Blogging

I've been a blogger off an on since 2006, but I've been a full time economist since I was in diapers. How is this possible when even some of the best minds in America (college students) are completely baffled by the subject? The answer has much more to do with economics than with any special ability of my own. Economics is not a field where memorization is king. You don't need to know hundreds of formulas, you don't need prodigious mathematical ability (but it helps), in fact all you need is the economic way of thought. To think as an economist most all you have to do is to form a question, or hypothesis, and follow the logical steps to a solution. That's it.

You'll find many economists have fingers in a lot of pies because of this. I myself dabble in educational economics (both teaching and the study there of), experimental economics, game theory, and even a little econometrics. All this before I even write my dissertation (eat your heart out Levitt)! Despite the seemingly different subject matter among my interests, one common thread runs through them; each one requires a clear and concise logical progression to form a conclusion from a hypothesis.

In this blog you'll find much of the same, but with a twist. Instead of wondering why financial markets rise and fall, which i must say is fairly boring, I babble about the little things that make each of us pause and wonder "Why'd they do that?" At this point I must admit that I am a little biased when it comes to analysis. I tend to be a poor analyzer of hard science problems. If you want to know why the brilliance of the sun waxes and wanes I'm not the person to ask (I think it's something to do with convection caused by hotspots or something). However, If you want to know just why McDonald's sells 59 cent cheeseburgers twice a week or why you can only get a quarter for turning in that paperback to your local used bookstore, there I can help. If anything in your daily grind puts a little quizzical look on your face, send me an email and I'll try to explain why.