Category Archives: Economics

ANOTHER ARGUMENT AGAINST SCROOGENOMICS.

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Philip

ANOTHER ARGUMENT AGAINST SCROOGENOMICS. I have posted several times about Scroogenomics because the subject comes up often at Chistmastime. I use “Scroogenomics” as shorthand for the economics theory that: “Giving specific presents as holiday gifts is inefficient, because recipients could … Continue reading →

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“THE FOODS OF TODAY’S LOWER MIDDLE CLASS ARE THE FOODS OF YESTERDAY’S TYCOONS.”

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Philip

“THE FOODS OF TODAY’S LOWER MIDDLE CLASS ARE THE FOODS OF YESTERDAY’S TYCOONS.” I often reflect that I eat much better than Louis XIV (who, for example, never had a chance to eat Chinese food). Megan McArdle had an article … Continue reading →

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I WISHED SOMEBODY WOULD WRITE A BOOK….

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Philip

I WISHED SOMEBODY WOULD WRITE A BOOK….In the post which I linked to yesterday, I expressed the hope that:” When we get comfortable with using probabilities to discuss policies, we can take advantage of the wisdom of crowds. And we … Continue reading →

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HOW THE PREDICTION CONTEST WAS RUN.

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Philip

HOW THE PREDICTION CONTEST WAS RUN. Angela Chen in an article on the Chronicle of Higher Education website describes the rules of the prediction contest which provided the evidence for Tetlock’s contention that there are some people who can predict … Continue reading →

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“SUPERFORECASTERS”— CAN SOME PEOPLE PREDICT?

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Philip

“SUPERFORECASTERS”— CAN SOME PEOPLE PREDICT? I have posted several times about Professor Philip Tetlock’s studies of how good forecasters are. I posted here six years ago about the conclusion that Nassim Nicholas Taleb (the Black Swan man) drew from Tetlock’s … Continue reading →

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ECONOMICS HAS A DIFFERENT REPLICATION PROBLEM.

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Philip

ECONOMICS HAS A DIFFERENT REPLICATION PROBLEM. Megan McArdle posted here on the Bloomberg website about a recent paper from the staff of the Federal Reserve Board which “argues that economics has problems similar to those recently found in psychology: A … Continue reading →

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29 WAYS OF DESIGNING AN EXPERIMENT.

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Philip

29 WAYS OF DESIGNING AN EXPERIMENT. The Economist reported here on an experiment by professors Raphael Silberzahn of IESE and Eric Uhlmann to address the question: Do dark-skinned soccer players get given red cards more often than light-skinned ones? This … Continue reading →

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SOME CHALLENGES FOR TYPE DESIGNERS.

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Philip

SOME CHALLENGES FOR TYPE DESIGNERS. Today’s New York Times has an obituary for the great type designer Adrian Frutiger, who died on September 10. Margalit Fox, the author of the obituary, provides some helpful explanations of the challenges facing a … Continue reading →

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WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS OF SERIFS?

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Philip

WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS OF SERIFS? Despite the practical reasons for or against serifs (legibility or time to load documents), it seems that it is hard to resist the temptation to analyze the broad cultural implications of the presence … Continue reading →

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SERIFS AND COMPUTER SCREENS.

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Philip

SERIFS AND COMPUTER SCREENS. I posted here five years ago about the belief of the advertising man David Ogilvy that ads should use a typeface that people are used to reading. I asked then: “I wonder what will happen when … Continue reading →

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