TIM HARFORD

The persona is a kind of behavioural mask. It is the way we present ourselves in social groups and situations. Right from our childhood, we are taught to behave in a certain way to fit the expectations and norms of society. It suppresses all our primitive urges, impulses and feel...

• A social infrastructure: society needs a supply of creative innovators who are willing and able to challenge their physical environment in order to better themselves.
• Social incentives: there need to be incentives in place to encourage innovation...

Specific knowledge is knowledge that you cannot be trained for. If society can train you, it can train someone else, and replace you.

When specific knowledge is taught, it’s through apprenticeships, not schools.

Specific knowledge is often highly technical or creati...