Speech Writing for The People, by the People, and of the People

What are the elements of a good speech? Granted, a competent speechwriter must juggle a speech’s pace, flow, alliteration, core themes, aesthetic and also emotional qualities. But how do you blend seamlessly all these elements without conveying a woolly-headed or convoluted message? The answer is not simple and the learning path is not straightforward. Some people are just innately able to write great speeches in a short time. Abraham Lincoln apparently wrote his Gettysburg Address—probably one of the best speeches ever in the history of mankind—in less than two days. Thankfully, for the rest of us without a natural ability to pen celebrated addresses, there are infinite resources available for free just one click away. For example, About.com is very helpful, featuring a whole section on speech writing. Also, there are good speech samples here and, of course, there is a blog with a ton of speechwriting ideas a tips. In addition, you can get inspired by reading historic speeches, such as Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" or Edmund Burke's "Speech on conciliation with the colonies." 

History of Economic Thought Quiz

The economic science available in textbooks can be pretty dull. In the last fifty years, math has become a core component of modern economics, turning centuries-old concepts into mere excuses for mathematical formulas and models. In fact, a popular t-shirt's message among modern economists reads, "economists like to do it with models." However, economics can be fun and interesting if placed in the context of human stories and real-life experiences. Indeed, economist John Maynard Keynes once said, "Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist." Two great books that present economic ideas by narrating the lives of famous defunct economists are "The Worldly Philosophers" and "The Making of Modern Economics." However, you can read about prominent economists' lives for free on-line. Just ask Google or Wikipedia. Moreover, after you read everything you want to know about Adam Smith, John M. Keynes or Joseph Schumpeter, you can test your freely-obtained knowledge with this quick quiz.

The Developing Development Dogma

Since the Industrial Revolution emerged in the 1800s, human beings have become steadily prosperous. However, not every human being in the world enjoys the same level of prosperity. Furthermore, millions remain living in conditions resembling that of most humanity circa 1800. In turn, for the past 50 years particularly, social scientists have looked for and tested a wide array of theories aimed at ending poverty. All these ideas became part of a new multidisciplinary discipline called “development.” Thanks to developed countries’ tax money together with charitable organizations and philanthropists from all over the world, billions have poured into developing countries. However, the results have been rather poor. For one, poverty still remains a modern calamity in many countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. What is to be done? The answer to this question is the beginning of one of today’s most exciting intellectual pursuits. Although nobody has a definitive answer, there are many good ideas and successful experiences. The challenge is to apply them in a way that has lasting effects and does not make things worse for those that they intend to help. Auspiciously, Internet gives free access to all the development ideas, debates, projects, and trends necessary to make us all a potential Nobel Prize winner. A small sample of development’s great resources available on-line include William Easterly’s blog, Dani Rodrik’s blog, the World Bank’s website, the Center for International Private Enterprise development blog*, and the Center for Global Development’s website. Also, check out this Cato Unbound debate on “foreign aid” and this Boston Review forum on development.

* Full disclosure: I am used to be a contributor to CIPE’s blog.

The Economics Nobel Prize Winners Are Now Available for Free

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recently awarded a new Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (in plain English, that is the Nobel Prize in Economics). One of the two winners, Elinor Ostrom, is the first woman ever to win the prize. But that is not the most amazing fact; what is really incredible is that anyone can now know [tricky alliteration] about the winners, their life, their accomplishments, and why they matter. There was a time when only few would learn about laureates in economics sciences and then it would be many years after they won the prize, probably in a dusty academic book or through an old professor. Let us all be grateful that today we can know the winners instantly and, more importantly, we can learn about them and their work effortlessly and for free. For instance, consider Ms. Ostrom. She has helped set up a free enormous data base called “Digital Library Of The Commons Repository” that lists all the research that she and her colleagues have done and that earned her the prize. In addition, you can watch her explain her research and why it matters. Also, the Nobel Prize website is superb; it lists all the previous winners, explains their accomplishments, features video interviews, and lets you access winners’ acceptance speeches and other important documents. If you are into trivia, there is data on the oldest and youngest winners. Gå lära sig!   

Causes of the Crisis

That is the name of a new blog that, well, offers top-notch current economics knowledge for free. The blog is the result of a special issue on the economic crisis by the magazine/journal Critical Review. These economists offer enough material to write a couple of books while, at the same time, venting about their current existential crisis. Highly free recommended read, indeed.

Create Your Own Learning Experience

I recently finished reading Tyler Cowen's new book “Create your Own Economy.” The book explores many of the issues covered in this blog. It’s very constanteducationish. Actually, the book’s title can be misleading. It doesn’t refer to the creation of an economy as in “develop a new business” but to our modern capacity to build our own stories from different bits and sources. The author marvels at the mind-boggling amount of information available on Internet by way of studying autistics’ particular cognitive profiles. Cowen informs us that autistic people are extremely good at gathering and organizing information. Because Internet's demands so much from our capacity to gather information, we non-autistics should appreciate and learn from autistics’ cognitive strengths. Moreover, Cowen asserts that society’s neuro-diversity is an asset, not a disability. Certainly, we all have become more efficient at information collection and processing; we classify information faster and more coherently than any time in the history of human beings. In addition, our “daily self-assembly of synthetic experiences” creates a unique cultural stream that enriches our internal mental existence. Consider Constant Education as a partial description of your humble blogger’s internal cultural stream. In the end, Cowen recommends that we cherish the tools available on-line because they will make us both smarter and happier. Amen.

Political Weather

A fantastic aspect of our modern times is that everyone can be an informed political forecaster. The insider knowledge that in the past was obtained within a tight-knit network of informants in high-ranking government offices and organizations is now readily available on Internet. For example, you can now access the (U.S.) tax-funded Institute for National Strategic Studies’ annual Global Strategic Assessment. You can also freely read Eurasia Group’s Top Ten Risks of 2009. Nonetheless, before you put your money where your mouth is, make sure you read this article by Philip Tetlock, who is the author of the excellent Expert Political Judgment.