Results for “solve for equilibrium”
197 found

Solve for the equilibrium?

by  Tyler Cowen in

At $US15,000, BYD’s new Qin EV is already being touted as a “Corolla killer”, as the world’s second largest EV maker continues to disrupt the global auto market.

Launched earlier this week in China, the all-electric Qin Plus has five variants priced between 109,800 RMB to ($A23,300) to 139,800 RMB ($A29,700).

The Qin Plus comes with a 100 kW motor and the option of either a 48 kWh battery providing 420 km CLTC range or a 57.6 kW hour battery with 510 km range.

Mobility consultant James Carter wrote on LinkedIn  the new offering is the $15,000 car that incumbent OEMs (car makers) hoped would never come.

“The new BYD Qin Plus EV Honor Edition is the car that makes EVs way cheaper than ICE vehicles and blows open the mainstream market,” he wrote.

Here is the full article.  So will U.S. and EU car prices fall?  Or will protectionism result?  Aren’t they planning to make a bunch of these cars in northern Mexico? Will America invent some new kind of trade restriction?

Solve for the equilibrium

by  Tyler Cowen in

A Buddhist temple in central Thailand has been left without monks after all of its holy men failed drug tests and were defrocked, a local official said Tuesday.

Four monks, including an abbot, at a temple in Phetchabun province’s Bung Sam Phan district tested positive for methamphetamine on Monday, district official Boonlert Thintapthai told AFP.

The monks have been sent to a health clinic to undergo drug rehabilitation, the official said.

“The temple is now empty of monks and nearby villagers are concerned they cannot do any merit-making,” he said. Merit-making involves worshippers donating food to monks as a good deed.

Boonlert said more monks will be sent to the temple to allow villagers to practice their religious obligations.

Here is the full story, via S.

Solve for the equilibrium

by  Tyler Cowen in

Google Docs could soon suggest ways to improve the quality of your writing in addition to fixing straightforward grammar and spelling errors, the company has announced. A purple squiggly line will appear under suggestions to help make your writing more concise, inclusive, active, or to warn you away from inappropriate words.

Here is the full story.  Just as Google and Amazon search have become worse, the more general point is that franchise values tend to be cashed in at some point.

Solve for the wartime presentation equilibrium

by  Tyler Cowen in

Ukrainian officials have run more than 8,600 facial recognition searches on dead or captured Russian soldiers in the 50 days since Moscow’s invasion began, using the scans to identify bodies and contact hundreds of their families in what may be one of the most gruesome applications of the technology to date.

The country’s IT Army, a volunteer force of hackers and activists that takes its direction from the Ukrainian government, says it has used those identifications to inform the families of the deaths of 582 Russians, including by sending them photos of the abandoned corpses.

The Ukrainians champion the use of face-scanning software from the U.S. tech firm Clearview AI as a brutal but effective way to stir up dissent inside Russia, discourage other fighters and hasten an end to a devastating war.

Here is the full story.  Maybe this feels gruesome, but I am not sure we should let ourselves be led by the nose of our intuitions here.  Furthermore, we have zero information on its effectiveness, or lack thereof.  So I am not ready to have an opinion on this practice.  We all seem fine with the idea of killing, so squeamishness on the “presentation side” probably is undertheorized.

I am more interested in what the next step looks like.  If this stands a chance of being effective, how might you try to “improve” the presentation?  Record death screams and send them in audio files?  A virtual reality version?  A “director’s cut” for the more committed audience members?

How about AI that scans the battlefield for fights your preferred side seems to be winning?  Then do face scans of the opposing soldiers and using internet, text, or phone calls, invite their relatives to watch the struggle.  Wouldn’t a fair number of family members click on that link?

Might some people crowdsource funding for extra footage, or shoot it themselves?  I read this (New Yorker) report about the recent Brooklyn terror attack:

Many [bystanders] also responded as no one should ever do in an active-shooter scenario—when presented with an escape route, they instead stopped to record videos.

A yet more advanced version of the footage could throw in deep fakes of some kind?  CGI?

Do you find this all more repulsive yet?  Ever watched a war movie?  We seem to accept those in full stride.  It would be weird — but perhaps a coherent view nonetheless — to think “killing fine, phony movie of killing fine, movie of real killing just terrible.”

What do you all think?

For the initial pointer I thank Maxwell.

The new equilibrium, solved for

by  Tyler Cowen in

Ticket sales for Chris Rock’s comedy shows have reportedly spiked since Sunday night.

Live event ticketing site TickPick sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than it had in the past month combined, according to a tweet from the company Monday.

Rock is set to perform standup at Boston’s Wilbur Theater on Wednesday. On March 18, the cheapest tickets were sold for $46, but had increased to $411 by Monday, according to TickPick’s public relations representative Kyle Zorn.

Here is the full story.  Now solve for the next one!

Solve for the Eastern equilibrium

by  Tyler Cowen in

Russia’s sabre-rattling in Ukraine has reignited the debate in Finland as to whether the Nordic country should join Nato, defying demands from Moscow that seek to limit expansion of the military alliance in Europe.

Both president Sauli Niinisto and prime minister Sanna Marin used their new year addresses to underscore that Finland retained the option of seeking Nato membership at any time.

“Let it be stated once again: Finland’s room to manoeuvre and freedom of choice also include the possibility of military alignment and of applying for Nato membership, should we ourselves so decide,” Niinisto said.

Here is more from Richard Milne at the FT.

Solve for the Swiss suicide equilibrium

by  Tyler Cowen in

A 3D-printed capsule is set to “revolutionize” assisted suicide. It may be legally operated in Switzerland. This is according to an expert opinion obtained by Exit International – the organization that developed the “Sarco” machine – and was first reported by Swiss Info.

In 2020, around 1300 people died in Switzerland through euthanasia. They were cared for by the two largest euthanasia organizations in the country: Exit (no connection to Exit International) and Dignitas. The current common method is the ingestion of liquid sodium pentobarbital. After taking the drug, the person falls asleep within two to five minutes before slipping into a deep coma and dying soon after.

The capsule called “Sarco” offers a different approach to a peaceful death, without the need for prescription substances.

“It is a 3D printed capsule that can be activated from inside by the person who wants to die. The machine can be taken to any place to die. This can be in an idyllic outdoor setting or, for example, in the rooms of an euthanasia organization.” (Philip Nitschke)

The capsule is mounted on a device that floods the interior with nitrogen and very quickly reduces the oxygen content from 21 to one percent.

The person feels a little disoriented and may also feel slightly euphoric before losing consciousness. The whole process takes about 30 seconds. Death occurs from hypoxia and hypocapnia, a lack of oxygen and carbon dioxide, respectively. “There is no panic, no feeling of suffocation,” Nitschke added.

Here is the article, via Neville.  Whether or not you think this particular device has a future, the point is more general.  Technological advances come to many areas, not just the ones that make the cover of Wired magazine.

Solve for the Haitian equilibrium

by  Tyler Cowen in

…now a powerful gang is trying something new: Holding the entire country hostage.

Since Sunday, Haiti’s largest gang has blocked access to the country’s largest fuel terminal, which provides 70% of gasoline supplies across the country, causing a severe shortage of fuel in the capital and several other cities, according to union leaders, government officials and gang members.

In a radio interview late Monday, Jimmy Cherizier, a former policeman who is the head of the so-called G9 coalition of criminal groups, said his men would prevent fuel from being distributed from the terminal until the government handed over $50 million and Prime Minister Ariel Henry stepped down.

Here is more from the WSJ, via Adam Tooze.  #TheGreatUnraveling

Solve for the Kiwi Covid equilibrium?

by  Tyler Cowen in

Elimination was so popular with voters that every major political party backed it.

But over the past two weeks, the National, Act and Green parties have all peeled off from the government, vocally denouncing the new approach or offering new plans of their own. Ardern and her ministers continue to equivocate on whether elimination is over at all – a hemming and hawing that Smith says could hinder them from communicating a clear new vision for New Zealand’s path forward.

In one sense, Ardern could now be a victim of her own success, says Ben Thomas, a communications consultant and former National government staffer. The government’s elimination campaign was so compelling and its results so strong, that it won huge support – polling above 80% through most of the pandemic.

“Part of the prime minister’s problem is that she did such a good job of rallying New Zealanders to this cause, of convincing them – correctly – that elimination was an achievable goal, and of instilling a real fear of the virus. That’s a very hard thing to unwind from,” Thomas says.

Smith says: “Elimination was something that New Zealanders could be proud of, it brought us together and became a common goal.” And the challenge now is to find – what is the common goal during a suppression strategy? Probably vaccination rates – but to give us this same pride that we had last year in our Covid response again that is the big challenge facing Jacinda and her team now.”

The most likely candidate for that new vision is vaccination, but it’s harder to capture the urgency of that message while simultaneously arguing the country is still eliminating the virus.

Here is the full story, via Rich Dewey.

U.S.A. fact of the day solve for the equilibrium

by  Tyler Cowen in

Utah’s population grew faster than that of any other state between 2010 and 2020. Salt Lake City has the lowest jobless rate among all big cities, at 2.8%, compared with a national rate of 5.2%. That the state has rebounded so well from the downturn caused by the covid-19 pandemic is thanks to the Wasatch Front, an urban corridor that includes Salt Lake and Provo, home to Brigham Young University. The four counties that make up the Wasatch Front account for at least 80% of Utah’s economic activity, reckons Juliette Tennert, an economist at the University of Utah.

Here is more from The Economist, they also note that Utah ranks at or near the very bottom for metrics of gender equality.

Solve for the Fairfax County third dose equilibrium

by  Tyler Cowen

I am genuinely unsure how this one is going to play out:

There is no proof of medical condition required to receive a third dose of vaccine at one of the Fairfax County Health Department vaccination sites, and individuals will not be asked to provide medical documentation.

Then there is this insanity, for people who in expected value terms need it most:

There is not enough information to recommend an additional vaccine dose for people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Studies are currently underway to evaluate the protection provided by the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to people with weakened immune systems. Recommendations for these people will be coming in the near future. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend that people with a compromised immune system who have received a dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine start a new vaccination series with Pfizer or Moderna.

But I guess we’ll be telling them something different a few weeks from now!  Or maybe not.  Here is the cited press release.

Sentences to ponder solve for the cycling equilibrium

by  Tyler Cowen in

Austin Cyclists Split On Sharing Bike Lanes With Pizza Delivery Robots

Some Austin cyclists are not happy about the robots using bike lanes, while others are optimistic that sharing their path will lead to good things down the road…

“My personal view is that I don’t believe these belong in the bike lane,” said Jake Boone, who serves as vice-chair of the city’s Bicycle Advisory Council.

“I almost feel like we’re the test subject for this new technology, and that does bother me,” he said. “What if in two years we have several hundred of these on the road?”

Here is the full story, via Mike Doherty.

Solve for the football culture equilibrium that is Mexican

by  Tyler Cowen in

Many fans shrug off accusations of homophobia and insist the chant is just a joke. “We do not scream at the goalkeeper because of his sexual preference, we don’t even care about it,” a YouTube commenter on a 2016 public-service video denouncing the chant wrote. “We shout to create chaos, because it is part of the atmosphere of a stadium in Mexico.”

For some, the chant merely illustrates wider homophobia in society.

Here is the proposal of an American academic:

“Convince fans that it brings bad luck to their own team,” Doyle said, “and this nonsense will stop.”

Now that’s a plan.  The actual (new) rule is to stop play if the chants become too extreme:

Nearly two years ago, FIFA approved a disciplinary code that allows referees to end matches if fans use chants or display behavior deemed to be homophobic or racist. However, because of COVID-19, Mexico’s national team has played few games in front of fans since the rules were adopted.

But when the team returns to the field May 29 to face Iceland in Arlington, Texas, Yon de Luisa, the Mexican federation’s president, said the new code will be strictly enforced.

If you are feeling just a bit generous in interpretation:

There is vigorous debate over whether the chant is offensive since the offending word is said to have many meanings in Spanish, one of which is a derogatory slur used to demean gay men.

Some countries should be just a bit more woke!