Posted in bookular readings, economics, statistics, wisdom love on March 31, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Even as I read The Black Swan for the first time, I’ve already read it. I’ve listened to several in-depth interviews with Nicholas Nassim Taleb since the book came out in 2007, and he’s had a recent resurgence in attention as the credit crisis fits his titular metaphor aptly. Despite my familiarity with the main [...]
Posted in economics, ness of fit, signaling, wisdom love on February 27, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Economists have many hypotheses to describe how consumers consume. Some suggest we consume based primarily on our current income. Others say we also care greatly about keeping up with the Joneses. Still others allege we decide how to spend money by considering what our financial situation will be from here to eternity.
A key feature of [...]
Posted in bureaucracy, culture, wisdom love on December 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Thanks to Drudge, I come across two articles today and laugh in bewilderment as I keep up this blog’s recent tradition of covering topics in unplanned couplets.
The first article is short and sweet…well, short anyway:
Berlin city officials, summoned by complaints over the noise, found a 60-year-old man sharing his two-room flat with 1,700 budgerigars.
Apparently [...]
Posted in economics, politik, wisdom love on November 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Given that I only missed one question on this test of civic knowledge, I suppose I can be considered civically literate, a fact which evidently distinguishes me from a typical politician:
Officeholders typically have less civic knowledge than the general public. On average, they score 44%, five percentage points lower than non-officeholders.
Several questions deal with economics. [...]
