tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post5454770841083603627..comments2024-03-14T11:09:32.759-05:00Comments on Falkenblog: Difference Between Economics and PhysicsEric Falkensteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07243687157322033496noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-33003547672937292572009-04-04T15:51:00.000-05:002009-04-04T15:51:00.000-05:00I haven't read the study, but don't you think that...I haven't read the study, but don't you think that there is inter- and intra-variation when it comes to the discount factor? I have a different time preference than other people and my time preference isn't invariant either. When I was fourteen, you could have often caught me with a can of lighter gas (way better than glue), though I actually used a Zippo to light my cigaretts. These days I actually use a straw to drink carrot juice so I don't stain my teeth...Mahalanobishttp://mahalanobis.twoday.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-71004456057600692072009-04-03T20:21:00.000-05:002009-04-03T20:21:00.000-05:00physicists actually joke about how, as a group, th...physicists actually joke about how, as a group, they are much worse at math than economists. Since the models are gauged against real and measurable phenomenon, the model itself doesn't need to be as clean. The measurements will reveal the innacuracies in due course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-28864370372249589082009-04-03T12:56:00.000-05:002009-04-03T12:56:00.000-05:00Two possibilities:(1) What the paper calls a "time...Two possibilities:<BR/><BR/>(1) What the paper calls a "time discount factor" is actually a set of different things being called by the same name -- i.e., the measurements disagree because they're not measurements of the same quantity.<BR/><BR/>(2) The measurements are of a unitary phenomenon, but are being made in many different ways, each of which is subject to systematic errors so that there is no agreement, even in the range of expected values.<BR/><BR/>The cluster near one of late suggests that there is at least some agreement. It would be interesting to see if there was correlation in measurement methodology in that cluster.<BR/><BR/>But given the lack of agreement, I think (1) is the more likely culprit here, and I agree with the conclusions of the paper.<BR/><BR/>The better way to model utility from underlying preferences is to permit intertemporal variation in preferences, and measure revealed preferences as the cumulative frequency of certain activities within a window of time.<BR/><BR/>Since we can now track how such preferences change in real time thanks to things like Google and Twitter, we ought to update our economic theories accordingly.<BR/><BR/>http://brokensymmetry.typepad.com/broken_symmetry/2008/07/how-to-observe.htmlMichael F. Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15279501532684851571noreply@blogger.com