I write this post from the WordPress app on my brand spankin’ new iPhone 5. Screen could be a smidge wider, but I am glad to have a real mute switch and a real home key once again. The battery life seems to blow away that of the Samsung Infuse. Oh, and it hasn’t crashed or frozen yet, even though it’s been turned on for more than ten hours.

Below is the first photo I’ve taken with the camera.

In related news, I have a Samsung Infuse and its accessories available for sale.

Here are some brief responses to recent questions from anonymous readers. I may expand my responses one day.

1. “Personal Question! What meaning does your religion (or philosophy) hold for you and how does it impact how you live day to day?”

It generally keeps me from having other gods, making graven images, taking the Lord’s name in vain, forgetting the Sabbath, dishonoring my parents, committing murder, committing adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, and coveting my neighbor’s stuff. Generally.

I abide by the Golden Rule as much as possible. I figure since, in some form or other, it shows up in virtually every religion and philosophy and in game theory (read The Evolution of Cooperation), it’s pretty solid.

As an aside, the book of The Good Book that has most influenced me is Job. Here’s the short version: God can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, to whomever He wants, and doesn’t have to answer to anyone… because He’s God. You don’t get to argue about things like goodness, justice, mercy, or fairness with the guy who invented them. Don’t like it? Tough noogie. If God exists, then this is incontrovertible.

For similar reasons, I also like the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20), but probably more for its commentary on property and exchange than its commentary on getting into Heaven.

We are owed nothing by God, by God. You can substitute “the universe” or “fate” for God if you’d like, but it still holds. If you happen to get good stuff thrown at you, just be grateful.

2. “…[I] was wondering what your opinion is on the legalization/decriminalization of Marijuana; the Constitution and the Amendments to the Constitution, as well as the founding father’s views on Cannabis, seem to point to the states being allowed to legalize/ decriminalize marijuana, but the presidents over the last few decades have been heavily against marijuana (The War on Drugs).”

I think that the federal prohibition of marijuana should end, and that the states should legalize, criminalize, and/or regulate it as they see fit. If a constitutional amendment was necessary to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol throughout the entire country, then it seems to follow that a constitutional amendment would be necessary to similarly restrict any other ingestible substance throughout the entire country.

That said, I have little patience for stoners. They deserve to be eaten.

3. “Would you rather fight 100 duck sized horses, or one horse sized duck and why? This question should be on one of your questionnaires.”

This is a stupid question.

4. “You should write a blog post about gay marriage. The issue has been slowly shifting in favor of gay marriage. How long do you think it will be before it is legal in all states?”

Eight hundred years, tops.

5. “On January 15th, in a post named ‘On Austrian Economics’ you said, ‘A more interesting question (not that Austria vs. Keynes is uninteresting) would have been whether I favor the Austrian/Vienna school or the Chicago school. I’d need time to ponder that one, preferably whilst eating a Chicago-style Vienna Beef hot dog. I just discovered Let’s Nosh down on San Jose this weekend, so my mind’s wandering thataway right now.’ I was curious as to whether your pondering has led you to a preference yet.”

It has. The Chicago-style dogs and Italian roast beef sandwiches at Let’s Nosh are far superior to those at Carmine’s. The key is that Nosh has the right ingredients: the right brands of beef (Vienna), the right toppings, the right type of bread, and so on. Carmine’s (in Riverside) definitely has the best Chicago-style pizza in the city, but their beef sandwiches are mediocre. Not enough beef, the bread’s wrong, they can’t pronounce giardiniera, the gravy isn’t right… I don’t want to think about it anymore.

I contacted four of my former students regarding the questions in the previous post. Here’s what I sent them:

“A few of my students have asked about majoring in economics (what sort of careers are open to them, what sort of coursework does it entail, what sort of master’s work can it lead to, what would be an ideal minor, what if I’m not so good at math, blah blah blah). I gave them some answers, and offered to put them in touch with former students of mine who’ve majored in econ. That’s you. May I give them your email/facebook address? Or would you mind answering some of the above questions so I can pass the info along?”

And here are their responses so far:

From Former Student 1:

yeah id be happy to help them out! feel free to have them email me […] as for those questions, ill try to give general answers: Careers – Usually it depends on degree level and program. Most of the econ majors I know have gone into a variety of business positions (management, marketing, etc). The finance industry is very receptive of bachelors in econ grads. A masters and PhD degree open you up to a variety of economist positions and research analyst positions. Econ course work is becoming more mathematical, especially with new models being developed after the recession. Course work is broken down my macro, micro and mathematical econ (econometrics, math econ etc). I was terrible at math, but now I really enjoy it so im sure if a student isnt good at math, they can learn the skills (especially since its put in the econ setting which is exciting). as for the ideal minor, that usually depends on the individual’s preference. Some do political science, some statistics, some finance. It all depends on where you want to be after the program. And tell them theyre making an awesome decision if they major in economics, yet as a grad student preparing for a final tomorrow, it requires some sleepless nights, being considered the nerd on campus, and studying on Friday nights.

From Former Student 2:

Definitely! […] I’ve written some answers to some of those questions before, I’ll forward that along when I find it. Honestly, after all of my classes so far, if they want to become an economist, majoring in math and computer science is much more useful than a major in econ. A minor in econ would suffice as long as you read stuff on the side. But the most useful classes to what I’m working on currently are probability, linear algebra, and micro theory.

Forwarded answer from Former Student 2:

The following responses are more geared towards the students interested in an econ Ph.D. program and careers that result from that.

A little bit about me (so you can see my biases): Currently a Junior at [some lame university that isn’t Clemson] majoring in Mathematics and Economics with a minor in History. I started as a History and Business Econ major, after working as a research assistant (RA) and taking more math, I decided to try and become an academic and my goal is to get an economics professorship at a research university. I work as a research assistant and an undergrad TA.

Careers : What can’t be a career? You can do anything with economics. I think it’s an excellent door opener. I know people who currently work as: actuaries, investment bankers, working on econ Ph.D., and a transfer agent. Research economist, you get to become a complete expert in your niche, you’re always learning higher level stuff, the downsides include long hours, working in isolation (even when you’re part of a research group), and you need a high tolerance for setbacks and rejection.

Coursework (personally, I believe that the following list of courses will open the most doors. The following should allow you to pursue graduate level econ, grad work in any other social science, make you a very attractive job applicant, and teach you to “think like an economist.”):

• Principles, Intermediate, and Advanced Microeconomic Theory (some schools call it Price Theory)
• Principles and Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory. Feel free to take more macro courses if you wish, but since macro varies so much from school to school, what you learn in undergrad may very well be the polar opposite of what you end up using.
• Econometrics
• Game Theory
• Math: Bare minimum: Calc I-III (don’t take business calc, I can tell you more about this if you wish since I’m a business calc TA.), linear algebra, intro to proofs, probability, statistics
• If you want econ grad school, take the above and these: real analysis (this is the big one, if you had to take a class that wasn’t already listed above, take real analysis!!!), topology , differential equations (this stuff is trivial, it’s not necessary per se, but important enough to get mentioned) http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/
• Try not to take “Mathematical Economics,” I hear these courses tend to be watered down mathematics. See http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/05/which-math-courses.html
• If you want law school, take the “Law and Econ” elective and ask some professors or your academic advisor about a pre-law track for econ.
• Any class you find interesting! I believe that you should take a class with professors who are experts in their fields, ones that know what they’re doing. You can pick up a lot of stuff on your own, you can do that whenever. But you won’t have another chance to take a class with Professor XYZ if you pass up the opportunity. Plus it could lead to extremely valuable career advice and mentoring.
• If you’re considering applied economics or economics, take some computer science courses. I don’t really have any advice on that since I haven’t taken any and everyone I know learned it on their own (they, like me, figured out that comp sci is needed for econ too late). But something on data mining, programming, and software would be helpful.

Master’s work: I personally know/have heard of students who have gone into: econ, math, computer science, physics, history, political science, public policy, law, Russian, accounting, international business, and finance.
Econ is extremely versatile.

Ideal minor: Math, Computer Science, or Econ.

What if I’m not good at math? Allow me to refer you to what I’ve been referred to several times:

• http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/09/why-aspiring-economists-need-math.html
• http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/06/love-econ-bad-at-math.html

Now some advice and a personal story. At Paxon I hated math and science; I was convinced I couldn’t differentiate even the most basic equations. I can pin-point the exact moment at Paxon that made me despise math (it was in Algebra II). But now, I love it! I took business calc my first semester at [some lame university that isn’t Clemson], when I was told I needed real math to become an economist I was scared. But there was no other route. Luckily my Calc 1 professor hated teaching undergrad so she made the class extremely difficult (no other Calc 1 prof wanted students to write proofs on exams!) and I saw what higher level math was like and I love it.

What I’m trying to say is that you’re probably not “not good at math,” you’re just approaching it with the wrong attitude and inefficient study habits. It’s not entirely how many hours you put into studying; it’s about how you spend those hours. Don’t be afraid to fail!

Let me close with a quote from John Maynard Keynes:

“… the master-economist must possess a rare combination of gifts. He must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher–in some degree.  He must understand symbols and speak in words.  He must contemplate the particular in terms of the general, and touch abstract and concrete in the same flight of thought.  He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future.  No part of man’s nature or his institutions must lie entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful and disinterested in a simultaneous mood; as aloof and incorruptible as an artist, yet sometimes as near the earth as a politician.”

From Former Student 3:

I’d be happy to answer those questions! […] There are a lot of careers open to Econ majors, depending on what you want to do. Yo can use it as a foundation for international relations, politics, law school – which is what I’m doing – and go in with an understanding of why and how the country runs the way it does and how the economy is so integrated with legislation. You can go on to graduate school in economics and end up doing research; I know someone who is getting a PhD in Economics, and is just doing studies with his professors, some of his recent work relates to the effects of incarceration crime rates on the economy, and the wealth gap. You can also teach, at whatever level. And economics is just knowledge that is useful always, regardless of the field you end up in. The coursework at [some other lame university that isn’t Clemson] is all I can talk about with any confidence in what I’m saying. You need to take Principles of Micro and Macro (which can be covered with AP Micro and AP Macro), Intermediate Micro and Macro – neither of which are that difficult, but that could be because I enjoy what I’m learning. And then you need to take upper division electives to complete the major requirements. There are a lot of opportunities for research or volunteering to help professors here with their research, which doesn’t necessarily have to be in Economics. A minor with Economics could be Business, or you can double major with Economics pretty easily. And it’s not that math intensive, though you will basic calculus. […] I hope what I’ve written has answered the questions, somehow at least. I hope I’ve helped at least a little!

This is why I teach: so others will write my blog posts for me.

An anonymous reader writes:

I just wanted to say thank you. You and Mr. ZYXWV really sparked my interest in Economics and now in about a semester I will be done with my AA and start taking my Econ classes. I’m also very happy to read that it is a very flexible degree and one that is highly sought after by employees. Is there a minor that you would recommend me taking? I’m thinking Poli Sci. I just want to be happy in what I do and make very good money.

I passed your message along to Mr. ZYXWV, and we both thank you for your kind words. However, we could use a little bit more to go on in terms of your future plans. Is there a general field you’d like to enter, or a type of work you see yourself doing? Was your AA in business, computers, something else? Let me know via the contact page or email, and it’ll help me answer your question a little better.

In the meantime, I’ve asked some former students their thoughts on the matter (because a few of my current students have also asked about majoring in econ), and I hope to cobble together some answers for you soon.

Got back from San Diego today. I don’t fly well due to an intense and irrational fear of flying and getting motion-sick on the airplane and crashing. But remembering the following three things have gone a long way towards helping me overcome those fears.

1. Dimenhydrinate. It helps to relieve motion sickness and vertigo. A single tube of Dramamine has twelve pills, 50 milligrams of dimenhydrinate per pill, and I use all twelve on a round-trip. Six there, six back, roughly one pill per 500 miles travelled on this trip. It takes a while for the pills to kick in, so I have to remember to take them about half an hour before takeoff. The good news: I don’t get sick on airplanes. The bad news: I don’t fall asleep on airplanes, and the pills only seem to offset the additional nervousness induced by moving at greater speeds and soaringer heights than God intended me to move at.

2. Acting calm goes a long way towards being calm. If, in the worst case scenario, the plane goes into a nose dive, I intend to glare at my seatmate because his or her screaming is distracting me from doing the crossword. The last thing that person will see in this life is my disgust at his or her panic. And then the first thing that person will see in the next life is me, still wearing the same look of disgust I had on my face at the moment of our obliteration just seconds earlier. Then I’ll unbuckle, and before I either sprout wings, halo, and harp and fly away or find myself in shackles, chains, and locks and trudge towards my eternal punishment, I’ll look back at my seatmate and shake my head in mild disappointment at his or her lack of composure. The thought of my seatmate’s utter bewilderment at my preternatural calm helps me focus on staying calm.

3. Focus. Focus on anyting otter than the window. Read a book or work in a crssword pzuzle, remmmerbing to admkmlzcmklv; ,.a; ,. zzvc zzbhmoip[‘kl