I have 7 posts in the queue that I've been wanting to write. But my interest in spending time at a computer rather than in the real world is waning so I'm just going to format it all into a random summary list. Here goes:
1. Why I'm Into Clothes: I like fashion because a) I love art, but I suck at most art forms like drawing or singing, and b) it has practical, real world applications. There is power and influence in clothing.
2. A Brief Primer on Economics: Most people need to take a basic economics class or two before they argue for idiotic policies. Two important concepts people don't understand are comparative advantage and long-term economic growth.
Comparative advantage basically means strengths, weaknesses, and efficiency. China has a comparative advantage (is better) in manufacturing textiles than the U.S. making 'buy American' programs a stupid idea. The U.S. has a comparative advantage in innovation. Thus, any resources spent on manufacturing in the U.S. is a waste because those resources can be used to contribute a larger benefit to society if spent on what the U.S. is good at (has a comparative advantage in).
The next concept is long-term economic growth. Examining economic growth for the past 50, 1000, even 10000 years we see that the trend is constant growth with occasional minor dips. Yet, there is always a fear that there aren't enough jobs, that certain jobs need to be saved, etc. For example, car manufacturing jobs are dying, but people want to save them, citing their importance to the economy. This is a false belief. Saving obsolete jobs only slows growth. There are always new jobs and services that replace the old jobs once resources are freed.
Obama messed up when he bailed out the U.S. auto industry. We shouldn't keep people employed in manufacturing just because they have no other skills. The money would have been better spent on programs to train new skills into these workers, ones which are relevant to growing industries. For example, Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, implemented scholarship programs for the information/technology field.
Jobs will die out, but there will always be new jobs to replace them. The key is to stay relevant and keep training new skills.
3. Technology and the Death of Personal Integrity: Technology such as texting kills personal integrity because it removes the accountability of ones' word. It's too easy to say yes to a text or confirm a Facebook event and not follow through for whatever reason. If you want a commitment from someone (other than your few best friends), it must be done in person or over the phone. This places greater accountability on both parties to follow through. It's also more personal, so people feel as if you genuinely want to see them rather than seek their approval.
4. The Hallmark of Genius: Is the ability to hold and understand two opposing ideas at the same time. Almost everything in life is a paradox, and it is valid.
5. Power of Imagination: Imagination is more important than knowledge. Almost every important revolution, theory, or idea arose from someone's imagination first, and then was followed by evidence.
6. The Disease of More: Lots of Western nations seem to be working on providing people with more. We don't need more. We need better quality. For example, we don't need genetic scientists working on creating larger tomatoes. We need better tomatoes; fresh and grown in nutrient rich soil. Americans already throw away 40% of their food (supposedly). Not positive on the statistic but we throw away a lot as it is.
7. Happiness for Productivity - A Great Workplace:
