We have all these bad incentives that polarize us. How do we dig ourselves out of this mess? Over the past few years, I've come to believe that there is a surprisingly simple answer. THREAD 1/

Spot on by @cwiedinm. NOAA, it's weather forecasting, and its physical science in general, are a national treasure that provide enormous public goods. Free, competitive markets are the backbone of the economy, but Econ 101 also says that governments have an important role to play in providing public goods, which the private sector has incentives to under-provide.

@Louisa61334127 I agree that being in a gray area wrt accomplishments makes one vulnerable. That's most pre-tenure faculty at places like Harvard, but it's a much smaller fraction at most other places, like state schools.

This certainly is consistent with my experience. Stoicism is sometimes underrated these days, but has been recognized as a virtue throughout the ages, across cultures, as @JonHaidt discusses in several of his books.

Here is a longer version of this argument:

RT @HdxAcademy: 🧑‍🎓 What does academic freedom mean to you? HxA member and professor @matthewgburgess explains his view.

Had a blast watching the Cowboys win this exciting match in my first time being an "honorary coach" (a cool UW tradition that engages faculty in athletics). Luckily I could just watch and didn't have to do any actual coaching, because I know nothing about wrestling.🤣 Our student-athletes are incredible though, and they did a great job grinding out this W!

RT @AdamMGrant: A reliable way to boost cognitive functioning: Go to the gym. 383 studies: Exercise improves attention, memory, and inform…

Research and development has positive externalities and creates public goods. Econ 101 says that the private sector alone will therefore under-provide it. But, of course, there are some areas the private sector does well in, and public-private partnerships can be good too (e.g., SpaceX and NASA). So, scrutiny over what to fund is fine, but large across-the-board cuts are likely to do more harm than good.

RT @mattsclancy: New post! Looking at three recent papers on the productivity impacts of government funded research, both in the US and OEC…

RT @AukeHoekstra: New overview of @IEA outlooks vs reality from my friend @ChristianOnRE e.o. Nuclear consistently overestimated and solar…

RT @Jabaluck: The best study I know estimates that each dollar of NIH spending generates $1.40-$2.80 in value counting *only the private re…

RT @GovernorGordon: Congratulations to Josh Allen, whose talent and character have shone brightly since he first arrived in Laramie. #gowyo

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@JohnDSailer Though, to be fair, requiring the slate of interviewees to have specific demographics is slightly (only slightly) better than saying your *hire* has to be from a certain group.

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