Comments for JonathanDavis.me.uk

Comment on A Year of Writing and Activism by Jonathan

Jonathan — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:31:42 +0000

Ohh, that’s a tough one. Firstly to pass my DD203 exam and start another course. Continue in activism and writing. Get some of my work in print (on real paper!). Get abroad again in Europe. Meet new people, and lose some bloody weight.

Comment on A Year of Writing and Activism by Tim Dobson

Tim Dobson — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:09:29 +0000

Plans for 2012?

Comment on A Year of Writing and Activism by Happy Birthday Passing Nightmare | Passing Nightmare

Happy Birthday Passing Nightmare | Passing Nightmare — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:00:24 +0000

[...] in academic work. I have already written about my own experience of launching the site on my own blog, but I just wanted to quickly acknowledge all of the hard work that has been put into the site. [...]

Comment on 28 Weeks Later… by Rebecca Bradley

Rebecca Bradley — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:40:13 +0000

Wow, I never realised your website had done quite so well. I’m impressed. Congratulations Jonathan. I look forward to keeping up with this blog.

Comment on Free Lunch – David Smith by Karl Orbell

Karl Orbell — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:50:24 +0000

Well, it’s good that he responded and good that he accepted your points. Adam Smith and Milton Friedman are on my all-time hit list for people to assassinate if ever time travel is invented. Keynesian economic theory is far more sound than the flawed free market capitalism. Value is scarce, finite, there are no win-win outcomes, what one person has, another doesn’t. The only fair outcome is evens, which is pretty much what Marxist ideas state. The capitalists assume that the only reason for doing anything is self-gain and thus state that a level result is unfair, why would someone work for no personal gain? Well, humans are indeed a self-serving bunch in places, seems to me the problem is with the attitudes, as usual, rather than the economics.

BTW, Adam Smith can be found on your £20 notes (F class), the division of labour was the start of treating the worker as a cog in the wheel, analysing performance down to fractional amounts to ensure the greatest output for their input. Note, not usually the greatest outcome for the worker; just methods to ensure you get every last drop of effort out of them. Result = dull repetitive work for all.

Good review though.

Additionally, I agree with John Hyde’s review – Economics without maths, a strange thing indeed, the graphs help with the understanding of supply and demand greatly. Though this book sounds like it approaches primarily from the macro-economics of the world-stage, rather than the business level.

Comment on Free Lunch – David Smith by John Hyde

John Hyde — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:19:18 +0000

Good review sir! I think I shall be getting myself a copy of the book to give myself a quick refresher before I dive back into the more complex stuff (wish I’d been this enthusiastic while I was actually doing my degree!)

I still find it odd that there’s an economics book out there that doesn’t have any graphs or maths in it though! I can understand why he’s done it, but the graphs of some of the concepts can really help to clarify a point and show the effects of a change. Take, for instance, monopolies. When you see the graph of how monopolies can abuse their position it helps to illustrate the negative effect that it can have on society as a whole. Similarly, I can’t imagine trying to explain inelasticities without referring to a few graphs (then again, I don’t know if they’re covered in this book!) And I can’t imagine that many people who have gone out of their way to read a book about economics would be that scared by some basic maths! Still, what do I know about writing a good book?!

Comment on The Corporation – Joel Bakan by John Hyde

John Hyde — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:39:15 +0000

That sounds like my kind of book. I’ve touched on some of those areas academically (CBAs, externalities, business structure and liabilities etc) so I’ve got a bit of background on the issues.

Taking one tiny part of it though, I absolutely agree that the education system, if nothing else, should be completely free from any outside influence. We should be giving our children a balanced education and although I can see the benefits in getting additional investment, it just leaves the children open to influence. It’s similar to my position on faith schools, but that’s a different kettle of fish altogether!

The fact that corporations can be treated as individuals has never sat very well with me either. How can an organisation of people be treated the same as one person? It just doesn’t seem feasible to me.

Comment on Free as in Beer… by Wyatt Guider

Wyatt Guider — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:43:12 +0000

I totally delight in brewing beer at home! It has been such a neat hobby. My family has been behind me, but most especially while its time to try my latest concoction. I was amazed to learn that it is actually the fruitier seasonal brews that I prefer. Just wanted to say thank you for the advice you’ve left along the way, its been helpful.