RE: Financial institution fallout
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of John Williams Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 11:55 AM To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion Subject: Re: Financial institution fallout On Tue, Dec 9, 2008 at 7:26 AM, Dan M [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Well, I was hoping to set the ground rules for discussion. You do like trying to impose your rules on others, don't you. Actually, they aren't my rules. Don't like to take responsibility for your actions, huh? Nah, just don't like to take credit for the work of others. I am responsible for the posts I wrote. For example, someone rightly pointed out that I over-generalized concerning the breath of people that were dismayed by the recent market performance. The writer of the Black Swan and his camp are probably not dismayed, but are feeling vindicated. I take responsibility for writing a statement that didn't take them into account. So, I take responsibility for writing my posts, as well as embracing scholarship and scientific technique. But, I do not take responsibility for inventing either. :-) Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Weekly Chat Reminder
The Brin-L weekly chat has been a list tradition for over ten years. Way back on 27 May, 1998, Marco Maisenhelder first set up a chatroom for the list, and on the next day, he established a weekly chat time. We've been through several servers, chat technologies, and even casts of regulars over the years, but the chat goes on... and we want more recruits! Whether you're an active poster or a lurker, whether you've been a member of the list from the beginning or just joined today, we would really like for you to join us. We have less politics, more Uplift talk, and more light-hearted discussion. We're non-fattening and 100% environmentally friendly... -(_() Though sometimes marshmallows do get thrown. The Weekly Brin-L chat is scheduled for Wednesday 3 PM Eastern/2 PM Central time in the US, or 7 PM Greenwich time. There's usually somebody there to talk to for at least eight hours after the start time. If no-one is there when you arrive just wait around a while for the next person to show up! If you want to attend, it's really easy now. All you have to do is send your web browser to: http://wtgab.demon.co.uk/~brinl/mud/ ..And you can connect directly from the NEW new web interface! -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ This message was sent automatically using launchd. But even if WTG is away on holiday, at least it shows the server is still up. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
What is wealth?
After the discussion about money as a social construct, it occurred to me that that there is something more fundamental underlying this. It is whether wealth is concrete or just an abstract concept. One way to ask it is whether the world is actually wealthier than it was 100 years ago; whether the US is? A second is to ask who creates wealth and how do they create it? I have some strong opinions on this, but I hoped that I could stimulate a discussion by first throwing out the questions before I weigh in with my long winded thoughts. :-) Dan M. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: What is wealth?
Dan M wrote: After the discussion about money as a social construct, it occurred to me that that there is something more fundamental underlying this. It is whether wealth is concrete or just an abstract concept. Dan-- O.K., let me try. There is such a thing as concrete wealth. Wealth lets an individual do things that they want to do. So a person's individual wealth would be roughly defined relative to some standard as the ratio of the utility of what they can do to what they could do in the standard state. Very crudely put, wealth equals relative happiness, but I didn't say that. I can fly to New Zealand, so I'm wealthier than I would have been 500 years ago. Although there are no moa there now, which I'd count as a loss of wealth. One way to ask it is whether the world is actually wealthier than it was 100 years ago; whether the US is? A second is to ask who creates wealth and how do they create it? I have some strong opinions on this, but I hoped that I could stimulate a discussion by first throwing out the questions before I weigh in with my long winded thoughts. :-) So by my definition, most people would agree that the world and particularly the US is wealthier than it was 100 years ago. A lot of wealth creation is caused by invention and the development of those inventions. So even the lowly consumer contributes to the creation of wealth? ---David Mining gold, however, does not create much wealth. Most people only want gold because everybody else does. Even if we all had large piles in our front yards, we wouldn't be able to do much more because we had it. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
