Hanson on Signalling

Robin Hanson talks about the phenomenon of signalling--the ways people spend resources to convey information about ourselves to others. It begins with Hanson revisiting his theory from an earlier podcast that we spend too much on medicine because we need to signal our concern for friends and family. The conversation then moves onto apply the model to other areas of human behavior. This wide-ranging discussion covers real estate transactions, wooing a spouse, education in the job market, parenting, self-deception, and Robin's argument that we spend too much time on admirable activities.