Vox Day vs. Scott Adams

Vox Day and Scott Adams are close friends, so this video came as a surprise. Scott Adams has always been sorta a moderate. I don’t think he wants to sacrifice his lucrative cartooning gig to appease a fringe. He said that supporting Trump cost him a lot of income in terms of lost speaking gigs… Continue reading Vox Day vs. Scott Adams

Bullshit jobs

Bullshit jobs are a big problem, according to economist David Graeber: Graeber’s unique contribution is to tie these changes to human history, and to explain why, anthropologically, they may not be all that surprising. In an essay five years ago, he made the seemingly bizarre assertion that perhaps as many as 30 percent of all… Continue reading Bullshit jobs

Tesla Stock Surges on Earnings

Another correct prediction on this blog: Tesla stock surges 9% after hours on earnings. Tesla shares surge as upbeat Musk sees profitable second half Tesla shares soared as much as 11 percent in after-hours trading. The stock has been under pressure for some time as investors have worried about the cash the company was burning… Continue reading Tesla Stock Surges on Earnings

Meme propagation process

Changes in public sentiment don’t arise exnihilo. Rather, there is a multi-step process by which public opinion evolves and forms, through what I call the meme propagation process. When I talk about the ‘high-IQ left’ and the ‘high-IQ right,’ these are the progenitors and propagators of this process. Smarter people tend to have more money… Continue reading Meme propagation process

Optimism and The_Donald

The left (but also some on the ‘right’) is celebrating Facebook stock plunging 20% yesterday on ‘weak’ earnings (weak as in not meeting the impossibly high estimates set by Wall St. analysts). Facebook stock is still a fist-pounding buy and will make new highs soon, just as I was right about the S&P 500 making… Continue reading Optimism and The_Donald

Winner-take-all economics

This article is going slightly viral: Talent Effects and Inequality It’s as if he just discovered the Matthew effect. People who are rich and successful tend to become richer and more successful. For example, Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro, both of whom have seen their popularity surge in 2018, even after large gains in 2017.… Continue reading Winner-take-all economics

The Wealth Inequality Debate: Why Wealth Redistribution is Not the Answer

In these online discussions about wealth inequality, a solution that frequently comes up is wealth redistribution. A utilitarian argument is often invoked that if the wealth of the very top were spread among many people, there would be ‘more good’. It’s pretty easy to demonstrate why this argument fails. As discussed in Elon Musk Schools… Continue reading The Wealth Inequality Debate: Why Wealth Redistribution is Not the Answer