WEB Signal 51
Caplan warns high agency can end in addiction, citing Hall's three-year drug abuse
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Bryan Caplan reviews Cate Hall's book on high agency, arguing that the same traits enabling achievement can also lead to self-destruction, as Hall's own drug addiction illustrates.
For engineers, the takeaway is that agency, the ability to act autonomously, is not inherently good; it amplifies both positive and negative outcomes. The article suggests that high agency without emotional stability (low neuroticism) can be dangerous, which is relevant for decision-making in high-stakes technical environments.
Written by elseif from the cluster below · every claim links back to a sourceThe three things worth knowing
Caplan argues that high agency is high variance, meaning it can lead to both great achievements and severe self-destruction.
Hall's three-year drug addiction is presented as a failure to use agency, not a lack of it.
Caplan trusts only people very low in Neuroticism with maximum agency, suggesting a personality-based limit.
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