Comments on: Two Sociology Books You Should Read http://emergentfool.com/2009/03/10/two-sociology-books-you-should-read/ ...explorations in complex adaptive systems... Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:30:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: rafefurst http://emergentfool.com/2009/03/10/two-sociology-books-you-should-read/#comment-1808 rafefurst Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:33:38 +0000 http://emergentfool.com/?p=1106#comment-1808 I can corroborate humans being wired for economics. I was in Argentina after their currency crashed and there were actually 7 (or more) different official issuers of cash notes (federal, state and municipal governments). Not all 100 peso notes were worth the same on the open market though since there was such little faith in the solvency of the issuing bodies. Inflation and foreign currency fluctuation also played into the mix. And yet everyone there intuitively and immediately understood how to get by in the complex economy even though their country had never experienced anything like it before. I remember thinking that the average cab driver in Buenos Aires knew more about economics than 90% of those studying economics in institutes of higher learning in the U.S. So, in addition to legalizing drugs and bringing back beat cops, I think it should be mandatory for economists to spend a year running a business in the developing world before they are eligible for tenure or a Nobel :-) I can corroborate humans being wired for economics. I was in Argentina after their currency crashed and there were actually 7 (or more) different official issuers of cash notes (federal, state and municipal governments). Not all 100 peso notes were worth the same on the open market though since there was such little faith in the solvency of the issuing bodies. Inflation and foreign currency fluctuation also played into the mix. And yet everyone there intuitively and immediately understood how to get by in the complex economy even though their country had never experienced anything like it before. I remember thinking that the average cab driver in Buenos Aires knew more about economics than 90% of those studying economics in institutes of higher learning in the U.S.

So, in addition to legalizing drugs and bringing back beat cops, I think it should be mandatory for economists to spend a year running a business in the developing world before they are eligible for tenure or a Nobel :-)

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