Who are the contrarian(s) in your industry?
July 23, 2018 6:47 AM Subscribe
I recently read the excellent Marketers are from Mars, Consumers are from Jersey by Bob Hoffman. He stated some unspoken truths of the marketing industry which a lot “insiders” are afraid to talk about. The book was insightful and refreshing to read.
I would like to know who is the contrarian in your industry? And can you recommend some blogs or books which they’ve written?
I would like to know who is the contrarian in your industry? And can you recommend some blogs or books which they’ve written?
I work in urban planning, and the Cato Institute's Randall O'Toole is one of our industry's most noted contrarians. His blog is The Antiplanner.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 8:54 AM on July 23, 2018
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 8:54 AM on July 23, 2018
Instead of industry-specific contrarians (most of whom are mental) may I gently suggest instead read the 'opposite' of your industry or about best practices from other places. If it's megacaptialist, read some Marx for example. If you are reading about US healthcare, read about European models, not about some nut pushing holistic for example.
In my opinion, you'll get much more insight than contrarians, who in 2018 are generally libertarian grifters, are able to muster.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:48 AM on July 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
In my opinion, you'll get much more insight than contrarians, who in 2018 are generally libertarian grifters, are able to muster.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:48 AM on July 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
Industry: Canadian banking/morgage.
Contrarian: Garth Turner at greaterfool.ca
Crumogony: Calls millennials 'moisters' who are but house-lusty helo kids and regularly complains about socialism
Unspoken truth: Turner is totally right about housing values in metro Canada being completely disconnected from reality, how many Credit Unions are completely over extended (to name and shame: Vancity, Meridien and Coast Capital).
posted by zenon at 9:51 AM on July 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Contrarian: Garth Turner at greaterfool.ca
Crumogony: Calls millennials 'moisters' who are but house-lusty helo kids and regularly complains about socialism
Unspoken truth: Turner is totally right about housing values in metro Canada being completely disconnected from reality, how many Credit Unions are completely over extended (to name and shame: Vancity, Meridien and Coast Capital).
posted by zenon at 9:51 AM on July 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't work in museums/heritage anymore, but still adore Franklin Vagnone and his radical notion that historic houses should serve their surrounding community. (Link goes to his book.)
posted by kalimac at 10:55 AM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by kalimac at 10:55 AM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Armond White is super-contrarian in the movie review business.
posted by Dmenet at 12:33 PM on July 23, 2018
posted by Dmenet at 12:33 PM on July 23, 2018
The Modern Monetary Theory maybe more alternate than contrary, but either way, it's a totally
different way of looking at money. In addition, one of the proponents of MMT is Bill Black who is a powerful scold on bank management and regulation. Other names to look for are STEPHANIE KELTON, AND RANDY WRAY.
There is a lot of criticism of MMT out there. Most of it seems to come from people who have over-simplified some MMT recommendations and their criticism seems to focus on things other than the core economic model.
posted by SemiSalt at 12:56 PM on July 23, 2018
different way of looking at money. In addition, one of the proponents of MMT is Bill Black who is a powerful scold on bank management and regulation. Other names to look for are STEPHANIE KELTON, AND RANDY WRAY.
There is a lot of criticism of MMT out there. Most of it seems to come from people who have over-simplified some MMT recommendations and their criticism seems to focus on things other than the core economic model.
posted by SemiSalt at 12:56 PM on July 23, 2018
In most not-ridiculous fields, it's hard to be both contrarian and right. You kind of have to be the vanguard of a sea change in the field, and most people who claim to be that are not.
But since it sounds like you're looking for contrarians in fields not your own, you can let time do the filtering for you. In many, many fields, the popular understanding is years to decades out of date. If you read the work of someone who revolutionized his field, it may feel very contrarian relative to what you thought the state of the art was.
A specific and fantastic example here is "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Kahnemann. If you still think economists are fixated on perfectly informed, rational agents, Kahnemann will provide a very accessible introduction to his pioneering work in behavioral economics.
If you have the patience to parse all the math encoded as prose (this was before we had the notation), you'll also really enjoy Galileo's "Dialogue concerning the two chief world systems," the original 1632 exposition of Copernican astronomy that got him tried by the Inquisition. Doesn't get much more contrarian than that!
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 6:24 PM on July 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
But since it sounds like you're looking for contrarians in fields not your own, you can let time do the filtering for you. In many, many fields, the popular understanding is years to decades out of date. If you read the work of someone who revolutionized his field, it may feel very contrarian relative to what you thought the state of the art was.
A specific and fantastic example here is "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Kahnemann. If you still think economists are fixated on perfectly informed, rational agents, Kahnemann will provide a very accessible introduction to his pioneering work in behavioral economics.
If you have the patience to parse all the math encoded as prose (this was before we had the notation), you'll also really enjoy Galileo's "Dialogue concerning the two chief world systems," the original 1632 exposition of Copernican astronomy that got him tried by the Inquisition. Doesn't get much more contrarian than that!
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 6:24 PM on July 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Kahnemann is now "mainstream" and Mercier & Sperber (The Enigma of Reason) are the contrarians.
In the field of psychotherapy, I'd like to offer George Atwood as a contrarian. You can listen to his undergraduate lectures (He's retired from Rutgers) at these links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA5kiKDOLeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QYMsdSepFA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKx9LMO-_kk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUeQ9ZTbiEU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbqqmIkdO2g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugsWaCxQMxo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P75Oes12ov0
posted by Obscure Reference at 6:45 PM on July 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
In the field of psychotherapy, I'd like to offer George Atwood as a contrarian. You can listen to his undergraduate lectures (He's retired from Rutgers) at these links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA5kiKDOLeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QYMsdSepFA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKx9LMO-_kk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUeQ9ZTbiEU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbqqmIkdO2g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugsWaCxQMxo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P75Oes12ov0
posted by Obscure Reference at 6:45 PM on July 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
My field, mathematics, is up to a point free of the controversies that plague other academic fields, since theorems are after all proven. But there are still some mathematicians with distinctly countercultural opinions about mathematics, and one of the most notorious -- and entertaining -- is Doron Zeilberger.
posted by aws17576 at 11:22 PM on July 23, 2018
posted by aws17576 at 11:22 PM on July 23, 2018
In higher education administration, some texts that come to mind as having a "contrarian" take, from multiple/opposite sides:
posted by capricorn at 2:01 PM on July 24, 2018
- Jeff Selingo, College (Un)bound
- Finkelstein et al, The Faculty Factor
- Vedder et al, Faculty Productivity and Costs at the University of Texas at Austin
- Jerry Jacobs, In Defense of Disciplines
posted by capricorn at 2:01 PM on July 24, 2018
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