Why capitalism doesn't live up to its promises (with Martin Schmalz)

Dec 14, 2022 1h 16m 21 insights Episode Page ↗
Spencer Greenberg speaks with Stuart Ritchie about making science trustworthy, examining controversies like ivermectin and vitamin D, and models of intelligence. They emphasize the importance of high-quality evidence, critical thinking, and the nuances of IQ research.
Actionable Insights

1. Prioritize Randomized Controlled Trials

Recognize randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as the gold standard for establishing causality, especially when evaluating treatments or interventions, and prioritize them over observational studies.

2. Cultivate Critical Thinking

Adopt a critical thinking mindset by remembering that ‘people make stuff up, even people you like,’ and always trace claims back to their original source to verify validity.

3. Cultivate High Conscientiousness

Organize your life productively, set structured work/non-work times, take copious notes, and avoid frivolous tasks, as this can compensate for lower cognitive abilities and enhance productivity.

4. Develop Learning Strategies

Utilize effective learning strategies from cognitive psychology and strive to understand the underlying rules or meta-level strategies of new tasks to learn more efficiently and improve performance.

5. Be Wary of Initial Study Hype

Be aware of the ‘decline effect,’ where initial studies often show stronger effects than later, more rigorous ones; expect effect sizes to generally decrease over time.

6. Question ‘Controlled For’ Claims

When encountering claims of controlling for variables in observational studies, inquire about the specific methods used and the reliability of the measures, as full control is often difficult.

7. Seek Controversy Flags

Actively seek awareness of when a claim is controversial or has significant disagreement, rather than assuming it’s an objective, universally accepted fact, to apply more skepticism.

8. Understand IQ’s Learning Role

Recognize that higher IQ primarily indicates a faster speed of skill acquisition and learning new things, rather than an absolute barrier to learning for those with lower IQ.

9. Practice Desired Skills

Identify specific skills or domains you want to improve and practice them consistently to achieve better results, rather than solely focusing on general intelligence.

10. Use Job Task Simulations

For job selection, use specific job task simulations as the most effective predictor of performance; general mental ability (IQ) is a good overall predictor when specific task tests are impractical.

11. Take Vitamin D If Deficient

If you have medically diagnosed low vitamin D levels, take vitamin D supplements; otherwise, a healthy person with a balanced diet may not need extra supplements.

12. Consider Vitamin D for Groups

If you are vegan or have dark skin and live in cold climates, be particularly mindful of potential low vitamin D levels and consider testing.

13. Be Transparent in Research

When evaluating research, look for studies that are open and transparent about their plans before execution, including published registrations, as this indicates higher quality science.

14. Avoid Low-Quality Research

Be skeptical of research characterized by low-quality trials, non-justified methods, small sample sizes, and lack of transparency, as these are indicators of untrustworthy science.

15. Don’t Rely on Journal Reputation

When evaluating scientific findings, do not rely solely on the reputation of the journal, as even top journals can publish flawed or retracted studies.

16. Ensure Data Expertise in Review

When consuming scientific information, consider if the research has been reviewed by individuals with expertise in data science, as this helps catch issues like incorrect or fraudulent data.

17. Map Causal Assumptions

Map out your assumptions about causal relationships between variables (e.g., using directed acyclic graphs) to clarify understanding and identify potential biases in your models.

18. Train Specific Cognitive Domains

Train specific cognitive domains like working memory through repeated difficult tasks to improve performance in that domain and related tasks (near transfer), though far transfer to general intelligence is less certain.

19. General Intelligence for Versatility

Recognize that general intelligence provides potential for specialization across many different areas, allowing for adaptability in career paths and the ability to apply skills in diverse contexts.

20. Use Diverse Tests for IQ

To obtain a comprehensive measure of general intelligence, use a wide variety of cognitive tests rather than just one, as this captures the common factor across different abilities.

21. IQ Tests Measure More

Disregard the common misconception that IQ tests only measure test-taking ability, as evidence shows they correlate with important life outcomes and cognitive potential.