Brevity can confuse. Prolixity is worse.

“Even for a skilled writer this is a challenging brief, and neither you nor I are Dorothy Parker or Oscar Wilde. And yet some of us persist.”—“Underground Economist” columnist Tim Harford, “In Praise of the Christmas Newsletter,” The Financial Times, Nov. 28-29, 2020