Inside the Speed-Reading Mind of Marginal Revolutionary Tyler Cowen
Bloomberg has a very interesting profile out on the hyper-prolific economist, blogger, and author Tyler Cowen. It's filled with plenty of quirky personal details; here's more of a trophy-room section for those of you who aren't aware of Cowen's reh-zoo-may:
In January, Dutton published Cowen's e-book, "The Great Stagnation." It has shown up twice on the New York Times' e-book bestseller list. Dutton, a Penguin imprint, will release a hardcover edition on June 9, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its May 30 issue. […]
Tyler Cowen has read what's listed in Harold Bloom's "The Western Canon," though not, he concedes, every single last one of the Icelandic sagas. He rereads what you probably haven't heard of, like Anton Chekhov's "Sakhalin Island." […]
He has a PhD in economics from Harvard University and holds the Holbert C. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he's taught since 1989. He runs the university's Mercatus Center, a libertarian think tank, and has published 15 books and over 60 academic articles. In May the American Institute for Economic Research asked academic economists to name their favorite economists under 60. Cowen ranked 16th, only five thinkers behind Ben S. Bernanke, the current chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Cowen is still best known for the blog he shares with Alex Tabarrok, "Marginal Revolution." The same survey listed Cowen and Tabarrok's blog as the second-most popular on economics. Greg Mankiw's eponymous blog at Harvard just edged it out; both picked up far more votes than Paul Krugman's New York Times blog "Conscience of a Liberal," which ranked third, or "Freakonomics," at fifth. That's among economists.
According to Compete.com, "Marginal Revolution" gets more unique visitors than any other blog in the AIER survey's list, except for Krugman's and "Freakonomics," both hosted by the New York Times.
Whole entertaining profile here.
Read Cowen's short 'n' sweet Reason archive here. We took two bites at the apple of The Great Stagnation–by Ronald Bailey and Brink Lindsey. You can see what Cowen had to say about The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What's Wrong with America, over at our brand spanking new Declaration2011 website. We also interviewed the Marginal Revolutionary in 2003, 2007, and again in 2009 (see below). Plenty more where that came from here.
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Marginal Revolution's a pretty cool guy. Eh writes an econ blog and doesn't afraid of anything.
I think he needs to spend a little more time on his praise bot and a little less time trashing Icelandic sagas.
Know Your Memes
Crap. And here I thought I was the one being all internet-y and sarcastic.
Shit - I'm clueless about the memes. I guess I'm kinda proud of that, now that I think about it.
I'm clueless about the memes.
Is that the new hipster meme?
No.
"I laughed so hard at this new meme today. Oh, what? No, you wouldn't have heard of it it's a really obscure meme."
Can you mime it for us?
And Not a Single Fuck Was Given That Day
Tyler Cowen's greatest contribution to mankind (at least those in the DC metro area) is his ethinic dining guide.
http://tylercowensethnicdiningguide.com/
Perhaps that's why he's known as "Cheap Chalupas" in some circles....
"Tyler Cowen may well turn out to be this decade's Thomas Friedman."
That's gotta sting.
Regarding "Stagnation", I've been seeing everthing through an Austrian lens lately, and I think malinvestment explains a lot, including the misdirection of innovation into things people don't really value.
Still, I can't shake this sense of civilizational exhaustion. I want my flying car and my 150 year lifespan, and I'm accepting of the risks necessary to get them. It appears that the majority of my fellow citizens are not. Ironically, these risks are probably lower than those incurred to obtain the "low-hanging fruit" to which Cowen refers. So my explanation of the "growth plateau" is cultural, not economic. That is, if it isn't all just malinvestment.
Ouch. This one made me cringe too.
Aaaaand thanks for the tip - I've put it in my favorites.
Reason - directing you to lots of cool shit you wouldn't know about otherwise. Plus metal videos from Warty and disgusting things from SugarFree, no extra charge!
...BUT, two demerits for not including a handy linky to the blog! I'm a fucking Lazy American?, goddamnit, and I don't want to get out of the chair to change the fucking channel!
Just because I'm a nice guy...
http://www.marginalrevolution.com
Almanian is a pretty cool guy. Eh posts links and doesn't afraid of anything.
These interviews conducted in the hotel lobby... I keep expecting to see the Mexican cleaning lady come through with the vacuum.
Tyler Cowen, the guy who thinks the government enacting ex ante prohibitions of anything harmful is preferable to ex post tort cases of actua harm.
Yes, a true libertarian hero. Like Stalin.
I think he only suffers from a mild case of academia induced selective liberty love.
He worries about the freedom to write about piss christ because he wants to read about it....but lacks sympathy for the guy with a pick up truck and a back hoe who can't work because the local director of land use planning does not like the dust mitigation plan.
I think Reason is a pretty cool guy. Eh writes about Tyler Cowen and doesn't afraid of anything.
heller; does internet memes like a boss.
Vous rappelle par inadvertance, permettez-moi de sentir vivement l'attention. merci
oh ?
What's your biggest problem or frustration SPEED READING? Let me know HERE: http://svy.mk/qCcUo1