Ep. 110 Blackjack, the Kelly Criterion, and the “Scientific” Approach to Investing
Bob discusses the famous Kelly criterion, which is a rule for capital management relevant in both gambling and investing. Bob explains the appeal of the Kelly criterion but also details how professional economists have disputed its importance. Bob illustrates the points with references to his high school Blackjack days. Mentioned in the Episode and Other…
Ep. 109 Larry Reed on Maintaining Hope and Speaking Truth to Power
Larry Reed has been an organizational leader for liberty for decades, first at the Mackinac Center and then at FEE. He talks with Bob about Solzhenitsyn’s ability to withstand the Soviet gulag, and more generally makes the case for optimism in the face of oppression. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The…
Ep. 108 Brian Williams’ Billionaire Bloomberg Blunder
Bob first gives some thoughts on the stock market crash and coronavirus, then discusses the jaw-dropping discussion between Brian Williams and a member of the New York Times editorial board regarding Mike Bloomberg’s claimed ability to give every American $1 million. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Charles Cooke’s NR column on…
Ep. 107 Max Sklar Interviews Bob Murphy on Mises’ Class vs. Case Probability
On his podcast The Local Maximum, software engineer (and developer at Foursquare) Max Sklar has Bob explain Ludwig von Mises’ distinction between class and case probability. They apply Mises’ framework to other economic theory, and discuss Bayesian inference and machine learning. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Max Sklar’s podcast, the Local…
Ep. 106 Why Intelligent Design (ID) Will Be the Public Choice of the Natural Sciences
Anticipating his forthcoming interview with Winston Ewert, Bob explains why the Intelligent Design movement will be to the natural sciences, what the Public Choice school in economics is to the social sciences. Bob predicts that the explanation for the observed complexity of the universe will ultimately be pushed back into the structure of mathematics itself. Mentioned…