tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030666845195476209.post6003348164983734875..comments2014-11-13T12:48:14.761-08:00Comments on The Taints of Liberty: Methodological musings, cultural clashes, and something in the air at Mises University 2013Libertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12550118647821849544noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030666845195476209.post-91494071954405531402013-08-05T03:21:01.467-07:002013-08-05T03:21:01.467-07:00By the way, I never liked Napolitano. I remember h...By the way, I never liked Napolitano. I remember him being incredibly jubilant about women being allowed in combat units. Which any real argument he seemed to regard this as a great step forward for liberty. <br /><br />This is what happens when you reduce liberty to a non-aggression principle, unmoored in natural hierarchies and without regard for its civilizational dimension. John Connollyhttp://crankynotions.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030666845195476209.post-87620403257880223182013-08-04T10:05:35.610-07:002013-08-04T10:05:35.610-07:00Must brush up on my astronomy!
I think I read it ...Must brush up on my astronomy!<br /><br />I think I read it in Sowell's Basic Economics. Not an entirely 'Austrian' perspective, but I believe it is the best introductory textbook on the subject. John Connollyhttp://crankynotions.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030666845195476209.post-84889887495825240192013-08-01T16:41:09.658-07:002013-08-01T16:41:09.658-07:00>"There is a doubt about whether economics...>"There is a doubt about whether economics really is a 'science', if it doesn't make testable predictions..."<br /><br />>One could say the same thing about meteorology or astronomy, and nobody questions their status as sciences, really. <br /><br />With regards to astronomy note that it definitely makes testable predictions. <br /><br />In fact it is one of the fields where predictions are really easy to make about certain things (for example for many things in our solar system gravity effects by one or two objects are the only relevant considerations when making predictions). Consider for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley's_Comet<br /><br />But it doesn't affect your point otherwise. <br /><br />Btw could you tell which book by Thomas Sowell was that? :) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9030666845195476209.post-17608482281300772822013-07-31T15:26:05.880-07:002013-07-31T15:26:05.880-07:00"There is a doubt about whether economics rea..."There is a doubt about whether economics really is a 'science', if it doesn't make testable predictions..."<br /><br />One could say the same thing about meteorology or astronomy, and nobody questions their status as sciences, really. <br /><br />Thomas Sowell does make a great comparison of economics with meteorology in one of his books. Nobody questions the underlying physics on which meteorology is based. However, forecasting is an entirely different story, because there are so many factors that can come together at a particular place and time, as in economics. We can say what will happen if a cold and dry air mass meets a warm and moisture-laden one, but can't say with as much certainty that it will happen over a specific city at a specific time. <br /><br />I think some refer to economics as the queen of the social sciences (Richard Lynn once assured my that psychology is the king, and I'm not inclined to challenge him), which I think is an apt description. John Connollyhttp://crankynotions.comnoreply@blogger.com