The Gist

The Chaos Doctrine

Not so fast, neat freaks: The Undercover Economist explains how a cluttered space makes you work smarter.

View of a messy bedroom filled with books and other items at a home in San Diego on April 8, 2011.

Sandy Guffaker/Getty Images

Listen to Episode 632 of Slate’s The Gist:

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Tidiness is tyranny, and Tim Harford is here to set you free. The author of Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives makes the case for routine-busting labor strikes, cluttered desks, and leaving your emails unsorted. He also explains why we’re smart to want scatterbrained musicians and orderly accountants. Harford writes the Undercover Economist column for the Financial Times.

For the Spiel, exciting times! Let’s dig into the Indiana tax code.

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