I enjoyed this conversation with P Bowman, a super thoughtful fellow with whom I've been discussing some possible collaborations.The conversation began with him asking me why I come up short when people ask me for books to read that will enable them to more fully understand things I've said.Short answer: because I didn't get my ideas out of books and I didn't get them by 'applying' some professional training I've had in economics or anywhere else. Of course those things provide a backdrop and a box of tools, but I cooked up my ideas slowly by paying attention and pondering things that surprised me.Anyway, what good is a short answer when you can give a long answer? It was a fun and quite wide ranging conversation. It's also a bit amusing to reflect that while I begin by saying that I can't provide people with 'tips and tricks' to think better, I end up offering some — well let's call them tips and tricks ;)(Apologies for some background noise during the recording.)