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Are unions inconsequential even in the short run?
A while ago I wrote that while unions could increase the wages of workers in the short run, the wage growth we have seen over the last two centuries and will probably continue to see for the...
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Were you against apartheid?
Food for thought from Let Their People Come (page 79): There is a story that while perhaps apocryphal is nonetheless instructive. During its waning days, the international condemnation of South...
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The internet is displacing brands
“The boom in information for consumers has also severely weakened middle-market firms. In the past, these companies were able to charge a premium price because their brands were taken as signals of...
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Sam Harris surely wrong on morality
In this TED talk Sam Harris tries to show that there is no distinction between matters of scientific fact and matters of ‘right and wrong’. He is right that being able to understand how the universe...
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Faux altruism at its most hilarious
I found this flyer in a lecture theatre today: “Join in an amazing two week volunteer and adventure program in South America or the Fijian Islands this year. The first week will see you commuting via...
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Systematically picking the high-hanging fruit
The greatest concentration of concern about issue X is usually found where the best performance on issue X has already been achieved. For a variety of reasons, most people focus on improving things...
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Why cut off a hydra’s head?
Near the end of the affecting documentary The Cove, the activists campaigning to stop the slaughter of dolphins and whales by the Japanese suggest that it is impossible to explain the ongoing slaughter...
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Being rich, free and secure a recipe for well-being
If, like me, you suspected expanding the average person’s positive freedom was a good way to make their lives more enjoyable and satisfying, the evidence seems to be coming down our your side. Are we...
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NEWS FLASH: multiverse theory proven right
Here’s the craziest and most fascinating thing I’ve learnt in ages. Strap yourselves in: The Sleeping Beauty problem: Some researchers are going to put you to sleep. During the two days that your sleep...
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Why does the most important problem go so ignored?
Michael Anissimov is understandably exasperated: “It’s sad how the people who invented the nuclear bomb and spent their careers dealing with the threat of it are now screaming about the risk of...
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Why existential risk is the most important thing part I
Anna Salamon, Research Fellow with the Singularity Institute, does a back-of-the-envelope calculation on how much impact a single person could have by contributing to a good Singularity (or reducing...
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To SIA or not to SIA? Link round-up.
Topic of the weeks seems to be: should we use the Self Indication Assumption, or not? Please keep the links coming in and I will post them here for everyone’s convenience. Yes: SIA Doomsday –...
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Does virtual filth set an example or provide a substitute?
It is common to worry that depictions of bad things have a negative impact on human behaviour. Violent movies and video games are turning young children into killers! Smutty advertising is normalising...
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SIA or not? The ‘God’s Coin Toss’ thought experiment
The “Sleeping Beauty Problem” has obviously attracted mixed responses – some people say 1/3 and others say 1/2. I’m having trouble working out which group I agree with. In the meantime, here is another...
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Is a world without nuclear weapons a safer world?
All the recent talk about nuclear disarmament reminded me of a paper by Tom Schelling. As described by Dan Cole: “In the Fall 2009 issue of Daedalus, Tom Schelling explains cogently why a world without...
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Existential risk watch – Nuclear Winter
This makes a small to medium sized nuclear conflict more dangerous, but also makes such a conflict less likely as even a successful first strike would result in disaster for the aggressor: “Although...
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Geoengineering as speculative existential risk
A new paper from one of the editors of Global Catastrophic Risk: “Another partial solution of Fermi’s famous paradox is proposed, based on our increased understanding of geophysics, geo-engineering and...
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Should I get a flu vaccination?
My university is kind enough to offer subsidised flu jabs for $AUS20. But is it socially efficient for me as a healthy adult to get a flu jab? I thought I’d take a look at what Google Scholar said:...
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Literature lies!
A while back I noted that we naturally trust fiction more than fact, even though fiction can be contrived to say any nonsense an author might want it to say. Robin Hanson today describes how Lord of...
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Near and far thinking diagram
One way of explaining inconsistencies in human belief and behaviour is to model us as having multiple minds which rarely interact directly. Each set of views and pattern of thinking are brought to the...
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