A World Without Scarcity

Imagine a world where you never go hungry, you never get sick, and you can build a house just by imagining it. At first it sounds like heaven, but C.S. Lewis uses it to describe his fictional version of hell:

What's the trouble about this place? Not that people are quarrelsome-that's only human nature and was always the same even on earth. The trouble is they have no Needs. You get everything you want (not very good quality, of course) by just imagining it. That's why it never costs any trouble to move to another street or build another house. In other words, there's no proper economic basis for any community life. If they needed real shops, chaps would have to stay near where the real shops were. If they needed real houses, they'd have to stay near where builders were. It's scarcity that enables a society to exist.

It's always challenging when you see a character in a book that reminds you of yourself. Later on this "hard-bitten man" is rebuked for trying too hard to improve people's lives in hell, while at the same time he ignores the benefits of heaven. Challenging stuff for a capitalist to hear.

Economics in Rap Music and Stand-up Comedy

Here's the Econ Rap Anthem:

And here's some comedy from the world's only Stand-up Economist:

New Year's Resolution Evaluation

For a number of reasons, most of my New Year's resolutions have not been met. Here's the grade I give each of them:

Moderate exercise for 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week.
D= went well for the first week, not much to report after that

Drink 0-1/2 a soft drink daily in my home.
A= nearly flawless victory

Read the Bible every weekday.
F= not even close, but it's looking up for the future

Pray regularly.

C= average still isn't great

Clean the house for 10 minutes a day.

D= same as exercise, started off strong

I must admit failure, but not defeat. I still want to complete all of these goals and this short podcast Scientific American really help put things in perspective. Here's the highlights:

• There are benefits in just thinking about them, even if you never actually meet them.
• You're better off to be going backwards and catch yourself than be inactive.
• Should have set more goals, like 45. Maybe next year.

Hopefully there's a better report next time, I don't want to negatively influence your self-control.

Emptying the Bottle: Late-January '10 Links

Here is a list of the worthwhile sites I've Bookmarked recently:

• Childhood memories of a better time are just that, childhood memories.
• Lost vs. Obama. Lost wins.
• Sharing a bed is bad for your health or why you need a king.
• Fun, but possibly inaccurate, summary of personal data consumption [chart].
• Careers in social science take a hit.
• Benefits of inequality.
• Genetic influence in political affiliation.
• Why women on the pill find me more attractive and other interesting facts (numbers 2, 9, 10, 15, 20, 27, 34 and 36 are also interesting).
• Why a trade deficit isn't necessarily a bad thing.
• Leading from the middle.
• Alcohol as social technology.
• Differences between dog and cat people.
• A letter to your past self, particularly about the War in Iraq.
• All in your mind [chart].
• First-Person Tetris (shared by Justin S.) and Tuper Tario Tros. (shared by Bryan).

Economics of Gold-Digging

In response to an upfront marriage proposal from an attractive women, a rich man responded:

Your offer, from the prospective of a guy like me, is plain and simple a crappy business deal. Here’s why. Cutting through all the B.S., what you suggest is a simple trade: you bring your looks to the party, and I bring my money. Fine, simple. But here’s the rub — your looks will fade and my money will likely continue into perpetuity … in fact, it is very likely that my income increases but it is an absolute certainty that you won’t be getting any more beautiful!

But don't worry, they might get together after all:

So in Wall Street terms, we would call you a trading position, not a buy and hold … hence the rub … marriage. It doesn’t make good business sense to “buy you” (which is what you’re asking) so I’d rather lease. In case you think I’m being cruel, I would say the following: if my money were to go away, so would you, so when your beauty fades I need an out. It’s as simple as that. So a deal that makes sense is dating, not marriage.

There seems to be no end to the things economics can ruin!

Blogging and the Golden Age of Journalism

This weekend marked the two year anniversary of the creation of this blog. Early in January 2008 I started with goal of entertaining others "with my thoughts and ideas of the world" and "when those original ideas are sparse" to "post others thoughts and ideas". Since then I have attempted to accomplish that simple goal by posting 3.63 posts a week. At first I wasn't quite sure if I would even make it 30 days, since 80% of blogs don't. But blogging has become a part of daily life for me and millions of others worldwide. For that reason alone, it's important to ask what the benefits are. The following is my collection of the benefits of writing and reading blogs.

Benefits to me and other blog writers:

1) Useful as a log of interesting thoughts. It is short for web log after all. Not only is it helpful for me to work through ideas, but I can look back (and link back) to those old ideas. Linking to old posts within my new ones allows me to create a story of interconnected ideas which connects seemingly random thoughts into a web of consciousness (which is important for learning). This isn't just true for me, but also for academics in the research field.

2) Because there is a log of old ideas, there is no reason to rehash. I will never have to reexplain why Wal-mart is good or Blockbuster is bad. These post will always exist, I don't need to write another.

3) Receive immediate feedback. Some bloggers don't allow comments because they get unruly, but to do so is to miss out on an essential part of posting online. The back and forth of a lively post, like practicing a game of chess, sharpens your skills as a writer and holds you accountable as a publisher. It also allows you post ideas you are uncertain of (like my most controversial post) and learn from your loyal readers.

4) Because feedback exists, a blogging community is created. Whether it's keeping touch with old friends or meeting new ones, I am able to rely on my readers to encourage and challenge me.

5) Makes you think of things outside your daily life. This of course depends on the type of blog you have, but when they are idea based, it forces thoughtful engagement in the world around you.

6) Make you apply things inside your daily life. Blogging forces writers to apply personal experiences into something a stranger would want to read. We can't fully understand ourselves until we understand how people view us.

7) It gives my loved ones a break from hearing me talk. My wife especially appreciates the opportunity to decide whether or not she hears my rant on immigration. Before this blog, she would had to hear it first hand.

8) Blogs are the new homepage. HarrisonBrookie.com is a static, unchanging list of places I am located online. My blog however, is where you would go if you really wanted to know who I am. Some might go as far as saying blogs are good for career, but probably only if you boss is Generation Y.

9) Writing is the best way to learn. This is why I have learned more about history in two years of teaching than in four years of college. Writing up my own lecture notes, although painstaking, has greatly increased my mastery of the subject. This is why I have my students write for homework.

10) It is good for your health:

Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefits. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.

11) Help people know what they want to do for a living. Whether it's history, economics or improv, blogging is a daily reminder that I love teaching.

12) Unlike the TV, radio and print, blogging is not a zero-sum game. When the New York Times gets readers, it's usually bad for the Washington Post. I write this post trying to convince you to write and read more blogs without a fear of losing readers. With rss feeds or delivery via email, the cost of following this blog is close to zero.

13) The only competition is for a reader's time and because of this, blogs are inherently democratic. Written by the people for the people. The best (and most concise) posts rise to the top and the worse remain lost in the sea of online information. The printing press revolutionized how much the average person could read, but the internet revolutionized how much the average person could write. This is perfectly explain by Clay Shirky in this short video.

14) Because the writers are average people, there is no requirement to publish. No one ever claims someone to be unqualified to be a blogger. This frees us from pressure to meet deadlines, sell advertising, or even double check our grammar.

15) Blogging is for you dammit (but you also have readers). You write about what you want, how often you want. As long as you don't get obsessed with readers, it will continue to be what it was when you started, a place for you. The benefit of readers is that they encourage you to keep writing. Each new subscriber is one more reason to write more and learn more. This is why I write a blog, not a Word document.

Benefits to you and other blog readers:

1) The search for information can gives you a buzz. Like animals in captivity, we would rather search for our food (information) ourselves. But like animals in the wild, we don't want to have to search too hard. Feed aggregators give us the control and convenience we desire.

2) Information without costs. No need to flip through a newspaper or be bumbarded by magazine ads, with rss feeds, blog posts literally come to you.

3) Piecing together the snippets of information you get from reading multiple blogs is in and of itself an intellectual journey. To consume the same variety of radio, TV and print would be extemely time consuming. The more you consume, the more you think, and thinking makes you happy.

4) With blogging you read people, not organizations. Unlike regular news organizations which give you a specific type of news or slant, most blogs are a collection of a variety of items from one respected source. I'm not only interested in the financial crisis, but I'm specifically interested in what Tyler Cowen and Mark Perry think of the financial crisis.

5) You can quickly become a blogger yourself. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy reading what other people find on the web. Google Reader Sharing is simple and fast. Let me know if you ever join.

There are also potential costs of blogging:

1) It does make you self absorbed. When you are regularly posting things in expectation that others will find them interesting, it inherently makes you more narcissistic.

2) Hurts long in depth reading. I read blogs everyday, but I only read about three books a year. I don't start reading real news online unless I've cleaned out my blog reader.

3) It could hurt your career. As much as I hate to admit it, I do have to edit myself. I intentionally do not mention my blog to my high school students. I know some will find it, but it's on their own. At least until the world is more forgiving for ideas put online, it's important to remember everything you write could be read by your next job interviewer.

4) I once heard a blogger say he was in too deep to quit. We must always allow ourselves the freedom to take a break or quit altogether, no matter how much we would miss it.

5) Time costs for the writer and the reader. I try not to spend more time writing a post than I believe my readers will collectively spend reading it. This post is a good example of how I don't always follow that rule.

That said, this is "the golden age of journalism":

I spend about 2 hours a day reading and writing. This is more time than ever, even in my hardest semester in college. But don't worry, blogging won't replace investigative reporting anymore than improv would replace live theater. If CNN, NPR, and the NYT report news, blogs disperse it. We are reading more than ever, and in part that is due to the power the internet gives to the individual. It's helpful to put fear of change in perspective. 2500 years before people declared the death of the printed word, Socrates was fearing the death of the spoken word:

The practice of writing, Socrates is certain, will introduce forgetfulness, for men will no longer rely on remembrance from within themselves, but will put trust in (mere external) marks. Such writing will provide the appearance of wisdom, not its reality, so that those who make use of writings will hear many things but not actually learn them, yet will imagine they know much, knowing in fact nothing.

Things are changing, but they are changing for the better. I'll close with a quote from popular blogger Andrew Sullivan:

Its truths are provisional, and its ethos collective and messy. Yet the interaction it enables between writer and reader is unprecedented, visceral, and sometimes brutal. And make no mistake: it heralds a golden era for journalism.

I could have never predicted two years ago that blogging would be such an important part of my daily life. In some ways I find myself right where I started, wanting to learn more, but afraid that I may not be up to the task. For many blogging is a chance to discuss what they already know a good bit about: economics, politics, improv. etc, but it is also useful to write on topics we want to know more about and hope the commenter's keep us honest.

It is for that reason I've decided to continue this blog, but also start another one. As a Christian I believe it is important to understand the world we live in. The Bottlenecked Blog has helped me to do that, but in a very secular way. I have claimed to believe that the Bible is useful for understanding this world, but I rarely read it myself. That is why starting today I will also post regularly to Wanting Wisdom, a blog with the purpose of reading and applying scripture. The challenge is daunting, but the benefits are many.

Transportation that Caused a Pollution Crisis

And it's not the automobile:

The horse was no newcomer on the urban scene. But by the late 1800s, the problem of horse pollution had reached unprecedented heights. The growth in the horse population was outstripping even the rapid rise in the number of human city dwellers. American cities were drowning in horse manure as well as other unpleasant byproducts of the era’s predominant mode of transportation: urine, flies, congestion, carcasses, and traffic accidents.Widespread cruelty to horses was a form of environmental degradation as well. The situation seemed dire. In 1894, the Times of London estimated that by 1950 every street in the city would be buried nine feet deep in horse manure.

Now what will we use to replace the new pollution problem?

Problems with GDP

The always enjoyable Freakonomics blog recently posted about how GDP is a great measure of well-being in a society. For example, it correlates positively with life expectancy, adult literacy, good food, and self-reported "life satisfaction". However, they also make the point that GDP also measures other things:

Don't worry it's not all bad. GDP also doesn't fully measure how increases in technology have radically improved our lives. Think cell phones, Hulu and Double Stuffed Oreos.

Worthwhile Sentences on Understanding

From Bryan Caplan: "Linking views you don't like with Hitler is of course the ultimate political cheap shot. But as an economist, I don't mind buying cheap, especially if the quality is good."

From Oliver Stone: "You cannot approach history unless you have empathy for the person you may hate.”

From Smart Money: if we actually buy a green product, we appear to take it as license to act like jerks."

From the Meteuphoric blog: nothing makes an activity feel safe like a gargantuan authority calmly informing me of the risks of it. If the government’s advertising something, everyone knows about it, and if there’s no panic or banning, it’s probably safe.

From The Browser: "White liberals champion green values partly as a substitute for religion, which has largely lost its grip on them"

*Past worthwhile sentences.

Self-Diagnosed ADHD

The DSM-IV is a collection of currently recognized mental health disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association. From stuttering to dementia, this manual gives a list of symptoms to help diagnose patients. I have suspected for a long time that I have ADHD, while at the same time questioned the validity of the disease disorder. In graduate school I worked for Clemson University's Student Disability Services and got the chance to attend the Western North Carolina Symposium on Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorders. In an effort to challenge these ideas I took the diagnostic criteria ( and attempted to diagnose myself (understanding the inherent flaws of doing so). It is divided into two categories and can be either 1 or 2 (ones that apply to me are bolded):

1) 6 (or more) of the following symptoms of inattention have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level:

• Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work or other activities
• Often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities
• Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
• Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions)
• Often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities
• Often avoids, dislikes or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork or homework)
• Often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., toys, school assignments, pencils, books or tools)
• Is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
• Is often forgetful in daily activities

2) 6 (or more) of the following symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level:

• Often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat
• Often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected
• Often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate (in adolescents or adults, may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness)
• Often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly
• Is often "on the go" or often acts as if "driven by a motor"
• Often talks excessively
• Often blurts out answers before questions have been completed
• Often has difficulty awaiting turn
• Often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games)

The self-diagnosis says yes. My wife says yes. Even the name of this blog, Bottlenecked, suggests slowing down my brain so I can move forward.