Bryan Caplan

Everything Bryan Caplan said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.

a16z Opinion

Caplan: Silicon Valley diplomas matter primarily for landing initial meetings

“In terms of how much it matters for diplomas in Silicon Valley, I think a crucial is just like getting the first meeting.”

Bryan Caplan Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 22:16 a16z Podcast | The Case Against Education, From Signaling to Rainbow's End

a16z Insight

Caplan: Vocational education builds practical skills rather than signaling social status

“If you take signaling seriously, the really good thing about vocational education is it seems like it's much less about impressing others. In fact, there may even be a little bit of a stigma against it, and more about acquiring actual concrete practical skills…”

Bryan Caplan Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 23:33 a16z Podcast | The Case Against Education, From Signaling to Rainbow's End

a16z Insight

Caplan: Job competence requires domain-specific practice, not general critical reasoning

“The answer seems to be practicing that specific job. You know, the way that you get to be a good pilot Is not by taking a critical reasoning class. It's by, you know, getting in the simulator, getting in the cockpit, and learning to deal with a thousand differ…”

Bryan Caplan Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 28:26 a16z Podcast | The Case Against Education, From Signaling to Rainbow's End

a16z Prediction Held up

Caplan: Maintains a standing open commitment to bet on his own assertions

“I have a blanket announcement. If you think that I'm saying something ridiculous, let's form a bet on it. And like, I'm sticking my neck out. I am always open to bets”

Bryan Caplan Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 44:25 a16z Podcast | The Case Against Education, From Signaling to Rainbow's End

a16z Insight

Caplan: Weight empirical results heavier when they contradict researchers' own preferences

“This is one of my heuristics, by the way, is you're putting more weight on results people don't want to find.”

Bryan Caplan Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 11:40 a16z Podcast | The Case Against Education, From Signaling to Rainbow's End

a16z Insight

Caplan: Job applicants can easily fake conscientiousness on personality tests

“Fake being smart, that's hard. But on the other hand, fake being conscientious on a test, that's something where anyone can do it.”

Bryan Caplan Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 14:25 a16z Podcast | The Case Against Education, From Signaling to Rainbow's End

a16z Assertion Contradicted

Caplan: Vocational education boosts long-term earnings and employment rates

“First of all, there's quite a bit of research on just the selfish gains to the individual student, so even for students that do go into college, there's still pretty good evidence that, you know, vocational education in the long run rates your earnings and emp…”

Bryan Caplan Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 23:07 a16z Podcast | The Case Against Education, From Signaling to Rainbow's End

a16z Insight

Caplan: Financial stakes force people to reason more objectively

“When there's no money on the table, people form their beliefs in a very emotional way. But this is not a fixed trait of human nature. It's not like they have to be emotional. Rather, they're selectively emotional and in ones where there's some real stakes, som…”

Bryan Caplan Jan 2, 2019 ▶ 42:22 a16z Podcast | The Case Against Education, From Signaling to Rainbow's End

The other half of the tape: Bryan Caplan's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 7 times in 3 episodes across the shows. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Marc Andreessen 7

Every mention by year

One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Bryan's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.

Show	Role there	Eps	Statements	Record
a16zLEDGER	Professor of Economics, George Mason University	1	32	71% 5/7	full record on the a16z Podcast →