Podcast appearances and mentions of robert maccoun

In this week's episode, host Margaret Walls speaks with Carolyn Kousky, associate vice president for economics and policy at Environmental Defense Fund, about the instability of markets for homeowners insurance, especially in states that are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Kousky and Walls explore the key drivers of this instability, including the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, insurance costs, and consequent strain on insurers that must pay more substantial claims. Kousky discusses challenges in the accessibility and affordability of homeowners insurance, along with policy interventions that can support equitable responses to extreme weather events and improve resilience following future disasters. Kousky also introduces her new nonprofit, Insurance for Good, which aims to bridge gaps between research and practice in terms of this affordability, equity, and resilience. References and recommendations: Insurance for Good; https://www.insuranceforgood.org/ “Wildfire Insurance Availability as a Risk Signal” by Xuesong You, Carolyn Kousky, and Ajita Atreya; https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5017469 “Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense” by Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell, and Robert MacCoun; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/saul-perlmutter-phd/third-millennium-thinking/9780316438308/ “Change: How to Make Big Things Happen” by Damon Centola; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/damon-centola/change/9781549152092/

Even though they affect all of our lives, most of us know almost nothing about how policies are made, especially policy made by our state and federal governments. So, Julia and Bob learned a lot from this conversation with guest: Robert MacCoun, Law Professor at Stanford University. With a Bachelor's, Master's and PhD degree in Psychology, professor MacCoun has long worked at the nexus between law and psychology and specialized in bringing evidence-based policy making into policy decisions, including controversial areas such as military policy debates about allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the US military and drug policy. His book, "Drug War Heresies" is considered a landmark scholarly analysis of the drug legalization debate.

In a world challenged by the politicization of data, contradicting evidence, and an onslaught of information, could the key to more effective and informed decision-making be as simple as, thinking like a scientist? Professor of physics Saul Perlmutter, professor of philosophy John Campbell, and professor of psychology and law Robert MacCoun combine their interdisciplinary minds in the book, Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense. The book explores the essence of scientific thinking and how it can be applied to practical societal issues. Saul, John, and Robert join Greg to chat about the genesis of “third millenium thinking,” the role of values in scientific judgment, and the importance of teaching probabilistic thinking and experimentation.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:Why is it so hard to just walk the Humean line and to be very explicit about sorting out these differences?09:03: [John Campbell] The message of the book is: keep the Humean line as far as we can, separate the facts and values. Scientists, we all know, have a lot to tell us about the facts, but we, the people, are the ones who tell you about the values. And then, I think, that has to be anyone's first brush, sort of partitioning off the boundaries of science, to keep that Humean line. But then it does get complicated when you think about things like mental illnesses and so on, where you're asking not just, Is this condition that a person had? Is this a real thing? But you're also asking, Is this a bad thing? Is it a bad thing for a person to be like that? So with autism, is that just neurodiversity that is not really within the sphere of medical treatment at all? There are boundaries there as to where science is authoritative and where the people have a voice. And this kind of issue clearly has to be a debate, it seems to me. It's not something for professionals only.To what extent must we trust the processes within the expert community?37:04: [Saul Perlmutter] I think that there's a difference between really understanding a field enough that you don't need the expert and having some understanding of how science works so you can recognize which experts you are more likely to trust.They myth of lone genius47:26: [Robert MacCoun] This mythology of the lone genius, I think, is very much the antithesis of third-millennium thinking, this notion that it's because I'm brilliant that you should listen to me. And that's really not where we think the authority of science comes from. It's not from the IQ of the scientist. It's from the procedures—the hoops you have to jump through to make your ideas work. And it's those procedures that give you credibility, not just brilliance.If you hold to the Humean line, why would your value judgments about what's good or bad for society impact your causal arguments?32:25: [Robert MacCoun]  The role of standards of proof when you're dealing with probabilistic evidence, you need to weigh two kinds of errors: false positive errors of claiming a hypothesis is true when it's not, and false negative errors of saying the hypothesis is wrong when in fact it's true. That is not a scientific matter. That is a matter of values. We can't avoid it. In dealing with uncertainty, we have to impose some sort of standard of proof. And so, under the Humean model, you take values very seriously. I don't think we would argue that values are simply outside the domain of science.Show Links:Recommended Resources:David HumeNeil deGrasse TysonSupreme Court overturns ChevronArticle: Supreme Court strikes down Chevron, curtailing power of federal agenciesGuest Profile:Saul Perlmutter's Profile at UC BerkeleyJohn Campbell's Profile at UC BerkeleyRobert MacCoun's Profile at Stanford UniversityTheir Work:Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense

Calling on his experience in evidence-based policy making, teaching a course at UC Berkeley called Sense and Sensibility and Science, and coauthoring the book Third Millennium Thinking-Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense, social scientist and law Professor at Stanford University, Robert MacCoun, discusses: how to avoid failure modes when making decisions; using practices, and tools of science to make better decisions in our every-day-lives; the value of probabilistic thinking; how to weave facts and values together; and how to reboot trust and develop a new collaborative approach to our shared problems and opportunities.

"We live in an experimenting society" Nobel Laureate Saul Perlmutter reassures us, "The fact that we can use partial information and do better is actually one of our superpowers." Third Millennium Thinking: Creating Sense in a World of Nonsense by Saul Perlmutter, John Campbell and Robert MacCoun takes the optimism and tools of science and helps us apply them to the everyday. They help us think about how we think, taking our values and fears into account, but not being overwhelmed by them. Third Millennium Thinking: https://thirdmillenniumthinking.com Photo by Jon Schainker. Used with permission. Theme music by Sean Balick; “Celestial Navigation" by Aeronaut, via Blue Dot Sessions.

No one has all the answers, but we could all learn a thing or two about asking the right questions from Nobel Prize winning physicist Saul Perlmutter, philosophy professor John Campbell, and social psychologist Robert MacCoun.

The U.S. has an incoherent national drug policy. While states pass laws permitting the possession, sale, and distribution of marijuana for either medicinal or recreational purposes, Federal Law still prohibits the possession, sale and distribution of marijuana for any reason in all 50 states. For those who are undecided between complete prohibition of marijuana and fully legalizing it, tune in. My guest, Robert MacCoun of the Stanford Law School and the co-author of Drug War Heresies: Learning from other Vices, Times, and Places, does a masterful job of analyzing the pros and the cons of marijuana legalization. And for those of you that are absolutely convinced you’re right on either side of the marijuana legalization issue, please stick around. By the end of this show, you may change your mind-in either direction.

Stanford Legal with Pam Karlan & Joe Bankman: "Commercializing marijuana w/ guests Robert MacCoun & Hadley Ford" Stanford Law Professor Robert MacCoun describes the legal future for recreational marijuana. Hadley Ford, CEO of iAnthus Capital, discusses the barriers to financing marijuana business ventures and bringing pot to market. Originally aired on SiriusXM on December 9, 2017. Recorded at Stanford Video.

Stanford Legal with Pam Karlan & Joe Bankman: "Commercializing marijuana w/ guests Robert MacCoun & Hadley Ford" Stanford Law Professor Robert MacCoun describes the legal future for recreational marijuana. Hadley Ford, CEO of iAnthus Capital, discusses the barriers to financing marijuana business ventures and bringing pot to market. Originally aired on SiriusXM on December 9, 2017. Recorded at Stanford Video.

Robert MacCoun is a professor at Stanford Law School and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Managing Editor of the Journal. R.J. MacCoun and M.M. Mello. Half-Baked - The Retail Promotion of Marijuana Edibles. N Engl J Med 2015;372:989-91.