Rob Henderson

1 week ago | richardhanania.com | Richard Hanania |Rob Henderson

Last week I shared a five-minute video on X of a woman hitting on various men around a university campus that has now received nearly four million views. It’s such a beautiful social experiment because you see a series of young men put in the exact same situation and watch their reactions. You can observe the gradations in how confident men are and their readiness to capitalize on opportunities that come before them.

1 week ago | robkhenderson.com | Rob Henderson

Experts and elites play fundamentally different games. Misunderstanding this distinction warps how we judge institutions—and who we choose to trust. A few days ago, The Free Press published my Letter to the Editor discussing the difference between experts and elites—an insightful distinction I first encountered on Robin Hanson’s Substack. Here I elaborate on this framework. I’ll be speaking with a certain amount of looseness and generalization.

1 week ago | robkhenderson.com | Rob Henderson

The higher up you go, the blurrier things get in terms of rules, customs, etc. At a wage job, you and everyone else knows you’re making $17.25 an hour or whatever. In white-collar roles, pay is a moving target—and you're expected to negotiate, which quietly screens for social fluency. And others generally don’t know how much you’re making. Do powerful people still crave proximity to fame? Rough-and-tumble play is how kids learn about strength, speed, and boundaries.

2 weeks ago | robkhenderson.com | Rob Henderson

This viral tweet triggered lots of arguments about which body type women prefer. Side-by-side are images of singer-songwriter Olly Murs, who underwent a 12 week body transformation. In a poll, women overall preferred the “before” version, where Murs has more of a muscular dad bod. In contrast, men overall said they preferred the “after” version, where Murs has retained his muscularity and leaned out to single-digit body fat.

2 weeks ago | robkhenderson.com | Rob Henderson

From an interview with Jerry Seinfeld:David Remnick: I was once talking to the writer Adrian LeBlanc, who’s been working on a book about comedy, and I asked, “Who are the two smartest comedians about comedy?” I expected her to name two obscurities. And she said you and Chris Rock, because you study it. You’ve been thinking about this; it’s not just a bunch of jokes. Jerry Seinfeld: Yes.