MR has many new readers, especially since the financial crisis, so I thought I would offer this brief guide to what we are all about. Plus one of the readers, under "requests," asked for a foundation statement for this blog. Here, in six easy steps, is "The Show So Far":
2. A "public choice" and indeed Straussian reading of Star Wars.
3. Alex ponders immortality and it changes his life.
5. The economics of relativity.
6. Alex explains the difference between Tyler and Alex.
For this New Year I remain thankful to have what I consider the very best readers in the world.
Good news
And thank you for one of the best blogs that I am forced to at least twice a day.
The real question is, why did you choose this moment to tell us you love us? I think all of your proposed reasons possibly apply. Or did you not follow your own advice?
1. Anxiousness and a desire to reassure oneself in the face of self-doubt.
2. Irritation at the other person, leading to #1.
3. Desire to manipulate the other person by first making him or her feel compliant and secure.
4. Being overcome by suddenly stronger feelings of love, perhaps because of a Proustian reminder.
5. The simple feeling that too long has passed since having said “I love you,” presumably combined with the belief that the words are uttered rarely enough to still have potency. You need to signal you are keeping track of such things.
6. The sex was either very good or very bad, see #1 and #4.
7. One has work or chores to do, and is hoping to create a distraction of some kind.
8. To announce that a conversation is over.
While “teh quirk” is part of why I come to this blog, I think the posts you selected are somewhat unrepresentative given that you also regularly discuss current events from an academic economics, although somewhat informal, perspective.
To put it differently, I don’t regularly read the Freakonomics blog, but I do read this blog.
I read MR for the posts and for the comments, which are often of very high quality. And I don’t mean _merely_ smart. There are plenty of intelligent blogs out there. The posts and comments usually overflow with interestingness (however you want to define this). I guess there is no secret ingredient, and the Secret is the unusual mix of ingredients.
MR is more a club than a blog. A club of posters and readers creating a very interesting conversation. A place where you can click in everyday and learn something to keep the chat going at cocktail parties.
It puzzled me that Tyler could not see Paulson for what he was all these months. Now that I realize Tyler views the Jedi as evil, all I can say is: “Well then you truly are lost.”
And Tyler writes beautiful poetry-
FISCAL POLICY
by Tyler Cowen
Recovery requires,
That zombie banks behave like real banks,
That risk premia are properly priced,
And that the economy undergoes its sectoral shifts-
Toward whatever will replace,
Construction and finance and debt-driven consumption.
Fiscal policy won’t do much toward these ends,
And a temporarily successful stimulus,
might hinder these long-run adjustments.
How cute.
So, the dreaded “clips” episode. Has MR jumped the shark?
I would have included this:
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2008/11/my-simple-thoug.html
Particularly:
“In other words, both voting and not voting are motivated by the thought that you are better than other people. I am glad that we have an entire day devoted to this very important concept.”
Far and away the best thing I’ve ever read on a blog. When the financial crisis was first blowing up I was getting pretty bored/depressed with all the nuts and bolts discussion of the meltdown on MR. That post brought me fully back into the fold.
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