I love The Eyeballing Game. (From Kottke.) My first score was 3.20. Second, 2.92. Third, 2.64.
These days, who doesn't need a concise encyclopedia of economics written by bigshot economists?
TED brings us a charming story by John Hodgman
Malcolm Gladwell on big ideas--I'm especially interested in the distinction between artistic and scientific genius and what that distinction means for, say, a liberal arts college making a huge move in the direction of interdisciplinarity
Also via Kottke (sorry, but you gotta see this!), a lovely photo set of Obama on the trail. "I loved that he cleaned up after himself before leaving an ice cream shop in Wapello, Iowa. He didn't have to. The event was over and the press had left. He is used to taking care of things himself and I think this is one of the qualities that makes Obama different from so many other political candidates I've encountered. Nov. 7, 2007."
1 comment:
Not sure what I think of the economics, encyclopedia, Prof. Simpson[1]. As a guide to the way that economists think about the world, it's extremely interesting.
But as a guide to how the world actually works?
Check out the "Welfare" entry[2]--I doubt that it's fair and balanced, given that better "welfare" outcomes in more substantial European social security systems are not even mentioned. Further market-based reforms are depicted as the only option; this is definitely more a of an opinion piece than an encyclopedic one.
Likewise, the "Economic Growth" chapter has a callout section by CEE editor David Henderson[3] that glibly attributes South Korean growth relative to its northern neighbour as due to "Economic Freedom". A more honest account would acknowledge that the majority of South Korean growth took place under an industrial policy and financial control regime that--while more "free" than North Korea's--was actually highly interventionist.[4]
Okay, done venting. I'm off to put footnotes all over somebody else's blog.
[1] We met just once at Grinnell, and I still don't know how I'm supposed to refer to former professors I actually knew.
[2] Written by a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution!
[3] A research fellow at the Hoover Institution!
[4] E.g. Rodrik 2001.
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