baggytheo

Dear Gary,

Any developments in the debate between the insulin hypothesis of obesity and the food reward hypothesis of obesity? Could it be that they aren't mutually exclusive, and that food reward theory is positing a plausible psychological/behavioral factor in the development of obesity whereas the insulin hypothesis is positing a more fundamental physiological one?

Also, can you comment on the relationship between leptin and insulin, and the numerous animal models indicating that leptin resistance might be the ultimate cause of insulin resistance, rather than the more intuitive conclusion that it is the over-consumption of carbohydrate?

Hello Professor Rojas,

A question for you on sociology more broadly: why do you think it is that insights from some of the 20th century's greatest economists (particularly Hayek and Mises) haven't seen a great deal of penetration into the discipline, when it seems like they would be highly relevant and informative to so many of the questions that sociologists grapple with today?

Hey Isaac,

Why do you think there is so much badmouthing/backlash against alternatives to both K-12 public education and the typical higher education track?

If Praxis was around when I was younger, I would have loved an option like that, but even then I would have expected a lot of haranguing from teachers/family about how I'm "wasting my potential" by not spending 4 years and 100k or more sitting around to earn a bachelor's degree. Are things changing? Do you see as much of that kind of stuff with your current college opt-out candidates?

Great answer, thanks!

To go a little bit further, do you see an interplay between concepts from behavioral economics and public choice economics, and the models that are used in the field of sociology? And do you see these ideas having an influence on the sociology field in the future?

So where do you stand on charter schools and the new wave of low-cost private schools that aim to innovate and maximize efficiency within the traditional schooling model? Do you think that traditional schooling can work well for some kids? Or is everyone better off as a homeschooled or unschooled autodidact? (Setting aside the question of what options are realistic for any given family.)