Andy Matuschak on Books and Learning

EconTalk

Library of Economics and Liberty

Ethics, Philosophy, Economics, Books, Science, Business, Courses, Social Sciences, Society & Culture, Interviews, Education, History

4.7 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2019

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Software Engineer Andy Matuschak talks about his essay "Why Books Don't Work" with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Matuschak argues that most books rely on transmissionism, the idea that an author can share an idea in print and the reader will absorb it. And yet after reading a non-fiction book, most readers will struggle to remember any of the ideas in the book. Matuschak argues for a different approach to transmitting ideas via the web including different ways that authors or teachers can test for understanding that will increase the chances of retention and mastery of complex ideas.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to Econ Talk, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty.
0:08.0	I'm your host, Russ Roberts, of Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
0:12.6	Our website is econtalk.org, where you can subscribe, comment on this podcast, and find
0:17.6	links and other information related to today's conversation.
0:20.5	We'll also find our archives where you can listen to every episode we've ever done going
0:24.8	back to 2006.
0:27.0	Our email address is mailadycontalk.org.
0:29.0	We'd love to hear from you.
0:31.0	Today is July 1st, 2019, and my guest is software engineer, designer and researcher,
0:39.3	Andy Matushik.
0:40.3	He has worked with Apple and helped build early versions of iOS and spent five years
0:44.3	at Khan Academy working on having improved learning in online platforms.
0:48.3	Our topic for today is an essay, fascinating essay of his called Why Books Don't Work.
0:54.3	Andy, welcome to Econ Talk.
0:55.6	Thank you for that generous introduction.
0:57.6	What's wrong with books?
0:59.6	I like them.
1:01.6	This essay has a little bit of an anti-book screed, and I'm quite actually sympathetic to
1:07.4	it.
1:08.4	At first glance, the idea that books don't work is deeply disturbing, so make the case.
1:12.6	Yeah, I think perhaps I need to roll back on the title a little bit, perhaps a little bit
1:16.8	of clickbait there.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Library of Economics and Liberty, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Library of Economics and Liberty and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.