You can now watch my recent conversation with Professor Gad Saad:
Links for Spotify and Apple Podcast
Book event at Yale
You are invited to see me speak at the Buckley Institute at Yale University on April 11 at 4:30pm. It’s free and open to the public. Details and info here. I’d love to see as many readers there as possible.
From the archives:
The power of ambiguity in threats and promises: Navigating the gray area in human interaction.
Link and recommendations:
Where parents make a difference by Inquisitive Bird
Has It Ever Been Harder to Make a Living As An Author? by Kate Dwyer
What Kind of Emotions Do Animals Feel? by Karin Evans
How Feminism Ends by Ginevra Davis
Hawking was wrong: Philosophy is not dead, and it has kept up with modern science by Dan Williams
In Partial Grudging Defense Of Some Aspects Of Therapy Culture by Scott Alexander
Two new reviews of my book:
Heartbreaking Memoir Troubled Indicts The Elites Tearing Apart Two-Parent Homes by Beverly Willett (The Federalist)
Luxury Beliefs by Jim Geschke
A reminder to please leave your reviews for Troubled on Amazon and Goodreads
Readers have been sharing photos of Troubled on Twitter/X and Instagram, which I’ve gladly reposted. Post a photo of my book online and tag me @robkhenderson and I’ll repost
Three interesting findings:
1. Education and science literacy are associated with greater political polarization. College-educated Democrats and Republicans are more likely to know when political communities have chosen sides on an issue, and hence what to think (or say) in keeping with their chosen political identity. (source).
2. CEOs with deeper voices make more money. A 1% decrease in voice pitch is associated with a $30 million increase in the size of the firm managed, and in turn, $19K more in annual compensation. (source). Obvious reminder that correlation is not causation. Still, the finding is consistent with other research indicating that males with deep voices are perceived as more socially and physically dominant. Maybe women too? Elizabeth Holmes’ contrived persona comes to mind.
3. Survey of a nationally representative sample of Americans aged 18 and older (source).
Percent who agreed with the statement, “It’s good to see successful people fail occasionally”:
Very liberal: 44%
Moderate: 31%
Very conservative: 20%
“Successful people need to be brought down a peg or two even if they’ve done nothing wrong”:
Very liberal: 30%
Moderate: 20%
Very conservative: 14%
Reading list
I’ve spent several months compiling a list of the most interesting and impactful books I’ve ever read.
The list contains my mini-reviews summarizing each book and explaining its importance.
If you are interested in getting it, just follow these two steps:
1. Order a copy of Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class in whatever format you want (print, ebook, or audiobook)
2. Send a screenshot or photo of your receipt or proof of purchase to the email address troubledmemoir@gmail.com and use the subject line SECRET READING LIST
Already purchased a copy? Just send a screenshot of your receipt to troubledmemoir@gmail.com with the subject line SECRET READING LIST and you’ll get the secret reading list right away.
That's it!
And if you don’t receive it within 24 hours, please check your spam/junk.
The "parenting matters" essay: Parenting matters as long as they are living with you, but declines rapidly after they leave. Thirty, fifty years out genetics has taken over almost entirely. Parents of teenagers, who have watched the long-term effects of other children's parenting when it is at its maximum, are the hardest to convince it doesn't matter, which is fair. But ten years later it is much less true and less obvious. We have anecdotes about what our parents taught us, but many of these are describing genetic effects and retrospective bias. We also forget that with biological children we contributed both the genes and the environment, so claiming to have taught them some value or skill might not be so.
Still, the first quarter of your life is as important as any other quarter because you are living in it the same number of years, right? If you were happier and more disciplined then, that matters. We can't just have measures that only tell us "Yeah, but when you are 75 it has all washed out, so it's useless." Those 75 years are years you were alive and interacted with others. Not to be sneered at.
On the deeper-voiced making more money: presumably on average companies prefer to hire people with deeper voices, and richer companies can outcompete others on pay. I'd guess there'd be a similar effect for height.