• Qualvoller (und weitgehend einkommensfreier) Ausbildungsweg zum Psychologischen Psychotherapeuten http://j.mp/owdXrA Ärzte sind schon weiter #
• A Science journal review says gender-separate education based on pseudoscience, with really no benefits http://j.mp/ruHbjA (German SZ link) #
• Glücksatlas 2011 — Deutsche glücklicher trotz Wirtschaftskrise http://j.mp/nNaHQ9 Glückwunsch Johannes, gute Arbeit! #
• Evolutionary algorithm finds optimal build orders for StarCraft II http://j.mp/qReoQx the right place for quantitative science after all… #
• Economics should become an „operational discipline“ like law instead of (metaphysical) science http://j.mp/rl79BC (can skip to 3rd heading) #
• Debt increases young adults‘ self-esteem — apologetics of the credit culture http://j.mp/ndLgIU #addictivespending #americandreama #
• Economic practice of discounting cash flows institutionalizes short-term thinking http://j.mp/nUdhiE makes environment analyzes useless #

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Via Chris Bertram on Crooked Timber I read an article by David Graeber, a social anthropologist, called „On the Invention of Money – Notes on Sex, Adventure, Monomaniacal Sociopathy and the True Function of Economics“. It is sufficiently long to really cover all these topics, and I agree with Bertram that it is „one of the most informative and entertaining pieces I’ve read in a long while“. Do read the whole thing!

The core argument is about how money came to be — which in most economic textbooks is explained as a logical development from a barter trade system, where you have to find somebody with a complementary need and offer in the marketplace. But this assumption about our economic past is soundly refuted by actual anthropological and historical research. It is very fascinating to follow the research as to what are actual probable pathways to money usage. And how economic activities were organized before that tells us a lot about how the economic system shapes even deep-rooted human qualities. The bottom line there is that behavior in accordance with „Homo Oeconomicus“ models probably only really came about after markets were invented. And it is because economists cannot (or don’t want to) imagine a human being with different ways of decision-making that they persist on the „money developed from barter trade“ myth despite solid evidence to the contrary. This is, again, in the service of not acknowledging the own status as a „reflexive“ social science which not only describes but also strongly influences human behavior and social processes.

So, first of all, how did people go about their business before money was around?

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• Micro-entrepreneurs move from software to hardware http://j.mp/pD34t8 is the era of companies coming to an end? Long but good. Thanks Markus #
• Average American consumes more animal products than fruit & veg http://j.mp/ozwC92 of course way too much sugar, too. Cool visualization… #
• Hälfte der Langzeitarbeitslosen hat keine abgeschlossene Berufsausbildung, 40% über 50 Jahre alt http://j.mp/qNSb0Z faul? #
• Thorough feminist critique of public discourse about evolution of female orgasms http://j.mp/p4SWiL Must-read for EvoPsy-fans #
• Psychology demonstrates bisexual men exist http://j.mp/pH9FsB Ouch, science can be so far from real life can’t it? #quantitativepitfalls #

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For the WWOOFing I just got back from, I’m forced to share pictures of other volunteers there due to the theft of my camera. And it’s so hard to buy a decent replacement even in Nairobi! The good thing is, there are some things which even I wasn’t lucky enough to see. Like the local youths playing football on a field near the farm and nursery school that are part of the project.

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Back in Nairobi after the WWOOFing in Odienya near Rongo near Kisii near Kisumu in Kenya (more on that later) I am wrapping up „my Africa“, in a way. And now that I’m happily back to a reliable electricity connection, I start by posting some pictures from Zanzibar. Those are still taking with my own camera, oh how I miss it! Beware of Nairobi matatus (the infamous minibuses)…

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• „Antisocial personality traits predict utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas“ http://j.mp/p3w9Rp Seems there’s more to being really human. #
• RT @sueddeutschede Fährunglück vor Tansanias Küste: Überfüllte Fähre kentert vor Sansibar — viele Tote befürchtet http://j.mp/pT6ggp #
• This will bring me back to civilization after this year. And show you how old you have become http://j.mp/qRvU2A Internet memes 101 #Pogue #
• Bürgerliche entdecken laut #FAZ dass sie sich vom Kapital missbrauchen ließen die Linke recht hatte http://j.mp/pytr9h CDU moralisch leer #
• #Krugman models and explains financial crisis‘ infamous deleveraging http://j.mp/qHNzyG policy implications: government spending Strong! #
• Ozy’s law: „Misandry mirrors misogyny“ http://j.mp/pS7gpR (gender stereotypes cut both ways). True, but power issue remains. #feminism #men #
• Kapitalistische Elite ist (mangels Systemkonflikt?) zynisch geworden: Ende der Glücksversprechen, Markt als Schicksal http://j.mp/q5ZOHI #
• Contemplative book review on electronic „information bubbles“ http://j.mp/oFragA how much „other“ thinking do we need? #
• #Krugman makes me wonder why (crude) moral judgement seems to trump analysis in economic policy http://j.mp/q5Bicp http://j.mp/qMakTw #
• Top Ten Green Energy News http://j.mp/o5MYcT Wind lenses, wave energy, Egypt goes solar and wind, solar prices sharply down, … Wow! #
• Über 20% des deutschen Stroms sind bereits „grün“ http://j.mp/qsIjos Und die öffentliche Zustimmung sogar zur Ökostromumlage ist riesig #

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• #nytimes analysis of German green party success spearheading a worldwide trend http://j.mp/ru4yNR I really love German politics right now! #
• The US conservatives‘ game of saying things you don’t mean to people who (mostly) don’t believe them either http://j.mp/rlbVRl #
• Average penis size explains more variation (20%) in GDP growth than political regime type http://j.mp/rn8GpS #hardscience #bewareofnumbers #
• NATO not occupying Libya after all, doing business there is not bad, and extremists are not taking over either http://j.mp/oo3HLd #
• Bundesnetzagentur entscheidet sich gegen Reserve-AKW http://j.mp/ozRmI5 Atomausstieg ist ist damit rund — allerdings mit Kohle… #
• Könnten die Bayern ernsthaft die CSU abwählen? http://j.mp/o4sDns Laut Forsa hätte Rot-Grün-Freie Wähler gerade eine satte Mehrheit. Go Ude! #
• Gender-Theorie kommt in französischen Schulbüchern an http://j.mp/oCKN8i Glückwunsch, Frankreich! Wird die Welt doch langsam besser? #
• 2011 is not 2004: we should stop thinking of the internet as „anti-people“ and of „offline“ and „online“ life as separate http://j.mp/rgJvky #
• Wow. In Finland, speeding fines are relative to your income. Police has direct access to tax records — a fine… /via @SebastianSanne smart! #
• #travelinsight 73: Farmwork is damn hard. My soft student’s hands are all blistery from few hours of weeding. Still, #WWOOF rocks #

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I just finished an application for a scholarship to do my Ph.D. in Freiburg starting next year. So yes, after some eight months out there in the world I clearly felt I like the thought of going back to science a lot. I’m actually really excited about it, because the project tackles some philosophical and practical questions at the same time, and is set up in a very multiple methods kind of way, ranging from physiological measurements to open („qualitative“) interviews, all of which suits me perfectly. The title still sounds quite technical though, in English it would be something like this: „Importance of Cognitive and Psychophysiological Processes for the Effectiveness of Exposure Therapy in Agoraphobia and Panic Disorder“.

But this just for background, what want I want to write about here is the experience I had writing the application, because I feel it illustrates and supports constructivist concepts of a „narrative self“ which I like a lot.

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