Filters Against Folly: How to Survive Despite Economists, Ecologists, and the Merely Eloquent

by Garrett Hardin

For 20 years Garrett Hardin has been our most hardnosed thinker about ecological problems...Filters Against Folly makes provocative reading. -- Michael Crichton

The ecological problems facing our world present a forum for experts to offer slogans and solutions on all sides of the issue, but leave most of us confused and unsure of the future. In this bracing book, Garrett Hardin offers a plan for clear thinking about these dangers. He shows how the filters of literacy, understanding what words really mean; numeracy, being able to quantify and interpret information; and ecolacy, assessment of complex interactions over time, can allow anyone to make sensible judgments about ecological issues--even in the face of a barrage of confusing expertise.

Filters Against Folly offers an antidote to some of the more perverse and dangerous irrationalities of our time: wishful self-delusion, educated incapacity, and foolhardy optimism...If ever this book were needed, it is needed today. -- Lynton K. Caldwell, School of Public Environmental Affairs, Indiana University

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Science, Psychology, Economics, Ecology, Finance

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Garrett James Hardin was a leading and controversial ecologist from Dallas, Texas, who was most well known for his 1968 paper, "The Tragedy of the Commons." He is also known for Hardin's First Law of Ecology, which states "You cannot do only one thing," and used the familiar phrase "Nice guys finish last" to sum up the "selfish gene" concept of life and evolution.

Reviews

[David Rubenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book is already 25 years old, it is amazingly up to date in its take on politics, philosophy, and ecology. The book is short, easy to read, but contains some very deep, fundamental concepts. The author writes about three filters through which decisions should be made: literate, numerate, and ecolate. The basic question a literate filter should ask is What are the words? In politics, words like absolute, infinite, non-negotiable and sacred mean that the speaker is unwilling to be a discussion partner. There is no use in negotiating with him, because he has his mind set, and is unwilling to compromise.

The numerate filter asks the question What are the numbers?, but is more than just assigning numbers to things. It means objective measures of things, like risks, reliability, and the true total costs to society. The ecolate filter is derived from the word "ecology". This filter asks the question And then what? This filter asks what additional, perhaps unforseen consequences can come from a decision.

The author talks a lot about three systems; socialism, commonism (not a typo), and privatism. In socialism, a central manager determines what people should contribute and receive. In commonism, each individual determines what he should contribute and receive. This system can work, but only in very small groups, under 100-150 in number. Above that number, the emotion of shame doesn't work. The author seems to prefer privatism, but it isn't a clear and simple issue.

The author is a professor of human ecology. There is an entire chapter devoted to global warming, its causes and consequences. This chapter seems to be especially apropos today. I am surprised that he wrote about it 25 years ago! The author is also concerned with the hidden costs to society. So very often, a corporation generates some sort of pollution and reaps the profits and benefits, but spreads the hidden costs of cleanup to all society.

[Luis Roberto Reyes Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few books that has changed the way I look at the world and evaluate information to, hopefully, make more intelligent decisions.

The book starts in a slow tempo by suggesting a logical structure to evaluate decisions and information, which can be summarized as: (1) are the right words being used?, (2) are the right numbers and quantities being referenced, and (3) are the right time and system-wide implications being considered?

Afterwards, the real eye-opening lessons begin with the concept of "commonized cost and privatized profits" in which the author posits that most of what we know as free enterprise is based on a game in which the winners appropriate the profits to themselves while trying to distribute the costs to the wider society. While this pattern has brought technological progress and development, we have to question whether it is the best model going forward.

There are many other concepts that are mind altering throughout the book and I wouldn't be able to make justice to all of them, so I can only suggest that you read the whole thing. e.g., poverty is not just a state but a process, and most policies to "solve" poverty focus on the state and not the process which actually distributes poverty rather than wealth.

I only know that I'll be reading this book over and over in the future, which for me is the mark of excellent books.

[Mary Dias · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part was slightly boring, but this is still a book I believe everyone should read, particularly naive and gullible people who don't think critically about the information around them. This may be even of more importance now that we are surrounded by loads of information coming from social media. The fact that this book was written in the 80s just proves how much of a visionary the author was.

[João Dias · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has aged incredibly since it was first published, 34 years ago. I think all the multitude of ideas discussed in this book about economics, society, the environment, human psychology, among others, are even more relevant today than when this was originally written.

With all the noise from our media and our social networks, it is urgent that each member of society develops these "filters against folly" so we can, as a society, find the right policies to maintain and improve our quality of life for us and for future generations in a world with finite resources.

The idea of "The Tragedy of the Commons" is central to the book and this is a very good read for the ones like me that were first introduced to it in the 1968 article from the same author about the topic and were left wanting to read a bit more on this matter.

Highly recommended!

[Kushal Karwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read underlining the importance of wholistic thinking in life. The author does not preach but gives good live and historical examples on - how to make 'Ecolate Thinking' a part of everyone's life.

[Rafael Jose Velasquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Numerate
- Not just values but rates and ratios, don't need precision generally
- Avoid words that remove numeracy, infinity, absolute, never, everything in the world is numerate
- Literacy
- Beware of the merely eloquent
- Words are action, understand what people are trying to achieve by the words they use not just what they say, framing with certain words can divert attention from. The weak parts of their arguments
- Avoid literacy that shuns numeracy, ie greens wanting absolutely pure water
- Ecolate
- You can never do only one thing
- And then what?
- Everything is connected and it's not obvious or predictable how
- Side-effects are just effects, talking about them as side diminishes their importance
- Scale matters, communism works in 100 or less person communities due to effect of shame but not much larger than that
- Always thank about who benefits and who pays
- C2P2, commonized costs and privatized profits leads to tragedy and bad incentives

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book packs a powerful punch. Hardin builds a compelling case that to make good decisions one must use each of three filters: literacy, numeracy, and ecolacy.

Literacy: What are the words?
Numeracy: What are the numbers?
Ecolacy: And then what?

One of many quotes I highlighted: "Modern technology has been so greatly perfected that the weakest link in most technology/human systems is the human element."

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It describes how to think well using on literate, numerate, and ecolate models. It provides a prescriptive approach to critically thinking about modern problems. It should be required reading of those wishing to vote.

[Marc Hutchison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hardin was an influential ecologist who expounded on "the tragedy of the commons" originally in 1968. He explains that in detail here and expands on the implications for us. As another reviewer pointed out, the book is more than 30 years old but it's still relevant and timely. Highly recommended.

[Kaspars Peisenieks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Valuable insights in the way of thinking about science, ecology and global and local problems/challanges.

[Turtleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although 40 years old, Filters Against Folly offers some important thoughts on the balancing act between ecology/sustainability and economics. The author outlines how he thinks people tend to think about issues using one of three different filters: literate, numerate, and ecolate. A literate person may think, if I spray this stuff it will kill all the ants in my backyard. A numerate person may think, if I spray this stuff it will kill 90% of the ants in my backyard and if I spray again it should kill the rest. An ecolate person may think if I spray this stuff it will kill 90% of the ants, but those that survive may be relatively immune in the future. And then what? This example is a simple scenario but it can explain why some people don’t understand the implications of some major issues.

Hardin argues that society has long embraced the approach of what he calls the Double C, Double P: Commonize the Costs and Privatize the Profits. A company that pollutes a river spreads the full cost over everyone living there but takes all the profit from that action. When the human population was only a few million people, such actions may have been relatively minor, but as our populations has grown to the billions such thinking is increasingly dangerous.

Filters Against Folly also focuses on language and how it can be used to shape the debate. We call something a side effect, to minimize that effect, but really it is an effect. We call something a pesticide because it kills pests, but really it will kill a wide variety of species. And Hardin writes “‘Improvement’ as the word is used by real estate operators, presumes that anything that is taxable is preferable to something that is not. Language in the service of Ego.” Highly recommended for anyone interested in sustainability and economics.

[P S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and I would probably read this again. The author asks the reader to look at the world through three filters. He wants society to have a healthy scepticism towards new technological innovations until the consequences of their development have been fully and thoroughly considered. I think this is a good idea but it should not stop people from pursuing new inventions and innovations as our economies are dependent on creating new systems, methods, and technologies.

[Chow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great book that opens the mind to something that had been blurry before. It make clear to what we had been using and ignoring. Recommended reading.

As usual, the full review is here: https://wabinab.github.io/article?fil...

[Matt Backes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent book about different filters to look at claims and information through. Particularly interesting was the "ecolate filter" - and then what?

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was written by a professor, but it was easy for a layperson -- someone who is not a professional ecologist -- to read.

[Badal]

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-Farnam Street

[Choonghwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

a thought-provoking book of the author known for "Tragedy of the Commons"

A great book written by a great mind.

We need more than literacy to understand this world and not to be fooled. Numeracy is an obvious answer to that. Rigorous and systematic study of the world is the only reliable way of understanding. The author, however, suggests we need one more tool which he calls ecology. Because whatever we intend to do, we end up doing something more: for example, we want to travel and end up producing tonnes of CO2 gases along the way.

[Tirath · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a book from the 80s.
I enjoy books that challenge accepted practices or principles.
The book is a bit of a hotch-potch and touches on various topics, and is quite demanding of the reader.

Hardin breaks down thinking and reasoning to 3 filters, namely the literate, the numerate and the ecolate. I guess this book can help one better question all that is said by 'experts' or the media or any other entity.
It may help one develop a better analytical framework. Read this book peacefully over a long stretch :)

[Devon Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solidly written and thought out book on conservatism (the real kind, not the Republican variety) and ecologism, with plenty to say about the problems of global warming and the commonized costs of industrial development. Sadly, the sort of wisdom in a book like this is not the stuff of popular consideration, even if leaders and citizens alike would do well to heed its words. Mostly preaching to the choir, I would guess.

[Booky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Garrett Hardin is a great thinker and promoter of rational thought.
Filters Against Folly is a good book, not great. He tackles some deep-rooted problems that still need proper addressing on a wide scale. He's also a great argumenter and thought-provoker for ecological ideas. The book lacks some depth though. The first part was great, but the second part felt a bit outdated and dragged on. I would recommend his other book "Living Within Limits" instead, it's a 5-star book straight through.

[jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dense, but ultimately rewarding read. The author hammers home, repeatedly, the concept of "CC -- PP", that is, the commonization of costs along with the privatization of profits - the basic underpinning of our free market system (otherwise known as the "Tragedy of the Commons"). Among the many implications of this system, the author makes the prescient argument (from 1986) about the coming climate warming from an excess of human caused excess carbon dioxide entering the Earth's atmosphere.

[Sanjay Vyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author posits that facility with 3 types of thinking skills will reduce folly: literate, numerate and "ecolate". He provides examples where literate people who lacked numerate or ecolate thinking arrived at foolish outcomes; the same holds for anyone lacking all 3 models.

Very persuasive & thought-provoking. I enjoyed the book thoroughly though it dragged a little at the end.

[Samuel Peck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deceptively thin book but one that is densely packed with wisdom. Rambling and hard to read at times, but also speckled with humor and insight - elucidates on how to filter out bullshit. Written through the lens of a enviromentalist/ecologist but applicability can also be extended to other fields.

[Sundar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a while a book comes and hits you like Tsunami. It shooks and uproots your belief system. This is such kind of a book.

Is it cynical? Yes. Is it biblical? Yes. Is it scholarly? Yes. Is it phenomenal? Yes sir yes.

It is a manifesto against stupidity so it should be in everybody's library. The importance of Ecology cannot be more beautifully emphasized.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended by Farnam Street. Paperback from Amazon. Concise advice about how to see flaws in the arguments of others and your own. Interesting to read about climate change from someone writing in 1985. Recommended.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be required reading for all politicians, activists, scientists, journalists....and anyone else who cares about cumulative effects of human activities on the planet.

[Kevin Swick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Teaches you how to think well.

[Rohit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mental models and common sense lead to unique insights!

[mono]

α - Charlie Munger recommends via Shane Parrish of Farnam Street blog