• #SZ Kommentar zum Ausstiegs-Ja, der viel Hoffnung für die Grünen macht http://j.mp/maaKDD So oder so: gut gemacht, Grüne! #
• RE #RSS If you want me to visit your blog, how about writing something that invites me to comment? Web 2.0, right? #
• If you have an #RSS feed, don’t make it be one-liners. I won’t be teased and visit your stupid blog over and over. I’ll delete your feed. #
• Getting „married“ on facebook http://j.mp/jN7fQY „no pending invites to stray“ #moderntimes #
• #travelinsight 65: Saying good-bye to people with no digital communication feels much more final — even though, who really writes e-mails? #
• While Obamacare & Ryancare are similar, one is a good compromise for uninsured, the other worsening existing care http://j.mp/jNOnFz #
• Nations are not companies. EU Countries make their economies weak and unequal by trying to be „competitive“ http://j.mp/jh1rRV #
• Free speech in the west and the knowability of truth, from prescribed history to political correctness http://j.mp/lELj7f Fascinating! #
• Compassionate story of an ex-gay, showing the struggles and mind-games that still trouble our sexual identities http://j.mp/mIJgwZ #
• Nachrichten aus unserem abgeschafften Entwicklungshilfeministerium und dem ecudorianischen Regenwald http://j.mp/jSKPTW Genau falsche EZ #
• After frustration with my WordPress-Blog comment system: I’m not alone http://j.mp/kTiVZo but where do I go from there? Help! #
• #Krugman on liberalism & 5 influential books http://j.mp/jJsjMh Fascinating how central epistemology is, a topic I keep coming back to, too. #
• Historischer Bogen Grüner Bildungspolitik: Bildung für soziale Gerechtigkeit, der Weg zur „Gemeinschaftsschule“ lang http://j.mp/mJnR5c #
• Secret rule of the proletariat (sort of) in the US: managerialist, not capitalist http://j.mp/lZrJPR Do we need corporate democracy? #
• The cocaine-related death of a basketball star triggered the US war on drugs 25 years ago http://j.mp/iQnvyK Can coincidences shape history? #
• #Krugman argues the Greece problem can only be solved by defaulting the debt, and talks about the costs of delaying that http://j.mp/iFe2ny #
• When companies try to do science — McKinsey’s bold health care claim and refusal (inability?) to produce the evidence http://j.mp/m0OmnX #
• #travelinsight 64: Good gear and boots — happy as a child in the rain! And the mixed smell of wet mud, grass and eucalyptus, ahhh! #
• #travelinsight 63: It can be a privilege to not understand the language: You get lots of time to observe and think about things. #
• #travelinsight 62: I’m good with Kiswahili grammar and pronunciation, not so much with vocabulary — does that mean I’m lazy? #
• US has only been militarized as intensely as now since WWII, and maybe ending the superpowerdom will not hurt too much http://j.mp/m9l8Tz #
• Die #TAZ hat ein simples Online-Tool zur Suche von Parteispenden über 10.000€, Firmen & privat. Es lebe die Transparenz! http://j.mp/jalJIi #
• Neuroscience is a (reflexive) social science: disbelief in free will changes brain activity (and behavior) — to the worse http://j.mp/klB8zG #
• Spannende und kontroverse Liste von technischen Durchbrüchen, die (vielleicht) bevorstehen. Gut gemacht #ZEIT http://j.mp/mscLMl #
• #Mankiw shows how you get the same behind different language in health care http://j.mp/iW1Jd8 Why do democrats choose the „bad“ language? #

Powered by Twitter Tools

Already the end of my stay in Tanzania is approaching rapidly, it is time for some more (maybe last) pictures and little stories, a post about the accumulated deeper thoughts and feelings is coming up, unfortunately in German — Google Translate is your friend — but here some international accessibility first.

[…]

• Learn child care, health care and fair pay from the military. A well-functioning socialist endeavor in the US’s heart http://j.mp/jJtjG6 #
• CIA ordered by Bush administration to find „damaging“ information about displeasing Middle East blogger http://j.mp/jky8qo Very disturbing. #
• It makes me sick that there’s a whole politics of its own about winning Wall Street donations http://j.mp/koMGx2 And especially Obama! #
• Subtle corruption by naming a building or institution after somebody http://j.mp/k5xTfv very much agree with #Mankiw here #
• The virtue of „moral imagination“ vs. one step leading to the next. Good freshman talk, and very noteworthy comments too! http://j.mp/mvhlh7 #
• Review of a SF-Book that promises fun — and insights into how language and stories shape our world http://j.mp/kt7HCf Can’t wait! #
• Griechenland-Krise ähnelt dem Versailler Vertrag, und Lösung ist Europäische Finanzpolitik ohne nationale Parlamente http://j.mp/jn85mU wow! #
• Auguri, Italia! http://j.mp/kkGADw Die Berlusconi-Ära scheint vorbei, hoffen wir dass die italienische Linke was zu bieten hat. #
• Things can always be different, and not every US war is for oil. Libya definitely isn’t, read why on #InformedComment http://j.mp/jgMwNJ #
• #travelinsight 61: RE sugar cane: Europe and US here are refined sugar of course, making this an inverted U-shaped development curve for me. #
• #travelinsight 60: The difference between Africa and India and is chewing sugar cane and drinking fresh sugar cane juice. Both nice, but… #
• #TechTip SafeSleepOnce http://j.mp/mTJN4W the much-needed „deep sleep“ (hibernation) Button for Mac OS X. Also here: tested many, kept one #
• #TechTip „Mental Case“ the first spaced repetition learning software that does the job for me http://j.mp/iGObOs not free, but worth it #
• Paul #Krugman has a chart comparing Medicare and private insurance cost increases. Health markets not a good idea http://j.mp/jF7zUl #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• Illustration of private health care system waste http://j.mp/iefY2F But I don’t agree http://j.mp/ikH95N health care is so very different #
• #travelinsight 59: Stayed up till 3 refining a four-voice choir composition with my guest brother. Demanding, but also very rewarding! #
• Nice explanation why the „food plate“ is a big step forward from the old pyramid http://j.mp/iR3m91 #
• A rare case where feminism and „men’s rights“ arguments obviously coincide http://j.mp/kZb8rg why it has to be ok for men to send naked pics #
• What puzzles me most about Obama — how and why he expands on the previous Administration’s tight grip on his citizens http://j.mp/k1f8hf #
• Intuitive, perceptual learning advanced by brain scientists http://j.mp/l5fi32 Helps with most important task: What kind of problem is this? #
• Critical Review of Adapt (book) http://j.mp/ixlSnv How evolutionary/market-style trial and error bites its own tail as a big principle. #
• #travelinsight 58: I love thinking people, both in trait and state sense Great to watch the kids put their heads together over a problem! #
• Evolutionary just-so story debunked: Dogs‘ past in family packs and implications for hierarchy, cooperation and training http://j.mp/l6oLlR #
• #travelinsight 57: When you’re constantly observed (and different) anyway, you might as well do what you feel like doing. Liberating! #
• 11 bizarre beliefs Americans hold http://j.mp/kZWkcs Depending on your level of social science training, laugh at Americans or pollsters… #
• #travelinsight 56: Twitter is teaching me to summarize. And cut unnecessary adjectives. I suppose that’s good, all in all… #
• #travelinsight 55: Why do I sometimes get that sudden craving to buy stuff, to consume?! Preferably high-end tech stuff, and new clothes… #
• Rechtliche Folgen von Stuttgart 21 für zukünftige Großprojekte http://j.mp/mcPwjq Spielarten der Bürgerbeteiligung und Verfahrensdauer #

Powered by Twitter Tools

Despite my best efforts, this Sunday is on the best way to being a random-web-surfing day, reading (among many other things) critiques of Capitalism using an Indian company’s mobile network in remote Tanzania…

This randomness is of course the source of what we often deplore as procrastination, but I’m realizing it can also set free creativity, by presenting side by side concepts that seem only very loosely related at first. So here is my starting point, a very insightful remark on what difference it makes if we speak about Capitalism or Free Market Economy, from John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist and author, published in the article Free Market Fraud in The Progressive magazine in 1999:

[…]

• Fukushima ist noch nicht vorbei — Strahlung neues Maximum und 100.000 Tonnen hoch radioaktives Wasser in der Ruine http://j.mp/jv36vX #
• #travelinsight 54: Decentralized waste incineration is a bad idea. But there is no garbage collection in place here, while trash there is… #
• How the new Egypt government changes the game for Israel http://j.mp/jHl9tc And some „old news“ we should keep in mind about the Gaza „jail“ #
• US prison system dimensions and illusions: „we pay poor unemployed rural whites to guard poor unemployed urban blacks“ http://j.mp/iHGSOX #
• Well-argued case for publishing peer-review comments with the articles, anonymous or not http://j.mp/jtgr2u #science #
• #travelinsight 53: #postbank mobileTAN is so handy when traveling I only need my mobile phone for online banking. Yeah 21st century! #
• Career advice for post-tenure economists (& others) http://j.mp/iPKrj1 increases my hope that good life and success go together in academia #
• Thought-provoking „Male Privilege Checklist“ http://j.mp/iJpZOr Scary to see how different gender worlds still are, and my own ignorance #
• Technology, liking, loving http://j.mp/ixfVrF #NYTimes #Op-Ed on how technology pulls us away from real life. Surprisingly deep thoughts! #
• Critique of the „find yourself“ mantra for college graduates http://j.mp/jlFRQy Talk of a „calling“ touches big philosophical themes. Good! #
• American doctors: incentives change political positions http://j.mp/mdvtSA Is it really only that? #
• With a nudge from the government and consumers‘ minds changed by fuel prices, American companies learn to build compacts http://j.mp/lK5BWk #

Powered by Twitter Tools

Following my economic observations and reflections on Development Aid here in Tanzania, I did some reading on microcredit, which seemed to me now maybe one of the most sensible things to do to stimulate development. My first-hand impression of some other obvious choices has not been very good so far — I am quite doubtful of the real-life benefit of the secondary education the students get in the school I am teaching in, for instance.

The articles I found convinced me that I wasn’t wrong entirely thinking microcredit could help. But there’s a big BUT, or a number of them actually. An article in the New Yorker from 2008 titled What Microloans Miss provides a very readable introduction, but my primary source is an article called Microfinance Misses Its Mark from Aneel Karnani, published in the 2007 issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review. It says that, first of all, microcredits help the not-so-poor better than the poorest:

[…]

The evolutionary side of human behavior is something which is always good for heated discussions, having strong implications for important social issues. And often enough, people criticizing the evolutionary perspective find themselves in the trap of being seemingly unscientific. This, I believe, is a symptom of how the prevailing positivist („objectivist“) understanding of science is narrowing the scientific discourse, and the public discourse about science. But „political correctness“ is not the only way to oppose these (pseudo)evolutionary arguments.

I liked watching the first few classes of Robert Sapolsky’s „Human Behavioral Evolution“ course at Stanford from 2010, which are available for free on iTunes U (yes, you need iTunes). Even though the pointedness and entertainment of his arguments can be a little too much for a European audience, I highly recommend it for everybody who wants to fill in gaps in his or her understanding of evolution. And for people who consider themselves solid on the basics, I recommend a 20-minute summary of the criticism of evolutionary biology, at least as it is perceived and used by the public. I’m talking about the last 20 minutes, starting at 1:14, of the lecture 3 — Behavioral Evolution II (April 2, 2010). Here is a brief summary:

[…]

• 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. #

Powered by Twitter Tools

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?

[…]