Tim Harford

Economist, journalist and broadcaster.

Tim Harford, although now a famous economist, doesn’t like to think in discrete terms. He is a disruptor—someone who lives outside the box—and has made a name for himself through his famous research and writing on economic and psychological concepts. Since starting “The Undercover Economist,” a weekly column in the Financial Times in which he explains the economic concepts behind our day-to-day tasks, Harford has written ten books, spoken three times for TED, and hosted multiple podcasts.

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Philosopher's Notes on Tim Harford's Books

LockedPhilosopher's Notes

Messy

by Tim Harford

Tim Harford is an award-winning journalist, economist, and bestselling author. This book is a well-researched and equally engaging look at “The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives.” Big Ideas we explore include messy creativity (focus + desirable difficulties), collaboration (team harmony vs. goal harmony), YES! (the habit of), Jeff Bezos and Amazon’s (messy!) story, and the fact that Ben Franklin mastered a lot of things but... was super messy (and that didn't seem to slow him down)!

Quotes by Tim Harford

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As Brian Eno says, the friend of creative work is alertness, and nothing focuses your attention like stepping into unfamiliar ground.

Tim Harford

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The message of Muzafer Sherif’s work is that when you give people an important enough problem to solve together, they can put aside their differences.

Tim Harford

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Speed, economy, and flexibility: these three advantages should already be enough to convince us that the messy process of improvising has its advantage over tidy, scripted alternatives. But there’s something else that seems to happen during the process of improvisation, an almost magical creative spark that until recently has been elusive.

Tim Harford

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In 1956, Miles Davis signed with Columbia Records. To complete his contractual obligation to his previous record company, Prestige, he recorded four albums in two days: Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet, Steamin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet, Workin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet, and Cookin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet. The titles reveal the haste involved, but the music itself was and still is admired.

Tim Harford