Thoughts Controlled

Thoughts On Ideology

Dan Williams | Conspicuous Cognition | 24th June 2024

“Ideologies do not aim exclusively or even primarily at truth. They must provide simple, shared narratives that lend clarity and coherence to a complex political world. The average citizen does not consistently apply ideological principles in everyday political judgements or behaviour, and in many cases, citizens do not hold the kind of stable political preferences that ideology would imply” (3,000 words)

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Randomised Controlled Trials In Economics

Maia Mindel | Some Unpleasant Arithmetic | 4th June 2024

Proponents of RCTs — aka randomistas — claim they are the gold standard for economics research, allowing for smaller, more tractable questions instead of over-ambitious ones. Critics note that RCTs are expensive and don’t provide generalisable evidence. And then there is the thorny ethical question — a majority of people consider RCTs immoral, “thinking it inappropriate to play dice with outcomes” (3,800 words)

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