Thursday, March 28, 2024

Review of The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What it Means for Business and Society by Eric D. Beinhocker

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 
Genre = Economics
Book Club Event = Book List (09/07/2024)


Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“Evolution creates designs, or more appropriately, discovers designs, through a process of trial and error.  A variety of candidate designs are created and tried out in the environment; designs that are successful are retained, replicated, and built upon, while those that are unsuccessful are discarded.  Through rejection, the process creates designs that are fit for their particular purpose and environment.  If the conditions are right, competition between designs for finite resources drives the emergence of greater structure and complexity over time, as evolution builds on the successes of the past to create novel designs for the future.” – Eric D. Beinhocker, Chapter 1: The Question, Page 31

“Put simply, large organizations inherently have more attractive opportunities before them than small organizations do (the large can theoretically do everything the small can do, plus more.)  But reaching those future opportunities involves trade-offs, and the more densely connected the organizational network, the more painful those trade-offs will be.  The politics of organizations are such that local pain in particular groups or departments is often sufficient to prevent the organization from moving to a new state, even if that state is more globally fit.” – Eric D. Beinhocker, Chapter 7: Networks, Page 180

“All competitive advantage is temporary.  Some advantages last longer than others, but all sources of advantage have a finite shelf life.  While this may sound like a truism, the observation is often forgotten in the never-ending quest for “excellent” companies that build sustainable competitive advantages and allegedly outperform their industry peers year after year.” – Eric D. Beinhocker, Chapter, Page 363


Review

Is This An Overview?

Wealth is an emergent property that evolved through people’s cooperation.  Cooperating for rewards, for mutual benefits.  Society enables synergy between people, differences within people, to create non-zero-sum outcomes.  Wealth that is enhanced by the productivity of labor, through specialization created by division of labor.  Cooperation made possible by various social technologies, which are the rules people abide by. 

Wealth is contained in knowledge, for knowledge enables people to transform resources into value.  Originating and improving through the process of evolution.  A method of competing to survive that filters out errors and enables the successful competitors to share their traits.  There is no best strategy for survival, no sustainable competitive advantage.  Any competitive advantage is temporary.  Survival itself is success.  Competition allocates finite resources, with markets being better due to their ability to innovate in disequilibrium.

 

How Complex Is Cooperation?

Evolutionary successful strategy of cooperation builds on past methods.  Innovate based on what was, but innovations have diminishing returns.  To keep high returns, more innovation is needed.  It might be impossible to predict the changes that evolution enabled, but societies can be designed better.

The collective has emergent properties.  Properties that do not exist within the individual.  Emergent properties such as complexity.  Enabling systems that are dynamic and nonlinear.  Systems that have self-reinforcing cycles of positive feedback, and self-regulating cycles of negative feedback. 

Cooperation can have a network effect, in which products that garner more users based on the number of users the system has.  Networks can provide a lot of value, but they can have consequences.  Networks can become too complicated.  Creating a complexity catastrophe.  When the networks grow too much, a negative change somewhere has drastic effects on various other parts.  Networks create interdependencies that have conflicting constraints, that create gridlock.  Local pain in change can prevent change in the whole system even if the change would improve the whole system.  Hierarchy can enable a better flow of information, to enable complexity along with the interdependencies.  But hierarchies have their own informational problems, such as information degrading.

 

How Has Economics Changed?  Or Did Not Change?  How To Simplify?

Physics was imported into economics which gave economics mathematical precision, at the cost of realism.  For some, it did not matter that the assumptions were not realistic, as long as they made correct predictions.  That the system acted ‘as if’ the assumptions were correct.  But, the purpose of science is explanations, not predictions.  The explanation and conclusion need to be tested.  Economics took ideas from physics, but while physics kept changing, economics did not.  Physics went from deterministic to dynamic and indeterminate.

Various economic ideas were wrong because economists were using science appropriately.  Assumptions are meant to simplify, but not contradict reality.  Economists used assumptions inappropriately by taking them to an extreme, that contradicted reality.  But there has been improvement, by enabling more realistic assumptions such as through the satisficing rather than making perfectly rational decisions.

 

Caveats?

Evolution is an integral concept to explain wealth, cooperation, and complexity.  Evolution is considered to provide beneficial change by error correcting problems.  The problem is that evolution does not provide only benefits, but also consequences.  Evolution can enable traits that are better for the individual at the expense of the system, at the expense of cooperative ventures.

While the author critiques various economic ideas, and referenced them as having been more static, there are also references to how the ideas have changed, improved, and were integrated within various fields.  The author provides various updated ways that economics has improved, has evolved. 


Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•What is wealth?
•What are emergent properties?
•By what design? 
•How does evolution effect society?
•How was the idea of evolution effected by economics? 
•How can the use of science and evolution corrupt economic understanding? 
•Why do people cooperate?
•What are network effects?
•How does hierarchy effect information? 
•How to compete?
•How has economics changed or stayed the same?
•What did economics use from physics? 
•What ideas of Adam Smith are effective?
•What is the law of diminishing marginal utility? 
•What is the Pareto optimal equilibrium? 
•How did Neoclassical paradigm gain acceptance?  
•What kind of model is needed to understand human behavior?
•What effect did behavior economics have?
•How does change effect equilibrium economics?
•What is an evolutionary stable strategy? 
•How did physical technology evolve? 
•Why does innovation have an S-Curve? 
•What are the conditions for economic value? 
•What happened to the British East India Company? 
•What is the Red Queen race? 
•Why do firms exist? 
•What kind of culture should a company have? 
•What is the purpose of a model?  
•What kind of wealth exists?

Book Details
Alternative Title:    The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics
Edition:                   First eBook Edition
Publisher:               Harvard Business Publishing
Edition ISBN:         9781633695979
Pages to read:          494
Publication:             2017
1st Edition:              2016
Format:                    eBook 

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    4
Content          4
Overall          3






Saturday, March 23, 2024

Review of War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 
Book Club Event = Book List (09/28/2024)
Intriguing Connections = 1) War, 2) Why Conflict Occurs And How To Resolve Them?,  


Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“War makes the world understandable, a black and white tableau of them and us.  It suspends thought, especially self-critical thought.  All bow before the supreme effort.  We are one.  Most of us willingly accept war as long as we can fold it into a belief system that paints the ensuing suffering as necessary for a higher good, for human beings seek not only happiness but also meaning.  And tragically war is sometimes the most powerful way in human society to achieve meaning.” – Chris Hedges, Introduction, Page 10

“The imagined heroism, the vision of a dash to rescue a wounded comrade, the clear lines we thought were drawn in battle, the images we have of our own reaction under gunfire, usually wilt in combat.  This is a sober and unsettling realization.  We may not be who we thought we would be.  One of the most difficult realizations of war is how deeply we betray ourselves, how far we are from the image of gallantry and courage we desire, how instinctual and primordial fear is.  We do not meditate on action.  Our movements are usually motivated by a numbing and overpowering desire for safety.  And yet there are heroes, those who somehow rise above it all, maybe only once, to expose themselves to risk to save their comrades.  I have seen such soldiers.  I nearly always found them afterwards to be embarrassed about what they did, unable to explain it, reticent to talk.  Many are not sure they could do it again.” – Chris Hedges, Chapter 1: The Myth Of War, Page 39

“States at war silence their own authentic and humane culture.  When this destruction is well advanced they find the lack of critical and moral restraint useful in the campaign to exterminate the culture of their opponents.  By destroying authentic culture – that which allows us to question and examine ourselves and our society – the state erodes the moral fabric.  It is replaced with a warped version of reality.  The enemy is dehumanized; the universe starkly divided between the forces of light and the forces of darkness.  The cause is celebrated, often in overt religious forms, as a manifestation of divine or historical will.  All is dedicated to promoting and glorifying the myth, the nation, the cause.” – Chris Hedges, Chapter 3: The Destruction Of Culture, Page 63


Review

Is This An Overview?

To prevent a war that results in self-obliteration, requires an understanding of what war provides.  How war functions and changes behavior.  War is a destructive act, but tragically also has value.  War can become an addiction, like any other.  War provides excitement, power, purpose, and meaning.  War removes the trivia, the shallowness of life.  Allows people to rise above the divisiveness.  War makes reality more understandable, by simplifying reality.  A clear dividing line is made between us and them.  Makes people ready to pursue suffering for a higher good.  Enables people to do evil, that is difficult to reconcile with after the war. 

War is perpetuated by myths, news, entertainment, and history.  Myths twist all information to serve the myth.  The myths are meant to separate people, to prevent communication with the opposition.  Myths invoke a threat to community’s sacred values, with the community perceived as the victims who are justified in their violent reciprocation.  With the myths, the opposition is demonized, with their values inverted to justify cruelty.  Wars that lose their mythic stature, are doomed to fail.  Without the myths, war becomes recognized as organized murder. 

 

By What Cause?

The cause needs to be just to fight.  Wars are difficult without an appropriate cause.  Which is why states take tremendous time and effort to promote their cause.  At war, the state becomes the guide for moral righteousness.  To try to expose the myth, would mean removal from the group.  Reporters provide legitimizing support for the for the state. 

Death of innocent ignite conflicts.  The innocent builds the cause.  Each group perceives themselves as victims.  Sharing and distorting the excess of others.  Victimhood is cultivated by showing the injustice carried out against their group.  Atrocities are justified by the atrocities of the opposition.

The dead do not have equal value.  The dead of others mean little, while the dead of supported group matter.  The opposition lacks humanity for killing, but the killing done by the supported group is praised.  War turns people into killers.  For want of power, or under peer pressure.  Martyrs provide a way to prevent arguments for compromise or tolerance.  The dead speak and ask for revenge.

 

Who To Silence?

The dissidents to conflict are the earliest to be silenced, for they are the most dangerous, as they provide an alternative way to think.  The opposition is not silenced, for they enable the sought after conflict.  Most people self-censor their views to not be branded as outsiders to their community.  Unwilling to help neighbors to prevent being attacked themselves. 

States destroy their own culture to prevent the people from finding critical and moral restraint.  Without the restraint, states are more effective in their attack against the opposition.  Replacing authentic culture with a warped reality.  Generating a conflict between good and evil.  To glorify the myth.  Seeing the humanity of the enemy makes for ineffective soldiers.  Therefore states obliterate self-awareness and self-criticism.  War removes individual consciousness and responsibility, in favor of communal effort.

The problem with silence, is that the silence of past atrocities, enables further atrocities.  War does not free people from ethics of responsibility.  But at times, immoral behavior needs to be reciprocated with less immoral behavior. 

The press sees itself as part of the war effort.  War is perpetuated by the news, as wars garner more views.  The press is being shown only what the military wants them to see.  The press share only what the state wants people to see.  The press show little of reality.  Reporting what makes people feel better about themselves. 

 

Is There A Difference Between How War Is Portrayed And Actual War?

Real conflict is very different than what is portrayed by the entertainment industry.  Most people do not behave the way they expected to in actual combat.  Imagined heroism is quick to fall apart.  Individuals betray themselves, for want of safety.  To avoid the primordial fear.  There are few heroes, who usually do not support what they did.  Combat humiliates.  Words used to inspire, become hollow and repugnant.

 

Caveats?

This book covers many sensitive topics, sensitive wars, sensitive traumas.  A diverse history is provided to support the claims.  But the history is limited.  To understand the history of the various conflicts would require more research.


Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•How to understand war?
•How does war function?
•How does war change behavior?
•What does war provide?
•How does war change how reality is perceived?
•What is the effect of myths?
•Why do people do evil and commit atrocities during war?
•By what cause do wars start?
•How are wars perpetuated?
•Who are the victims?
•Who are the innocent?
•How do states justify war? 
•What efforts do states take to justify war?
•What do reporters report?
•How does the news effect war?
•How do people take death?
•Who is silenced in war?
•How is culture effected in war?
•How do people behave in actual combat?
•How does the entertainment industry make war look like? 
•What happened to language during conflict? 
•How does war effect sex? 
•Can love be found in wartime?
•What happened to the Armenians? 


Book Details
Edition:                   First Anchor Books Edition
Publisher:               Anchor Books [Random House]
Edition ISBN:         9781400034635
Pages to read:          185
Publication:             2003
1st Edition:              2002
Format:                    Paperback

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    5
Content          5
Overall          5






Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Review of Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 


Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“These people were, unlike the others of their time, never slaves to tradition, never satisfied with what had gone before, but aiming for constant improvement.  In the course of some ten centuries, they tore down and rebuilt these constructions eleven times, an average of once every ninety years or so, displaying an impatience with the old and a welcome of the new on an almost modern American scale.” – Paul Kriwaczek, Chapter 2: Kingship Descends from Heaven, Page 24

“Whether based on a true disaster or not, there was another, more important reason for Mesopotamians to tell and retell the story of the Flood: it played a crucial structural role in the ancients’ view of their history.  To the Sumerians the Deluge was the boundary marker that separated the preliterate from the literate period, the age of folklore from the era of history.  More to the point, it was the gulf that lay between the time when all Mesopotamia followed Uruk’s cultural and ideological lead, and the following epoch when Sumer, the southernmost part of the Mesopotamian plain, was a land of separate city-states, each pursuing its own destiny.” – Paul Kriwaczek, Chapter 4: The Flood, Page 72

“The moral that Assyrian rulers took from the disaster was that their only safety lay in possessing incontestable military power.  War was too important to be left to the romantic heroism of kings and generals.  If traditional fighting methods could not even hold off a swarm of camel-riding sheep-herders, Ashur’s rulers would concentrate on designing and building a new kind of war-machine, one that nobody would be able to withstand.  Moreover, the only sure way to stop people migrating into Ashur was to take over their homelands and rule them with a rod of iron.  Empire was a necessity not a luxury.  If that caused them unpopularity, so be it.” – Paul Kriwaczek, Chapter 9: Empire of Ashur, Page 234


Review

Is This An Overview?

The inhabitants of Mesopotamia were ethnically diverse.  Various peoples wanted control of Mesopotamia which generated conflict.  Ancient conflict reflected in contemporary events.  Conflicts that devastated cities.  After various disasters, military power was changed.  Concentrated to protect, but also for conquest.  To prevent being conquered, they had become conquerors.  The political system contained citizen assemblies that were needed to approve decisions, no matter who the leader was.  The political system changed from city-states to centralized power, with formalized laws. 

The culture was based on continuous change, to continuously improve on what was.  Change everything from physical structures to belief systems.  There were even references to the flood that were used to explain the changing times.  When various aspects of society had been disintegrating, many had given up on the social system.  The flood symbolized rejection of what was before.  That power, culture, and ideology have changed. 

 

Caveats?

Understanding Mesopotamian history is made difficult by a lack of sources, and challenges in translating the language. 

History is useful when applied to contemporary events.  Showcased in this book by the connection of the various related historic and contemporary events.  The connections have mixed qualities, as the references can be interesting, but also distracting.   


Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•Who is part of Mesopotamian history?
•How did conflict shape Mesopotamian politics?
•What were citizen assemblies for? 
•What was Mesopotamian culture? 
•What was the purpose of the Flood? 
•How was the Mesopotamian land transformed?  
•How does Mesopotamian history effect Saddam Hussein actions?
•What kind of language is Assyrian/Akkadian? 
•How did Mesopotamians clean their water? 
•How were the armies composed?
•What weapons were used? 
•How were items produced? 
•What kind of economy did the Mesopotamians have?
•How did the laws change?

Book Details
Edition:                   First U.S. Edition
Publisher:               Thomas Dunne Books [St. Martin's Press]
Edition ISBN:         9781250000071
Pages to read:          282
Publication:             2012
1st Edition:              2010
Format:                    Hardcover 

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    3
Content          3
Overall          3






Friday, March 8, 2024

Review of Candide by Voltaire

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 
Book Club Event = Book List (07/20/2024)
Intriguing Connections = 1) Want a Laugh?, 2) To Cooperate Or To Defect?


Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“He was about to continue when he felt himself struck speechless at seeing the two girls embracing the dead bodies of the monkeys in the tenderest manner, weeping over their bodies, and filling the air with the most doleful lamentations.  “Really,” he said to Cacambo, “I didn’t expect to see so much generosity of spirit.”  “Master,” replied the knowing valet, “you have made a precious piece of work of it: you have killed the lovers of these two ladies.”  “Their lovers, Cacambo!  You must be joking; it cannot be; I can never believe it.”  “Dear sir,” replied Cacambo, “you are surprised by everything; why do you think it so strange that in some countries monkeys obtain the good graces of ladies?  They are one-quarter human, just as I am one-quarter Spanish.”” – Voltaire, Chapter XVI: What happened to our two Travellers with two Girls, two Monkeys, and the savages called Oreillons, Page 84

“”You are about to do a rash and silly thing,” said the king.  “I know that my kingdom is an insignificant spot; but when people are tolerably at ease in a place, I’d think it would be to their interest to remain there.  Most assuredly I have no right to detain you or any strangers against your wills: that sort of tyranny is repugnant to our manners and our laws: all men are by nature free; you have therefore the liberty to depart whenever you please, but you will encounter many great difficulties in crossing the frontiers.”” – Voltaire, Chapter XVIII: What they saw in the Country of El Dorado, Page 96

“Candide, however, had one advantage over Martin; he still hoped to see Miss Cunégonde once more, whereas the poor philosopher had nothing to hope for; besides, Candide had money and jewels, and though he had lost a hundred red sheep laden with the greatest treasure on earth, and though he still had in his heart the memory of the Dutch skipper’s villainy, yet when he considered what he had still left, and repeated the name of Cunégonde, especially after meal times, he leaned toward Pangoss’s doctrine.” – Voltaire, Chapter, Page 105


Review

Is This An Overview?

A looming fortune is within reach, only to be taken away by tragic events.  Tragic events can seem hopeless, only to stumble into a new fortune.  This book follows the oscillating fortune and misfortune of primarily Candide, and many other characters.  Many who had everything, became those with nothing.  While those who appear to have nothing, have a fortune.  Not just fortune that has reversals, but also social values.  Written as a critique on society, on how social perception of groups does not mean that the members behave in the manner they are expected to.  Those who are supposed to represent the civilized behave in a barbarous manner, while those who are supposed to be barbarian behave in a civilized manner. 

 

Caveats?

This is a fast-paced adventure.  Each chapter is short, without many details given.  Lack of details, but filled with meaning.

Transitions have mixed qualities.  There are antediluvian references, which would be better understood by those who know the various historic aspects of the era. 


Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•Who was Voltaire?
•Who is Candide? 
•Who is Cunégonde?
•Why did Cunégonde study philosophy? 
•Who is Pangloss? 
•What is Pangloss’s philosophy? 
•How did Candide join the Bulgarians?
•What happened to Candide in camp with the Bulgarians? 
•In Holland, who was not charitable? 
•Who is James?
•What happened in Lisbon after the earthquake? 
•Who is the old woman?
•Who is the Baron?
•What did the Baron think of Candide idea for Candide and Cunégonde?
•What happened to the monkeys?
•Who is Cacambo?
•What happened with the Oreillons?
•What happened in El Dorado?
•What are the laws of El Dorado?
•What did the Candide take from El Dorado? 
•Who is Martin?
•How to explain the red sheep? 
•Who are the six dethroned kings? 
•What happened in Constantinople? 

Book Details
Author Full Name:  François-Marie Arouet
Alternative Title:    Candide, or Optimism
Introduction and Notes Author:   Gita May
Translator:              Henry Morley
Translator, Revisor: Lauren Walsh
Original Language: French
Translated Into:       English
Publisher:               Barnes & Noble Classics
Edition ISBN:         9781411431898
Pages to read:          154
Publication:             2003
1st Edition:              1759
Format:                    eBook 

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    3
Content          3
Overall          3






Monday, March 4, 2024

Review of Inadequate Equilibria: Where and How Civilizations Get Stuck by Eliezer Yudkowsky

This book review was written by Eugene Kernes   

Book can be found in: 
Book Club Event = Book List (08/03/2024)
Intriguing Connections = 1) To Cooperate Or To Defect?, 2) When Intelligence Goes Wrong



Watch Short Review

Excerpts

“A critical analogy between an inadequate system and an efficient market is this: even systems that are horribly inadequate from our own perspective are still in a competitive equilibrium.  There’s still an equilibrium of incentives, and equilibrium of supply and demand, an equilibrium where (in the central example above) all the researchers are vigorously competing for prestigious publications and using up all available grant money in the course of doing so.  There’s no free energy anywhere in the system.” – Eliezer Yudkowsky, Chapter 2: An Equilibrium of No Free Energy, Page 31

“Then why don’t you just walk up to the decision-maker and tell them about the bias?  Because they wouldn’t have any way of knowing to trust you rather than the other five hundred people trying to influence their decisions?  Well, in that case, you’re holding information that they can’t learn from you!  So that’s an “asymmetric information problem,” in much the same way that it’s an asymmetric information problem when you’re trying to sell a used car and you know it doesn’t have any mechanical problems, but you have no way of reliably conveying this knowledge to the buyer because for all they know you could be lying.” – Eliezer Yudkowsky, Chapter 3: Moloch’s Toolbox, Page 42

“This brings me to the single most obvious notion that correct contrarians grasp, and that people who have vastly overestimated their own competence don’t realize: it takes far less work to identify the correct expert in a preexisting dispute between experts, than to make an original contribution to any field that is remotely healthy.” – Eliezer Yudkowsky, Chapter 4: Living in an Inadequate World, Page 106


Review

Is This An Overview?

In an efficient market, in an efficient civilization, the individual cannot do better than the collective power of the many who have a lot more available information.  Even if the individual has information that others do not, the individual cannot make an improvement, gain any benefits by fixing the problem, and cannot exploit the system.  Common problems within adequate systems are supposed to be resolved by the community, as good ideas have already been tried by the community.  The collective might not get the exact answer, but no individual can predict the average value of the error, the average value of the change.   

Alternatively, there are inadequate systems in which individuals can do better that the community, as problems exist but do not get resolved.  Civilization gets stuck with inadequate equilibria as they are systemically unfixable.  There are various reasons for how an inadequate system, an inadequate civilization can develop. 

Central decision makers can prevent others from fixing the problem.  Decisions makers are not the beneficiaries.  There is asymmetric information as decision makers cannot know what or whose information to trust.  Systems might be inadequate, but that does not make them exploitable as there are many competitors trying to benefit from available opportunities, a competitive equilibrium.  To improve the system would require large scale coordination action, but they are difficult to facilitate.

 

How To And Not To Think About Inadequate Systems?

Wrong guesses and false cynicism do exist.  Different systems are dysfunctional in different ways.  No individual is better at everything, but individuals can be better at somethings and worse at others.  There is a lot of variation in expert views.

Although there are inadequate systems, just assuming inadequacy can make people see inadequacy in everything with a lot of arguments.  Concluding inadequacy from a problem is not an adequate rule.  Even though systems have inadequate equilibria, a blanket distrust of inadequacy arguments does not get far.  Civilization cannot be beat all the time, but its good to be skeptical and check for inadequacy. 

 

Caveats?

The explanations can be improved.  The organizational quality is mixed.  There are practical examples and abstract reasoning.  The abstract reasoning and conversations can become confusing.  There are parts that would be better understood with prerequisite knowledge.   

This book is based on the dichotomy of perfect and imperfect information theory, an improvement on them.  Tailored to reduce the strictness of perfect information.  


Questions to Consider while Reading the Book

•What is the raison d’etre of the book?  For what purpose did the author write the book?  Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•What are efficient markets / civilizations?
•What makes markets / civilizations inadequate? 
•How do civilizations get stuck in an inadequate system?
•How can inadequate systems be fixed?
•What are the benefits or consequences of decision makers trying to change the system?
•Can systems be exploited?
•How to think about being better than civilizational results? 
•What is Moloch’s Toolbox?
•Why blame Moloch?
•What is Nash equilibrium?
•How do people tell the epistemic standards of others?
•How much effort does it take to resolve a civilization inadequacy problem? 
•What is Pareto-optimal?
•What does the price represent? 
•How can SAD be cured?  How did the author approach SAD ideas?
•Why are babies dying due to nutrition problems?
•What do scientist do?  What is the purpose of subclasses of scientists, the suggesters and replicators? 
•What research gets promoted? 
•What is a two-factor market?
•What is the value of a degree?
•Why and how to certify people?
•What do people want from medicine? 
•What are wasted votes?
•Which entrepreneurs do venture capitalists take?
•Why not use Velcro for shoes?
•Which candidates do newspapers follow?
•What is the Overton window?
•How do political decisions change?
•Do people trust the newspapers? 
•Should you defer to doctors? 
•What is modest epistemology? 
•Is there a problem with theoreticism?  How does theoreticism contrast with empiricism? 
•Is it better to be a hedgehog or a fox? 
•When to test a product?
•Does majority belief makes something true?
•What is status regulation?
•What is the typical mind fallacy? 


Book Details
Publisher:               Machine Intelligence Research Institute
Edition ISBN:         9781939311191
Pages to read:          162
Publication:             2017
1st Edition:              2017
Format:                    eBook 

Ratings out of 5:
Readability    4
Content          4
Overall          3