Month: March 2015

Atheist Conservatism and the Dark Enlightenment

Atheist conservatism/libertarianism is one of the fastest growing movements. Many of today’s smart young people, who grew up on Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman (and maybe hayack and Rothbard, although being anti-fed is anti-wealth in my opinion. Fed policy such as QE and low interest rates, while unpopular with some on the right, does help… Continue reading Atheist Conservatism and the Dark Enlightenment

Some Ideas to Reform Higher Education

Unlike some libertarians, I don’t believe the state is inherently oppressive. I believe in incrementalism, in making small changes to make a better society rather than uprooting society. An example is optimizing the allocation of public resources. We have a finite quantity of capital from tax payers dollars, it should be allocated in such a… Continue reading Some Ideas to Reform Higher Education

The Daily View: Stocks Surge, Hillary, Religion, Paul Tudor Jones

Another big day for stocks. The major indexes rose 3% for the week thanks to the fed’s pledge to not raise interest rates, even as the fundamentals of the economy remain sound. Since early 2014 or so, the news cycle has become so moribund that the media has to invent scandal and outrage where none… Continue reading The Daily View: Stocks Surge, Hillary, Religion, Paul Tudor Jones

Anti-Democracy, Part 4

You know it’s a slow news day when the big story is Clinton’s drinking habits. The only people who are getting worked up about Hillary’s overblown email problem and Russia are the people whose paychecks depend on manufacturing hype and outrage for clicks and page-views. The doom and gloom media was hoping Putin was dead,… Continue reading Anti-Democracy, Part 4

The Success of Fed policy

An example of effective, but hated policy is QE and TARP, as part of the umbrella of fed policy. Liberals such as Peter Schiff and Nassim Nicholas Taleb argue that the fed has made the financial system more prone to collapse, recession, and bear markets. Reality, in contrast to doom and gloom, paints a different… Continue reading The Success of Fed policy

Terry Pratchett, IQ, Practice, and Mastery

Prolific fantasy author Terry Pratchett, who recently died of early-onset Alzheimer’s, inspired many wannabe fiction authors. But unless you’re a genius (as measured by raw intellect, not the vague label of ‘genius’ ascribed to people who demonstrate ‘skill’ at some subjective/useless activity like finger painting), better stick to writing non-fiction, or anything that isn’t too… Continue reading Terry Pratchett, IQ, Practice, and Mastery

Using Cognitive Screening to Replace Costly Diplomas

Someone writes: The Ivy League aristocracy will continue to perpetuate itself till the end of time unless hiring managers in high-paying industries stop recruiting solely from the “top schools.” And until that happens, online education will never get the respect that it (genuinely) deserves, nor will offline tier-2 or tier-3 schools – or their graduates.… Continue reading Using Cognitive Screening to Replace Costly Diplomas