Today we have Matt Ridley on the podcast. Matt is the author of the recently-released How Innovation Works, as well as The Rational Optimist and several other books related to science and human progress, which have sold over a million copies. He is also a biologist, newspaper columnist, and member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom.

Topics

[01:37] What it means to be a rational optimist

[03:39] Evidence that the world is heading in the right direction

[05:43] Giving evidence-based hope

[11:23] Understanding the probabilities of life

[12:42] “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble; it’s what you think you know that ain’t so”

[14:23] Why nuance is an endangered species

[16:28] The reward value to truthful or insightful information

[18:16] How not everybody is wired to create

[20:08] Working with restricted samples

[23:03] Does the lone genius really exist?

[26:43] Working with naturally occurring samples versus working with restricted samples

[32:10] Why stories don’t necessarily mean generalizable truths about innovation

[34:05] The need to look out for unexpected results

[35:00] Separating the person from the process

[36:02] The phenomenon of simultaneous inventions

[42:28] Why innovation requires freedom

[44:38] Why innovators crave the safe space to fail

[45:08] The government’s role in innovation

[49:47] Biology as the science of exceptions and not rules