A beautiful love poem from Tibet

第一最好不相见，如此便可不相恋。  第二最好不相知，如此便可不相思。  第三最好不相伴，如此便可不相欠。  第四最好不相惜，如此便可不相忆。  第五最好不相爱，如此便可不相弃。  第六最好不相对，如此便可不相会。  第七最好不相误，如此便可不相负。  第八最好不相许，如此便可不相续。  第九最好不相依，如此便可不相偎。  第十最好不相遇，如此便可不相聚。  但曾相见便相知，相见何如不见时。  安得与君相诀绝，免教生死作相思。

Some Quotes from Albert Einstein

I suddenly got into a quote of Eistein--then I went to check it out...the next thing I know, I am obsessed. You gotta love this man--full of wisdom.

I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.

If you are out to describe the truth, leave the elegance to the tailor.


As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.

Information is not knowledge.

Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.

Memory is deceptive because it is colored by today's events.

As far as I'm concerned, I prefer silent vice to ostentatious virtue.

Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age.

I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.

If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough

Book, PAPER!

Williams got it pretty wrong.

Books, we need them in paper, not in some electronic versions. We need to check out a book, sit down in a quite place with nothing else in mind, and take in the information and try to understand them exhaustively. They are not like novels, which one can easily scan through in a computer screen. Those librarians do not understand us.

Electronic version is for those who never seek to understand the material, but just want to know the arguments so as to replicate the arguments to show off their knowledge and (artificial) intelligence in the next conversation (it should remind you of the asshole in the bar in The Good Will Hunting).

Why the hell do we spend so much money on building a new library, when we our library is full of old and outdated books? Why not just spend money to get these new books?

on income inequality

So this is a hot topic these days...actually, I was once really into the topic and had very strong opinion on it. I have revised my view dramatically over the years after thinking harder and observing more.

So here is what I think. I am only semi-sympathetic with Occupy the Wall Street. (\begin{digression} I think there is some truth in that the financial sector has grown too powerful over the years and they have reached a state too big to save. At the same time, by concentrating on arbitraging and profiteering the financial sector has largely lost its value in intermediation, this I believe is not a good trend. The distorted incentive has made financial sector more dangerous. The distortion of incentives (rather than sophisticated financial product, has led to the current crisis, and is likely lead to the next one. \end{digression}). However, I am not sympathetic with their super liberal view on income redistribution. I do not have any faith in income redistribution, which I believe only feed laziness and stupidity. People earn what they work for. that is it. There is absolutely zero point taking hard-earned money to those who did nothing. I do not believe in unemployment story..many times people choose to be unemployed. They feel the wages are not high enough, the working hours too long...but if you offer such a job to a Chinese, they would take the job readily and happily. If you do not want to work, then too bad, you have to bear ALL consequences. In Boston, I have seen so many homeless people on the street, they had rather spent money buying cigarettes than spending them on more useful things. If they are not helping themselves, why should we? As far as I am concerned, the government should get out of this populism activities. But I do not mean the government has no role to play. On the contrary, the government should provide education opportunities!! I think that is the ill of the society. Children from poor families do not have access to acceptable education resources and thus remain ignorant and incapable. That is the way to alleviate income inequality! Also, the government should offer re-education opportunity to the unemployed especially in today's world, when structural unemployment is increasing. Finally, I am not saying the rising income inequality does not matter. It is the consequence of poor government. First, they fail to provide adequate education opportunities. Second, it is the result of crony capitalism. i forgot where I read the paper, but the rising income inequality has little to do with skill premium, they skilled workers did not benefit. It is the top 1%. It is those big CEO's and so forth. So I do not buy that rising income inequality comes from the advance of technology or the competition from developing world. That is bullshit!

growing up

Growing up

I no longer believe in those arguments that stresses morality and conscience being the solution. I believe in incentives. Laws, rules, and institutions. Of course, institutions are more than those rigid and concrete things. It is also about people.

I no longer believe in the all-powerfulness of people. To think we can solve all problem is a fatal conceit.

To be continued

Irrationality is also bad

another idea about irrationality is that under irrationality, the sorting could be ineffective, and thus sorts people according to their expectations. This is true even when the aggregate exhibits rational expectation--distribution of expectation centers around reality. This could have implications for fads.

irrationality is good

It suddenly occurred to me that there are empirical regularity that in real life irrationality happens pretty often. As most people view this as a bad and prevent us from optimization, I feel this is not necessarily so. I will give two examples. I also plan to write a paper on this sometime in the future.

1) irrational expectation.

over-optimism is what I gonna start with. Perhaps, we underestimate the difficulty ahead. Given present bias, and we usually slack off because of that, this might induce behavior towards non-quasi-hyperbolic discounting framework. For this to work, I might need some sunk cost calculation.

The simplest example:

$$

\beta=0.5, \delta=1

The payoff vector is <-10,-30,P>

The classical framework: P* =4

Hyperbolic framework: P**=50.

If in period one estimation of payoff vector is <-10,-20,P>

then in hyperbolic framwork: P***=40!

isn't it beautiful?!!!!

2) mental accounting.

mental account run contrary to maximization of expected utility from a classical consumption theory. However, if we use quasi-hyperbolic discounting framework, my intuition is that adopting mental accounting imposes a disciplinary effect on consumption patter and thus makes the agent converge to classical consumption theory. My guess is that this especially works for the naive agent, and might act as a substitute for sophistication. This is likely to be more technical.

Since economics of consumption studies behavior and try to generate prediction, so comparison is difficult. so to argue that irrationality can make people better off, I need to come up with a metric. \

traditional advice

I have heard many pieces of advice, and about many traditional ways of life.

I have heard about high school--"high school is a nightmare; one just have to stay up late every night to catch up with work". It turned out not to be the case. I went to bed at 10 every night and had plenty of time so squander (though I should not have).

I have heard about senior year in high school--"senior year is the worst; one stays up and is always sleep-deprived, and yet one cannot finish the work and is always under stress". It turned out not to be the case either. Life in senior year was even kind of leisurely. I even had time to apply for schools abroad.

I have heard about college--"college is tough; one has so many papers to write and one simply cannot finish all the work he is supposed to do. One just pull all-nighters the day before the deadline and exams". It turned out not to be the case either. I never pulled an all-nighter or even stayed up beyond midnight. I did little if any reviews before exams.

Every time, I hear about some traditional ways of life, I got nervous and scared. I had cherished my own lifestyle and am afraid to give it up. I do not want to pull all-nighters; I do not want to be sleep-deprived; I do not want to cram for exams. But I forgot I had long been different. I simply do not live the traditional way of life. I learn the material in class instead of cramming before exams. I stay on schedule for my work (mostly) and I can finish my work in time. These are not what others have done. This should give me a sense of confidence when I proceed--I am different and I can keep my lifestyle in new circumstances as well.

This year should be no exception. I resolve to continue my lifestyle--keep exercising regularly, go to bed on time, and do not cram for exams--despite all horrible rumors about graduate school. I will also reject the traditional advice--just learn what is to be tested. No, I will learn for myself, and I am confident I will manage to do that.

Yet, I have to be cautious. No one likes the traditional life. Everyone is pushed to do that. It must be hard to deviate, and the higher I get, the harder it gets. Graduate school is full of smart people, if they have to resort to the traditional life, then there must be a reason. Confidence will encourage me to embrace the challenges, but caution will enable me to deal with the challenges.

Life

I know life will not be easy.

It could get really depressing and boring.

But I am seeking my dream.

That makes all the effort worthwhile.

I do not need to compete with anyone. I do not need to prove that I am good. All I need to do is to pursue my dream--to learn. It is that simple.

Am I worthy so this opportunity to pursue my dream without any pressure? I will let you know at the end of this year.

Have you every feel tired?

Have you ever feel tired?
Even a tiny little bit?
No, never, you are always on the way.
We have been taught to be proud of this,
proud of ever being on the road,
ever pursuing, never resting.

Out ambition is like the universe,
ever expanding.
will there be a bound?
I know not.
because I have not yet seen one.

A hiker sets out,
he shall savor the berries on the trail,
and when we finish our trail,
we will be surprised to hear
that there are berries there.
We never cared.
Our goal,
the summit,
before everyone else.

Oh my friends,
will you hike with me?

This is how I grow up

Shocks are often in a new land.

The blind acceptance of sex is a big shock....with truth or dare, I found myself the only one among my friends who is still....a virgin....

This is how I get used to drastically different values, none of which conceivable to me in the past....

I have rejected or reinforced my own values in the process...but more often, it brought me into a state of confusion, doubt, and fear....I do not know where am I...every time, it feels like the world has suddenly dimmed, and I am surrounded by darkness, which is choking me like crazy....True loneliness is my friend....it is not lack of companion, it is lack of value-sharers....this is no unknown territory for me...this has happened so many times...but just like Japan has had earthquakes so many times, but not of this intensity and magnitude...and for me this frequency....

So many times, I doubt if there is any meaning in life...Are we just living in a matrix, destined to struggle, triumph, and despair?

Why did I come to US in the first place? for academic quality? yeah, is it worth it after I go through so many ordeals, unspeakable to others?

This is pessimism....so alien and so foreign to me....I am shocked at who i am......

cynicism, pessimism, fatalism, nihilism, and .... is that me? fml

economists

Economists are a rare breed. One needs to be down-earth pragmatic and yet instilled with a sense of idealism to be an economist.
Idealists usually look down upon economists as petty being focusing on money along, while neglecting all the important stuff that makes us human (This is a wrong statement, but that is the impression economists give to outsiders) and anyone without some pragmatism would not opt to learn such a "petty" discipline. Some think they are too good for economics: economics are just not rigorous, they are not the kind intellectual fruit as Physics or Mathematics. (once again, once we learn it, we know the intellectual challenge of economics is no less than that of other discplines and it asks a synthesis of different abilities, but people do not have perfect information nor rational expectation).
Those who opt to study economics are thus practical beings, and they know money is very important (some change their mind when they study economics further and their work has enriched economics as a discipline). The opportunity cost of being an economist is huge: those who can finish Phd are simply hotly desired in private sectors. Come on, investment bank's work are just baby stuff for real economists. We now better. But yet, economists choose to go to academics, because they are not free from idealism: we believe through intellectual work, we can build a better world, where there is less hunger, less poverty, less struggle, more happiness, more enjoyment and more efficiency.