On Alchemy

2

The science of

knowing what

economists are

wrong about.

7

The wrong kind of science

● Ergodic, no path-dedendency

● First order optimisation problem

● Single right answer

● Not affected by context

● Objective measures capture everything

● No phase-transitions

● Value is entirely objective

● Averages are reliable information (mediocristan)

● The opposite of a right answer is a wrong answer

● Optimise the whole by optimising the component parts

2+2+2+2+2+2 = 1+3+1+3+1+3

but

2×2×2×2×2×2 > 1×3×1×3×1×3

1

0

11

David Rock's SCARF model

●Status

●Certainty

●Autonomy

●Relatedness

●Fairness

If you have a creative suggestion,

you have to present it to rational

people for approval.

Note, this rule never applies

the other way round.

“There is no sensible distinction to be made in a restaurant

between the value created by the man who cooks the food and the

value created by the man who sweeps the floor.”

Nationalökonomie: Theorie des Handelns und Wirtschaftens – Ludwig von Mises

Vu

lner

abili

ty

* *** ***

40%

13%

20%

N= 446

McGurk Film

“Take one thing

that makes sense,

and pretend

the opposite.”

Thank you:

@rorysutherland

@ogilvyconsulting