tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post1812952775269688177..comments2024-03-14T11:09:32.759-05:00Comments on Falkenblog: Against Intellectual MonopolyEric Falkensteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07243687157322033496noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-15333918943014253112008-09-10T18:04:00.000-05:002008-09-10T18:04:00.000-05:00Thanks Dan and Eric. I'll read your suggestions.Thanks Dan and Eric. I'll read your suggestions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-11114278096550435622008-09-09T08:28:00.000-05:002008-09-09T08:28:00.000-05:00elliot: hmm. It will take time. Malkiel's Random...elliot: hmm. It will take time. Malkiel's Random Walk down Wall Street, Siegel's Stocks for the Long Run. I think Bernstein writes well, but he wayoverstates the success of certain ideas, or the relevance of certain ideas, or ignores various inconsistencies. But a well written bad book can be very useful (Capital Ideas, Against the Gods; Jack Schwager's Market Wizards books). <BR/><BR/>Take finance courses, statistics, read daily columns on market activity from the Wall Street Journal or some such press.Eric Falkensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07243687157322033496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-6655757109166542672008-09-08T12:20:00.000-05:002008-09-08T12:20:00.000-05:00Elliot,Check out Trading and Exchanges by Larry Ha...Elliot,<BR/><BR/>Check out <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Trading-Exchanges-Market-Microstructure-Practitioners/dp/0195144708/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220894236&sr=8-1" REL="nofollow">Trading and Exchanges</A> by Larry Harris who I believe is a former chief economist at the SEC.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-87039757642491324652008-09-07T18:11:00.000-05:002008-09-07T18:11:00.000-05:00This is a bit off topic, but:I found your blog via...This is a bit off topic, but:<BR/><BR/>I found your blog via one of your critiques of Taleb, and have recently become very intersted in learning more about finance. Since you seem to know what you're talking about:<BR/><BR/>How would you recommend that a smart person who knows very little about finance but who knows a bit of microeconomics learn finance on their own? Specifically I'd like to be able to understand the activities of hedge fund managers, stock brokers, how financial systems work in general, regulatory and legal issues related to finance, how comlpex financial 'instruments' work, how to value companies and read their financial statements, etc.<BR/><BR/>Someone else recommended that I read books like "The Predator's Ball", "My life as a Quant", etc. I am looking for more than just a superficial understanding though, and am not afraid of math at all. I am hoping that there are a handful of textbooks I can read to learn this stuff. <BR/><BR/>Suggestions?<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/>ElliotAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-29755121917134078822008-09-05T22:23:00.000-05:002008-09-05T22:23:00.000-05:00In my industry, probably 90% of the R&D spendi...In my industry, probably 90% of the R&D spending would not be spent if it were impossible to obtain IP rights for inventions. (Unlike personal investing, in my field it is very easy to reverse-engineer a product once it is made.) Thus, I would not agree that IP rights are damaging to social welfare overall, although it's difficult for me to conceptualize all IP so I am biased by my own industry in making this judgement.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, I think fear of litigation and the corresponding over-cautiousness is a huge obstacle to innovation and productivity growth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-55884846933322464122008-09-05T11:21:00.000-05:002008-09-05T11:21:00.000-05:00As one earlier comment has already pointed out, th...As one earlier comment has already pointed out, the history of the steam engine is a bit more complex than this book lets on. Among other things, the origin of interference proceedings (a unique aspect of American patent law) arose from the competing claims to priority over this invention.<BR/><BR/>Second, and more importantly, I think it's worth pointing out that most or all historical arguments against IP should weaken as transactions cost of communicating new ideas get cheaper. This can seem paradoxical to some. But when it costs almost nothing for a corporation to check a website to see whether an engineer or scientist has already done the work that they're thinking of investing R&D time and money in, then it makes sense for us as a society to give everybody incentives to use that website! It's really the same justification we use for any system of property rights. There's nothing special about intangibles.Michael F. Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15279501532684851571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-62192969102122384362008-09-05T08:11:00.000-05:002008-09-05T08:11:00.000-05:00funny thing is watt almost went broke and had to s...funny thing is watt almost went broke and had to sell 2/3 of the rights to roebuck and then boulton.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-48365021399199850632008-09-05T07:20:00.000-05:002008-09-05T07:20:00.000-05:00"James Watt As Intellectual Monopolist: Comment On..."James Watt As Intellectual Monopolist: Comment On Boldrin And Levine"<BR/><BR/>In their 2003 Lawrence R. Klein Lecture, Michele Boldrin and David Levine argue that intellectual property rights may be damaging to social welfare. As empirical evidence for their theory they offer James Watt's steam engine patent, claiming that it delayed the Industrial Revolution by as much as two decades. <B>We show that this claim, as well as the more general claim that Watt's story supports Boldrin and Levine's theory, rests upon a distorted summary of the historical record.</B><BR/><BR/>http://ideas.repec.org/a/ier/iecrev/v47y2006i4p1341-1348.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com