From the NYT: U.S. Team Wins First Place at International Math Olympiad Hmmm…but this should not be happening…America is supposed to be ‘dumbing down’, according to the media and punditry. I’ve long been incredulous about the ‘America is dumbing down’ narrative – the totality of the empirical evidence just doesn’t support it, and for every… Continue reading U.S. Team Wins First Place at International Math Olympiad
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Why Thomas Sowell Never Got a Nobel Prize
From Wikipedia: ‘On the right and in conservative and libertarian quarters, Sowell is lauded as a “giant”,[40] brilliant,[41] one of the most original[42] and prolific intellects of our time,[43] “a national treasure.”[44] and someone to whom a Nobel Prize should have been awarded long ago.’ So why, in spite of his prolific output spanning six… Continue reading Why Thomas Sowell Never Got a Nobel Prize
Thomas Sowell Ignores Biology
Thomas Sowell’s latest article The Dumbest Idea is going viral, about how it’s wrong-headed of politicians to expect equal socioeconomic outcomes, when humans are diverse. Sowell’s argument is environment-based, for example, that women earn less because they choose professions that don’t pay as well, not because biology is any way involved. But by ignoring biology,… Continue reading Thomas Sowell Ignores Biology
Right Again: Tech Companies Keep Posting Blowout Earnings
Over and over again, I keep being right. In mid-2015, in the article Why the Web 2.0/Tech 2.0 ‘Bubble’ Refuses to Burst, I wrote: But I am pessimistic about the hardware unicorns (Fitbit, Skullcandy, GoPro, Jawbone) as opposed to the app/website ones, so It’s not like I am emphatically bullish about everything, and these hardware… Continue reading Right Again: Tech Companies Keep Posting Blowout Earnings
Debunking Libertarian-Socialist Nonsense
It takes a concerted effort and a persistent willingness to suspend disbelief to be a life-long libertarian-socialist (and its closely-related Marxist variants). Most people outgrow it by their late 20’s upon learning that Marxism is far more violent, ruthless, and just all-around awful than the capitalism it is supposed to replace. Libertarian-socialism is predicated on… Continue reading Debunking Libertarian-Socialist Nonsense
‘Culture Wars’ give way to ‘Shared Narratives’
As I explain in The Genius of Ross Douthat, partisanship and ‘culture wars’ have given way to ‘shared narratives and themes’ (existential matters, the economy, anxiety, distrust of elites, etc.) that cross the political aisle. This was especially evident during the 2016 GOP convention, where in his well-received speech Peter Thiel openly proclaimed being gay… Continue reading ‘Culture Wars’ give way to ‘Shared Narratives’
Why So Many Millennials Are Struggling
From The Daily Dot: The real reason young people are the poorest generation in 25 years The kids are not all right. As the millennial generation starts to reach its 30s, many of these ‘80s and ‘90s kids are having kids of their own, and recent surveys show one in five millennial parents is living… Continue reading Why So Many Millennials Are Struggling
The Genius of Ross Douthat
Ross Douthat may be the most talented columnist alive, and by perusing some of his most recent articles, for instructional purposes, we can get a better understanding of his style and why it’s so effective. When reading a Douthat column, typically the first paragraph sets the scene, almost like a panorama, giving a bird’s-eye view… Continue reading The Genius of Ross Douthat
Post-2008 Wealth Creation: A Guide, Part 5
Edit: Part 3 contained a mistake in the integration that has been fixed Part 4 discusses the allocation and the past performance of the strategy. In the fifth and final section, I’ll show how to place the orders. To recap, the the method involves using 50% of the capital to short TMV and the other… Continue reading Post-2008 Wealth Creation: A Guide, Part 5
RE: History tells us what may happen next with Brexit & Trump
Interesting article: History tells us what may happen next with Brexit & Trump This passage stood out: Indeed, many takes on the effects of the Black Death are that it had a positive impact in the long term. Well summed up here: “By targeting frail people of all ages, and killing them by the hundreds… Continue reading RE: History tells us what may happen next with Brexit & Trump