48 hours to go; science and games
March 20th, 2007 by MrLuxuryFashionGuruIt’s coming down to the wire for me, although overall I think I’ve adequately adjusted to living under seige. Food, friends, fun… I’m finding these are all things you can do without, if necessary.
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This scholarly article I just came across has got to be the most opinionated sounding one I’ve read in a while… here’s the abstact:
“Rational addiction theories illustrate how absurd choice theories in economics get taken seriously as possibly true explanations and tools for welfare analysis despite being poorly interpreted, empirically unfalsifiable, and based on wildly inaccurate assumptions selectively justified by ad-hoc stories. The lack of transparency introduced by poorly anchored mathematical models, the psychological persuasiveness of stories, and the way the profession neglects relevant issues are suggested as explanations for how what we perhaps should see as displays of technical skill and ingenuity are allowed to blur the lines between science and games.”
Breathtaking, no? To read all three essays on Rational Choice Theory and Welfare Analysis which comprise Ole J. Røgeberg’s 2004 doctoral dissertation in Economics at the University of Oslo, click here (pdf file will open in new window).
