In his inaugural address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said the famous words, “…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…” It is one of the most quoted lines in history; however, the next part of his speech is commonly overlooked: “…nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” The “needed efforts” that FDR spoke of can be epitomized by the exertion of humanity to lift the comforts of normality and push forward with new technological progress. Society needs to embrace the newness of progress or we will prevent what economist Joseph Schumpeter called “creative destruction.” Creative destruction is the process of new innovation replacing the old; it is the conversion of retreating into advancing.
Continue reading “Tesla’s Worst Nightmare”
Wasting Away our Lives
Economics is the study of distributing scarce resources. If there truly were no scarce resources, there would be no need for supply and demand as the supply would always be infinite. In some aspects we have the ability to produce, create, or design infinite amount of, well, anything. However, there is one such item in which we cannot reproduce. The cliché riddle goes something like this: “I am something that you lose, but can never get back.” The answer is, undoubtedly: time. Continue reading “Wasting Away our Lives”
Limited Resources: Help or Purge?
The world is a place of limited resources. There is a finite amount of land, a finite amount of water, a finite amount of food, and of course, a finite amount of money. With these limited resources, there is inherent competition; thus, as the economists say, how do we maximize the pie and how do we divide the slices up among the people? Continue reading “Limited Resources: Help or Purge?”
Nature vs Nurture
What makes someone great? What makes one of us stand out? How are visionaries created?
Pins, Perils, and Pigs
The founder of modern economics, Adam Smith, argued for specialization during his discussion of the pin factory. Smith noted that individuals working in a factory were able to make somewhere between one and twenty pins in a day; however, if there were to be a group of pin makers who would specialize in each section of the pin making process, the production would go much quicker. How quick? Smith estimated that ten people working alone could make between 10 and 200 pins a day, but with ten people uniquely specialized to contribute to each step of the process, there could be around 48,000 pins produced a day.
The Carrot or the Stick?
The question of motivation is one that plagues the mind of the procrastinator, the binge watcher of Netflix, and the collegiate student alike. There is no doubt that motivation is one of the most ambiguous terms in our language in the sense that not only is it hard to adequately state what motivation is, but it is also challenging because each individual is motivated by different things.
The Continuum of Despair
When I have a bad day it is because of work being a struggle, a flat tire in the rain, a fight with my significant other, or my check engine light coming on indicating not only a burden to my car, but soon a burden to my wallet. These moments of despair are short lived; there is not light at the end of the tunnel, but rather I am already standing outside of the tunnel; a mere speedbump in the road, not a cliff.
The Power of the Letter “P”
There are few letters that signify as much as the letter “p” does in the world of statistics. A p-value can be the difference between publication and rejection in academia, the deciding factor on a multimillion dollar lawsuit in industry or even the numerical decision used to approve the most recent cancer treatment.
Sadly, P-values are abused and misunderstood. Continue reading “The Power of the Letter “P””
Who Died?
Brussels suffered the largest terrorist attack last month. The death toll of 35 people is still rising. The disgusting photos of the blood spattered men, women and children will be engraved upon the minds of the citizens of Belgium forever.
Skiing Through “Flow”
When I was in high school, our senior class took a ski trip to a local ski resort. Upon arrival, I made my way directly to the lodge to find a good seat to view the mountain and a warm cup of hot chocolate. I watched skier after skier descend from the peak; some of them made it to the bottom, some of them ended up cartwheeling down.
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