Consider our difficulties avoiding junk food and overspending. Such addictions were carefully planned-for by professional marketing teams.
Robert J. ShillerPhysicists have a bias to aspire to be "seers" like Einstein rather than "craftspeople" who do simple and practical research. I have seen that in economics departments. The same must be true to some extent in other departments.
Robert J. ShillerLiberalism downplays certain of our moral senses: loyalty, authority, and sanctity.
Robert J. ShillerCan a controlled experiment explain why people like Kewpie dolls in one year, Beanie Babies in another, and American Girl dolls this year? Yet social scientists are asked to answer analogous questions. We economists and perhaps psychologists shouldn't overreact to the derision. That is, we shouldn't try to overlay a false sense of precision on our admittedly squooshy work.
Robert J. Shiller