http://www.thebigquestions.com The Big Questions | Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics, and Physics Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:01:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I don't trust rocks. Rocks keep fooling me. They sit there looking all solid until you examine them more carefully and find out they're mostly empty space, with a smattering of charged particles here and there. Then you look a little deeper and find out those charged ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2012/02/08/rock-on/ I've been a little swamped lately and my daily blogging has fallen off. Until things get back to normal, I think I'll fill the breach by reprinting a few of my old columns from Slate. Today's entry is on "Why Jews Don't Farm". ---------------------------- In the 1890s, my Eastern European ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2012/02/07/why-jews-dont-farm/ It's been a while since I laughed out loud quite this hard. Click here to comment or read others' comments. http://www.thebigquestions.com/2012/02/06/laugh-of-the-day/ A few upcoming events: I'll be at the Warwick Economics Summit February 17-19, speaking on the 18th. I'll be speaking at the Adam Smith Institute in London on February 20. On February 23, I'll be at the off-Broadway Soho Rep Theater, moderating a panel discussion on "The Economy of Beauty" following a performance ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2012/02/01/where-to-find-me/ Monday's post generated an unusually large number of comments that consisted of nothing but namecalling, directed in almost all cases at Paul Krugman (though in exactly one case at me). I've deleted all of these comments, in most cases before they were ever posted. I strongly encourage spirited discussion. ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2012/01/24/public-service-announcement-6/ Greg Mankiw's four principles of tax reform are extraordinarily wise, and I think it's fair to say that almost everyone who has thought hard about these issues will agree with everything he says. I have only one quibble, and that's that Greg is very sure we should eliminate the mortgage interest ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2012/01/23/wisdom-from-the-ivy-league/ Okay, this one's almost too bizarre for words. First, Paul Krugman makes an argument that ignores the existence of corporate dividends. Then, pretty much everybody in the world points out his error. Then, he admits his error, but, true to form, takes an irrelevant swipe at his ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2012/01/20/in-which-paul-krugman-leaves-me-at-a-loss-for-words/ Mitt Romney says his tax rate is "probably around 15%". It's not clear what he means by that (marginal rate? average rate? federal rate? federal-plus-state-plus-local rate?) but the New York Times is quick to point out that he's a beneficiary of the "fact" that investment income ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2012/01/18/mitt-romneys-taxes/ I'm traveling for the next week, and will probably not be on the net much. I'll blog if anything catches my fancy, but most likely you won't see me for at least a few days. http://www.thebigquestions.com/2012/01/12/on-the-road-again/ Paul Krugman argues that success in business is not, by itself, a qualification for making wise economic policy, and I agree. But then he goes all looney-tunes on us: A businessman can slash his workforce in half, produce about the same as before, and be considered a big success; an ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2012/01/11/off-the-deep-end/