The illusion of data validity: Why numbers about people are likely wrong

Why People Are Irrational about Politics

Perhaps the most striking feature of the subject of politics is how prone it is to disagreement—only religion and morality rival politics as a source of disagreement. There are three main features of political disagreements I want to point out: (i) They are very widespread. It isn’t just a few people disagreeing about a few issues; rather, any two randomly-chosen people are likely to disagree a...

Comment on Hillock's "Why Austrians Are Wrong About Depressions"

L et me preface my comment with the following caveat: I am skeptical of the value of a scholarly journal article that attempts to critically evaluate the "canonical version" of an economic theory, particularly when the theory in question deals with a phenomenon as complex as the business cycle. Added to this is my uneasiness over the fact that the version that is chosen for criticism (Rothbard ...

Food Taxes: How Likely Are Likely Effects?

Why Young People Are Volunteering in Record Numbers

The researchers found that for middleand upper-middle-class high school students “resumepadding” is one of the motivating factors driving the increase in volunteering. According to Dr. Friedland, “Much of the reported volunteerism was shaped by the perception that voluntary and civic activity is necessary to get into any college; and the better the college (or, more precisely, the higher the pe...

Are we wrong about representation?

In his recent book, The Elm and The Expert (1994), Jerry Fodor opens with a rather puzzling remark: “It may be that I have gotten myself into a philosophical situation about which all that can helpfully be said is that I ought not to have gotten myself into it” (p.1). Fodor is referring to what is a paradoxical and deep problem in his theory concerning the relations between representational con...