POPULARITY
I came across this week’s guest thanks to the overlap of three passions of mine: data informed investing, value creation, and basketball. Sam Hinkie worked for more than a decade in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, and then most recently as the President and GM of the Philadelphia 76ers. He helped launch basketball's analytics movement when he joined the Houston Rockets in 2005, and is known for unique trade structuring and a keen focus on acquiring undervalued players. Today, he is also an investor and advisor to a limited number of young companies in which he feels his experience can improve outcomes. At one point in our conversation, Sam mentions that he tracked success via future financial outcomes, so I did some research and found many interesting stats about the 76ers surrounding Sam’s tenure. When he took over the franchise, it was 24th in ESPN’s franchise rankings, and today it is 4th. This is the result of an impressive crop of young talent—players like All-Star Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons—which resulted in large part from unconventional decisions Sam and his team made. While I’m sure these estimates are imperfect, Forbes estimated the 76ers value at around $418M when Sam took over and $1.2B a few months ago. NBA teams in general have grown in value, so a lot of that appreciation is obviously “beta,” but given that the 76ers had the top percentage growth number more recently of any team, some of it is “alpha,” too. While we can’t parse the exact amount, it seems his unique approach to building a team clearly created some large amount of current franchise equity value. And it looks like the dividends from those decisions will compound for many years to come. While basketball was where Sam plied his talents in the past, his approach is more elemental. It is about finding great people, using data, and structuring decisions that create the possibility of huge returns, be they financial or otherwise. I don’t know what Sam will do next, be it investing in companies, running one, or taking over another team, but I know it will be fun to watch. Please enjoy this unique episode with Sam Hinkie. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Books Referenced Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think Links Referenced International Justice Mission Show Notes 3:24 – (First Question) Advantages of having a long view and how to structurally harness one 6:08 – Using technology to foster an innovative culture 6:18– Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History 10:16 – Favorite example of applied innovation from Sam’s career 11:34 - Most fun aspect of doing data analytics early on the Houston Rockets 13:38 - Is there anything more important than courage in asymmetric outcomes 14:29 – How does Sam know when to let the art of decision making finish where the data started 16:29 - Pros and cons of a contrarian mindset 17:26 – Where he wanted to apply his knowledge in sports when first getting out of school and how his thinking is best applied in the current sports landscape 21:39 – How does he think about trying to find the equivalent of mispriced assets in the NBA 23:12 – Where tradition can be an impediment to innovation 25:07 – What did the team and workflow of the team look like in the front office 27:03 - The measure of truth in a sports complex 29:10 – What were the early factors coming out of the data that helped to shape NBA teams 30:42 – Best tactics for hiring 33:59 – Process of recruiting spectacular people 35:39 – Thoughts on fostering a good marriage 37:57 – Picking your kids traits in your spouse 38:02 – Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think 40:45 – What kind of markers does he look for when evaluating long term investment ideas 42:44 – His interest in machine learning 45:55 – What’s more exciting, the actual advances in machine learning or the applications that can be imagined as a result 47:15– International Justice Mission 48:11 – How he got started teaching negotiations and some of the points he makes in that class 49:16 – Effective techniques for negotiating 50:03 – Is negotiating contentious, do you need empathy 50:41 – A Rorschach test of Sam based on his reading of Lessons of History (book) 53:01 – Biggest risk Sam took in his career 54:37 – Biggest risks Sam took while with the 76ers 58:09 – Do people undervalue asymmetric outcomes in the NBA 1:00:11 – The players Sam has enjoyed watching over the years 1:02:45 – Why Robert Caro is a favorite author of his 1:04:30 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Sam Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
We’ve got neurologist Josh Turknett, MD back on the podcast today to talk about “unschooling”, a homeschooling method in which the direction of education is strongly influenced by the student’s interests and choices. It is becoming a popular alternative to traditional schooling, which forces kids to stay indoors, sit still, and be quiet for hours every day, while limiting access to activities they are developmentally wired to appreciate, such as art, drama, and music. On this podcast Josh and I talk about how best to support a child’s natural cognitive development, specifically using the principles of unschooling. Josh describes this emerging paradigm and explains the benefit it holds for all children - not only those struggling within the traditional school system. We also discuss the best resources we’ve found for educating our own kids and encouraging their cognitive development. Here’s the outline of this interview with Josh Turknett: [00:00:13] Previous podcast episode: The Migraine Miracle, with Josh Turknett, MD. [00:01:10] Physicians for Ancestral Health (PAH); PAH Podcast. [00:02:33] PAH website: ancestraldoctors.org. [00:05:38] Intelligence Unshackled Podcast. [00:08:30] Book: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: And Other Clinical Tales, by Oliver Sacks. [00:09:02] Geoffrey Hinton: This Canadian Genius Created Modern AI. [00:09:44] Study: Richards, Blake A., and Paul W. Frankland. "The persistence and transience of memory." Neuron 94.6 (2017): 1071-1084. [00:10:37] Book: The Forgetting Machine: Memory, Perception, and the "Jennifer Aniston Neuron", by Rodrigo Quian Quiroga. [00:12:07] Paleo Baby Podcast. [00:12:52] Letter To High Meadows Elementary School. [00:16:58] Arts and music as undervalued disciplines in traditional school systems. [00:20:15] Harder is not necessarily better. [00:21:36] Forest school. [00:23:12] Using the outdoors for primary education. [00:25:32] Traditional schooling: suppressing activities that come most naturally. [00:26:03] ADD/ADHD; sleep deprivation and nutrition. [00:29:57] Unschooling. [00:33:42] Learning formula: intrinsic motivation, feedback mechanism, learning constructed knowledge. [00:36:15] Day to day unschooling schedule. [00:37:10] The myth of poor socialization when homeschooling. [00:39:37] Balancing interests with general education. [00:42:37] Duolingo. [00:42:55] Educational materials. [00:43:07] Khan Academy; 3Blue1Brown; Smartick. [00:45:17] Assessing knowledge and progress. [00:50:37] Book: Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think, by Bryan Caplan. [00:53:59] Book: Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, by Peter C. Brown. [00:54:12] Movie: Class Dismissed. [00:54:26] Brainjo on Patreon. [00:55:24] Censorship on Wikipedia. [00:55:59] Sam Harris. [00:57:25] Brainjo. [01:01:40] mymigrainemiracle.com; elitecognition.com; Brainjo Education Facebook group. [01:03:00] Physicians for Ancestral Health; PAH winter retreat. [01:04:01] Book: Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, by Tim Harford.
Super Power U: Mental Models and Tactical Skills To Activate Your Inner Superhero
Divia Eden joins us today for a talk about her interesting and collaborative "high-trust high-stakes" parenting approach, which is steeped in futurist ideas with an ancestral framework. She also talks about the importance of creating a community, her assumptions and broad perspective the power of choice and the vision of sharing ideas, necessities, and space within a community. Mentioned in This Episode: Becoming Eden The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Paul Graham “High Trust High Investment Parenting” Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think, by Bryan Caplan The Nurture Assumption Internal Family Systems Therapy Self-Therapy Friedrich Hayek Quotes “I’m typically most interested in ideas I don’t know how to express.” “I want to do something high-investment, and I want to do something high-trust.” “I really don’t want to force my ideas or my thoughts on other people.” Super Power U Resources: Feedback and show ideas to hey@lisabl.com Super Power U Facebook PageLisa Betts-LaCroix on Twitter — @LisaBL Super Power U Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google PlayLisaBL.com
Bryan Caplan’s claim in *The Case Against Education* is striking: education doesn’t teach people much, we use little of what we learn, and college is mostly about trying to seem smarter than other people - so the government should slash education funding. It’s a dismaying - almost profane - idea, and one people are inclined to dismiss out of hand. But having read the book, I have to admit that Bryan can point to a surprising amount of evidence in his favour. After all, imagine this dilemma: you can have either a Princeton education without a diploma, or a Princeton diploma without an education. Which is the bigger benefit of college - learning or convincing people you’re smart? It’s not so easy to say. For this interview, I searched for the best counterarguments I could find and challenged Bryan on what seem like his weakest or most controversial claims. Wouldn’t defunding education be especially bad for capable but low income students? If you reduced funding for education, wouldn’t that just lower prices, and not actually change the number of years people study? Is it really true that students who drop out in their final year of college earn about the same as people who never go to college at all? What about studies that show that extra years of education boost IQ scores? And surely the early years of primary school, when you learn reading and arithmetic, *are* useful even if college isn’t. I then get his advice on who should study, what they should study, and where they should study, if he’s right that college is mostly about separating yourself from the pack. Full transcript, links to learn more, and summary of key points. We then venture into some of Bryan’s other unorthodox views - like that immigration restrictions are a human rights violation, or that we should worry about the risk of global totalitarianism. Bryan is a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and a blogger at *EconLog*. He is also the author of *Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think*, and *The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies*. Get this episode by subscribing to our podcast on the world’s most pressing problems and how to solve them: type *80,000 Hours* into your podcasting app. In this lengthy interview, Rob and Bryan cover: * How worried should we be about China’s new citizen ranking system as a means of authoritarian rule? * How will advances in surveillance technology impact a government’s ability to rule absolutely? * Does more global coordination make us safer, or more at risk? * Should the push for open borders be a major cause area for effective altruism? * Are immigration restrictions a human rights violation? * Why aren’t libertarian-minded people more focused on modern slavery? * Should altruists work on criminal justice reform or reducing land use regulations? * What’s the greatest art form: opera, or Nicki Minaj? * What are the main implications of Bryan’s thesis for society? * Is elementary school more valuable than university? * What does Bryan think are the best arguments against his view? * Do years of education affect political affiliation? * How do people really improve themselves and their circumstances? * Who should and who shouldn’t do a masters or PhD? * The value of teaching foreign languages in school * Are there some skills people can develop that have wide applicability? Get this episode by subscribing: search for '80,000 Hours' in your podcasting app. The 80,000 Hours Podcast is produced by Keiran Harris.
I came across this week’s guest thanks to the overlap of three passions of mine: data informed investing, value creation, and basketball. Sam Hinkie worked for more than a decade in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, and then most recently as the President and GM of the Philadelphia 76ers. He helped launch basketball's analytics movement when he joined the Houston Rockets in 2005, and is known for unique trade structuring and a keen focus on acquiring undervalued players. Today, he is also an investor and advisor to a limited number of young companies in which he feels his experience can improve outcomes. At one point in our conversation, Sam mentions that he tracked success via future financial outcomes, so I did some research and found many interesting stats about the 76ers surrounding Sam’s tenure. When he took over the franchise, it was 24th in ESPN’s franchise rankings, and today it is 4th. This is the result of an impressive crop of young talent—players like All-Star Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons—which resulted in large part from unconventional decisions Sam and his team made. While I’m sure these estimates are imperfect, Forbes estimated the 76ers value at around $418M when Sam took over and $1.2B a few months ago. NBA teams in general have grown in value, so a lot of that appreciation is obviously “beta,” but given that the 76ers had the top percentage growth number more recently of any team, some of it is “alpha,” too. While we can’t parse the exact amount, it seems his unique approach to building a team clearly created some large amount of current franchise equity value. And it looks like the dividends from those decisions will compound for many years to come. While basketball was where Sam plied his talents in the past, his approach is more elemental. It is about finding great people, using data, and structuring decisions that create the possibility of huge returns, be they financial or otherwise. I don’t know what Sam will do next, be it investing in companies, running one, or taking over another team, but I know it will be fun to watch. Please enjoy this unique episode with Sam Hinkie. For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag Books Referenced Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think Links Referenced International Justice Mission Show Notes 3:24 – (First Question) Advantages of having a long view and how to structurally harness one 6:08 – Using technology to foster an innovative culture 6:18– Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History 10:16 – Favorite example of applied innovation from Sam’s career 11:34 - Most fun aspect of doing data analytics early on the Houston Rockets 13:38 - Is there anything more important than courage in asymmetric outcomes 14:29 – How does Sam know when to let the art of decision making finish where the data started 16:29 - Pros and cons of a contrarian mindset 17:26 – Where he wanted to apply his knowledge in sports when first getting out of school and how his thinking is best applied in the current sports landscape 21:39 – How does he think about trying to find the equivalent of mispriced assets in the NBA 23:12 – Where tradition can be an impediment to innovation 25:07 – What did the team and workflow of the team look like in the front office 27:03 - The measure of truth in a sports complex 29:10 – What were the early factors coming out of the data that helped to shape NBA teams 30:42 – Best tactics for hiring 33:59 – Process of recruiting spectacular people 35:39 – Thoughts on fostering a good marriage 37:57 – Picking your kids traits in your spouse 38:02 – Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think 40:45 – What kind of markers does he look for when evaluating long term investment ideas 42:44 – His interest in machine learning 45:55 – What’s more exciting, the actual advances in machine learning or the applications that can be imagined as a result 47:15– International Justice Mission 48:11 – How he got started teaching negotiations and some of the points he makes in that class 49:16 – Effective techniques for negotiating 50:03 – Is negotiating contentious, do you need empathy 50:41 – A Rorschach test of Sam based on his reading of Lessons of History (book) 53:01 – Biggest risk Sam took in his career 54:37 – Biggest risks Sam took while with the 76ers 58:09 – Do people undervalue asymmetric outcomes in the NBA 1:00:11 – The players Sam has enjoyed watching over the years 1:02:45 – Why Robert Caro is a favorite author of his 1:04:30 – Kindest thing anyone has done for Sam Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
It's not often I truly feel that a guest changes my paradigm on the spot - but this is an exception.This week we speak with Bryan Caplan about his newest book, The Case against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money. As Bryan explains, despite being immensely popular--and immensely lucrative—education is grossly overrated. Bryan argues that the primary function of education is not to enhance students' skill but to certify their intelligence, work ethic, and conformity—in other words, to signal the qualities of a good employee. In fact, decades of growing access to education have not resulted in better jobs for the average worker but instead in runaway credential inflation, yet employers still reward workers for costly schooling they rarely if ever use. Therefore, his recommendation is to cut education spending.Caplan draws on the latest social science to show how the labor market values grades over knowledge, and why the more education your rivals have, the more you need to impress employers. He explains why graduation is our society's top conformity signal, and why even the most useless degrees can certify employability. He advocates two major policy responses. The first is educational austerity. Government needs to sharply cut education funding to curb this wasteful rat race. The second is more vocational education, because practical skills are more socially valuable than teaching students how to outshine their peers.Bryan Caplan is professor of economics at George Mason University and a blogger at EconLog. He is the author of Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent Is Less Work and More Fun than You Think and The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies.http://www.bcaplan.com/
Bryan Caplan is Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Senior Scholar at the Mercatus Center. Bryan is the author of The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies, named "the best political book of the year" by the New York Times, and Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent Is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think. He also blogs at EconLog. He is now working on a new book, The Case Against Education. Check out the show notes page to this episode at www.economicrockstar.com/bryancaplan where you will find links to all the resources mentioned.