June 24, 2024

459: Professor of Finance at London Business School, Alex Edmans, on Facts, Data, and Evidence: Knowing What to Trust or Can We Really Trust Evidence?

52 minutes

What if the greatest threat to smart decision-making isn’t bad data, but how we interpret it?

In a world overflowing with information, even the most seasoned leaders and investors fall for myths dressed up as facts. Not because they’re uninformed, but because they’re human. In this episode, I sat down with Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School and author of May Contain Lies, a powerful new book about how stories, statistics, and studies exploit our biases — and what we can do about it.

Alex draws on decades of research, Wall Street experience, and real-world case studies to unpack why intelligent people fall for misinformation and how we can sharpen our judgment in high-stakes environments.

We talk about: - The two cognitive biases that drive most bad decisions (and how to spot them) - Why people crave certainty, and how that blinds them to nuance - The dangers of “black-and-white thinking” in data and decision-making - How to build cultures that welcome dissent and intelligent pushback - Why evidence is not proof, and why context always matters

Alex also shares practical ways to become more discerning, even under pressure, and how to apply these insights in business, leadership, and everyday life. If you're responsible for making big calls based on research, reports, or expert opinions, this conversation will help you separate signal from noise and think more clearly in a world built on persuasion.

Get May Contain Lies here: https://maycontainlies.com/

Learn more about Alex Edmans here: https://alexedmans.com/

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