Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Carnival of the Africans #9
Posted by Simon Halliday | Tuesday, July 28, 2009 | Category:
Africa,
Carnival of the Africans,
Scepticism
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1 comments
Mike, of Ionian Enchantment, hosts the most recent Carnival of the Africans. There are several posts worthy of your interest. First up, Angela, the Skeptic Detective, tells us of a new twist in the vaccine-autism debate (and, yes, the people claiming that vaccines cause autism still do not have evidence to support their position). Second, Tim Beck at Reason Check has two interesting posts: Sangomas at University and Conspiracy Theorists and Creationists....
This morning, I read George Monbiot's article in The Guardian about denialogues in sex education in the US. Monbiot discusses how Obama has proposed that kids in the United States be taught sex education by teachers using 'evidence-based' programmes in contrast to the predominantly 'abstinence-promoting' programmes of the Bush Administration. I wanted to rejoice here at the notion of evidence-based teaching. However, it seems that America's conservatives...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Books Pt. 1: Non-Fiction
Posted by Simon Halliday | Tuesday, July 21, 2009 | Category:
Books
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2
comments
I've separated my books post this time into two posts. The first for non-fiction and the second for fiction. I will post the fiction one later today or tomorrow. Non-fictionHenry Hitchings - Dr Johnson's Dictionary: The Extraordinary Story of the Book that Defined the World Though interesting, I did not finish this book quickly. Every so often I bit off parts of it, in between other books, or when I felt like a change from the book I was reading....
There have been a series of articles in the British press recently discussing the report by Alan Milburn on class barriers and inequality in the UK. As a UK citizen and someone moving to the UK soon (from Italy) I think I'm 'entitled' to comment. One of the most interesting quotes for me came from an article in The Guardian, 'Student fees for those who live at home should be axed'. The article quotes Milburn as saying, "Some universities are taking the context of pupil's...
Friday, July 17, 2009
Randomized Controlled Trials in the Social Sciences
Posted by Simon Halliday | Friday, July 17, 2009 | Category:
Development,
Microeconomics,
Research
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0
comments
There's a debate going on about Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) in Economics. Kicked off by Bill Easterly (in response to recent 'academic' debates in journals about the same topic between Angus Deaton and others). Take a look at Bill Easterly's blog post, and his (requested) comments by Chris Blattman. Three points are relevant in my view:1) RCTs need to be replicated, and such replications must be published. This requires that economists and...
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Ha-Joon Chang - Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism [Unabridge Audiobook] Customarily I write short reviews. I felt, however, that given the extent of my simultaneous agreement and disagreement with the content in Chang's book, it would be worthwhile to write a lengthier piece discussing these competing sentiments. First, I appreciate the history that Chang discusses when he assesses the paths that the UK and the US...
La Repubblica gets happiness economics wrong
Posted by Simon Halliday | | Category:
Development,
Macroeconomics,
Subjective Well-being
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3
comments
In a recent (Italian) article, 'I nuovi paradisi non conoscono il Pil' (The new paradises don't know GDP), the reporter for La Repubblica is evidently confused about the evidence from happiness economics, or the economics of subjective well-being (SWB). She writes, "La ricchezza non può comprare la felicità," which translates as "Wealth cannot buy happiness." This is patently false. All the evidence coming from representative data (that I know of) indicates...
I have had this sitting here in ScribeFire for ages. Here is the most recent SA Sceptics and Science blogroll. Many thanks to James at Acinonyx Scepticus. 01 and the universe Acinonyx Scepticus AmanuensisBullshit Fatigue **new**Botswana Skeptic Effortless Incitement Ewan’s CornerIonian Enchantment Irreverence Limbic Nutrition Orion Spur Other Things Amanzi Pause and Consider Pickled Bushman...
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Casnocha on Cowen
Posted by Simon Halliday | Wednesday, July 08, 2009 | Category:
Books
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0
comments
I enjoyed Ben Casnocha's appraisal, titled RSSted Devlopment, of Tyler Cowen's recently released book Create Your Own Economy. I'll read the book once it comes out in paperback and I'll certainly provide a review then (1 day to go till paperback release in the UK... hmm... ok I'll probably pick it up as London-Qatar-Cape Town reading material at the end of the month). Until then, take a look at Casnocha's review - he ties together several strands of thinking...
Friday, July 03, 2009
An article from The Guardian, 'God or Darwin? The world in evolution beliefs', discusses the representation of and belief in evolution across 10 000 people survey in 10 countries. I don't know about the design, but, assuming it's vaguely representative, SA performs poorly. 27% of surveyed South Africans have heard of Darwin, 8% agree that scientific evidence for evolution exists, 12% think evolution should NOT be taught, only other theories. ...
Thomas Sowell has historically been worthy of respect for several reasons. I have found his economic analysis trenchant, though I find I often disagree with some of his conclusions (often because I think his assumptions are just a touch too libertarian). I think his insight into economic history is worthwhile. His recent article in National Review, 'Why Republican Infighting Matters', has some great points about the flaw in the Republican party (many Americans...
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