4 votes

Does it matter if we know the truth?

1 comment

  1. skybrian
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    It seems like division of labor is important here. Clearly, everyone doesn't have to know everything. There are many things known only to specialists, and if the general public has some...

    It seems like division of labor is important here. Clearly, everyone doesn't have to know everything. There are many things known only to specialists, and if the general public has some misconceptions then it's usually not the end of the world. (Fortunately for us!)

    The differing opinions about what everyone needs to know comes up in situations like deciding what school curriculum should be. I think it's fairly well removed from reality though? Many people who squeaked through algebra scarcely know it, and it's unclear how much that matters.

    Matt Levine writes sometimes about the difference between what courses in financial literacy teach (how to calculate interest rates) and the things it's important to know.

    It seems to me that there are about two deep financial literacy questions:

    1. Does your plan to finance your future lifestyle rely on miracles occurring?
    2. If I offer you a 20 percent annual risk-free return, am I lying?

    Democracy seemingly depends on us knowing fairly obscure stuff sometimes. But fortunately, it is fine to copy someone else's homework, provided that you know who to copy from. And that's the hard part.

    2 votes