---
title: "1 Competent People Quotes By Stephen J. Dubner"
description: "1 Competent People quotes by Stephen J. Dubner. Plus more from Stephen J. Dubner and more Competent People sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cf/stephen-j-dubner-13900_job_if-we-want-politics-to-be-the-kind-of-ar_3174414.jpg"
---

> [If we want politics to be the kind of arena where you're attracting and encouraging really competent people who do a job well because that's what they're supposed to do, then you have to pay them a salary that's commensurate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/if-we-want-politics-to-be-the-kind-of-arena-where-you-re-attracting/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cf/stephen-j-dubner-13900_job_if-we-want-politics-to-be-the-kind-of-ar_3174414.jpg)

## More by Stephen J. Dubner

> [These are the two sides of Steven Spielberg: the reverent grown-up who knows when to say the right thing and the exuberant kid who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/these-are-the-two-sides-of-steven-spielberg-the-reverent-grown-up-who/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [Like the graduates of some notorious boot camp, my brothers and sisters and I look back with a sort of perverse glee at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/like-the-graduates-of-some-notorious-boot-camp-my-brothers-and/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [The world is complicated. But does every problem require a complicated solution?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/the-world-is-complicated-but-does-every-problem-require-a-complicated/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [People are being incentivized for the wrong things. We've heard about a lot - doctors for procedures rather than creating wellness or maintaining wellness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/people-are-being-incentivized-for-the-wrong-things-we-ve-heard-about/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [While in the middle of writing a book, I have a hard time reading other books for pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/while-in-the-middle-of-writing-a-book-i-have-a-hard-time-reading/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [That's what's good about the digital revolution is it makes information asymmetry much harder to maintain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/that-s-what-s-good-about-the-digital-revolution-is-it-makes/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [Most laws that we make to protect people from guns are usually ignored by the criminals and obeyed by the law-abiding people. And so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/most-laws-that-we-make-to-protect-people-from-guns-are-usually/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [If the day's writing has been particularly good or particularly bad, a glass of scotch will be involved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/if-the-day-s-writing-has-been-particularly-good-or-particularly-bad-a/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [As everyone knows, tips constitute the bulk of a waiter's or waitress's income. But they are also optional, at least in theory. Does it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/as-everyone-knows-tips-constitute-the-bulk-of-a-waiter-s-or-waitress/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [What I think of as 'freakonomics' is mostly storytelling around an idea - not a theme but an idea. I like ideas much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/what-i-think-of-as-freakonomics-is-mostly-storytelling-around-an-idea/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [The Immaculate Reception became the Zapruder Film of sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/the-immaculate-reception-became-the-zapruder-film-of-sports/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [We're all biased, right, in many different ways - politically, religiously, ideologically, the way our family raised us - and that's fine. Nobody wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/we-re-all-biased-right-in-many-different-ways-politically-religiously/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [Think small. Don't pretend you know the answers. Experiment; get feedback. These are all the premises of 'Think Like a Freak,' really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/think-small-don-t-pretend-you-know-the-answers-experiment-get/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [I think the most fundamental error we make is mistaking a noisy, anomalous event for the norm. This happens all the time - in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/i-think-the-most-fundamental-error-we-make-is-mistaking-a-noisy/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

> [What's really the driver of talent is not raw ability. It's not even just experience. It's what's called 'deliberate practice,' which is to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-dubner/what-s-really-the-driver-of-talent-is-not-raw-ability-it-s-not-even/)

[Stephen J. Dubner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-dubner/)

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