Category: Economics

Numbers make people stupid

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As soon as you introduce numerical data into an informational vector, you are going to confound people and turn them from rational into irrational. Some people get numbers. Some people understand what math means in a practical sense. For others, statistics turn them into idiots. Ex. 1 – IMPACT Coronavirus is 98% survivable (ignoring distribution). No big deal, right? Why is everyone freaking out? Would you play Russian roulette? The odds of winning are pretty good – 80%! Most people would say no, because they aren’t idiots. How many cylinders would it take for you to gamble? 20? 50? 98%…

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Aesthetics MATTER

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I’ve been travelling lately, so I’ve missed some on-point commentary by my contemporaries. Alexander, who I’ve had on NewPub Talk before, nails it once again: Within that article is one things that I’ve been trying to hammer for years: Aesthetics Matter. Aesthetics are powerful. Aesthetics have meaning. They aren’t just arbitrary window dressing, as some post-modern critics would have you believe. My YouTube subs often take exception to my heavy weighing of Aesthetics as a category when I review movies and games, but I often feel like I give them too little weight. Good aesthetic presentation can save a sub-par…

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Going Stupid

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As my Google Pixel XL (the original) continues its decline into non-functionality through hardware failure and obsolescence, I am seriously considering “going stupid” for my next phone. That is, I will “downgrade” to a flip-phone or the like. I have a lot of reasons for this, but there are also some big problems with trying to avoid smartphones in 2020. Reasons to go stupid: Headphone jacks are disappearing – This I decided was my line in the sand for smartphones. If I can no longer get one with a headphone jack, that means I won’t use one. I just cannot…

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Cultural and Political Inertia

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Most of you know what inertia is – Objects in motion tend to stay in motion; objects at rest tend to stay at rest. The biggest effort is the first inch you roll a boulder. Then everything gets easier; then it keeps going on its own. Once that boulder is rolling, don’t get in its way. The same thing happens in politics and culture. It’s difficult to enact changes, but once the revolution happens, it’s hard to slow down. Everything that is taken for granted can go out the window. You can see this with the transformations that happened in…

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Judging things by their outcomes

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This post is beyond the contest between consequentialism and deontology, before anyone starts firing up his philosophy brain. I notice in our society there is a profound resistance to judging actual outcomes, whether it is a public program, government service, educational process, or even a workout routine. The tendency is to try to judge either the process for its own sake or to judge the intended outcomes of the process. A workout program seems fun at the gym – it’s a great program! But… did you gain strength and muscle, cut fat, or increase your athletic capacity? We can’t abandon…

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Boomer Economist vs. innerne’ pr0n

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I really don’t know how to write about Paul Krugman. Others have talked about his economics which is beyond my scope here (in short – the criticism is that he’s bad at prediction and engages in nostalgianomics), but when it comes to something like this, it’s hard to know where to begin: This is like a piece of post-modern art, only it actually means something. It’s a portrait of a boomer, painted with the boomer’s own words. Mike Cernovich had this to say: Yes, obviously the idea that someone “compromised” his IP address to download child pornography is absurd, but…

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Social Proof

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“Social Proof” is something you NEED to become familiar with. It’s essential if you are going to be doing any kind of marketing. What is social proof? Basically, it’s this: Other people think this, therefore it is likely to be true. If you are thinking straight away that this is a logical fallacy, just hold your objections. I’ll explain how social proof is different than an appeal to popularity. Social proof is a very fast method of judging initial likelihood of truth – A filter, more than “proof” in the logical sense. This is in the realm of induction, obviously.…

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The 5 phases of Corporate IP Ownership

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For the purposes of this discussion, “IP” means “Intellectual Property” and comprises copyright and trademark ownership – such as the ownership of franchises like Star Wars. Phase 1: Creation A lone visionary or small team create something that is an unexpected success, usually on a small budget. Phase 2: Explosion The corporation looks to capitalize on the unexpected success of the creation. They buy up the IP to make movie and game adaptations, or order sequels to quickly deliver additional products to the market. The original team is still mostly intact with increased salaries to ensure they participate in initial…

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IP “Law” and Free Societies

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From a fan: HI David, Love your content on youtube. I’d be very interested to hear your take on how IP law has distorted the entertainment industry, in particular, the Star Wars movies. I’m an anarchist and advocate of the dissolution of all intellectual property law. Although my main argument is principled, I also think that IP law is has had negative effects on every industry; including books, movies, music, and tv. I’d be stoked to hear back from you, or see a video inspired by this topic. Keep up the great work. Thanks! IP law is something I talk…

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Errors of Addition

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Let us examine the two most common types of thinking errors that occur within the human mind, as I have witnessed and experienced as a writer, critic, philosopher, and political commentator. These are errors not of argument (though they can cause poor argumentation), but in understanding. The first is the error of Addition, which is where one adds information to a set of data or facts. The second is the error of Ignorance¸ in which one ignores or down-plays information that is relevant to a subject or judgment. Of these two errors, ignorance is the one that has over the…

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