Monthly Archives: January 2008

GARFUNKEL’S LIST.

GARFUNKEL’S LIST. Nick Paumgarten in the New Yorker for January 28 has an article about Art Garfunkel’s reading list, which is posted here. Since June, 1968, Garfunkel has been listing the books he has read. He is now up to … Continue reading

Posted in Literature | 4 Comments

FARRO–GRAIN OF THE LEGIONS.

FARRO–GRAIN OF THE LEGIONS. I went to an elegant restaurant in New York City recently with a couple who are knowledgeable about fine restaurants. We all had an appetizer which featured farro as an ingredient. We didn’t know what farro … Continue reading

Posted in History | Leave a comment

MESSY ROOMS—CONCLUSIONS.

MESSY ROOMS—CONCLUSIONS. Kids, the conclusions I come to about messy living spaces are: first it is a disadvantage in bargaining to want to change the status quo (and the status quo would be that the neat roommate does the cleaning). … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | 2 Comments

THE MESSY ROOMMATE THEORY OF NATO.

THE MESSY ROOMMATE THEORY OF NATO. The discussion of messy roommates yesterday presupposed an economic theory applying to small groups. In our hypothetical, assume the messy husband would clean the house once a month whether it was needed or not, … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | 3 Comments

YOU CAN INVEST IN A PITCHER’S EARNINGS.

YOU CAN INVEST IN A PITCHER’S EARNINGS. Alex Taborrak, at the Marginal Revolution site, reports on an investment opportunity: “Randy Newsom, relief pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, is selling 4% of his future major league salary. There are 2,500 shares … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, Economics, Sports | 1 Comment

THE ECONOMICS OF MESSY ROOMMATES.

THE ECONOMICS OF MESSY ROOMMATES. Three of the best sites for economics are debating the issue of messy roommates (hypothetical: assume a messy husband and a neat wife. Who cleans?). The discussion, which now has generated numerous very interesting comments, … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | 3 Comments

DISCUSSING RECESSION IN TERMS OF PROBABILITIES.

DISCUSSING RECESSION IN TERMS OF PROBABILITIES. About a year ago, I argued here that it would be useful to use probabilities to discuss foreign intelligence, just as we have over the last forty years gotten used to using probabilities in … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | 4 Comments

ECONOMIC PREDICTIONS FOR 2008.

MAKE YOUR OWN ECONOMIC PREDICTIONS FOR 2008. Kids, this would be a good time to try your hand at economic predictions. It’s good to take a position because it makes you pay attention to what’s happening—like picking your horse when … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | 1 Comment

THE SAFE WAY TO MAKE ECONOMIC PREDICTIONS.

THE SAFE WAY TO MAKE ECONOMIC PREDICTIONS. Kids, this is a very unusual time for economic forecasters. Most of the time the best formula to predict what is going to happen in the economy for the next six months is … Continue reading

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DO JOURNALISTS TRY TO DISENFRANCHISE VOTERS?

DO JOURNALISTS TRY TO DISENFRANCHISE VOTERS? I have posted here and here about how the primary system has operated to disenfranchise voters who do not live in New Hampshire and Iowa because the winning candidate is chosen before people in … Continue reading

Posted in Journalism, Politics | Leave a comment