“The takeaway from all these observations is that our species seems, somehow, to derive more benefit from speaking than from listening.” — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“But if lifestyle ads work by the third-person effect, then there will be some products for which it makes good business sense… — Kevin Simler Business Copy Share Image
“works. Individual students can expect their incomes to rise roughly 8 to 12 percent for each additional year of school they complete.… — Kevin Simler Education Copy Share Image
“Advertisers must spend more per person to advertise on popular TV shows relative to less popular shows, and those selling social products… — Kevin Simler Super bowl Copy Share Image
“The reluctance of unschooled workers to follow orders has taken many forms. For example, workers won’t show up for work reliably on… — Kevin Simler Time Copy Share Image
“Laughter, then, shows us the boundaries that language is too shy to make explicit. In this way, humor can be extremely useful… — Kevin Simler Humor Copy Share Image
“learn—because it’s not the knowledge itself that’s as important as showing that you have the generic ability to learn and complete schoolwork.… — Kevin Simler Education Copy Share Image
“In a naive accounting, speaking seems to cost almost nothing—just the calories we expend flexing our vocal cords and firing our neurons… — Kevin Simler Communication Copy Share Image
“When we notice someone suffering and immediately decide to help them, it “says” to our associates, “See how easily I’m moved to… — Kevin Simler Business plan Copy Share Image
“Thus discernment, artistic or otherwise, is a critical skill, and yet it can be something we take for granted, in part because… — Kevin Simler Art Copy Share Image
“For the psychologist Paul Bloom, this is a huge downside. Empathy, he argues, focuses our attention on single individuals, leading us to… — Kevin Simler Compassion Copy Share Image
“Consider Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, celebrated for its beautiful detail, the surreal backdrop, and of course the subject’s enigmatic smile. More… — Kevin Simler Da Vinci Copy Share Image
“All of this suggests that we reconsider our huge subsidies and encouragements of school. Yes, there are benefits to credentialing and sorting… — Kevin Simler Education Copy Share Image
“Reasoning is a social process,47 and we typically have to convince disinterested third parties before there’s any chance our opponents will accept… — Kevin Simler Failure Copy Share Image
“When Provine studied 1,200 episodes of laughter overheard in public settings, his biggest surprise was finding that speakers laugh more than listeners—about… — Kevin Simler Humor Copy Share Image
“A common problem plagues people who try to design institutions without accounting for hidden motives. First they identify the key goals that… — Kevin Simler Goals Copy Share Image
“For example, when articles previously published in a journal were resubmitted soon afterward with new obscure names and institutions, only 10 percent… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“Thus, to the extent that education is driven by signaling rather than learning, it’s more of a competition than a cooperative activity… — Kevin Simler Better together Copy Share Image
“You can recite random facts from the encyclopedia until you’re blue in the face, but that does little to advertise your generic… — Kevin Simler Communication Copy Share Image
“when articles previously published in a journal were resubmitted soon afterward with new obscure names and institutions, only 10 percent of them… — Kevin Simler Copy Share Image
“The particular strangeness of Mormon beliefs, for example, testifies to the exceptional strength of the Mormon moral community. To maintain such stigmatizing… — Kevin Simler Faith Copy Share Image
