Training Humans Like Dogs

Some years back, I co-authored a small book on eradicating street drug markets which got a kind review from Mark Kleiman, who was then teaching at the Kennedy School of Public Policy at Harvard.

Imagine my surprise then, to find this little video in my inbox this morning. It's of Mark Kleiman talking about his new book, entitled When Brute Force Fails.

Kleiman's basic thesis is that for too long we, as a society, have erred on the side of severity which has been inconsistently applied.

What we need to do, says Kleiman, is provide consistent and immediate consequences. If we do that, we will both reduce crime and put fewer people in prison.

Does this sound like the core tenants of dog training?

It should.

When you are trying to end self-reinforcing behavior, aversive training works quite quickly, provided it is consistent and assured -- a point I made on this blog in an earlier post entitled "The Radical Notion of Consequences.

If you are interested in crime, law enforcement and public policy, I can pretty much guarantee that When Brute Force Fails will be a very good read. Check it out next time you are at a bookstore or library, or order it directly from Amazon.
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