Kartik Agaram

Tyranny of the majority, or regulatory capture? Just be more agile.

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:24:35 -0800

Jan 23

Tyranny of the majority, or regulatory capture? Just be more agile.

Plato, de Tocqueville, et al.: In a democracy, the greatest concern is that the majority will tyrannize and exploit diverse smaller interests.

Mancur Olson: Narrow and well-organized minorities are more likely to assert their interests over those of the majority.

Neil Freeman: Just redistrict the states after each census.[1]

me: Can this idea be generalized? Minorities can be oppressed or powerful; strive to so intertwine motivations that minorities are eliminated. Track minority power and standard deviation of group size as a quality metric for democracy.

But maintain diversity. And don't allow collusion to foster bubbles.

[1] Credit: James Fallows. Related comments: Hacker News

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Books can be of any length — if they're mysteries

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:18:35 -0800

Dec 20, 2009

Books can be of any length — if they're mysteries

“People apparently only read mystery stories of any length. With mysteries, the longer the better and people will read any damn thing. But the indulgent, 800-page books like The Brothers Karamazov or Moby-Dick of a hundred years ago are just not going to be read anymore.”
— Cormac McCarthy. Contrast Jeff Bezos.

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“Better get busy”

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:11:09 -0800

Dec 16, 2009

“Better get busy”

“Frank Curiel Field in Curaçao looks like every small-town baseball field you've ever seen. But it's filled with primal cues, a window through which kids can see the ascending realms of heaven stacked above them in neat levels. First comes making the league all-star team (one of those guys). Then playing for Williamsport (those guys). Then just above that is getting signed by a scout, playing in the major leagues (being one of those guys). For a six-year old at this field, these aren't gauzy dreams; they are tangible steps on a primal ladder of selection reflected in the crackle of the radio, the clutter of the trophies, the glint of the scout's sunglasses. It is sort of like standing in the Sistine Chapel. The proof of paradise is right here: all you have to do is open your eyes.”
—Daniel Coyle. Curaçao has been to six of the last eight semifinals at the Little League World Series.

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Search wars

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:56:49 -0800

Dec 11, 2009

Search wars

“Search is broken like browsers were broken in 2002.”
— Asa Dotzler of Firefox doesn't like Google

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Sniper Business

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:22:36 -0800

Dec 3, 2009

Sniper Business

via Scott Locklin

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Why it's ok to sell startups early

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:31:12 -0700

Oct 4, 2009

Why it's ok to sell startups early

“Startups operate in a financial system that is inefficient, illiquid, and challenging to manage. More transactions of any kind or size help improve overall startup ecosystem health. Liquidity and transparency serve to grow the market and reward founders more richly.”
— Dave McClure. A more detailed model from Fred Wilson.

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The Keynesian connection between unemployment and bubbles

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:40:52 -0700

Sep 25, 2009

The Keynesian connection between unemployment and bubbles

“Keep interest rates low so that people spend rather than hoarding—but only so long as there is involuntary unemployment. When an economy no longer has involuntary unemployment, further efforts to stimulate demand will merely cause inflation and asset bubbles.”
—Richard Posner paraphrasing John Maynard Keynes_i. See also Aaron Swartz.

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Employment demand and supply

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:08:10 -0700

Sep 24, 2009

Employment demand and supply

“Keynes’s great insight was that jobs are not like other goods. The people who get bought are also the people doing the buying. Reduced demand for jobs causes people to cut back on expenses, spiralling into further job reductions where other goods reduce prices to equilibrium.”
— Aaron Swartz paraphrased

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Learnable vs Fun

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:57:31 -0700

Aug 18, 2009

Learnable vs Fun

“My job as a user experience designer has evolved. While it’s still my responsibility to prevent things from sucking, now it’s also my responsibility to add a little playfulness.

You can’t build playfulness into your designs without experiencing playfulness yourself. Play games and pay attention to what makes them fun.”
— Fred Beecher. Trevor Blackwell calls this tinkering.

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Economic myths of America

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:35:15 -0700

Aug 14, 2009

Economic myths of America

“If we look at the percentage of overall labour force that is self-employed, the US ranks near the bottom among high-income countries. The likely explanation: our lack of national health insurance.”
—Mark Weisbrot

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