David Epstein

4 days ago | davidepstein.substack.com | David Epstein

Last week, I watched a clip of Vice President Vance downplaying concerns about scientific “brain drain.” His remarks came after the administration abruptly paused new federal research grant awards and student visa interviews.

3 weeks ago | davidepstein.substack.com | David Epstein

This post was going to be a short note saying that I might not post for a bit. Instead, I figured it would be more interesting to write about what, precisely, has me so busy: fact-checking. My new book is in finished-enough form that I hired someone to torture me on a daily basis by combing the manuscript for errors. So far the necessary changes have been numerous but blessedly small. Still, they take up an enormous amount of time.

1 month ago | davidepstein.substack.com | David Epstein

Last month, I had the pleasure of joining Forrest Hanson on “Being Well,” a mental health-focused podcast that he often co-hosts with his father, psychologist Rick Hanson. At one point, we discussed how professionals who specialize very narrowly can sometimes become rigid and stop improving. One manifestation of this is the so-called Einstellung effect, in which a problem solver reflexively relies on familiar methods — even when they no longer work, or better ones are available.

1 month ago | medium.com | David Epstein

Feedback QuandaryFeedback is like fire — it can warm or burn, depending on how it’s delivered. We all receive it in one way or another. But it shouldn’t be something that we fear. It should be something that we take as a constructive experience. Nevertheless, how it is perceived is not always by what is said but by how it is said. Nobody responds well to feedback with the tone and composition of a bad Yelp review.

2 months ago | davidepstein.substack.com | David Epstein

The book Abundance, by journalists Ezra Klein (New York Times) and Derek Thompson (The Atlantic), came out last month — and during the week that followed, not a day passed without a friend or acquaintance bringing it up. Some praised it, others had critiques, but every conversation was interesting. If Helen of Troy was “the face that launched a thousand ships,” Abundance may be a book that launches a thousand policy debates.