Moby Dick might be a place to start. A popular reading is that it is an examination of the impossibility to understand large things.
Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?
221–230 of 313 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?
#222I’ve studied Economics. It took me a while to realize that it’s far from a deterministic science despite all the fancy math and models (my first clue should have been that it’s in the department of “Social Sciences”, doh!). I wish more of my time was spent learning chaos theory, probability, and systems thinking, rather than solving Lagrange multipliers by hand. I have learned a lot more from reading Nassim Taleb’s books than I ever did in those years in college. So if you want to make sense of the economy, start with learning how much of it doesn’t make sense. Start with Nassim Taleb’s books (any book of The Incerto will suffice).
Re: Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?
#223You will see mentalities lean more towards a cell based distrubution system over a global one and by that, production spread more with many countries waking up to being dependant upon others and looking at it as if they are at war with a country that makes all the guns in the world style thinking will play out politicaly more. So a shift away form outsourcing, at least outsourcing out of country in full as has been t…
This isn't an answer to the question.
Re: Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?
#224"All" you have to do is watch "How the economic machine works (in 30 minutes)" by Ray Dalio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHe0bXAIuk0 Read his insights and watch his interviews. That's a good basic start. Everything more then that: Nobody really knows. I have read countless of books, but one thing you have to know: It is a market - period. Something has value just because another person wants to buy it (at a given…
A great follow up in the "New York billionaires explain basics of the economy" curriculum:
William Ackman: Everything You Need to Know About Finance and Investing in Under an Hour | Big Think [0]
Covers the money making, Wall Street side
Re: Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
My favorite fight between two economists - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc
This is actually a sequel to the first "Keynes vs Hayek rap battle" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk
Yes it is ... I like the second video better but I should have mentioned the first as context.
Re: Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?
#226100% not anonymous public comments on the internet. Having waded into the waters of r/WallStBets and even some threads on here, there is so much disinformation and propaganda that it's actively harmful to read it.
Re: Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?
#227Re: Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?
#228reddit.com/r/collapse ... only half joking.
Re: Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?
#229RealVision - https://www.realvision.com/
not in any way affiliated with them, i just find their content sophisticated and interesting.
Re: Ask HN: What are you reading to make sense of the economy?
#230Making sense in what fashion, to what end? Investment opportunities? Proposed public policy changes? Where to look for a job? To a large degree the economy is unknowable. That's why you can get two economists in a room and receive seven opinions. Don't get me wrong; there's good value there. It's just that economics is an odd mix of philosophy and math. On my more cranky days I call it astrology for people who know c…
>If the economy were knowable to the degree that some economists claim to know it, they'd all be billionaires.
The number of professional economists who focus on investing, or even "the economy", is much smaller than most people imagine.