Tim Harford on the Importance of Being Messy
b'Have the forces of tidiness marched too far? Would we all benefit from being a bit messy? That\\u2019s the big question that the FT\\u2019s star economist Tim Harford will be asking in this exclusive Intelligence Squared event. In Harford\\u2019s view, we need to be tidy up to a point. But in some areas of life, too much order makes things rigid, fragile and sterile. Take the office, where research shows that people are more productive and creative if they are allowed to surround themselves with a bit of clutter. Or take Donald Trump. There\\u2019s no shortage of accounts that explain how this brash reality TV star, who began his campaign for the Republican nomination as a 150/1 no-hoper, ended up as President-elect of the United States. But Harford has his own theory. Trump\\u2019s rivals were tidy-minded career politicians, surrounded by lumbering professional messaging operations. Trump deployed a strategy of chaos and improvisation, confounding his enemies with his late-night tweets and moving on before they had even had time to...\\nSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.\\n\\nSee acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices'