• Why G8 „emerging democracies“ aid is too low and weak http://j.mp/mcCf9D and how it compares to former debt relieve for military support #
• A thorough look at the electricity markets to show how wind energy fluctuations are priced in and mostly unproblematic http://j.mp/inukgv #
• „publication planning agencies“ — pharma companies write journal articles, then pay renowned „authors“ http://j.mp/jSHLEk science & business #
• First German offshore wind farm in operation http://j.mp/lLsiJH 21 x 2.3 MW, some 50,000 households‘ worth of electricity. Yay! #
• Scroll a little down for a discussion of how Obama adopts the „Israeli-Zionist Narrative“ on Palestine http://j.mp/lINWQq absurd, disturbing #
• Touching portray of an African „illegalized“ immigrant to Spain http://j.mp/l6SNyt And then they keep the image up for people at home! #
• Parents not revealing their baby’s gender. Amazing idea. http://j.mp/m7iiy3 Think about why that’s so shocking! What does it change? #
• Good news from Israel’s people and Jewish Americans on peace http://j.mp/lBtkmt see also my party donations post earlier http://j.mp/jnLucM #
• As usual, very concise summary & comment of the „Arab Spring“ on Informed Comment http://j.mp/k3c5FO Mubarak, Egypt-Palestine, Yemen, Libya #
• More big money sneaking into US election campaigns through „independent“ organizations http://j.mp/jTRn2n In relative silence. #
• Puzzling power game between Obama and Congress over Libya http://j.mp/iiG1IG Why doesn’t he just put his war for democracy up for vote? #
• Aus gegebenem Anlass der zu weit gereisten Gurken http://j.mp/kG0uT7 Slow-Food, Emstäler Knorpelkirschen, brüderlich vereint in Vielfalt #
• What is it like to grow up with parents who believe the world will end soon? http://j.mp/jCimiN Nice perspective often forgotten. #
• How crazy can „pro-life“ anti-abortionism get? Very. In the House? Very. http://j.mp/m4ZE6i A reasonable woman should be prepared for rape. #
• Brilliant, sad-funny argument on extreme weather events and climate change http://j.mp/joD4u4 Some sad sad US politics mentioned too. Obama! #
• Criminology has something to think about now http://j.mp/jYbY3U Crime rates in the US falling substantially at most unexpected time. Why?! #
• Supreme Court rules for California to release 30,000 (~20%) of its prison population http://j.mp/kTjgyE to no more than 137.5% capacity … #
• Seems the political tide in the US is already turning again http://j.mp/mJQfTf I knew I could have faith in Americans #
• #InformedComment sides with Obama on the Israel Borders Issue http://j.mp/lO1YJM and has sinister predictions for Netanyahu’s course #
• #travelinsight 52: Karanga! Totally addicted to the local roasted peanuts, fresh and delicious. A lot of food here that I’ll miss at home! #
• Tea Party is their own anger exposure #psychotherapy Maybe there is some truth (and good!) in habituation after all http://j.mp/jv8Y60 #
• Interesting thoughts on reporting (sexual) harassment http://j.mp/mm8CFR in the end probably goes to show that reporting is always difficult #
• Pakistanische Journalistin über den Stand der Emanzipation in Deutschland http://j.mp/kcvma8 Warum kultureller Austausch so wichtig ist #
• Schooling without learning. The drama of developing countries‘ education system, example India http://j.mp/luAGkh Probably worse in Tanzania #
• I’m happy to find that a huge number of evolutionary psychologists have spoken up against the black-women-ugly-n-dumb guy http://j.mp/jBRGZX #
• Introduction to strong or weak currency — exchange rate issues in very readable #nytimes column http://j.mp/mBuIER Nice! #
• Re-analysis refutes the black-women-attractiveness scandal http://j.mp/jvPOvR Almost touching to see the struggle in a positivist mindset #
• My job prospects in therapy seem to be wonderful http://j.mp/iS10Xb Still sad. And shows that gender equality has to go both ways somehow. #

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Via a post on Crooked Timber aptly titled „Ghostwriters of Science“ I got to read a science article in the guardian, and googling around found an actual journal publication by Richard Smith, a long-time editor and chief executive with BMJ (the British Medical Journal, one of the high-impact medical journals), which criticizes the same mix-up under the title „Medical Journals Are an Extension of the Marketing Arm of Pharmaceutical Companies“ (May 2005 Issue of PLoS Medicine).

The picture that presents itself is shocking. A majority of randomized controlled trials of drugs is funded by the respective companies by now, they adhere to high scientific standards and are published in high-ranking peer-reviewed journals, and they still manage to be deceptive — for instance, being four times more likely to yield favorable results than independently funded studies in one comparison. How?

[…]

Special thanks to Matze for pointing me to the first ever (even though humorous) example of something I have been asking and looking for for a long time: In allusion to the „Reflexive Social Psychology“ I had the pleasure to attend with Heiner Keupp in Munich I’d like to call it „Reflexive Economics“.

The idea is to, as a social scientist, be aware of the impact of one’s theorizing in the „object“ studied, and also of the fact that you are subject and object of your theories at the same time, because as a social (and in our times also unavoidably economical) being you are always also explaining your own behavior. Let’s have more of that, and more serious!

But this is a good start. The topic chosen as a humorous exercise in the article by Ariel Rubinstein titled „Freak-Freakonomics“, published in Economists’ Voice in 2006, is the hugely popular 2005 book „Freakonomics“ by Levitt and Dubner, which I partly read and (I think like Rubinstein) both enjoyed and felt a little uneasy about.

Let’s start with his definition of the problem of lacking reflexivity:

[…]

In introducing a friend here to my „Monty Python Sings!“ collection, I realize two things: First, the range of things they ridicule is immense — religion, philosophy, medicine, sexuality, … Second, it can be quite hard to explain what Monty Python is all about, with this mixture of offense and nonsense. And this brought me back to an incidence where they (John Cleese, that is) explained that themselves — in a formidable Eulogy at Graham Chapman’s funeral. Here’s what he said towards the end:

[…]

• DSK: A semi-open marriage made public http://j.mp/lgeEf1 „As long as he is still attracted to me, and I to him, it is sufficient.“ Hm. Hmmm. #
• Stolen Valor Act — the crime of pretending to be a military hero http://j.mp/lq1Llg In what kind of society would this crime be wide-spread? #
• Sex and Religion: We’re all doing pretty much the same stuff. Believers just feel worse about it. http://j.mp/mTslC9 #cautionorhumoradvised #
• School funding — irony can be so enlightening http://j.mp/lPyd6N And who doesn’t get it, too http://j.mp/kQ2APx (different topic) #
• #travelinsight 51: I’ll never say cool again. There is an abundance of much nicer words of appreciation here. Shwanga! (for Germans… #
• Informed comment has Obama’s Middle East address http://j.mp/lrZs4X and a thoughtful comment analyzing pros and cons http://j.mp/lQWg71 #
• Important comment on DSK case: illegal immigrants‘ lack of access to law enforcement & astronomic sexual assault numbers http://j.mp/kwP93C #
• Well-argued and devastating critique of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his public defenders http://j.mp/m6rDia Bad bad taste in my mouth. #
• Sind Gleichstellungsbeauftragte auch für Männer da? Spannende Kontroverse http://j.mp/iEZaGU Ich finde: ja, aus vielerlei Gründen. #
• #travelinsight 49: What percentage of „Hello, can you hear me?!“ of total talk time can you tolerate in a Skype call? #
• #travelinsight 48: My mosquito technique now: Long pants, thick socks and killing the ones approaching my bare arms. Works most of the time. #
• More stimulus evaluation: via Krugman a thorough critical appraisal of the critique http://j.mp/iyzZUm & a positive paper http://j.mp/lTh9Ec #
• What Mankiw lauds as „empirical findings“ http://j.mp/m5eTVF is „Stupid Stimulus Tricks“ to Krugman http://j.mp/kFEb1Y #StimulusBill #
• http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/05/evaluating-arra.html #
• Twitter & co go newspaper: Interesting website, I’m curious how that will evolve http://paper.li/ #
• Odd-angle perspective on freedom, pleasure, capitalism, minorities, feminism, even Israel http://j.mp/l9MA8Z Awesome! #EllenWillis #
• It seems Qaddafi’s International Criminal Court indictment changes a lot in Libya by deterring his „friends“ http://j.mp/jRP8QK Good! #
• #travelinsight 47: Great fun teaching Ultimate Frisbee to rural Tanzanian Students. They’re so enthusiastic! Thank you Auroville Spinergy! #
• Vroniplag, Geißel der Plagiatoren http://j.mp/iMD5ww nach Wikileaks die nächste Wikisierung des öffentlichen Lebens. Die Welt ändert sich! #
• Syrien — Unterdrückung funktioniert, wenn genügend profitieren? http://j.mp/m0gwJM Spannend, über Wege vorwärts nachzudenken. #
• Kapital und Bildung — Stiftung Lesen wird Schleichwerbung vorgeworfen http://j.mp/ja5pHQ Schade! Wem würde man vertrauen wenn nicht denen? #
• Die ZEIT hat für mich eine Geschichte guter Kanzlerinnen-Interviews. Diesmal windet sich Merkel allerdings recht hilflos http://j.mp/mpCBdV #
• I need to travel eastern Europe again! Amazing abandoned monuments from the 70s in former Yugoslavia http://j.mp/ihrrPC great pictures too! #
• Mieter subventionieren Photovoltaik — Entrechtung von Mietern unter dem Deckmantel des Klimaschutzes http://j.mp/jzVvxV Gute Idee, FDP! #
• Declining college learning outcomes — sociological critique of education markets with a touch of disgruntled old man talk http://j.mp/kNXc1A #
• The „Decline Effect“ — why replication of experiments fails so often, and what that means for science http://j.mp/kvzIuB #

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I finally managed to take some pictures of my „Sports & Games“ afternoon highlight, playing Ultimate Frisbee with a bunch of students and some teachers, with the disc I brought from India. I will try to find one to leave here, but I would very much dislike to part with this one. Also, some more commented pictures from the school and life in general.

[…]

One thing that living in a poor, rural part of Africa certainly does change is my perspective on economy. While I feel confident to say that the huge majority of things on sale in Germany, the US, or most of Europe don’t do much to improve people’s well-being or happiness (and many probably make it worse, at least if you take into account the work done to pay for them, and their effect on the environment) things are very obviously different here.

[…]

In a Catholic environment like this one, sooner or later I had to remember the scandalous theories of Jesus being married to Mary Magdalene, or at least fathering a child with her. While I have to admit that the claims to historical evidence for this marriage don’t really convince me, I found the spiritual-religious argument striking. And I think it does a pretty good job at explaining the shortcomings of institutionalized religion with the incompleteness of the Jesus it chooses to believe in:

[…]

One detail from a „Informed Comment“ discussion of Obama’s recent Middle East address (already briefly mentioned in a tweet of mine) stuck to me and got me thinking. It is the explanation of why Obamas (moderately) critical stance towards Israel and his push for pre-1967 borders as the basis for peace negotiations are politically daring:

[…]

This will be a loosely connected narrative with a lot of pictures of what I did the last weeks apart from going to school. There is always something going on, especially in Justus‘ life, and even though it’s sad I sometimes don’t get to see him too much because of all his commitments, it is great how many doors are open for me in his company. But I’ll start with the place where I am spending most of my time right now — home (whatever that means this year).

[…]