Meet with PWL Capital: https://pages.pwlcapital.com/en-ca/contact-us?utm_source=content&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=rationalreminder_yt Avoid Online Scams: https://pwlcapital.com/stay-safe-online/ Today, Ben plays lone host for the first time as we welcome Alex Edmans to the show. Alex is a Professor of Finance at London Business School as well as an accomplished speaker, author, investment banker, and financial advisor. To start, Alex describes his involvement in the formation of a new law in the UK before defining ‘misinformation’ and where confirmation bias fits in. Then, we assess the impact severity of confirmation bias, biased search versus biased interpretation, the role of generative AI in confirmation bias, and the levels of susceptibility within confirmation bias. We also explore the role of black-and-white thinking in concealing the truth, Alex’s Ladder of Misinference as seen in May Contain Lies, the 10,000-hour rule and other famous statements of misinformation, and how the idea of a narrative may influence how people interpret and misinterpret facts. We end with how to guard against the plague of data mining in research, data as evidence and what this implies for evidence in financial economics, and Alex shares helpful advice for determining truth in any circumstance. Timestamps: 0:00:00 Intro 0:04:34 Alex tells the story about the erroneous evidence that influenced the creation of a law 0:08:08 What it means to say that we live in a post-truth world 0:13:16 The severity of effects of confirmation bias 0:16:37 How impactful biased search is, as opposed to biased interpretation 0:23:10 The role black-and-white thinking plays in making the truth elusive 0:27:54 Alex describes the Ladder of Misinference 0:30:58 Alex explains where the famous "10,000 rule" comes from 0:37:05 How something egregious may not be flagged by a fact checker or editor 0:43:41 The steps involved in separating fact from data 0:47:46 Why data isn't evidence 0:55:36 What people can do to guard against data mining 0:59:44 Why evidence isn't proof 1:03:28 The steps people should take to seek the truth when making an important decision 1:05:46 At a societal level, what we should be teaching people and thinking to embed these ideas in our everyday lives Links From Today’s Episode: Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582. Rational Reminder Website — https://rationalreminder.ca/ Rational Reminder on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rationalreminder/ Rational Reminder on X — https://x.com/RationalRemind Rational Reminder on TikTok — www.tiktok.com/@rationalreminder Rational Reminder on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/ Rational Reminder Email — info@rationalreminder.ca Benjamin Felix — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/ Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminwfelix Benjamin on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwfelix/ Alex Edmans — https://alexedmans.com/ Alex Edmans on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/aedmans Alex Edmans on X — https://x.com/aedmans London Business School — https://www.london.edu/ Fulbright Fellows | MIT — https://ir.mit.edu/projects/fulbright-fellows/ Atkins — https://www.atkins.com/ ‘Matthew Walker's “Why We Sleep” Is Riddled with Scientific and Factual Errors’ — https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/ ‘Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth | TED’ — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8 Books From Today’s Episode: May Contain Lies — https://maycontainlies.com/ Grow the Pie — https://mybook.to/Grow-the-Pie Outliers — https://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017930 Why We Sleep — https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466963-why-we-sleep Start with Why — https://www.amazon.com/Start-Why-Leaders-Inspire-Everyone/dp/1591846447 Grit — https://www.amazon.com/Grit-Passion-Perseverance-Angela-Duckworth/dp/1501111108 Papers From Today’s Episode: ‘CEO-Employees Pay Ratio, Employees’ Productivity and Firm Performance: Evidence from UK’ — https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391787593_CEO-Employees_pay_ratio_employees'_productivity_and_firm_performance_evidence_from_UK ‘A Theory of Fair CEO Pay’ — https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4294589