Voice
Patrick Collison
Co-founder & CEO, Stripe · Stripe · site
Co-founder of Stripe. Co-originated "progress studies" as a field with Tyler Cowen. Funded Fast Grants during COVID. Publishes an exceptional reading list and a running page of open questions about the world.
Key writings
Positions on problems
“Progress itself is understudied. By "progress," we mean the combination of economic, technological, scientific, cultural, and organizational advancement that has transformed our lives and raised standards of living over the past couple of centuries.”
Research productivity has been falling for decades and we under-study the process of progress itself. Metascience and institution design matter as much as any single discovery.
Housing policy and construction cost are major drags on productivity and opportunity. Reforming them unlocks downstream gains in almost every quest.
Asks whether we can dramatically improve the quality and speed of learning. Cites tutoring and personalized instruction as high-leverage unsolved problems.
Funded Fast Grants during COVID to demonstrate that biomedical research can move at wartime speed when the structure allows it.