Da Hayek-Keynes Rap, Part II

Back in early 2010, Russ Roberts and producer John Papola introduced to the world of free education a fantastic economics video-clip. The video employed rap music to explain in simple yet profound terms the economics debate that F.A. Hayek and J.M. Keynes started some 80 years ago and its relevance to our days. The video’s 2 million-plus views cried out for a second part. Opportunely, the Roberts-Papola duo has delivered once again with another superb educational video that brings back Hayek and Keynes to shed light on current economics debates. Running at 10 minutes and 10 seconds, it turns downtime into priceless free learning.

The Khan Academy (Or How Free Constant Education is Miraculous)

Once upon a time there were some kids that needed to improve their algebra skills. They asked their cousin, an MIT major in math and computer science, for help. Their cousin, one Salman Khan from New Orleans, decided to post a few videos on youtube explaining algebra’s basics. Mr. Khan’s phenomenal ability to explain and illustrate algebra problems coupled with the right technology turned into what is now the Khan Academy, an amazing resource of over 2,100 videos and 100 self-paced exercises covering a wide range of educational subjects from arithmetic to physics, finance, and history. Needless to say, the Khan Academy is completely free. You can see Mr. Khan explaining the beginnings of the academy here. His story is a remarkable indication of how in the 21^st century any person in the world can access a vast wealth of educational resources for free.

Human Capital

Gary Becker, an economics professor at the University of Chicago, won the Nobel Prize in 1992 thanks to his work on human capital. The idea behind the concept of “human capital” is that education and experience are key contributors to economic value. In fact, human capital is increasingly the single most important driver of high growth companies. Luckily, we live in a time when gaining and improving our human capital is extremely easy; Internet serves a daily dose of amazing free knowledge and insights. Perhaps the best example I can provide is that we can watch Gary Becker’s lectures on “human capital” as if we were sitting in a classroom at the University of Chicago. 

Why Read?

The 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, Peru's Mario Vargas Llosa gives a great answer. Read it in English or Spanish, or watch it in Spanish. Money quote: “Reading is a protest against the insufficiencies of life. When we look in fiction for what is missing in life, we are saying, with no need to say it or even to know it, that life as it is does not satisfy our thirst for the absolute – the foundation of the human condition – and should be better.”

What I Call Progress

Hans Rosling, the creator of "Gapminder", has given us another superb stats-based presentation. This time, Mr. Rosling shows us how life expectancy and income per person have improved steadily, albeit unevenly, across the entire world in the last 200 years. The presentation is a wonderful reminder that we, the people of the 21st century, are an extremely lucky lot. What's more, Rosling's presentation is a hopeful stand against gloomy forecasts that see only misery ahead for the human race. Quite the opposite, if the last 200 years of history tell us something is that human ingenuity will give us a bright future.  

The Economist's Global Debt Clock

For those of us that sport a healthy dose of masochism in our everyday life The Economist magazine brings us the Global Debt Clock. The interactive clock is a handy tool to assess your country of residence’s debt levels and its prospects and compare them to other countries. It also lets you know how much public debt per person there is in each country. Of course, this number is just an average but is frightening enough if you live in one of the map’s bright red countries. At any rate, The Global Debt Clock is a debt-free tool that will give you a free lunch before your government forces you to pay back some more public debt.

Annoying Book Reviewer Cliches

An oldie but goodie piece of advice from The Examiner's Michelle Kerns. Her advice is a compelling tour de force that describes with nuanced insights those cliches that makes us all hate book reviewers. The article passes the R&R test: readable and riveting!