Stuff I found interesting in October

1) FDB on the odd claim that Kanye West’s recent behaviour could not be caused by his mental illness:

There’s a meme that’s arisen in the past few years, found prominently on social media: “mental illness doesn’t do that.” It’s a declaration that a given figure must not be given any special consideration, when weighing their behavior, due to their potential psychiatric disorders.

EDIT: an interesting follow-up:

For years now, the severely ill have been pushed further and further into the backseat of the public discourse about mental illness. With the new insistence that mentally ill people never do anything really bad, that process is complete; those who suffer the least from mental illness now blot out the sun.

2) Dwarkesh Patel interviews Tyler Cowen. Sorry for sharing so many Tyler interviews on these links round-ups, I just can’t help myself! And this one is especially good. Dwarkesh’s interviews are almost always fantastic listening.

3) Why did a vase valued at $2000 end up selling f…