Sharing what I have learned from what I have read: A blog by Joe Abittan
It is an unavoidable reality that we are more motivated by what is in our immediate self-interest than we would like to admit. This idea is at the heart of Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson's book The Elephant in the Brain and can be seen everywhere if you open your eyes to recognize it. I'm currently … Continue reading Help Them Build a Better Life
"Focusing only on this smaller aspect and ignoring the much larger causes is one of the reasons why our responses to this crisis are failing so badly," writes Johann Hari in his book Chasing the Scream. The smaller aspect he refers to is the chemical hook of drugs. The story we tell ourselves is that … Continue reading Ignoring Larger Causes
We often overlook businesses when we think about the problems in American healthcare and how we can fix the issues that plague our system. But about half of all American's receive their health insurance as a benefit provided by their employer. Businesses purchase and provide health insurance for millions of Americans, and must think about … Continue reading Businesses and Solving Healthcare Problems
Human beings think in metaphors and similes, especially when it comes to thinking about ourselves. We come to understand one thing by comparing it to another, and we describe something as being like something else, to help us understand how we should relate to it. A metaphorical way of thinking that Sam Quinones is critical … Continue reading Metaphors and Similes of the Human Body
In The New Localism Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak argue that political decision-making, solutions to complex problems, and innovations in progress and economic development occur more at the local level than at the national level in the world today. Their argument is that national politics is complex and cumbersome, with too many large and disconnected voices … Continue reading Problem Solving to Fit the World
"Savvy institutional designers," Write Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson in The Elephant in the Brain, "must ... identify both the surface goals to which people give lip service and the hidden goals that people are also trying to achieve. Designers can then search for arrangements that actually achieve the deeper goals while also serving the … Continue reading Designing for Two Goals
I am constantly interested in discussions, arguments, and complaints about fairness. Dictionary.com defines fair as "free from bias, dishonesty, and injustice" but I think we all know "fair" to be more complex than that definition suggests. What I suspect we often mean when we say fair is equitable, which is a far more complex understanding … Continue reading The Ego and Fairness
Yesterday I wrote about how easy it can be to solve the wrong problem. When we go to meetings, chat with someone during a lunch break, or are working in a group on a project, it can become very easy to start complaining about whatever thing happens to be annoying us at that moment. Whatever … Continue reading Whats the Real Challenge
I work for a growing but still small tech start-up in the healthcare space based out of the bay area. The company has a great mission and is amazing to work for, but we have certainly had a lot of growing pains and unanswerable questions over the last four years that I have worked for … Continue reading Solving the Wrong Problem