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- ARE PEOPLE LESS VIOLENT? (COMMENT). (2)
- Dick Weisfelder: My prior comment was just in the context of sports. Whether or not from Pinker, I have seen the...
- erik: It seems doubtful that human nature has changed. The most likely explanation would be that modern culture gives...
- HOW BANKS PREPARED FOR A U.S. DEFAULT. (2)
- GREECE’S ADVANTAGE IN THE CHICKEN GAME. (2)
- Nick: That makes sense. It reminds me of the stories Pater Familias would tell me about how in Boston the person with...
- Dick Weisfelder: Greece seems to me to be playing a game that Karl Deutsch called “underdog.” While one...
- FOOTBALL PLAYERS DELIBERATELY CAUSING CONCUSSIONS? (3)
- Nick: It was my understanding that boxing gloves were to protect the puncher’s hands and not the...
- Dick Weisfelder: Remember the Roman arenas? Bare knuckled boxing? Such injuries were taken as natural and accepted in...
- Mary Jane Schaefer: This isn’t about football. Or even sportsmanship. Well, it is about sportsmanship. But what...
- A 25 % CHANCE OF A EURO DEFAULT? (1)
- Nick: The fact that this has gone on for so long is pretty perplexing. The Economist is referring back to articles it...
- DECIDING WHAT KIND OF PATIENT YOU ARE. (1)
- Dick Weisfelder: One can be very open to new technology, but also risk averse. The recent debates about how to...
- THE EUROZONE—A CHICKEN GAME WHERE EVERY MEMBER CAN BLOW IT UP? (1)
- Mary Jane Schaefer: This is not a matter of chicken. These are all turkeys.
- ARE PEOPLE LESS VIOLENT? (COMMENT). (2)
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Monthly Archives: October 2007
JAMES TIPTREE, JR.–THE DRAMA.
JAMES TIPTREE, JR.–THE DRAMA. The first page of Phillips’s book makes a dramatic beginning. “In 1921, in the Belgian Congo a-six-year-old girl from Chicago with a pith helmet on her blond curls walks at the head of a line of … Continue reading
Posted in Literature
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A DOUBLE LIFE.
A DOUBLE LIFE. I bought JAMES TIPTREE, JR.: THE DOUBLE LIFE OF ALICE B. SHELDON by Julie Phillips because I had known Alice Bradley Sheldon when I was young. It turned out to be a great book. Alice lived a … Continue reading
Posted in Literature
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A BRUSH WITH THE TABLOIDS.
A BRUSH WITH THE TABLOIDS. When my brother and I were 15 and my sister was 12, we spent the better part of three days with Alice Bradley Sheldon, who was both kind to us and enchantingly interesting. In 1987, … Continue reading
Posted in Literature
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MATTHEW SCHAEFER AND THE CHICAGO FIRE.
MATTHEW SCHAEFER AND THE CHICAGO FIRE. Matthew Schaefer (a relative, but not a blood relative, as my father always pointed out when he told us about him) was a fireman who was up in a tower directing other firemen at … Continue reading
Posted in History
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OUR FAMILY AND THE CHICAGO FIRE.
OUR FAMILY AND THE CHICAGO FIRE. There was an ornamental drinking glass on our mantelpiece when I was growing up. My great grandmother had taken it with her when her family left their home to flee the approaching Chicago Fire. … Continue reading
Posted in History
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MY FATHER AND BLACK SWANS.
MY FATHER AND BLACK SWANS. My father believed in Black Swans. By that, I mean that he believed that in the course of everyday life there was always the possibility of something wholly unexpected and important and quite likely harmful. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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CAREER ADVICE.
CAREER ADVICE. Taleb in THE BLACK SWAN has a brief section where he gives advice, which differs somewhat from Ben Stein’s advice. He suggests a barbell strategy: avoiding or insuring against situations where there is a small chance of big … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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YOU CAN’T WIN IF YOU’RE NOT AT THE TABLE.
YOU CAN’T WIN IF YOU’RE NOT AT THE TABLE. Ben Stein (of the Comedy Central show, WIN BEN STEIN’S MONEY) wrote a book called BUNKHOUSE LOGIC some years before he became featured on television and in the movies. It was … Continue reading
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WHAT WOULD BILL VEECK DO?
WHAT WOULD BILL VEECK DO? For non-baseball fans, Bill Veeck was the legendary owner of the Chicago White Sox. He is best known for sending a midget to bat in a major league game (he of course drew a walk), … Continue reading
THE NEXT GENERATION HAS LEARNED TO FAIL.
THE NEXT GENERATION HAS LEARNED TO FAIL. The kids are much more at home with computers than my generation is. When Nick left for college, leaving the nest empty, he told us, “I give you a month.” In fact, we … Continue reading