On 11/20/2012 4:35 PM, Dan Minette wrote:
BTW, my doctoral dissertation at the University of Michigan involved
banking and monetary issues. One
of the best lessons I learned was that people who really understand what
they are talking about can say >it it plain English.
Well, that just makes you as suspect as the non-financial faculty of HBS
:-) Don't you know that those who are educated in a subject are very
suspect, just look at all the biologists who promegate that leftist
propaganda: evolution. Actually, it's sad that folks like Mario Rubio have
to bow to creationists by likened teaching anything that makes what's taught
at home look foolish" to Castro having kids spy on their parents.
It doesn't make my ideas any better than anyone else's, I am quite
aware. I got annoyed by Mr. Williams condescending attitude. Some of the
biggest idiots I ever met had PhDs. When I was Faculty Development
Officer I actually had a Physics prof seriously argue that since the
software would calculate GPAs to 4 decimal places that we should submit
grades accurate to 4 decimal places.
The problem I have with a lot of what passes for economic commentary
these days is that it is evidence-free. It is one thing to speculate
before you have done the experiment, indeed it is almost mandatory to do
so if you want to know where to experiment. But when the experiment has
been done, repeatedly, and always gives the same result, acting as if
none of that ever happened is just plain wrong. And I note that the
Republicans are at it again with the nonsense that somehow cutting tax
rates will increase revenue. That has been tried, repeatedly, and it
just doesn't work that way. So at this point I can only conclude that
the Republicans are congenital liars.
On a more serious note. I don't know anyone who can explain electroweak
theory in plain English and be accurate. I've tried for years to explain
parts of QM as clearly and simply as possible, and find myself going over
the heads of folks. It's frustrating.
Yeah, that can be tough. As Feynman pointed out, the problem is that the
universe is absurd, and we are not wired to work with absurdity. But
economics is not that hard. Most of the difficulty comes from people who
are trying to twist things to fit their interests. Offhand, I cannot
imagine too many people who have a personal stake in how QM works. But
tax policy affects everyone's wallet.
Regards,
--
Kevin B. O'Brien
zwil...@zwilnik.com
A damsel with a dulcimer in a vision once I saw.
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