American - Economist | January 21, 1962 -
Economics is everywhere, and understanding economics can help you make better decisions and lead a happier life.
Tyler Cowen
LifeEconomicsBetterDecisionsHelp
In most of the world, breakfast is an important meal.
BreakfastWorldImportantMealMost
Real cultural diversity results from the interchange of ideas, products, and influences, not from the insular development of a single national style.
StyleDiversityIdeasResultsReal
We need to accept the principle that sometimes poor people will die just because they are poor.
PeopleDieJust BecauseSometimes
Often, economists spend their energies squabbling with one another, but arguably the more important contrast is between our broadly liberal economic worldview and the various alternatives - common around the globe - that postulate natural hierarchies of religion, ethnicity, caste and gender, often enforced by law and strict custom.
ReligionLawGenderImportantMore
Some Google employees have their self-driving vehicles take them to work. These car robots don't look like something from 'The Jetsons'; the driverless features on these cars are a bunch of sensors, wires, and software. This technology 'works.'
WorkCarTechnologyEmployeesLook
Buying from a local farmer can mean that he makes a two-hour extra truck drive, which can damage the environment more than a bunch of bananas on a boat.
TruckDriveBoatEnvironmentFarmer
Most of us are not pure self-starters; most people need role models, they need coaches, they need exemplars, they maybe need some discipline or some rewards. We need to be motivated.
DisciplinePeopleNeedPureUsRole
In the early stages of negotiation software, on your smartphone, there may be programs that listen to the pitch of a voice, or that test for stress. You'll just ask the program, 'Was he lying? Was he eager to do business with me?' Maybe the computer will be right sixty per cent of the time.
BusinessTimeStressMeVoiceYou
I think a lot of people will be liberated from a lot of oppressive manufacturing jobs, or a lot of service jobs, because they'll be done by computers. There'll be the world's best education available online and free.
EducationServiceBestPeopleWorld
I think people who are not rich can be extremely happy. And I think the chances to be happy in this new world - with many more opportunities to be creative, to be online, to educate yourself - there'll be a lot more chances to be happy. It's not to say everyone will take them, but there will be a lot of new paths to opportunity.
OpportunityYourselfCreativeHappy
When you look at the actual data on technological innovation, one thing you see is that what I call the 'low-hanging fruit' has been exhausted. So radio, flush toilets, electricity, and automobiles - a lot of very basic inventions - have spread to almost all households.
InnovationFruitDataElectricity
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Tyler Cowen quotes