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This is where classes that teach the HISTORY of science and how discoveries were made can be so valuable. I was recently reading Bill Bryson's "A Short History

This is where classes that teach the HISTORY of science and how discoveries were made can be so valuable. I was recently reading Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" and he does an excellent job of explaining how each discovery led into the next. He also describes how some discoveries just took a long time because either the apparatus to make that discovery didn't exist yet or the right person didn't have the right idea. As a personal example, in a college "History of Economics" class, the professor described the "Diamond/Water Paradox". Prior to understanding how the intersection of supply and demand could lead to a market price, very smart people were perplexed how diamonds, which were rare but basically useless, were so expensive but water, a critical element to life, was so cheap. In hindsight, it all seems so obvious but explaining this history of the concept helps add an intuitive understanding of "it's not just what an item does but how available it is that helps define the price".

chasedehan 5y ago
The diamond water paradox is one of the first concepts learned in an introductory Econ class; hopefully not until a “history” class. I was an Econ professor in the past and this was quite literally the first thing I spoke about in introductory courses. This is the analogy used to describe what the science of economics is, the study of the allocation of scarce resources.
- alexpotato 5y ago
  I was an Economics major and also took AP Economics in high school and there may have been other analogies used but I don't remember hearing the D/W paradox till that history of econ class. That class was wonderful b/c it taught me a lot of the "first principles" of economics using real stories and examples instead of "here is a supply/demand chart, accept that it's true". Which brings me back to my original point, methods of teaching that explain HOW we got to the current way of thinking, IMHO, are the best way to teach people. The variety of responses in other threads show that not everyone is taught that way unfortunately. Your point in particular shows that even someone with an Econ background (aka me) may not have gotten this form of instruction.

chasedehan 5y ago

The diamond water paradox is one of the first concepts learned in an introductory Econ class; hopefully not until a “history” class. I was an Econ professor in the past and this was quite literally the first thing I spoke about in introductory courses. This is the analogy used to describe what the science of economics is, the study of the allocation of scarce resources.

alexpotato 5y ago
I was an Economics major and also took AP Economics in high school and there may have been other analogies used but I don't remember hearing the D/W paradox till that history of econ class. That class was wonderful b/c it taught me a lot of the "first principles" of economics using real stories and examples instead of "here is a supply/demand chart, accept that it's true". Which brings me back to my original point, methods of teaching that explain HOW we got to the current way of thinking, IMHO, are the best way to teach people. The variety of responses in other threads show that not everyone is taught that way unfortunately. Your point in particular shows that even someone with an Econ background (aka me) may not have gotten this form of instruction.