http://www.thebigquestions.com The Big Questions | Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics, and Physics Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:44:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Suppose that year after year, you spend more than you earn. You are worried that you've become fiscally irresponsible. Which of the following is not a path back to fiscal sanity for your household? Spend less. Earn more. Stop at the ATM more often so you'll have more cash in your pocket. Do we ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/03/11/how-to-be-fiscally-responsible/ In this week's news, an allegedly "anti-gay" state senator was outed after being arrested on a DUI after leaving a gay bar in California. I hope we can all agree that driving drunk is objectionable and that frequenting gay bars, if that's your thing, is not. One might ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/03/10/out-of-the-closet-and-into-the-news/ In a curiously unmotivated piece at the Washington Post, Anne Lowrey asks: "What if senators represented people by income or race, not by state?". I can't figure out her point. I am all for identifying problems and brainstorming about radical solutions, but I have no idea what ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/03/09/fixing-elections/ The Obama administration has its knickers all in a twist over rising health insurance premiums. As you wade through the rhetoric, here are a few things to keep in mind: Greed does not cause rate hikes. I'm not sure why some premiums have shot up lately, but I'm quite sure ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/03/08/premium-prices/ I don't usually post on Sundays, but this letter to the New York Times from the indispensable Don Boudreaux is too priceless to pass up. Edited to add: I don't always read Krugman's column, but since Don's link sent me there today, I can't resist noting one more outrage: ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/03/07/krugman-versus-krugman/ We started the week with a pointer to a hilarious recipe for salted water. If you didn't follow the link then, you should follow it now. Click on the "reviews" tab and don't be drinking anything when you read through these. On Tuesday I made some snarky and cynical ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/03/06/weekend-roundup-15/ Professor Joseph Weiler, who is facing criminal charges in France for posting a mildly negative book review on a web site he edits, has asked supporters to search out and email him copies of even more negative reviews (presumably of academic writing), to submit to the court as evidence that ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/03/05/the-hunting-of-the-snark/ On June 25, 2010, Professor Joseph Weiler, editor of the European Journal of International Law, will stand trial in a French criminal court for running a mildly negative book review on a journal-associated website. The book in question is The Trial Proceedings of the International Criminal Court by the ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/03/04/criminal-law/ Today is the 165th birthday of Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp Cantor, the mathematician who indirectly inspired me to major in math. In my first few semesters of college, I was at best an indifferent student, finding little inspiration in the humanities majors I was bouncing around among, playing a ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/03/03/split-infinities/ Yesterday my lunch companion announced his new weight loss strategy---he's eating more cake. He's got it figured that if he eats enough cake now, it will motivate him to take up running someday (even though he's never run before). So he ordered a slice of chocolate cake and ... http://www.thebigquestions.com/2010/03/02/taking-the-cake/