Notebook per
The Economics of Insanity
Citation (APA): Caplan, B. (2016). The Economics of Insanity [Kindle Android version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com
Parte introduttiva
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 2
The Economics of Insanity By Bryan Caplan
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 5
1. An Example
Nota - Posizione 5
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 5
A man climbs up to the top of a tower and starts shooting into a crowd. If captured alive, even if he demurs, there can be little doubt that someone will try to declare him "insane." A few lame efforts to correlate his behavior with his brain might be made, but ultimately, the issue will be put thusly: "You would HAVE TO BE INSANE to climb up a tower and fire into a crowd."
Nota - Posizione 7
SULLA TORRE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 10
2. Insanity as Extremely Heterogeneous Preferences
Nota - Posizione 10
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 11
Is there anything about the extreme tails of the distribution that makes them in any way less "rational" in the economic sense?
Nota - Posizione 12
GUSTI CODE E RAZIONALITÀ
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 13
3. Insanity as Intransitivity?
Nota - Posizione 13
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 13
One might think that the putatively insane exhibit more intransitivities in their preferences, but I doubt
Nota - Posizione 13
FOLLE=LUNATICO? FOLLE=OSSESSO?
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 15
4. Insanity as Systematically Biased Belief
Nota - Posizione 15
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 16
Another alternative is that insanity in economic terms is not weird preferences, but systematically biased beliefs about the world.
Nota - Posizione 16
ERRORE SISTEMATICO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 17
But it seems like plenty of people regarded as perfectly sane have systematically biased beliefs.
Nota - Posizione 17
TIPICO ANCHE DEI SANI
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 18
Less controversially, well-established scientific conclusions - from evolution to the age of the earth - are rejected by a majority of the U.S. population.
Nota - Posizione 19
ETÀ DELLA TERRA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 21
In any case, it seems that many of the most notorious lunatics had a quite sound grasp of the world which enabled them to carry out their plots.
Nota - Posizione 21
LUCIDA FOLLIA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 23
5. Insanity as Unusual Biological Incentives and Constraints
Nota - Posizione 23
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 23
Suppose your metabolism is such that if you eat until you feel full, you will be morbidly obese. Does this make obesity a disease? Or do you just have different biological incentives and constraints than most people?
Nota - Posizione 25
OBESITÀ E MALATTIA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 25
Thinness is still in your opportunity set, it just requires more effort
Nota - Posizione 25
SFORZO POSSIBILE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 26
6. Insanity as Brain Disease
Nota - Posizione 26
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 27
it should be pointed out that it is extremely rare that insane behavior and brain states can be linked in such a way that everyone who e.g. has brain state X drinks too much.
Nota - Posizione 28
NN CORRELABILI CERVELLO E COMP.
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 30
I have yet to hear a brain researcher discuss endogeneity problems. What's the endogeneity problem? Well, if the brain state correlates with insane behavior, one may fairly ask: does the brain state cause the insane behavior, or does the insane behavior cause the brain state? Correlation alone does nothing to resolve this problem.
Nota - Posizione 33
NEUROSCIENZE:PROBLEMA ENDOGENO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 37
7. Conclusion
Nota - Posizione 37
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 41
First, a lot of putative insanity is nothing more or less than the extreme tails of a preference distribution with high variance. Second, "insane" preferences seem to be as transitive as anyone else's. Third, some putatively insane people may have systematically biased beliefs, but so do lots of people regarded as perfectly sane. Fourth, a lot of the well-established links between biology and "behavorial disorders" boil down to unusual incentives and constraints. In sum, while other disciplines regard insanity as a puzzle to be explained, the economic way of thinking inclines me to wonder what the puzzle is.
Nota - Posizione 46
SOLUZIONE DELL ECONOMISTA: LA FOLLIA NN ESISTE
