Virgil Henry Storr

Academic note: I have tried to be serious as a scholar, teacher and colleague since 1980s. In doing so I have constantly searched for productivity hacks — things that enable me to be more effective at being serious. Little things, like finding the right time of day to do research and to do teaching, or seeking ways to absorb needed knowledge like lectures at Great Courses or New York Review of Books or TLS. I moved from Word Perfect to Word, I have tried Palm Pilot, Blackberry, iPhone, I had a luggable portable computer that I traded in for laptop, and I used computer programs to take notes but switched back to notebooks and pen, and now use Kindle Scribe rather than ReMarkable. I try, I experiment, I assess. I read books in physical form, electronic form and audio. I watch YouTube and listen to podcasts all to help with lectures and papers. I used to search physically in libraries now I search online. My point is simple — I have always looked for ways to augment my skills and improve productivity. AI and LLMs are NO different in my experience. They don’t think for me, but they help speed up search and information gathering. I still have to exercise judgment, absorb what I need, and execute in a lecture, in writing, or in meetings with students and colleagues. The best productivity hack in my career is face to face dialogue with PhD students about ideas. These conversations are infinitely more interesting to me than me prompting Chat or Claude about material. Even working with a student on a difficult problem or struggling to understand concepts is more intellectually rewarding. Maybe I am doing it wrong, or maybe everyone else is describing their experience wrong. Modern AI is not the Palm Pilot, nor early versions of Netscape Browser (BTW, Browzine is a good hack for journal article access). But its not like having Kenneth Boulding, James Buchanan or Gordon Tullock as a teacher either! Its not like having been mentored by Don Lavoie and Karen Vaughn, or first inspired by Hans Sennholz, or arguing about economics 24/7 with Dave Prychitko and Steve Horwitz, let alone working closely with Israel Kirzner and Mario Rizzo for almost a decade, or teaching and learning from scores of PhD advisees at GMU. It just isn’t. Don’t buy the false narrative. It is not a substitute, it is a tool. You need to learn how to use the tool effectively to increase YOUR productivity as a scholar, teacher, and colleague. So invest in it, but at the end of the day you will have to be the one who uses the tool effectively or poorly. YOU, not the machine make the final judgement call.

We just last weekend held our Markets & Society conference -- it was the 5th edition of this annual conference and had participants from across the globe and representing disciplines across the social sciences and humanities. marketsandsociety.org/ There is a journal associated with this initiative as well that I hope you read and enjoy. I work with amazing colleagues here at Mercatus ... from highly productive and insightful scholars, policy analysts and public intellectuals to dedicated support staff, event coordinators, program managers and curious and creative graduate students. They deliver every time -- persistent and consistent .. see this accounting of research output of scholars at the F. A. Hayek Program ... peterboettke.substack.com/p/… ... But look at the wide range of activities going on at mercatus.org/ Next year's M&S will be held October 22–25, 2027, put it on your calendar, consider submitting a paper or setting up a panel and join us in our ongoing exploration of social order.

The Socratic seminars that my colleague @vstorr has developed over the past decade bringing students from around the world to engage in deep reading and serious conversation with me and my colleagues at @HayekProgram has demonstrated this essential truth. Students at the highest ranked schools in the humanities and social sciences demand such experience with classic texts in political economy and social philosophy — Hume, Smith, Bastiat, Tocqueville, Mill; Mises, Hayek, Kirzner, Buchanan, Tullock, Vincent and Lin Ostrom. It a great pleasure to be involved in this educational enterprise.

Pauline Dixon ncl.ac.uk/ecls/people/profil… has consistently unearthed the hidden order found in the informal sector throughout the world: Africa, India, China, etc. And in the area of health, education, and human services. She is brilliant, engaging, and a passionate advocate for the dignity and respect of ordinary individuals.

Ashly Mears ashleymears.com/about on the attention economy.

Absolutely brilliant talk by @vstorr to kick off #2026MarketsandSociety. To sample his work check out virgilstorr.org/

This book cannot be published fast enough to help frame the political reality of the moment … link.springer.com/book/97830…

One of the things that has made me most optimist over the last decade is the obvious demand among students for deep reading and serious conversation. At Mercatus my colleague @vstorr created an set of educational programs for advanced students as well as beginning starting in HS. This year alone we had for the advanced group 4,500 applications for 250 spots! (Yes, you read those numbers right) Students from the finest universities in Europe and US are applying to read Adam Smith and JS Mill, and FA Hayek and James Buchanan in depth and engage in serious conversation with scholars and fellow students. These participants have gone on to write books and articles , become professors at major universities and elite liberal arts colleges, public intellectuals and policy makers. This generation isn’t swallowed up by TikTok, Instagram, etc. There still is a demand for deep reading of classic texts and serious discussion on the foundational issues these texts raise.

If you have an aspiring economist or political economists in your family or broader friends network, please steer them to our programs at GMU (BA/BS; MA; PhD). We would love to have them join the conversation on the liberal principles of political economy and justice. DM for info

Virgil Storr on ‘being an entrepreneur’ — he should know, been an amazing one in that space. Excited to see what’s next … linkedin.com/posts/virgil-st…

Is there a Mercatus School of Political Economy? open.substack.com/pub/peterb…