My DD has also taught me never to underestimate her-- starting very very young. I think that I've told the story here before about her interpretation of people (en masse) ignoring rules-- even posted ones-- as "those poor people must have a reading disability," rather than selfishness or entitlement.


Well, so just goes to show that she was THINKING quite deeply about the human condition and motivations even then, and she was around 4 at that time, as I recall.


She began reading pop sociology/psychology/political science when she was 6-8yo.

She didn't LIKE econ, but she certainly took the course as a high school freshman. Now, that's your typical micro-macro-mashup which is almost entirely qualitative, and she loathed the subject and found it intellectually dishonest as a "science" and morally bankrupt as a humanitarian matter, but still-- she certainly UNDERSTOOD it.

I'd say that she is far more gifted on the social science side than in mathematics. Oh, to be sure she is gifted in mathematics-- at least EG there. But that is nothing compared to the ease with which she understands cause and effect in human systems, or can devise experimental design or critique someone else's. She's better than some grad students I've known in those disciplines.

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As I see it, a parent or teacher with sufficient (graduate) training should be able to explain the nuances of economic theory and intuition to an interested young child. Note that the binding constraint is on the instructor side, not the student side. I'm of the opinion that virtually any subject can be brought down to the appropriate level of the student, provided that the instructor is knowledgeable enough to know where simplifications are being made in teaching. An instructor also needs to be able to explain why simplifications are made and how they are or aren't representative of reality. Anything less is an injustice to the student. In the absence of a good instructor, the student, IMO, is better off learning the math alone, as it can be difficult to un-learn sloppy or incorrect thinking.

VERY nicely stated. I agree wholeheartedly-- and the entire reason to have expert subject instruction is to avoid that nasty business of needing to UNlearn things that weren't actually true. It's a matter of seeming semantics or trivial nuance unless you truly understand at that higher level, but-- it's a real effect nonetheless.




Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.