Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law. What if it turned out cities and neighborhoods aren’t segregated because it just happened that way but because segregation was an official aim of government housing policy for a long time? Rothstein explores the ways in which white homeowners and homebuyers received preferential treatment via federal programs and the […]
Tide Pod Challenge Makes Me Even More Skeptical
If corporations *really didn’t care* about whether they’re poisoning their customers or not, Tide wouldn’t be running a commercial on social media in which Rob Gronkowski tells people not to eat Tide pods. Observations: 1. Brand names and reputations matter. 2. The present value of revenue from long-lived and healthy customers is probably a lot […]
Tide Pod Challenge Makes Me Even More Skeptical
If corporations *really didn’t care* about whether they’re poisoning their customers or not, Tide wouldn’t be running a commercial on social media in which Rob Gronkowski tells people not to eat Tide pods. Observations: 1. Brand names and reputations matter. 2. The present value of revenue from long-lived and healthy customers is probably a lot […]
If corporations *really didn’t care* about whether they’re poisoning their customers or not, Tide wouldn’t be running a commercial on social media in which Rob Gronkowski tells people not to eat Tide pods. Observations: 1. Brand names and reputations matter. 2. The present value of revenue from long-lived and healthy customers is probably a lot […]
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Recent Reads
“Recent” as in “I read these in early March.” Tyler Cowen, The Complacent Class. This is a depressing volume from a self-described optimist. It’s a useful exploration of trends in productivity given that it’s easy to focus on the sector that is most dynamic (information technology). Elsewhere, Cowen has discussed other sectors—government, schooling—where productivity is […]
An X-Prize Proposal: Can You Falsify Darwin?
As a Christian, I find myself increasingly dismayed with the anti-science or pseudo-science that pervades a lot of theological discourse. I was refreshed when I read Dinesh D’Souza’s What’s So Great About Christianity? In particular, I enjoyed his chapter on the theory of evolution in which he stated that it is perhaps reasonable to infer […]
More Recent Reading
Nancy MacLean, Democracy in Chains: A conspiracy theory trashing the intellectual legacy of 1986 Nobel Laureate James Buchanan. Note the lack of a link: this book will worsen your understanding of the world rather than improve it. James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock, The Calculus of Consent: Societies are comprised of individuals who have to make […]
Salvation: Brain Candy For The Gym
I watched the first few episodes of “Salvation” after looking through Amazon Prime for something to watch on the elliptical at the gym as there are only so many podcasts you can listen to and YouTube lectures you can watch before you need a break. The first four episodes are online, and it’s worth a look […]
Even More Recent Reading
Tyler Cowen, Stubborn Attachments. You can find this for $0 on Medium, and it’s a preface to his most recent book The Complacent Class. His argument is inspiring if not airtight: he argues that we should not discount the welfare of future generations, and if this is the case it has pretty radical policy implications: […]