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- ADAPTING GATSBY. (1)
- Mary Jane Schaefer: I think these are crucial, important decisions, what to leave out of any literary work, maybe any...
- DAMIEN HIRST—AN ART MARKET BUBBLE?. (1)
- Kate Bush: I hope you enjoy my visit to the Damien Hirst show as much as I did The Technical Impossibility of...
- THE MOST IMPORTANT EPISODE OF THE SIMPSONS ? (COMMENT). (1)
- Nick: Homer does has success as the team’s best hitter until Mr. Burns places a bet with a rival factory owner...
- THE “RIGHT TO EDIT”. (1)
- Lee: A relevant Simpsons clip.
- ULYSSES—VIRGINIA WOOLF LIKED THE BOOK, DESPISED THE AUTHOR. (3)
- A DEFENSE OF INVASIVE SPECIES. (3)
- Dick Weisfelder: Today’s Toledo Blade has an article on the importation of live Asian carp to Canada to serve...
- Lee: The downside is that red squirrels are way cuter than their gray cousins. Hitchens on the subject.
- THE OLDEST FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE STARTS ITS 32ND SEASON. (COMMENT). (5)
- frank martin: Have been in a an Al only Roto league since 91… started at Ohio University were we all went to...
- DEATH OF A BUMBLEBEE. (1)
- Nick: By contrast, I remember witnessing the entire thing. I was surprised by Annalisa’s reaction and...
- ANOTHER VOTE ON UMBRIDGE. (1)
- Dick Weisfelder: When I look back at one of the Potter books, it’s usually this one. There are just a lot of...
- THE SCARIEST VILLAIN IN HARRY POTTER? (1)
- Dick Weisfelder: Didn’t we all meet her somewhere in grade or high school?
- ADAPTING GATSBY. (1)
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Monthly Archives: December 2007
GREAT OPENING SENTENCES.
GREAT OPENING SENTENCES. The high school library asked the students for nominations for the best opening sentence of a book. Either Annalisa or Nick (we can’t remember which) nominated, “Marley was dead: to begin with.” I can’t think of a … Continue reading
Posted in Literature
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WAS THE INVENTION OF AGRICULTURE A BAD THING?
WAS THE INVENTION OF AGRICULTURE A BAD THING? Annalisa commented here about a book she was assigned in high school. ISHMAEL, by Daniel Quinn, deplores the transformation of hunter-gatherer societies by the invention of agriculture. Quinn deplores what he calls … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, History
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WAS THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION BAD FOR THE POOR?
WAS THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION BAD FOR THE POOR? The debate about whether the Industrial Revolution was bad for the poor is still unresolved. It is an issue on which reasonable people differ. I have always surmised that the Industrial Revolution … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, History
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FRENCH POLITICIANS: ABSTRACT NOUNS AND CLARITY.
FRENCH POLITICIANS: ABSTRACT NOUNS AND CLARITY. The Economist for December 15 says that one of the novelties of France under Nicholas Sarkozy is “the decline of the abstract noun.” The article claims that French leaders have always used lots of … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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REFEREEING IS PART OF THE NARRATIVE.
REFEREEING IS PART OF THE NARRATIVE. In addition to accountability (and providing economists with data), there is another reason for making a league’s evaluations of refereeing public. Like many fans, I watch a game because of the story. I watched … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Economics, Football, Sports
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AN ECONOMIST CALLS FOR MAKING REFEREE EVALUATIONS PUBLIC.
AN ECONOMIST CALLS FOR MAKING REFEREE EVALUATIONS PUBLIC. I posted here arguing that referee ratings should be made public. I linked to a report by the Sun Belt Conference on the the refereeing of the 2006 Alamo Bowl which I … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Economics, Football, Sports
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ARE EXPERTS NO GOOD? (COMMENT)
ARE EXPERTS NO GOOD? (COMMENT) Nick and Dick Weisfelder expressed a skeptical view of the American voter here. I want to point out that there is some evidence that experts do no better than ordinary citizens in making predictions. This … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, History, Politics
2 Comments
MEGAN MCARDLE ASKS: “HOW CAN MARKETS BE EFFICIENT IF PEOPLE ARE SUCH MORONS?”
MEGAN MCARDLE ASKS: “HOW CAN MARKETS BE EFFICIENT IF PEOPLE ARE SUCH MORONS?” Kids, I posted here on the theory of efficient markets in response to Annalisa’s comment that, “There appears to be a good deal of randomness as to … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Politics
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KIDNAPPING BY NORTH KOREA AND DIPLOMACY.
KIDNAPPING BY NORTH KOREA AND DIPLOMACY. As described in this wikipedia article, from 1977 to 1983, North Korea kidnapped Japanese citizens in Japan for the purpose of having them teach Japanese to North Korean spies. North Korea now admits to … Continue reading
Posted in History, Politics
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LOOKING BACK—MURDER IN LONDON AND DIPLOMACY.
LOOKING BACK—MURDER IN LONDON AND DIPLOMACY. I posted here a year ago asking whether the apparent murder in London of a Russian emigre would become an international incident despite the news report that ““All the while, diplomats scurried to prevent … Continue reading