Humans Are Like Crabs Competing for Mates

Goodheart’s Law states that when you make any measure the goal, the measure loses its value. For example, in education. If you make high grades the goal of education, grades stop being a measure of students’ intellectual growth and ability. The grade becomes, instead, a measure of who was a better cheater. And it promotes people with lower cognitive abilities ahead of geniuses.

In education, Goodheart’s Law means that 1) students will focus on getting grades over learning, 2) students only learn ...