The author is Professor of Economics at George Mason University, a charming, smart and creative blogger at martginalrevolution.com,the world's leading economics blog. He is a cultural vulture with expertise in Chinese cuisine and not a Prof.Scam with abstruce knowledge of econometrics.
This professor is a rare bird and an entertaining writer and a deeply humane thinker. Thinking better can actually help us live better and smarter. Turning economic reasoning to your advantage is the key to successful and satisfactory daily interactions to attain a happier and a more satisfying life. What better fortune cookie could you ask for? The central concept of economics is not money but rather incentives(or initiatives as well?) An incentive can be money but it can also be an act of devotion or mantra et al. Money cannot buy love,respect or peace of mind. The real purpose of economics is to set more of the good things in life i.e. to maximize and to optimize all situations at our finger tips. Economics takes folks from want and misery(earthquake) to health and plenitude.(completeness,abundance and entirety)after reconstruction in Sichuan,China. Olympics would be impressive in Beijing, August 2008 and Shanghai Expo in 2010.
David Friedman,authoir of Holden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life.
Steven Landsburg, author of Fair Play.
Both promote economics as a tool of universal reasoning.
Francis Shieh encourages "Yi ren wei ben" in Pin Yin, based on homosapiens as the be-all and end-all of the goal for humanity. We apply the ideas of our personal allocation of time resource:
Daily Function is equal to: S+NS(Sleep + non-sleep time) over Time Constraint and we are the decision makers to allocate our time for this or for that kind of activity everyday.
Equation of Happiness: Not material consumption over desire as the numerator but we must add intellectual pursuit,spiritual satisfaction and good health in the numerator over the desire as denominator in a fraction. Simple enough?
Applied economics is as much of an art as a science. Chinese language is a form of art re calligraphy and a form of music apropos of the four tones of Mandarin. Cf."A Glimpse of the Chinese Language" in English www.rand.org for reference.
Economists have wonderful theories but which theory is relevant? "Work and Study Cycle Theory" may be validated and implemented in USA and in China. Cf.www.ask.com for information.
I would highly recommend Prof. Tyler Cowen's wonderful book to all the readers online as I do admire his lively scholarship to be able to share his wisdom to students for the true nature of economics in a nutshell.
Francis Shieh a.k.a. Xie Shihao,an octogenarian student of economics since early 1940s at St. John's University in Shanghai, China. May 24, 2008
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