Category Archives: Economics

BREXIT—A MINSKY MOMENT.

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Philip

BREXIT—A MINSKY MOMENT. At exciting financial moments I turn to Tyler Durden. Here is his report from this morning. By a majority of 52% to 48%, British voters approved of Britain leaving the European Union (Brexit). Durden commented: “Just…wow. The … Continue reading →

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THE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF THE NEW ROMAN COLONISTS.

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Philip

THE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF THE NEW ROMAN COLONISTS. This article by Hannah Osborne in the International Business Times and this article in the Daily Mail describe some of the newly found documents. The documents reflect every day life in what … Continue reading →

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NEW “DOCUMENTS” FOUND IN ONE OF THE UNDERGROUND RIVERS OF LONDON.

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Philip

NEW “DOCUMENTS” FOUND IN ONE OF THE UNDERGROUND RIVERS OF LONDON. I posted here in the early days of the blog about the lost rivers of London and, in particular, about the Walbrook, which flowed into the Thames and is … Continue reading →

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THE TACTICAL VALUE OF AN “E” TILE.

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Philip

THE TACTICAL VALUE OF AN “E” TILE. This article by Giri Nathan on Deadspin (which is based on the Wall Street Journal article) gives an example from the final World Chamapionship game in which the eventual World Champion made a … Continue reading →

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“RACK MANAGEMENT”.

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Philip

“RACK MANAGEMENT”. The letters which are good for making bingo words are also useful in making words when you have a bad draw. The millions of computer simulations of games have shown that “bad draws happen more frequently than previously … Continue reading →

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MONEYBALL COMES TO SCRABBLE.

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Philip

MONEYBALL COMES TO SCRABBLE. I have used the term “moneyball” to refer to the use of data and statistical analysis in baseball and other sports. (The term was coined by Michael Lewis in his book MONEYBALL). This article in the … Continue reading →

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A STARBUCKS PIPELINE.

Posted on May 12, 2016 by Philip

A STARBUCKS PIPELINE. The beer pipeline reminds me of the news report on NPR that I heard many years ago. Starbucks was constructing a coffee pipeline that would run from Seattle a point in the Midwest. I realized almost immediately … Continue reading →

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A BEER PIPELINE IN BRUGES.

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Philip

A BEER PIPELINE IN BRUGES. Matthias Verbergt had an article in the Wall Street Journal (May 5) about a new underground beer pipeline being constructed in Bruges, Belgium. The pipeline will serve a practical purpose—carrying the beer from The Half … Continue reading →

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SOME EVIDENCE THAT DEFENDING AGAINST A HOT HAND CAN BE WORTHWHILE.

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Philip

SOME EVIDENCE THAT DEFENDING AGAINST A HOT HAND CAN BE WORTHWHILE. Much of the focus of the studies and papers on whether there is “a hot hand” (and Edmund Andrews says there have been dozens of them) has been on … Continue reading →

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DEFENDING AGAINST A HOT HAND.

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Philip

DEFENDING AGAINST A HOT HAND. Nate Silver, in this interview with Tyler Cowen, says that new statistical evidence suggests that there is something to the hot hand theory. He refers to this paper by Jeffrey Zwiebel and Brett S. Green, … Continue reading →

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