Interesting Links for 25-07-2017

[andrewducker]

A chart that shows where robots are going to replace humans on Wall Street

(tags: automation finance )

Chicago SlutWalk joins in with anti-Semitic ban

(tags: Jews feminism OhForFucksSake usa )

Wings Over Scotland increases defamation claim against Kezia Dugdale to £25,000

(tags: lgbt law scotland independence politics )

Brexit: Theresa May refuses to rule out weakening of food standards in trade deal with US

(tags: food health usa uk europe )

How economists rode maths to become our era’s astrologers

I remember reading an article where the author pointed out that the hallmark of good science was the discarding of failed theories. And noting that economics never discards a theory.
(tags: history economics fail )

Brexit is dying – don’t worry about how we finish it off

(tags: europe uk )

If you want to understand where Corbyn is coming from on free movement of labour, Asquith Xavier has the answer. But you won't like it.

(tags: immigration racism Labour history unions )

Peter Davison is wrong about a female Doctor Who, but he's not sexist

(tags: drwho feminism )

Crewless electric cargo ships may be on the horizon in Norway

(tags: automation shipping transport )

When you think about it, Lord of the Rings is the only appropriate metaphor for the PhD Journey. Let me explain....

(tags: lotr academia phd awesome )

Money can buy you happiness (by paying to get out of negative things)

This is on top of, of course, the "Money as a way of not being hungry/homeless" and "Money as a way of not letting your lifestyle decrease", both of which impact on happiness.
(tags: money time happiness )

Roomba's Next Big Step Is Selling Maps of Your Home to the Highest Bidder

Which seems odd to me. I can't quite figure out what they'd do with it.
(tags: privacy cleanliness automation )

India will ban driverless cars in order to protect jobs

(tags: jobs cars India automation OhForFucksSake )

Essex nursery 'closes because of universal free hours scheme'

(tags: children money UK government )

How Nolan forgot the Indians at Dunkirk

(tags: India wwii history movies )

Snopes Faces an Ugly Legal Battle

(tags: law business facts fail )

Microsoft Paint avoids brush with death

(tags: software art microsoft )

Food security in a post-Brexit world

(tags: Food UK europe )

22 reasons the hyperloop and driverless cars don't mean we don't need HS2

(tags: trains transport thefuture )

Comments

Not All Economists

[danieldwilliam]

So this is an article about economists that misuses the word economist. It confuses economists with a particular type of macro-economist. Admittedly that type of macro-economist is prominent and probably influential but I think if you are going to have a rant about a group of people it helps to correctly identify them.

Most ecomomists don't go anywhere near macro-economics. Most are busy doing micro-economics*; trying to understand particular markets or industries, or particular types of behaviour, or understanding what is actually happening in the economy. They are trying to answer useful questions like, what happens if the price of oil doubles, how does innovation happen, how many jobs might be at risk if machine intelligence and robotisation are widespread, why do people buy mustard, what is the best way to promote sensible use of credit in developing countries.

Most economic theory is not set in the hypothetical world of rational markets. Most economic theory is set in the world of understanding where and why rational markets are not rational or indeed to what extent does aggregate market behaviour converge on rational behaviour despite the fact that individuals are not "rational" in a classical economic sense but mostly the work of economists is understand quite narrow areas and what is going on in them. Economics has been moving away from theories of rational markets since Adam Smith founded the science so he could get on the with the more important work of moral philosophy.

I think the real reason economists are being paid better in academia is they have a second market for their skills, working inside large organisations who want their skills understanding the markets and industries they operate in the and the customers, suppliers and competitors with whom they interact.

None of this is to suggest that macro-economists are not guilty of mathiness or that economics is not a very difficult topic on which to do science.

But the cry of "economists are geting paid more than me because they have bambozzled us with mathiness" is, I think, so far from the truth as tobe not even wrong.

When you think about it, Lord of the Rings is the only appropriate metaphor for the PhD Journey. Let

[jack]

That makes a lot of sense. Although I feel it would fit better if Sauron actually turned into a giant snake, apparently he missed that step somehow :)

Peter Davidson

[jack]

Maybe we need better words to distinguish "actively against equality" from "in favour of equality but not seeing that in this case they're the problem". It makes sense to not let people doing #2 off the hook, sometimes those problems are systematically the biggest part of the problem, but it may be easier to call them to account if there's a level of criticism below nuclear.

Like, I think Davidson's comment about boys losing a role model is *right*, but it's still unfortunately blinkered to let yourself say that, without considering the positive effect for girls, and without clearly thinking through which is more important.

[danieldwilliam]

I'm puzzled by hyperloop.

It's fast but I think the limited capacity is against it in a major way.

I'm also getting the impression that the current plan is to put it underground. Which means that unless Elon Musk has really, really lowered the cost of tunnelling it's not going to be cheaper than building a high speed railway or a tram to the airport.

[danieldwilliam]

I worry that the large number of Brexit is already dead articles I'm seeing are a case of the wish being father to the thought.

It's far from clear to me that most people are ready to change their mind from either voting for Brexit (1 in 2) or believing that we should honour the result of the referendum (about 1 in 4).

It's not clear to me that Brexit will go visibly wrong quickly enough for the mood to change before we leave.

It's not clear to me that it going visibly wrong will be ascribed to Brexit rather than Tory incompetence, or Remainer treason.

It's not clear to me that the Tory Party won't just do it anyway.

After all it was pretty clear to Hitler in 1938 that he would lose the Second World War but, nevertheless, he persisted.

[momentsmusicaux]

So for the subsidised nursery hours, the government pays the nursery significantly less than what parents pay per hour? WTF??

Dress Codes and Economists

[danieldwilliam]

In light of my earlier comments on economists - here is an economist who is providing sage advice on a matter of everyday practicality which would have helped at least one organisation in today's Interesting Links.


https://www.johnkay.com/1996/01/12/a-question-of-clarity-and-certainty/

Driverless Indian Government

[danieldwilliam]

The Indian government seem strangely unable to make the future happen in their country. I am puzzled as to why.