My New Year's Resolution for Robin Hanson

Perhaps one day, this post will be remembered as the one that inspired a book that inspired a revolution.

Can I preorder?

Has an abrasive ring about it Bryan. Does not set a great example for classroom discussion. Isn’t it something you could discuss with Robyn one-to-one over lunch?

Be positive: The problem is agreement.
I suggest that you write a book that expands on Tom Sowell's Knowledge and Decisions. As Sowell wrote in the preface to the 1996 edition: "How a variety of social institutions and processes coordinate innumerable scattered fragments of knowledge, enabling a complex society to function, is the central theme of the first half of Knowledge and Decisions."

I think it's abhorrent that such a book does not exist already.

Indeed, I would like to pre-order, too, but is there such a thing for a book that has not only not yet been written but not even agreed to by the author? Would RH be persuaded if we started sending him $20 up front?

Is it possible that the value of a New Year's resolution isn't in a set time to START making changes, but a convenient time frame for the changes to be made within?

It does seem silly to put off making needful life changes until an arbitrary point. The value of the tradition could be the surety that at the end of the next year you'll be looking back on the year.

While it's easy to forget about resolutions you make throughout the year, one made at the new year comes with a built in timer and a guarantee that you'll be looking back when the time expires.

It creates an otherwise absent 'fail' condition.

Following up on Granite26's point, it also serves as a convenient time to take a good look at your life, and figure out what changes need to be made.

Best idea of 2010.

Just claim it , so that he would do his best to make it. I am hoping too that he will make it.

Yes!

Perfection is the enemy of the good. Tell him to get cracking!

I'm ready to pre-order as well.

Could someone please list this book on Amazon as published by GMU and not yet released? This way, we can express interest in a way that will actually form a dollar figure.

I'd preorder in a heartbeat.

What we really need is a prediction market, so we can bet on things like, 'writing this book will make Hanson lots of money' and 'writing this book will save the world'.

Thanks, Bryan. This is a great synthesis of two (three?) of the many topics that Robin should write about. I think focusing on disagreement will actually provide a cohesive core for the book.

Robin, this seems like a strong enough suggestion that you should at least take an afternoon and see whether you can come up with a coherent outline around it. If you can, then the unpublished book should be listed on Amazon, so we can all provide an incentive for you to finish it.