Bloggingheads TV

A great benefit of Internet is that it gives everyone access to bright minds. Not only most newspapers, magazines, and academic websites are totally free but extremely smart people have set up high-quality blogs. These blogs are excellent on their own but they also provide links to other equally high-quality blogs. Moreover, Internet's low marginal costs allow creative people to utilize scattered resources, developing innovative experiments. One such an experiment is Bloggingheads, a website that brings together policy wonks of all stripes that share only one thing: they all have a blog. In Bloggingheads case, the innovative individuals were journalists Robert Wright and Mickey Kaus, who in 2005 figured out a way to turn “two not-very-telegenic people into video pundits.” The format is simple, consisting of two bloggers discussing relevant issues on split-screen streaming videos. The result is usually good. Notably, they break up the hour-long debates into shorter segments with a witty descriptive title so you don’t have to watch the whole thing. Also, each debate features relevant links on the side if you want to learn more or follow up the conversation. One of my favorite blogginheads debates is this one between economist Dean Baker and economic journalist Megan McArdle. Their exchange on the "New Deal" (in the video’s second half) is powerful and illuminating. Another great debate is this one between philosopher Peter Singer and economist Tyler Cowen, particularly the segment “Advise for a young utilitarian” in which Cowen shatters Singer’s philosophy. Also, highly recommended are Will Wilkinson's "Free Will" series.

About.com on Job-related Letters

So, you’ve heard all about the 21st century extremely competitive labor market. Particularly, employers are raising the bar on potential employees’ non-technical skills such as written & oral communication, team work, and leadership. The first filter that employers have to assess a job candidate’s non-technical skills is his/her usage of written employment protocol. Although the traditional resume and cover letters come to mind, there are specific letters for each step of the job-seeking process. Knowing their use and style can make a big difference in the job market. Let us all be grateful for About.com’s Resumes, Cover Letters, and Employment-Related Letters. The site is an outstanding source of advise, samples, and videos on all kinds of employment-related letters. It is maintained by job-search-expert Alison Doyle, who has her own useful blog. Imagine that, free employment counseling one click away! [BTW: About.com is a relatively unknown gem of well-organized information buried under Google’s Internet-search dominance. Do check it out.]

How Stuff Works

Picture yourself as a high school student just twenty years ago. Your teacher asks you to write an essay on Caribbean buccaneers: where would you get the information? If you were lucky, your school would have a good library. Most probably, you would try a local (hopefully nearby) library. If you didn't have access to these scattered resources, your last potential source was your grandma's dusty encyclopedia. Not anymore, students today--the luckiest and most spoiled generation--can now access all the information they need by going to free on-line sites like "How Stuff Works", a fantastic source of information. The website is varied and thorough on everything from food, electronics, to science and people. For readers of this blog, I would recommend the "history" and "money" sections, where you will find useful random articles such as 10 Historically Inaccurate Movies, Math Tutoring or How Pickpockets Work. What's more, they have quizzes, like for example the Crack Quiz. Read "How Stuff Works" and you'll easily beat your friends at "Trivial Pursuit."

The Wall Street Journal Shares my Feelings

In an article in yesterday's edition, titled "The New Stars of the Blogosphere", the newspaper marvels about the same things that Constant Education marvels about. The Journal describes how thousands of people are turning to economics blogs to learn and understand the current crisis. It not only mentions some of the sites recommended by Constant Education but also expresses a similar amazement at the large high-quality education available on-line for free. I have always agreed with the late Nobel laureate Milton Friedman’s economics motto: “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” However, it seems like on the educational niche that this blogs cares about the motto does not hold water. In fact, there is a free lunch, complimentary snacks, and dinner's gratis.

Gapminder

It's easy to hate statistics. Mark Twain once said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Indeed, statistical methods are arduous to learn, statistics assumptions are constantly challenged, and its results usually open to wild interpretation. Inflation in Argentina, economic growth in China, inequality in the United States are some of the statistical analyses typically associated with shady political agendas. And yet, without statistics the policy-making process and its discussion would be extremely difficult. Stats are here to stay and the best we can do is present them in a clear, fair, and humble fashion. Thankfully, there is “Gapminder,” a glorious tool for those wary of statistics. Even if you have long given up on statistics, you will find Gapminder’s use of data a timely revelation. Gapminder is easy to use (there are tutorials available), browse, search, and it has tons of cool applications . Go check it out!

Fora TV

What if Youtube were only about universities', think tanks', and institutes' lectures? If you are like me and thought that such a project would be a great idea, you are too late. Somebody else thought about it and actually started a website called "Fora TV." Since 2005, Fora TV allows you to watch the world's key policy debates from the comfort of your pc. The website is easy to navigate, you can browse by topic, search for past videos, or click on "the most watched." They even have their own Youtube channel.

100 Useful Research Tools for Amateur Economists

Internet's beauty is that you can find incredibly useful material in the most unexpected places. For example, Rated Colleges, a company that provides some sort of service to future university students, has a blog with numerous useful online resources. Most notably, they put together lists with the 100 best free online sources for loosely-related student topics. My favorite is their "100 Useful Research Tools for Amateur Economists." Read the blog and find your favorite list.

Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy

I am constantly amazed by how easy it is to learn and do research on anything. We are extremely lucky to live in these times. I cannot imagine what it was to be an international analyst some 20+ years ago Internet-less and based outside a university. How did you find out about the economic growth of Latvia? (Did you have to call the IMF's costumer service?) What if you needed to check some old article that appeared in a Honduran newspaper? (Did you have to travel to Washington D.C. and visit the Library of Congress?) The best illustration of what I mean is this video by humorist Louis CK in which he brilliantly describes the broader changes in our everyday life. Watch it and pinch your arm.

The Economist's Style Guide

I am big fan of the British magazine The Economist. They have the best international affairs coverage, superb economic analysis, and up-to-date information on all that is relevant in our global village. However, what makes The Economist so good, I think, is their writing style. Unlike many magazines, journals, and newspapers, reading The Economist is a pleasure regardless of the subject. Notably, you will never find in its pages long sentences, convoluted phrases, woolly-headed reasoning, or unnecessary jargon. The magazine's editors also take care of the small stuff that makes a difference when you read long articles. For example, they avoid solecisms, spell out abbreviations, and generally write in active voice. Best of all, they let you learn about their style and editing rules for free! Just visit the magazine's Style Guide page and one day you will be able to write phrases like, "The infantile solipsism that leads a government to fiddle the economic figures has been the handmaiden of decline."

Bloomberg On the Economy

Hiding in an obscure corner of Bloomberg.com you can find "On the Economy" with Tom Keene. This is a great econ podcast that features Mr. Keene interviewing top economists, financial analysts, and policy makers. In spite of Bloomberg's fixation with financial markets, "On the Economy" gives you a complete panorama of all the crucial economic issues. Mr. Keene is sharp and informed, though thankfully he lets his guests speak at length. Visit "On the Economy" to learn about next quarter's economic growth, the Fed's future moves, the "Taylor Rule", and to listen to Nobel laureates and book authors.

TED

TED is a New York-based nonprofit that organizes conferences all over the world and is devoted to "ideas worth spreading." TED's talks traditional format involves an inspiring speaker capturing the audience with a lot of theatrics and some content. If you are looking to learn and to be entertained at the same time, TED's for ya! Usually, TED's speakers act like Thomas Friedman on steroids. So, expect a lot of globalization talkin', a lot of save-the-planet preachin', and a lot of we-can-all-work-together callin'. Also, expect awesome PowerPoint presentations. Their website boasts more than 400 talks, which means that you will find something interesting regardless of your taste.

Cato Unbound

The Cato Institute--a libertarian think-tank based in Washington D.C.--gives us "Cato Unbound", a free monthly debate about current contentious concerns (you gotta love alliterations). Do not be turned off by Cato's freedom-loving laissez-faire-promoting agenda because their debates are truly unbound. Cato Unbound's participants typically represent the main opinions on a given issue. They feature one lead essay followed by three responses and a subsequent dialogue. As written debates go, they deliver. You can easily browse all their archives (going back to the first December 2005 issue) and find fascinating debates on foreign aid, inequality, happiness, religion, and anarchy.

U.S. Civics Quiz

Most people agree that democracy is a good thing; not too many agree on what "democracy" exactly means. Nonetheless, it is safe to say that any definition of democracy must assume away an informed citizenry. In other words, an educated population that has some understanding of the key issues of the past and the present is a crucial component of a healthy democratic regime. Thus, I was surprised when I read that 71% of Americans fail this quiz, with an overall average score of 49%. Go take it and test the proposition that "informed citizenry" = "healthy democracy".

Ivory Tower for Free

I really don't understand why prestigious private universities put up some of their courses and lectures on-line for free. Sure, education is a public good and so on. But isn't it the point of elitist universities to be elitist and restrict access to their resources? At any rate, some of the world's leading universities have free content on-line for us all to enjoy. Here it is:

Columbia University

Harvard University

M.I.T.

Princeton University

Stanford University

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Irvine

Yale University

C-Span

C-Span is at the same time one of the most boring TV channels in the world and a treasure-trove of useful contents. Catch C-Span live on your TV and you'll be quickly falling asleep while listening to members of the Ways & Means Committe discuss legislation on North Dakota's durum-wheat industry. Visit C-Span's website and you'll find all sorts of exciting material. I personally like Book TV, where different journalists (both from C-Span and outside) interview authors in depth about their books. Enjoy with care.

Conversations with history

Conversations With History is a fabulous resource of academic knowledge and enlightenment. It is one of those Internet-era jewels that wouldn't have been imaginable in any other time in history. Thanks to somebody else, we all have access to more than 450 interesting minds interviewed by Harry Kreisler, a professor at UC Berkeley. The interviews are around one hour long and include leading intellectuals, politicians, and diplomats. For example, Mr. Kreisler intreviews Kofi Annan, Noam Chomsky, Walter Russell Mead, and Amartya Sen. The only annoyance is the music at the beginning of each interview; it sounds like some old spooky castle tune.

Dan Drezner

Described as an "old battle horse of the blogoshphere", Prof. Daniel Drezner of Tufts University's Fletcher School, brings both clarity and drollness to international relations. Having spent more than six years studying IR theories, I was elated to read Mr. Drezner's blog and find that realism, idealism, institutionalism, and constructivism can be fun and actually applicable in real life. Visit Drezner's blog for sharp analysis of international affairs, informed poltical insights, and timely book recommendations.

How not to write

William Safire has made a huge favor to all of us willing to improve our writing skills. His book "How Not to Write: Misrules of Grammar" is an extremely valuable guide to good writing. In less than 160 pages, Safire tackles usual grammatical mistakes with wit and erudition. Read it and contribute to a better (written) world. If you can't afford the book's $4 cost (used in Amazon), you should borrow it from your closest library.

Marginal Revolution

Weblogs are a glorious source of knowledge for those of us willing to learn something new every day. I particularly like blogs written by economists; they all grasp the ideal blog post's concept: short, informed, and provocative. Marginal Revolution--by economists Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok--is one of the oldest, most popular, and best written blogs. Moreover, it is a clear example of why this is such a great time in history to be a self-learner. Go read Marginal Revolution every other day and you'll be smarter.

Slate's Dialogues

I enjoy good-spirited debates between smart people. I believe that a truth-seeking inquiry must confront opposing views as directly as possible. Written debates force parties to clearly expose their points of view and candidly tackle their disagreements. A good source of good debates is the online magazine Slate. Notably, it has a feature called "Dialogues" that is very informative, though its quality is uneven. A classic dialogue is this one between Jason Furman (a current member of President Barack Obama's National Economic Council) and Barbara Ehrenreich. Mr. Furman applies Econ 101 principles to completely destroy Ms. Ehrenreich's starry-eyed critique of Wal-Mart. Read and learn.

New York Times Econ Quiz

One way to test your self-learned knowledge is to take so-called "pop quizzes." Absent a professor who can grade your aptitude, these quizzes are a good tool to measure your progress. I took this econ test some time ago and got 16 out of 18. Try it out!

Econtalk

Econtalk is one of my favorite's econ websites. George Mason University Prof Russ Roberts interviews leading economists and provocative non-economists on a wide variety of issues. Prof. Roberts is a great interviewer, who lets his interviewees make a point and then challenges them with shrewd and almost exasperatedly fair comments and questions. You can download episodes to your mp3 player and listen to them while driving, walking, or commutting. There's no down-time in your self-learning experience!

Welcome!

This is the best time in history to be a self-learner. High-quality education is now readily available for free on the WWW. Accordingly, this blog aims to be a little resource center for those of you interested in learning more about politics, international relations, political philosophy, economics, and English writing. It will thrive to be a public service and not a pretensious self-promoting marketing tool. Constant Education welcomes you and looks forward to your feedback. Thanks for reading!