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Assorted links
2. Net use does not lead to social isolation.
3. IQ predicts portfolio diversification, at least in Finland.
4. Finish time variation in marathons, across time and across Boston and New York.
5. What your phone might do for you two years from now.
6. John Cassidy on the health care bill.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on November 6, 2009 at 10:49 AM in Web/Tech | Permalink
Comments
The first commenter on the marathons blog sums up the entire issue. Having known one of the "data points" on that graph personally, I can say that his experience also reflects this fact. He was always proud of having won, but a little bummed about his comparatively high race time, given that he was running at times in ankle-deep rainwater.
Posted by: Ryan at Nov 6, 2009 11:21:55 AM
Isn't John Cassidy arguing for single payer health care paid for out of general revenue to simply providing equitable health care to everyone while putting in the means to control costs?
Posted by: mulp at Nov 6, 2009 12:18:28 PM
Modern smartphones can already do much of what the article describes. See the new Nokia N900 phone, or any phone based on Google's Android platform.
These devices are expensive and battery life is still an issue, but they provide incredible flexibility when it comes to software development. Not only is a varied and useful app library available for these devices, but independent developers will strive to extend their useful life by providing continuous improvements to the phone's internal software.
The potential for an open architecture will be the real distinction between these future mobile devices and today's clumsy smartphones.
Posted by: anon at Nov 6, 2009 1:52:31 PM
Modern smartphones can already do much of what the article describes.
such as?
Posted by: Careless at Nov 6, 2009 2:15:15 PM
John Cassidy's article claims that the Earned Income Tax Credit was first enacted under George H. W. Bush. That's simply not correct. It was expanded in the 1990 budget act, that's true, but it was enacted in 1975 and expanded in 1986 as well.
Posted by: John Thacker at Nov 6, 2009 3:11:38 PM
Astonishing!! Cassidy is advocating lying as a legitimate strategy to accomplish "great" programs. This would seem to nullify his whole article since who could trust the veracity of its claims that the governments health care reform will actually provide universal coverage or even benefit the currently uninsured? Actually his advocacy for lying should end his career as a journalist...perhaps he has a future as a professional liar a/k/a politician.
Posted by: Brian at Nov 6, 2009 5:16:33 PM
Careless: Well I can think of one instantly: "Ask it where to eat lunch and it highlights a restaurant that suits your tastes."
VZ Navigator from Verizon already does that, and I'd assume that applications from other providers do as well, though I only know of VZ Navigator from personal experience.
Posted by: Dominic at Nov 6, 2009 6:10:05 PM
Are there any projections on when the carriers and phone manufacturers are going to get together and come up with good voice quality when making a call?
Posted by: Donna B. at Nov 7, 2009 12:02:45 AM
2. Actually, I've been concerned that social activity has been cutting into my net use.
6. Summary: "So, you know all the rationale we've been giving you to sell this thing...ummm...oopsie...want a refund?"
Posted by: Andrew at Nov 7, 2009 3:36:17 AM
6. Hey, wait, with the explosion in healthcare spending...
http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2009/03/11/health-care-spending-1965-2008-nytimes/
...and the lack of payoff in health, does this mean that the left believes in malinvestment?
They just don't believe that the government played any role in it?
http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2009/03/11/health-care-spending-1965-2008-nytimes/
It was only the increase in the number of credentialed doctors where supply fed demand, right, and the expansion of employer healthcare benefits and obviously the government didn't play a role in that either...oh wait, they did.
(So, who is it that is really saying "keep your government hands of our healthcare?" It's hilarious when an old guy says government hasn't been controlling healthcare, but when Krugman says that it is serious.)
So, the leftists want the poor to have more medical options, they just don't want to reduce the regulations that restrict the provision.
Hey mulp, I'll trade you. What regulations on the medical industry are you willing to remove in trade with me for your public option? It's not mine to trade, really, but just for the sake of argument.
Posted by: Andrew at Nov 7, 2009 4:40:49 AM
A safer prediction is that smart phones two years from now will be pretty much like smart phones today. Today's PCs don't do much that 10-year-old computers don't. Sure, they have more hard disk space and are a bit faster, but I have both a laptop and desktop that are 6 years old. It's not because I can't afford new ones (and they've gotten steadily cheaper all the time), but because the old ones still do everything I need and it's just not worth the trouble of moving and configuring everything to new computers. The evolution of PCs has clearly slowed, and the improvements are now at the margins (I don't expect PCs 5 years from now to perform any new function that today's PCs don't).
Smart phones are at an earlier phase in their evolution than PCs, obviously, but they're rapidly maturing, too, and I don't expect many (or perhaps even any) truly new functions from future smart phones. Yes, they'll get slicker, but the basic feature set (voice, text, web, GPS/mapping, still and video photography, MP3s, streaming audio and video, laptop tethering) is already in place. Fold-out displays? A novelty if the idea makes it to market at all.
Posted by: Slocum at Nov 7, 2009 7:50:15 AM
The fact is that BOTH New York and Boston are uncharacteristic of major marathons in the evolution of their times. There is a post this week on the topic at:www.sportsscientists.com. Almost all other major marathons have seen a consistent drop in winning times, these two are outliers. This may also influence the volatility.
Posted by: Asher at Nov 7, 2009 6:25:42 PM
Just speaking for myself, I would really appreciate it if you would append a "McArdle Alert" to any link to one of her posts. It would save me a few seconds every time.
Posted by: Bernard Yomtov at Nov 7, 2009 10:02:04 PM
Smart phones are at an earlier phase in their evolution than PCs, obviously, but they're rapidly maturing, too
That's just not true. I have addressed the software-related concerns in my previous post (unlike PCs, most current smartphones are closed architectures with little or no involvement of independent developers). However, the other relevant constraints on smartphones' capabilities are power consumption and networking. Low-power components (CPU's, displays, chipsets...) are a rapidly evolvong sector, as are high-capacity batteries. The same considerations apply to 4G networking (WiMAX, CDMA2000 and others).
And yes, fold-out displays (or alternatives such as mobile projectors) could be useful. The size of the display is the main constraint on further miniaturization of mobile devices.
Posted by: anon at Nov 8, 2009 6:30:02 AM
Are there any projections on when the carriers and phone manufacturers are going to get together and come up with good voice quality when making a call?
You have no imagination, Donna. All the gee whiz stuff is obviously more important than being able to understand the person you're talking to.
Posted by: Bernard Yomtov at Nov 8, 2009 1:48:45 PM
