Month: September 2014

College bashing is popular among the crisis-seeking, anti-establishment left. The best argument they have is anecdotal evidence, that they know someone who is wildly successful despite not obtaining a degree, and thus their single example overrides all empirical evidence from hundreds of studies that show otherwise. The left, like a Malcom Gladwell book, can only… Continue reading College Bashing and Skills Transference

A defining charcteristic of the post-2008 intellectual Renaissance is that America is stronger and more influential than ever. The left predicted in 2008, incorrectly, that the over-hyped financial problem would usher in a post-America era. The exact opposite happened. As evidenced by historically low treasury yields, an always rising stock market that has vastly outperformed… Continue reading America’s Intellectual Renaissance

As blogged by Lion, an HBD (human bio-diversity) inspired comment was published in response to an op-ed by Nicholas Kristof and even got 13 up-votes: From iSteve, Kristof Does Battle with His Commenters Again As part of the post-2008 ‘intellectual Renaissance’, ideas on race, poverty and IQ that a decade ago were dismissed as ‘scientific… Continue reading HBD Gaining Mainstream Acceptance

There’s a long-standing debate about Feynman’s IQ, which reportedly was ‘only’ 125 or so. Like clay, many IQ denialists and, regrettably, HBD folks mold the score to suit their respective presuppositions: that, for the denalists, it’s evidence IQ is not important or, for the HBD folk, that Feynman’s ‘low’ score isn’t his ‘true’ IQ. I… Continue reading Richard Feynman’s IQ

Noahbrain of the noahpinionblog wrote perhaps the stupidest tweet ever: Why do so many rightists love anonymity? Is it because it gives them more of a feeling of homogeneity and commonality? — Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) September 6, 2014 Let’s see…who are the ones going batshit over NSA, drones, Facebook, Gmail, etc? Liberals and civil libertarians,… Continue reading Noahbrain and Twitter

An article by Steven Pinker in The New Republic (The Ivy League Is Broken and Only Standardized Tests Can Fix It ) has set off a firestorm of debate on iSteve and elsewhere. Pinker argues that the admission process for the Ivy Leagues is broken. The admission process can seem frustratingly opaque, and despite the… Continue reading Ivy League Admissions and the Economic Value of ‘Gig’ Jobs

High-School Students With Jobs Don’t Make As Much Money Later In Life A recent paper from economists Charles Baum and Christopher Ruhm found that for a cohort of kids who had jobs in the late 1970s, working for 20 hours a week in the senior year of high school yielded an 8.3 percent wage boost… Continue reading ‘Work Experience’ For Young Adults Provides Little Benefit

To the disappointment of the libs who insist the market is rigged and the economy is weak, the S&P 500 posts another record high. Facebook stock closes above $77 on its way to $100. How much longer will stocks go up? Much longer. The Bush/Bernanke bull market, six years later, is still going strong with… Continue reading Stock Market Surges to New Highs; The Post-2008 Economy, Part 3

An excellent article: Three Misconceptions About the Economy That Should Die “We should stop saying that college tuition has increased at three times the rate of inflation.” According to the College Board, the annual sticker price of attending a private four-year college increased from $17,040 in 1992 to $29,060 in 2012, adjusted for overall inflation.… Continue reading Linkfest & Commentary

An argument can be made that leaked nude celeb photos are good for the digital economy by increasing pageviews for sites that display them. Not much sympathy for the victims on this blog or elsewhere. Having embarrassing photos leaked is part of the price of fame, and the punishment for lascivious behavior. And let’s be… Continue reading Your Online Permanent Record