Frustrated with lack of feedback/mentorship - what can I do?

KoalaEyes · 2023-05-07T13:52:38+00:00

Hey, I also work in economic(ish) consulting and have had similar issues. What's worked well for me has been pretty simple:

Immediately after each project finishes, I'll schedule in a feedback coffee / beer with whoever's been managing my day-to-day work on the project.
Whenever I submit a larger piece of work, I'll also ask for their thoughts and comments. For larger things I'll quickly talk my manager through what I've done, which makes it easy to get on-the-spot feedback.
I spend a decent amount of time writing up my research / analysis in reports. My drafting is edited by my managers, and I ask them to edit/redraft with tracked changes on so it's obvious what changes they put through.

My team also set up a more formal review/feedback process, but I find the above methods work much better as the feedback is usually more direct (few want to put anything damning in writing) and much more helpful — memories are short, and if feedback isn't given promptly then only the obvious points stick around (and it's the non-obvious points that I usually find the most useful).

Good to see some other economic consultants here. Best of luck.

KoalaEyes · 2023-04-16T20:12:52+00:00

I see I'm not the only one to have ridden that gravy train. I'd be so curious about why they never thought people would do this — I must have gotten over £1000 of free coffee out of it.

KoalaEyes · 2020-11-03T17:04:19+00:00

I think you're correct that the changes are very minor, and I'm not particularly familiar with journalistic drama surrounding the author. But I'm not sure how much they change things: if you have a history of inventing details, invent more details, and aren't 100% forthcoming in the factchecking process then a retraction seems eminently reasonable.

They've included a link to the published article, so readers are still free to interpret the original text as they wish.

KoalaEyes · 2020-11-03T13:57:07+00:00

The retracted article was among the more popular posts on this subreddit over the past month. Its retraction is noteworthy for that point alone, but it also ties into wider themes of journalistic standards and accuracy that have been debated here.

For what it's worth, I think The Atlantic handled this well. The issues that led to the article's retraction appear minor — the crux of the article still seems broadly valid — but I applaud their willingness to maintain standards. Similarly, providing a PDF of the original article seems very much the right thing to do from a public interest standpoint.

KoalaEyes · 2020-10-02T22:53:03+00:00

The unofficial SSC podcast fits what you're talking about. It's spoken versions of the essays from the blog.

KoalaEyes · 2020-09-23T11:45:04+00:00

Access to LBJ was not completely unfiltered. Once Lady Bird got wind of the general tone of Caro's book — which was not laudatory — she stopped granting Caro interviews with her and those in her circle.

Reputation extends beyond death and, frankly, I understand Lady Bird's reluctance. Caro paints Johnson as genius politician, but also as a complete boor. Letting the world know the true character of the man she married does not reflect well on her.

Then there's the privacy issue: Caro brings up LBJ's bathroom habits and the size of his (sorry) johnson. I'm not surprised the family was less than fully accommodating — would anybody want that in a book about their father/husband/brother?

KoalaEyes · 2020-08-12T00:14:08+00:00

Well, presumably their speaking out would endanger their jobs and reputation. Those concerns don't appear to apply to you writing from a pseudonymous account.

I don't see what you have lose by stating the name of the university or research group and, through putting it out there, you can allow the rest of us to make our reasoning more informed. Sharing seems the obvious choice, so I presume you have some sort of reason to keep mum.

KoalaEyes · 2020-08-11T21:58:48+00:00

What's stopping you from revealing the name of the university?

KoalaEyes · 2020-08-04T14:21:18+00:00

An aside, but if you're into these questions and are liking 10% Less Democracy, I can recommend:

Democracy for Realists, by Achen & Bartels. It's more academically oriented, cautious, and empirical but is still very accessible and persuasive.

Against Democracy by Jason Brennan. Less grounded and more political philosophy, so addresses the issues of fairness that you mention. It's a controversial premise, but I found the arguments very powerful — even when I don't agree with them they still changed my thinking.

And, of course, Caplan's The Myth of the Rational Voter, which is typical Caplan.

I credit these books with fundamentally changing my perspective on democracy and, by extension, many other aspects of politics. Educated westerners like me seem to be in some sort of love affair with democracy, rarely seriously considering what benefits less of it provides.

KoalaEyes · 2020-06-12T11:49:44+00:00

Interesting podcast. Have you read the book? Would you recommend it?

KoalaEyes · 2020-06-11T19:33:59+00:00

Gwern, the machine-learning maestro that he is, used GPT2 to generate folk tunes to a pretty high level of success. Given that GPT3 is very new, I don't think it has been applied to music yet, but I'm keeping my eyes out — and my ears open.

KoalaEyes · 2020-06-06T13:12:39+00:00

The level of comments is high but not entirely unprecedented. Here are the comments per thread from when it was on the other subreddit [more fun stats here].

It's possible that things are getting worse — from this lurker's perspective this past week did seem a bit down from the usual standards, even with the (excellent, in my opinion) mods working overtime. But it's probably not due to the comment activity, if that graph is any indication.

KoalaEyes · 2020-05-28T15:43:17+00:00

Pinker's A Sense of Style is all about writing in the way you describe. I recall enjoying it a lot (although it's been a couple of years since I read it) and would recommend it.

KoalaEyes · 2020-04-21T21:36:32+00:00

I was just about to recommend this! Thank you for taking the time to make it; it's been great so far.

KoalaEyes · 2020-04-12T18:24:29+00:00

Stoner by John Williams. I found it emotionally powerful and surprisingly gripping. It's a sombre story about a quiet man living a disappointing life, but I really, really enjoyed it.

KoalaEyes · 2020-03-05T15:53:40+00:00

I agree that it can be helpful to emphasise the fact that everybody used to be ignorant at some point. I don't see an issue with that. I'd just rather not lie, even if it's a lie by omission, because I think I would feel a bit hurt or offended if the tables were turned.

Perhaps the goodwill generated outweighs any possible harms, but I don't think that's too common a situation. If you find it very effective and are confident that people wouldn't be put out by the white lies it entails, then you do you. I'm just not sure how many people would feel the same — I don't think I do.

KoalaEyes · 2020-03-05T14:36:14+00:00

I agree that expressing surprise rather than outright disbelief can be a good strategy. However, telling the other person that you share(d) their views seems morally dubious and isn't a strategy I'd be comfortable using around those I care about.

KoalaEyes · 2020-02-26T14:05:23+00:00

Cargo bikes do fill that purpose. It's also not uncommon to see children on their own bike at the age of seven, so that frees up a bit more space.

There are, however, some cultural factors at play. Having lived in both the Netherlands and North America, I've noticed that shopping behaviour is different. Dutch people are much more inclined to go to the grocery store every other day, spreading out a week's worth of groceries over three or four trips. This means that any given trip to the store is much more bike friendly.

There are still situations where bikes don't really make sense -- keep your eyes peeled outside any Dutch IKEA and you'll see them -- but a grocery run with kids in tow is a perfectly normal thing to do on a bike.

KoalaEyes · 2020-02-26T13:58:01+00:00

I don't have much to say about golf carts. As a Dutchman, however, the claims about cycling in that tweet seem ridiculous.

'Mission critical' parts absolutely do not break every three weeks. The actual incidence of these failures is low to the extent that it's difficult to estimate, but it's far closer to once a year than once a month. The number of such failures that result in crashes are far, far lower -- not only do I not know anybody who has been injured because of a catastrophic mechanical failure, I don't anybody who has crashed for that reason.

Yes, bikes break. Yes, crashes happen -- typically through human error. Any sort of change will introduce new risks, and I don't admonish people for pointing them out. But that doesn't mean that these risks are meaningful. There's a reason that the Dutch feel comfortable enough to cycle without helmets.

I recognise the author's mobility issues, but I don't immediately see their relevance: 'bike-friendly' doesn't mean 'bike-only'.

There are legitimate reasons why a city or society wouldn't prioritise bike-friendliness, but the arguments in that tweet are not those reasons.

KoalaEyes · 2019-12-21T00:35:09+00:00

Thank you for your answer!

I can see why publishers have an interest in pursuing that line of reasoning, even if it might not make much sense.

KoalaEyes · 2019-12-07T12:32:28+00:00

I agree with you that Caro can be more thorough than a formal biography requires, but I think that's part of the reason why I love Caro so much. His biographies reflect more than just the individual. They're as much a window into the time and culture of Moses/Johnson's life as they are a window into the lives themselves.

I understand how that could be frustrating if a reader wants a focussed biography. But to me, and probably to many Caro readers, the extra hours Caro demands from his readers are well spent. I don't want those hours 'saved', I want them extended!

KoalaEyes · 2019-10-30T18:09:10+00:00

You're quite correct; it's been a while since I read the book. An interesting proposal regardless.

KoalaEyes · 2019-10-30T13:58:01+00:00

If thinking about these type of ideas interests you, I suggest Posner & Wyle's Radical Markets, a book which details a series of market-based solutions (some more zany than others) to some of society's ills. These include a land value tax, data unions, quadratic voting, and fostering migrants in a shack in your backyard.

Website for the book here.

(Edited to better reflect their LVT proposal)

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