tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366878066073177705.post7417440310232305660..comments2024-02-09T18:16:45.614+00:00Comments on The Psy-Fi Blog: An Age of Miracles and Wonderstimarrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06254802085744425067noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366878066073177705.post-53348083576472215592010-07-28T16:39:50.312+01:002010-07-28T16:39:50.312+01:00I recently read (and recommend) "The Science ...I recently read (and recommend) "The Science of Liberty", by Timothy Ferris. The book's main contention is that science requires liberty (in an English Liberal sense) in order to exist; freedom of speech, publication, and thought are the essence of the enterprise, after all. As a corollary, Liberal conditions are bolstered by the unrivaled success of the scientific schema, which leads to wealth and temporal power.mutant_dognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366878066073177705.post-62916636769271438952010-07-16T05:13:17.391+01:002010-07-16T05:13:17.391+01:00I'll bet you can directly correlate the pace o...I'll bet you can directly correlate the pace of technological innovation (and thus economic growth) with the number of scientists in the world.<br /><br />If we have a million times as many scientists as we had 1,000 years ago, I'd expect progess to be a million times as fast.<br /><br />I'm pretty sure we have multiples as many scientists worldwide as we had 50 years ago, and there is no sign the trend is slowing (though it appears to be shifting to emerging markets).<br /><br />The next 50 years will be interesting.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11394409575254934751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366878066073177705.post-14099805847956667462010-07-12T15:41:01.562+01:002010-07-12T15:41:01.562+01:00Great piece. And if you really distill your anti-a...Great piece. And if you really distill your anti-apathy manifesto into a prediction, then there is going to be a major rally off the ropes for the equity markets at some point. Because it's in the equity markets where that resilience, innovation, and wealth creation gets underwritten... You may also want to weigh in on the concept of productivity and risk taking appetite and how that has provided a backdrop for the world of "plenty".Tom Burkenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366878066073177705.post-83319500687006677372010-07-12T15:28:18.164+01:002010-07-12T15:28:18.164+01:00I love these little essays. This one (unusually) h...I love these little essays. This one (unusually) hasn't really taught me anything new but I wish I'd had it available when I was 19 or so.<br /><br />When's the book?<br /><br />Also, "the rise of international terrorism": Oh, come on!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366878066073177705.post-33452228653737289112010-07-11T07:26:56.014+01:002010-07-11T07:26:56.014+01:00I have to say I don't understand this statemen...<i>I have to say I don't understand this statement. It has everything to do with economics.</i><br /><br />Loose language on my part. The idea was to compare advances in scientific and medical knowledge and their practical applications with those in economics. We've made great advances in the former which have helped raise our standard of living immeasurably but our understanding of how this works and how to control it has lagged behind. Or something like that ...timarrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06254802085744425067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366878066073177705.post-49649579357634016272010-07-10T16:49:23.631+01:002010-07-10T16:49:23.631+01:00I think it might be that success itself creates th...I think it might be that success itself creates the conditions that lead to its collapse. People who lead softer lives do not fight as hard to move ahead. In all sorts of ways.<br /><br />On the other hand, people with their backs to the wall fight like the blazes. So maybe it's a cycle thing.<br /><br />I tend to think that this economic crisis will either make us or break us. To survive it, we will need to make dramatic changes. If we make those changes, we will move to places we cannot imagine today. I see it as sort of a society-wide gut check.<br /><br />RobRob Bennetthttp://arichlife.passionsaving.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7366878066073177705.post-52821717956991115912010-07-10T12:41:36.117+01:002010-07-10T12:41:36.117+01:00One thing’s perfectly clear – the massive economic...<i>One thing’s perfectly clear – the massive economic growth seen over the last couple of hundred years doesn’t have an awful lot to do with economics.</i><br />I have to say I don't understand this statement. It has everything to do with economics. Why is China so poor? Why did the Middle East stagnate? Both would have been chosen as recently as the 1600s to lead the world in economic terms. No one would have chosen Britain and certainly not the U.S.<br />I thought it was beyond debate at this point that the free market system and its embedded incentives has been the greatest wealth creating machine ever seen. The strongest incentive of all was the opportunity to come to a country where the economic system allowed unparalleled opportunity. In fact, it is so successful it has led to other problems. But that's a whole different issue.DIY Investorhttp://rwinvesting.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com