Social Science and Fiction Part 2: Heritability
Traits are carried in the genes. Use this simple observation to your advantage.
Category: Economics
Social Science and Fiction Part 1: Why Bother?
You can create reasonably immersive, fairly convincing setting by remembering a simple five-letter acronym.
MERPS: Social, Political, Economic, Religious, and Military.
From tiny little subsistence bands to mighty intergalactic empires, from sword-and-sorcery barbarian epics to swashbuckling adventure on the high seas, these five dimensions allow you to cover every major aspect required to create conflict and a memorable story.
Can Walmart Compete (in Streaming Video)?
Ordinary Times regular contributors Mark Krieger (@musepolisci) and Andrew Donaldson (@four4thefire) break down the news that Walmart is looking to launch their own streaming service, and fall on opposite sides when it comes to projecting the retail giants success.
So… Where Are We at with the Opioid Epidemic?
Are we looking at a turning tide, or is a lack of action still digging a deeper hole for future generations to climb out of?
Will Americans Prioritize the Unsustainable Cost of Living Over Political Pageantry This Election Season?
The crushing cost of living in America is on the rise — both in reality and in the minds of disenchanted voters.
Let’s Dispel the Myth That Trumpism Is Destroying “Reagan’s GOP”
If the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he isn’t real, the GOP’s greatest trick is convincing working Americans that literally destroying the federal government is in their best interests.
Corporate Might (Let Them Fight)
From copyright law to banking and ecigarettes, it’s good to have the big boys on your side.
Education and Making a Good Living
How necessary is to go to college in order to make a good living? Are we getting what we are paying for? Who doesn’t need to go to college in order to make a good living, indeed, even to get rich? Those are the issues I explore here while reflecting on Bryan Caplan’s new book that argues for austerity in education and how a friend of mine is doing quite well in business without a college degree.
An Economist Nitpicks Sci-Fi: Foundation and Chaos
In which an economist looks at one of the seminal science fiction works of the 20th Century.
Rethinking Distribution, Disinviting Theft
We accept the unacceptable sometimes because it never occurs to us not to.
The Undignified Auction
How much should cities even want Amazon’s HQ2? What should be they be willing to pay and do?
