Darwin, Charles, 62
Dawkins, Richard, 29–30, 34, 35–36, 37, 58, 62
Dennett, Daniel, 8–9, 65–66, 70, 224
Deontological philosophies, 155–62, 195n2, 253
   applying, 156–62
   defined, 151, 155
   on stealing, 164
Descartes, 67
Determinism, 68, 69
Digi-Comp I, 106–7
Disagreement, 75–85
   between Agents 86 and 99, 75, 80, 251
   honesty issue, 79, 80–85, 251
   logic and evidence in, 76–80, 81–82
   prestige issue, 84–85
Discounting, 187–88
Discrimination
   attempts to rectify past, 200–201
   tolerating, 197–200
Doctor problem, 159–61
Driving habits, socially responsible, 173–75
  
Eagle, eye of, 50
Economic hardship-war correlation, 126–27, 252
Economic models, 21–27
   implications suggested by, 25
   prediction limitations of, 26–27
   purpose and properties of, 21–22
   reality and, 13–14, 22–26
   simplicity of, 22, 24–25
Economics
   Ramsey’s contributions to, 245–46
   study of, 240
Economics Letters (journal), 251
Economics of Crime, The (Ehrlich and Liu, eds.), 57
Economic stimulus packages, 219
Economist’s Golden Rule (EGR), 151, 163–69, 253–54. See also Social Responsibility
   definition and corollary of, 164
   on future generations, 186–89
   ignoring, 179–80
   on immigration, 182–86
   jerks vs., 181–89
   user’s guide to, 171–80
"Education, Work and Crime" (Lochner), 252
Education-crime correlation, 130, 252
"Effect of Education on Crime, The" (Lochner and Moretti), 252
Ehrlich, Isaac, 57
Einstein, Albert, 9–11, 146–47
Electrons, behavior and properties of, 136–41, 143–50.
      See also Quantum mechanics
Employment. See also Wages
   discrimination in, 198–99
   fairness and, 202, 203
   outsourcing of, 195–97
English department, 237–39
Entertainment, value of, 175, 176
Envy, avoiding, 194
ESP, 67–68, 70–72, 251–52
Euclid, 7, 36, 54, 71, 93, 117
Even number, smallest, 94
Evidence
   controlled experiments, 125–26, 130, 131
   correlation and causation, 125–31
   disagreement and, 76–80, 81–82
   generalizing, 123–25
   mathematical laws and, 92
   natural experiments, 126–29, 130, 131–32
   for religious beliefs, lack of, 63–64
   rules of, 123–33, 252
   structural models, 130–32
Evolutionary biology, 30, 255
  
Fairness, 180, 191–203, 205–13. See also Playground rules; Talmud
Fair Play (Landsburg), 191n1
Fenick, Sharon, 75
Feynman, Richard, 154
First Cause, 34
Flood insurance, free, 124–25
Fontenelle, Bernard de, 111
Foot, Philippa, 253
Foundations of Physics (journal), 16
Franzén, Torkel, 105, 108n2, 109
Free will, 67–70, 72
Friedman, David, 253
Friedman, Harvey, 91
Fulghum, Robert, 191
Functionalism. See Strong AI
Future generations
   discounting interests of, 187–88
   Economist’s Golden Rule on, 186–89
   Ramsey Growth Model on, 245–46
   risk aversion and, 233–34
     
Galbraith, John Kenneth, 1
Galileo Galilei, 3
Gamblers, 84
Game theory, 243
Gates, Bill, 166–68
Geanakoplos, John, 79, 251
Generalizing, 123–25
Genetics, 30
Geometry, 7, 15, 117
God, 29–38. See also Religion
   belief in, 55–66
   Intelligent Design theory, 29–34, 58n1
   ontological argument, 34–37
   Pascal’s Wager, 37–38
God Delusion, The (Dawkins), 29–30, 58
Gödel, Kurt, 95
Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, 6n1, 88, 95–97, 103n1, 251–52
   fallacies inspired by, 105–9
   Ramsey Theory compared with, 245
Gödel’s Proof (Nagel and Newman), 251
"Goofus and Gallant" (cartoon), 181–82, 184, 185–86
Googol (number), 102
Gordan, Paul, 92–93
Gore, Al, 15, 233
Gravity, 15
  
Handicapped, hiring the, 203
Hanson, Robin, 82, 251
Hardy, G. H., 250
Harris, Sam, 58
Harsanyi, John, 157–58
Headache problem, 161–62, 224, 231
Heckman, James, 132
Heisenberg uncertainty principle, 88, 133, 135–41
Hercules and the hydra, 245, 252
   computer failure to prove, 106–9
   description of problem, 99–104
Hercules Axiom, 103–4
Highlights for Children (magazine), 182
Hilbert, David, 92–93, 250
Hofstadter, Douglas, 9–11
Honesty and disagreement, 79, 80–85, 251
Hopenhayn, Hugo, 255
Housing discrimination, 198, 202, 203
Hurst, Erik, 255
Huxley, Aldous, 181
Huygens’s Principle, 43
Hybrid cars, 173
Hyman, Bob, xv
  
Ideas, importance of, 230–32
Identified vs. statistical lives, 231
Imagination,expanding, 223–26
Immigration, 182–86
Import quotas, 177–78
Income distribution
   Economist’s Golden Rule on, 166–68, 253–54
   failure to add up, 218–20
   fairness and, 192–93
   immigration and, 184–86
   leisure and, 228–30
   metaphors for, 221–23
Income taxes, 26
Incompleteness theorem. See Gödel’s incompleteness theorem
Inconvenient Truth, An (movie), 233
Increase in Leisure Inequality, The: 1965-2005 (Aguiar and Hurst), 255
Instrumental variables, 126–27
Intelligent Design theory, 29–34, 58n1
   secular version, 33–34
   summary of, 30
Interfaith dialogue, 60–62
International Economic Review, 252
Internet, 124, 125, 127–28
It’s About Time (Mermin), 249
  
Jerks, 181–89
Jim Crow system, 200–201
Journal of Economic Methodology, 251
Journal of Economic Theory, 251, 254
Journal of Political Economy, 252
  
Kahn, James, 255
Kanoogol, 103
Keillor, Garrison, 67
Kendall, Todd, 127–28
Keynes, John Maynard, 245, 246, 248
Kirby, Laurie, 252
Kleiman, Mark, 231
Knowledge, 87–150
   limits questioned, 135–41
   mathematical insight, 89–97, 99–104, 105–9
   Ramsey on, 242–43
   rules of evidence, 123–33, 252
   rules of logic, 111–21
Kremer, Michael, 120n5
K-theory, algebraic, 18
  
Lagrange, Joseph, 6
Large numbers, 90–91
Lawyers
   disagreement among, 83–84
   joining ranks of, 175
Lebovitz, Nancy, 205
Leisure gap, 228–30
Letter to a Christian Nation (Harris), 58
Levine, David, 253, 254
Life after death, 73–74
Light, color perception and, 46–50
Lincoln, Abraham, 54, 56
Littering, 173
Littlewood, J. E., 102
Liu, Zhiqiang, 57
Lochner, Lance, 252
Logic
   disagreement and, 76–80
   mathematical laws and, 92
   on pollution problem, 113–14, 121
   potbellied pig example, 114–18, 121, 165n1
   protectionism vs., 51, 54
   rules of, 111–21
   on sexual behavior, 118–21
Loud music, value of, 165–68
Lucas, Robert E., Jr., 22, 24, 25
  
Machinery of Freedom, The (Friedman), 253
Mankiw, Greg, 255
Marginal benefit (MB), 114–21
Marginal cost (MC), 114–21
Maschler, Michael, 208, 212, 213, 254
"Mathematical Universe, The" (Tegmark), 16–17
Mathematics, 4–19
   complexity of, 7–8
   consciousness as a structure of, 8–14
   consistency of, 71, 89–90, 103–4, 106
   direct experience of, 6
   independent reality of, 4–7, 249–50
   Intelligent Design theory and, 31–34
   intuitive understanding of, 92–93
   proof in (see Proof (mathematical))
   Ramsey’s contribution to, 243–45
   studying, 240–41
   truth of laws, 6–7, 71, 90–97, 106, 245
   Universe as, 12–19
"Measuring Trends in Leisure" (Aguiar and Hurst), 255
Mermin, N. David, xiv–xv, 249
Metaphors, 221–23
Miguel, Edward, 252
Mind, 215–48
   how to think, 217–35, 255
   what to study, 237–48, 255
Mirrlees, Sir James, 158, 255
Models. See Economic models
Moral illusion, 161
Morality, 151–213. See also Economist’s Golden Rule; Fairness
More Sex Is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics, 118n4
Moretti, Enrico, 252
Most Dangerous Animal, The (Smith), 255
Multiverse, 15–16
Munro, H. H., 135
Music, loud (value of), 165–68
  
Nagel, Ernest, 251
National Basketball Association (NBA), race of referees, 132–33
National Public Radio (NPR), 194
Natural experiments, 126–29, 130, 131–32
Natural numbers, 7, 71n2, 90, 97, 104
Natural selection, 30, 41
Neural activity, consciousness and, 8–14. See also Consciousness
Newman, James R., 251
Newton, Sir Isaac, 249
Nietzsche, Friedrich, 41
Nigerian e-mail scam, 38
Nozick, Robert, 69
  
Olympic athletes, 175–77
"On the Economics of Reciprocity" (Smith and Cox), 255
Ontological argument, 34–37
Organ transplants (doctor problem), 159–61
Outsourcing of jobs, 195–97
  
Pancs, Romans, 160
Parachutes, lives saved by, 130–31, 252
Paris, Jeff, 252
Party puzzles, 243–45
Pascal’s Wager, 37–38
Pasinetti, Luigi, 241
Patterns, 8
Peano, Giuseppe, 94
Peano axioms, 94, 95–96, 103, 106, 107
Pell, Jill P., 252
Perry preschool program, 131–32
Philosophy, study of, 239–40
Philosophy of F. P. Ramsey, The (Sahlin), 255
Physics, 17, 26
   of color perception, 49–50
   disagreement in, 84–85
   free will and, 68–69
   religion incompatibility with, 62
Physics of Immortality, The (Tipler), 12
Playground rules, 191–203
   don’t be envious, 194
   don’t butt in, 194–95
   don’t demand more from givers, 201–3
   don’t punish the innocent, 200–201
   don’t steal, 192–93
   live with choices, 193
   stand up to bullies, 195–97
   tolerate intolerance, 197–200
   two wrongs don’t make a right, 194
Pluralism, 199
Point (mathematical structure), 7, 14
Polemarchakis, Herakles, 79, 251
Pollution, 165n1. See also Carbon emissions; Potbellied pig tale
   cost/sin debate, 227–28
   logical analysis of issue, 113–14, 121
Pond ripples, 42–44, 250
Pornography-rape correlation, 127–28
Positive integers, 6
Potbellied pig tale, 114–18, 121, 165n1
Poverty. See Income distribution
Preschool, benefits of, 131–32
Prices. See also Cost-benefit analysis
   control of, 219
   efficiency of system, 223–26
   fairness and, 201, 202–3
   immigration and, 183
   quantum mechanics application, 149–50
   Ramsey Pricing Model, 246
Prime numbers
   infinity of, 36–37, 70–71, 95, 112–13
   smallest, 94
Private marginal-cost curve, 116
Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities, The, 241
Productivity, 164–65
Proof (mathematical), 93, 94–97. See also
          Gödel’s incompleteness theorem; Hercules and the hydra
   of Banach-Tarski theorem, 112, 113
   Ramsey on, 245
Property rights, 164, 185n5
Protectionism, 87
   irrationality of belief in, 41–42, 51–54
   moral objections to, 177–78
   unfairness of, 194–97
Pythagoras, 93
  
Al Qaeda, 60
Quantum mechanics
   business-oriented application, 149–50
   experiments in, 143–50
   foundations of, 135–41
   free will and, 68n1
Quantum state, 136–40, 147
  
Race
   Jim Crow system and, 200–201
   of NBA referees, 132–33
Rainbows, 42, 45, 49–50
Ramachandran, Jayaraman, 212
Ramsey, Frank Plumpton, 171, 215, 241–48, 255
   contributions to economics, 245–46
   contributions to mathematics, 243–45
Ramsey Growth Model, 245–46
Ramsey Pricing Model, 246
Ramsey Theory, 244–45
Rape-pornography correlation, 127–28
Reality and unreality, 1–38
   of economic models, 13–14, 22–26
   of existence, 3–19
   of God, 29–38
Referees, race of, 132–33
Religion, 55–66. See also God; Intelligent Design theory
   effect on behavior, 57–60
   evidence lacking for, 63–64
   evolution of, 65–66
   instinct to believe in, 64–65
   interfaith dialogue, 60–62
   proselytizing for, 61–62
   science incompatibility with, 62–63
Risk aversion, 233–34
Russell, Bertrand, 75, 111, 237, 246
  
Safe sex, 118–21
Sahlin, Nils-Eric, 255
Satyanath, Shanker, 252
Savings
   encouraging, 187
   Ramsey Growth Model on, 245–46
Schlafly, Roger, 72
Schnoogol, 102–3
Searle, John, 12
Second-order differential equations, 18
Self-interest
   amnesia principle and, 157–59
   disagreement and, 61
Selfish Gene, The (Dawkins), 30, 62
September 11 terrorist attacks, 59–60
Sergenti, Ernest, 252
Sex, casual, 118–21
Slate, 128, 212
Smith, Adam, 194
Smith, David Livingstone, 255
Smith, Gordon C. S., 252
Smith, Vernon, 219, 220n1, 255
Smoking-lung cancer correlation, 125–26, 129–30
Social marginal-cost curve, 116–17
Social responsibility, 168, 171–80
   career choice, 175–78
   charity, 172
   counterfeiting, 171–72
   driving habits, 173–75
   finders-keepers, 179
   littering, 173
   stealing, 171
Social Security system, 187
Sound waves, 42–44, 250
Space and Time in Special Relativity (Mermin), xiv–xv, 249
Spin, 145, 147
Sraffa, Piero, 241–42, 245, 248
Sri Lanka, 60
Statistical vs. identified lives, 231
Stealing
   moral objections to, 163–64, 171
   playground rules on, 192–93
Stem-cell research, 51–52
Stern-Gerlach apparatus, 145, 149
Stern Report, 234
Stones on kitchen table (thought experiment), 4–5
Stoppard, Tom, 45
String theory, 18
Strong AI (functionalism), 8–9, 13
Structural models, 130–32
Suicide bombers, 59–60
SuperAxiom, 95–96, 103–4, 107–8
SuperDoubleDuperAxiom, 97
SuperDuperAxiom, 96–97, 108
  
Tabarrok, Alex, 38
T’ai-Shang Kan-Ying P’ien, 163
Talmud, 205–13
Talmudic jug, 209–12
Tamil Tigers, 60
Tariffs, 177–78
Taxes
   cigarette, 126, 129
   economic models on, 26
   fairness and, 192–93
   pollution/carbon, 188, 227–28
   savings and, 187
Tegmark, Max, 16–17
Tennis ball machine (quantum experiment), 143–49
Terrorism, 59–60
Theory and Decision (journal), 251
Thomas, Dylan, xi
Thompson, Judith Jarvis, 159, 161
Thought experiments
   casual sex, 118
   identified vs. statistical lives, 231–32
   stones on kitchen table, 4–5
Tipler, Frank, 12, 14
Tolerance, 197–200
Trade. See Protectionism
Triangle, Euclidean, 7n3
Trolley problem
   amnesia principle and, 159
   derivation of, 253
   doctor problem compared with, 160–61
   Golden Edition, 253–54
   two versions of, 156–57
Twain, Mark, 123
  
UFOs, 72
UltraAxiom, 108
Ultrafinitism, 91
Uncertainty, 23–24
Uncertainty principle. See Heisenberg uncertainty principle
Universe
   consciousness contained in, 12–15
   in the multiverse, 15–16
   reality of and reason for existence, 3–4
Universe-as-mathematical object theory, 12–19
  
Ventilators for the uninsured, 230, 231
Ventromedial cortex, damage to, 157, 160
Vickrey, William, 158
Virtues and Vices (Foot), 253
Vole, eye of, 48–49
Volokh Conspiracy, 124
Voting, 235
  
Wages
   fairness and, 202
   immigration and, 182–86
War-economic hardship correlation, 126–27, 252
Weil, André, 89
Weinzierl, Matthew, 255
Welfare
   immigration and, 186
   metaphors for, 221–23
Wigner, Eugene, 18
Wine-tasting machine (artificially intelligent), 8–9, 223–24
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 241, 246, 248
Writing skills, improving, 238–39
www.the-big-questions.com, 43n2, 113, 232n2, 250n1
  
Yessenin-Volpin, Alexander, 90–91, 93
Yokum, Pansy, 153
YouNotSneaky (blog), 182n2
  
Zero, 93, 94

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