Micreconomics: Supply and demand curves versus adverse selection
This example makes me think that there’s an underrated distinction between what’s most useful for a future specialist and what’s most useful for someone who’s taking the course and will not pursue further study. If you’re studying to be an economist, understanding supply and demand is several magnitudes more important than understanding adverse selection. You can be an okay economist with a mediocre understanding of adverse selection, but if you don’t understand supply and demand, you have no chance. But if you’re going into some other field, it’s probably more important to understand adverse selection. In an ideal world, “economics for non-economists” would be separate from “economics for future economists”. I imagine something similar holds true for other areas of study.
This example makes me think that there’s an underrated distinction between what’s most useful for a future specialist and what’s most useful for someone who’s taking the course and will not pursue further study. If you’re studying to be an economist, understanding supply and demand is several magnitudes more important than understanding adverse selection. You can be an okay economist with a mediocre understanding of adverse selection, but if you don’t understand supply and demand, you have no chance. But if you’re going into some other field, it’s probably more important to understand adverse selection. In an ideal world, “economics for non-economists” would be separate from “economics for future economists”. I imagine something similar holds true for other areas of study.