Re: poly: Re: Why interest rates may stay low

Hal Finney writes:
> Isn't that like the economist joke:
>
> | Two economists are walking down the street. One sees a $100 bill lying
> | on the sidewalk, and says so.
> |
> | "Obviously not," says the other. "If there were, someone would have
> | picked it up!"

That joke reminds me so much of the "arguments" I often hear about
why efficient market theory means you can't make money doing activity
X that I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

The core of the joke is, of course, that economists frequently mistake
what happens over time given enough actors to make statistics
meaningful with what happens in small groups or over short periods.

Perry
Received on Mon Mar 23 21:46:11 1998