#173 Radical Uncertainty – with John Kay

In this episode of Being Human, I speak with John Kay, one of Britain’s leading economists, whose career has spanned the academic world, business and public affairs

In his recent book, Radical Uncertainty with Mervyn King, he describes how, as a society, we regularly crave certainties which cannot exist and invent knowledge we cannot have. We forget that humans are successful because we have adapted to an environment that we understand only imperfectly and that, throughout history we have developed a variety of ways of coping with the radical uncertainty that defines our lives.

In this episode, we talk:

• The problem with bias-obsessed behavioural economics
• The power of abductive reasoning
• Understanding economics’ failing record
• Our love for doomsday scenarios
• The folly of misapplying probabilistic reasoning

Links:
Radical Uncertainty
John’s Website

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