Monthly Archives: August 2007

AFRICA AND MALTHUS REVISITED.

AFRICA AND MALTHUS REVISITED. Here is a short paper arguing that the countries in Africa are not trapped in a Malthusian crisis. The argument is that population is being driven by non-income factors and that land is no longer a … Continue reading

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WHY ARE THERE SO MANY FINANCIAL BAZILLIONAIRES?

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY FINANCIAL BAZILLIONAIRES? The caption is an irreverent restatement of a question posed by Brad De Long with a lot of suggested answers by Tyler Cowen and the commenters at Marginal Revolution. (I got the link … Continue reading

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TEACHING THE NEW YORK ACCENT.

TEACHING THE NEW YORK ACCENT. I once watched an early morning educational program which taught English to Spanish speakers. The teacher had a beautiful voice and flawless American accent (think of the best professional announcers). In the program I watched … Continue reading

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THE BEST OF BOTH ACCENTS.

THE BEST OF BOTH ACCENTS. Despite the other post today about the persistence of childhood pronunciations, I have been somewhat affected by living in the East for so long. My mother once interrupted me and asked me to count to … Continue reading

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WORDS FROM CHILDHOOD–PRONUNCIATION.

WORDS FROM CHILDHOOD—PRONUNCIATION. When I was first working in New York, I dictated (using a “dictabelt”, an old technology) a memorandum about various legislative measures that had been proposed in Congress. The typed draft I got back replaced “measure” with … Continue reading

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WORDS FROM CHILDHOOD–VICTROLAS AND iPods.

WORDS FROM CHILDHOOD–VICTROLAS AND iPods. Forty years ago I read an article that claimed that the word you used to describe an instrument for playing music identified your generation, based on the instrument that was in use when you were … Continue reading

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WORDS FROM CHILDHOOD–MORGENGNAVEN (COMMENT).

WORDS FROM CHILDHOOD–MORGENGNAVEN (COMMENT). Simon Gray kindly explained in a comment some Danish words that I remembered from my childhood and posted about here. I e mailed him and asked him about a Danish word that I spelled “mawngenown.” He … Continue reading

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“BUT YOU LIKE EVERYTHING.”

“BUT YOU LIKE EVERYTHING.” The kids say this frequently to me when they disagree with my uncritical opinions on things. I wonder if this tendency of mine, which I admit to, comes from my upbringing by my Danish mother. My … Continue reading

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WHY ARE DANES HAPPY? (REVISITED).

WHY ARE DANES HAPPY? (REVISITED). I posted earlier on research which claimed that Danes are happier than others because they have lower expectations. Dick Weisfelder commented on this post that the Swedes have a concept of having enough called “lagom” … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Politics, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

A COMEDY AT THE END OF THE TRAGEDY–HUCKLEBERRY FINN.

A COMEDY AT THE END OF THE TRAGEDY—HUCKLEBERRY FINN. I think of HUCKLEBERRY FINN as resembling MEASURE FOR MEASURE in having a sharp change in mood from the serious to the comic. Does the ending of Huckleberry Finn spoil the … Continue reading

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