Carl Mosk's Economics Site

The caller ID on my office telephone said the number was from Las Vegas … OMICS is on the far end of the “definitely fake” spectrum. Real academic conferences evaluate potential participants by subjecting proposed papers and presentations to a … from real id – BingNews http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=9BA655A319194A36AC6A7CB5285A2235&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.nytimes.com%2f2016%2f12%2f29%2fupshot%2ffake-academe-looking-much-like-the-real-thing.html&c=7071948490310707447&mkt=en-us via IFTTT

via Fake Academe, Looking Much Like the Real Thing — UNITED FEED

The New York Times gave graphic results of a survey (using Facebook and ZIP codes) of how popular an array of 50 U.S. television shows were in different areas of the U.S. The results are more or less as you expect, and display a cultural divide manifested largely by geography. For example, here’s the popularity of “Duck […]

via America’s cultural divide as evidenced by television viewers — Why Evolution Is True

Ross Douthat is, of course, a young (37) conservative op-ed writer for the New York Times, and a devout Catholic. In his Christmas column—which went along with Nicholas Kristof’s frenetic attempts to remain a card-carrying Christian in his interview with evangelical pastor Timothy Keller—Douthat makes his own pitch for God. In his short piece, “Varieties of Religious […]

via More “Something-of-the-gaps” arguments: Ross Douthat uses spiritual experiences to argue for God — Why Evolution Is True

Branko Milanovic begins his book, Global Inequality, by posing a question: “Who has gained from globalization?” Many thoughtful Americans have the confidence to answer in a sentence. The gains have been captured by the top 1 percent. And the book ends with another question: “Will inequality disappear as globalization continues?” Many might be just as […]

via The winners and losers of globalization, Branko Milanovic’s new book on inequality answers two important questions — Economics for public policy

Physicist Lawrence Krauss, always a writer, has now in the Age of Trump become a pro-science activist as well. Wearing that hat, he published two articles just yesterday, one in the New Yorker and the other in the New York Times, both about Trump’s missteps in choosing his cabinet. The New Yorker piece, “Donald Trump’s war […]

via Krauss on Trump’s anti-science cabinet (and on Rick Perry as Energy Secretary) — Why Evolution Is True

This past Saturday, Nobel laureates gathered on a stage in Stockholm to receive their awards. Bob Dylan, who won the prize for literature was absent. During the awards ceremony, singer Patti Smith performed Dylan’s song ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ in his place. At one point during the performance, Smith falters, apologizes, and says she is […]

via Music Monday honors Bob Dylan ~ A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall sung by Patti Smith —

Life for the medieval peasant was certainly no picnic. His life was shadowed by fear of famine, disease and bursts of warfare. His diet and personal hygiene left much to be desired. But despite his reputation as a miserable wretch, you might envy him one thing: his vacations. Plowing and harvesting were backbreaking toil, but […]

via Before Capitalism, Medieval Peasants Got More Vacation Time Than You. Here’s Why. — unionsnswinfo

I’ve posted a lot about how some Regressive Left venues, most prominently the PuffHo, extol hijabis for their bravery. I think that’s largely bogus, but what is truly brave is a non-hijabi in a country where wearing the hijab is mandatory. The penalty? Prison—or worse. Today’s Washington Post reports the arrest of a Saudi woman who tweeted […]

via True bravery of Muslim woman: Saudi tweets picture of herself without hijab; then arrested and imprisoned — Why Evolution Is True

This is a story that will chill you to the marrow, at least if you have any respect for due process, freedom of speech, and a loathing for the Regressive Left. You can find two successive versions of the tale in the Vancouver Sun and the National Post, so it seems kosher to me. It’s about […]

via Teacher fired at ritzy British Columbia school after mentioning that he opposed abortion — Why Evolution Is True

Somehow I missed this anniversary, and the Google Doodle shown below isn’t visible from the U.S. Here’s the skinny from CNet: While my car has trouble going over 65 mph, the speed of light is much faster — approximately 186,282 miles per second. How do we know that? Well, we can all thank Danish astronomer […]

via Google Doodle honors first measurement of the speed of light — Why Evolution Is True