Liberty, Economics, Breakage, Robert Silvers, Dutch Masters
Authoritarianism And Human Capital
Tyler Cowen | Cato | 22nd March 2017
“We’re going to see a kind of intellectual war, and possibly war in other, more violent forms too. That war will be between today’s amazing accumulated stock of human capital — and the emotional momentum behind authoritarianism, which is encouraged by the political fraying that stems from underlying fears of disruption. Right now, I’d still put my money on the positive side of talent and human capital. But in recent times, I can’t say I’ve seen the odds moving in my favor” (1,250 words)
Five Economics Terms We Should All Know
Noah Smith | Bloomberg View | 5th January 2017
I would made it six by adding ‘equilibrium’. But still, five very useful concepts: Endogeneity, marginal versus average, present value and discounting, conditional versus unconditional, aggregate. “In aggregate, debt doesn’t reduce the value of the whole world’s wealth, since one person’s debt is another person’s asset. When we consider our own lives, it makes sense to think from an individual perspective, but when we discuss government policy, it’s important to think in the aggregate” (800 words)
What Happens If You Break An Artwork?
Isaac Kaplan | Artsy | 14th March 2017
Less than you might expect. “Museum- and gallery-goers are technically considered to be invited into those spaces, and assuming that the institution took reasonable measures to protect the piece in question, an insurance company will pick up the tab for any accidental damage to a work of art. The situation is different if a person intentionally damages a work of art, in which case they may need to pay for the work’s repairs, in addition to facing criminal penalties” (1,460 words)
Remembering Bob Silvers
Christopher Benfey et al | New York Review Of Books | 21st March 2017
Notes from contributors to the New York Review. Kenneth Roth: “Bob was the most meticulous editor I ever encountered, though the experience could be sobering. He was the only editor I knew for whom the editing process could require more thought and effort than the drafting of the original article. My greatest sense of accomplishment as a writer was when I realized that my submissions had graduated from the ranks of the presumptive rewrite to those of the mere edit” (2,800 words)
Adam Eaker On Dutch Masters
Romas Viesulas | Five Books | 20th March 2017
Metropolitan Museum curator discusses his favourite books on the Dutch Golden Age — a “generous span” of the 17th century. “Transience is built into Dutch still life. You often have paintings of flowers that are starting to wilt, or a glass that has a chip or a crack into it. The Dutch, even as they experienced this incredible economic prosperity and abundance, felt that they were constantly beset and imperilled on all sides by enemy forces, they could lose it all at any moment if they weren’t careful” (3,500 words)
Video of the day: Mario Carpo On 3-D Technology
What to expect:
The first digital revolution was about mass production. The second is about individual production (10’15”)
Thought for the day
All stories are about wolves. Anything else is sentimental drivel
Margaret Atwood