Comments on: ACADEMIC JOKES http://www.ginandtacos.com/2009/07/29/academic-jokes/ OPIATE OF THE ASSES Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:57:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Bakunin http://www.ginandtacos.com/2009/07/29/academic-jokes/comment-page-1/#comment-16773 Bakunin Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:35:37 +0000 http://www.ginandtacos.com/?p=2260#comment-16773 Wait, so physicists think cans have lids? Wait, so physicists think cans have lids?

]]> By: Mike http://www.ginandtacos.com/2009/07/29/academic-jokes/comment-page-1/#comment-16760 Mike Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:22:13 +0000 http://www.ginandtacos.com/?p=2260#comment-16760 I see that Chris Mealy beat me to it, but <a href="http://unspeak.net/a-natural-adjustment/#comment-4520" rel="nofollow">this comment</a> from dsquared is almost perfect: === Public choice theory I think it’s difficult to blame economists for - a couple of economics Nobel prizes got awarded for it, but it’s not really part of economics. It’s basically just right-wing prejudice turned into a theory - the entire intellectual content is in the initial assumption “1. We assume that all public officials are venial and self-seeking”, and thence to derive the entire right-wing worldview. Game theory I think you have a lot more of a point with. Phil Mirowski’s book “Machine Dreams” is very good on the development of game theory. He raises the of-course-very-unserious-who-would-possibly-be-so-uncouth point that a) the key game theory concepts like Nash equilibrium describe the reasoning of a paranoid schizophrenic a lot better than that of a normal person and b) a surprisingly high proportion of the key figures in the development of game theory suffered from mental illnesses, and Nash himself was of course an actual paranoid schizophrenic. Game theory is actually very good in predicting the outcomes of things like telecom spectrum auctions, which of course really means that it is a good way of predicting the behaviour of game theorists employed to solve game theory problems. === That last paragraph is so good. I see that Chris Mealy beat me to it, but this comment from dsquared is almost perfect:

===
Public choice theory I think it’s difficult to blame economists for – a couple of economics Nobel prizes got awarded for it, but it’s not really part of economics. It’s basically just right-wing prejudice turned into a theory – the entire intellectual content is in the initial assumption “1. We assume that all public officials are venial and self-seeking”, and thence to derive the entire right-wing worldview.

Game theory I think you have a lot more of a point with. Phil Mirowski’s book “Machine Dreams” is very good on the development of game theory. He raises the of-course-very-unserious-who-would-possibly-be-so-uncouth point that a) the key game theory concepts like Nash equilibrium describe the reasoning of a paranoid schizophrenic a lot better than that of a normal person and b) a surprisingly high proportion of the key figures in the development of game theory suffered from mental illnesses, and Nash himself was of course an actual paranoid schizophrenic.

Game theory is actually very good in predicting the outcomes of things like telecom spectrum auctions, which of course really means that it is a good way of predicting the behaviour of game theorists employed to solve game theory problems.
===

That last paragraph is so good.

]]> By: Evan Sultanik http://www.ginandtacos.com/2009/07/29/academic-jokes/comment-page-1/#comment-16758 Evan Sultanik Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:45:36 +0000 http://www.ginandtacos.com/?p=2260#comment-16758 I've heard that exact same joke modulo the economist was a mathematician. “Without loss of generality, assume we have a can opener…” I've heard that exact same joke modulo the economist was a mathematician. “Without loss of generality, assume we have a can opener…”

]]> By: Jason Harx http://www.ginandtacos.com/2009/07/29/academic-jokes/comment-page-1/#comment-16757 Jason Harx Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:43:05 +0000 http://www.ginandtacos.com/?p=2260#comment-16757 Economist jokes are like the academic version of drummer jokes. You heard the one about getting rid of the economist on your porch? Economist jokes are like the academic version of drummer jokes.

You heard the one about getting rid of the economist on your porch?

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