Freakonomics Author Steven Levitt Chicago Hilton 19 May 2015

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MSimon
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Freakonomics Author Steven Levitt Chicago Hilton 19 May 2015

Post by MSimon »

http://www.hemp.org/news/node/4724
Bestselling author Steven Levitt is scheduled to keynote Marijuana Business Daily's Marijuana Business Conference & Expo, to be held at the Chicago Hilton May 19-21.

Levitt's book, Freakonomics, spent eight years on the New York Times bestseller list, selling more than five million copies.

A tenured economics professor at the University of Chicago, Levitt believes in order to fix or change the world, you first have to understand it. He sifts through data for revelations that help everyone from banks to professional athletes see new connections and opportunities.

Now, Levitt is applying his enormous curiosity to the future of the legal cannabis industry.

More than 2,000 marijuana entrepreneurs and major investors are expected to attend Levitt's keynote at the Spring show.
Or as one of our esteemed commenters has said repeatedly - no one is going to fund a drug addict.

BTW I spent a year at UChicago.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

ladajo
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Re: Freakonomics Author Steven Levitt Chicago Hilton 19 May

Post by ladajo »

BTW I spent a year at UChicago
Too bad you didn't stay. Another item in your long list of life in-completes.

I bet you learned a whole bunch out of those 100 level classes...
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

MSimon
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Re: Freakonomics Author Steven Levitt Chicago Hilton 19 May

Post by MSimon »

ladajo wrote:
BTW I spent a year at UChicago
Too bad you didn't stay. Another item in your long list of life in-completes.

I bet you learned a whole bunch out of those 100 level classes...
So what did I learn by leaving school? I can go into places where there is no map much easier than people who need their hand held and require a map. I'm very good at the unknown.

That is a skill. And it pays well.

What else does it do? I can learn any new discipline in short order. My average is two weeks from ignorance to competence. About two months to excellence.

For a contractor as I am - it is a very valuable skill. I don't need years in an industry to be as good as those who have spent years.

What else did I gain? No student debt.

But what is amusing is that my path in life bothers you so much. Dr. B thanked me for what I did for Polywell. Something I could only have done with time on my hands. And if it works my debt to civilization will be more than repaid. It will be drawing interest for 10,000 years.

And I'm not done yet.

Another thing I can do rather easily which seems quite difficult for you is to give up unworkable concepts. Like Prohibition. Milton Friedman (another Chicago boy) told you in 1972 in the WSJ that it not only couldn't work but was also morally a bad idea. He explained it in terms of alcohol prohibition. Evidently you weren't listening. Evidently school didn't help you. My condolences.

Have a nice day.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

ladajo
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Re: Freakonomics Author Steven Levitt Chicago Hilton 19 May

Post by ladajo »

What else does it do? I can learn any new discipline in short order. My average is two weeks from ignorance to competence. About two months to excellence.

For a contractor as I am - it is a very valuable skill. I don't need years in an industry to be as good as those who have spent years.
Mike, seriously. You are now sounding like you really have delusions of grandeur.

If any of that were really true, you would be one of the richest folks on the planet, instead of on welfare.
Speaking of contracting, when and what was the last real contract or job you had? The online magazine thing didn't seem to work out so well or long.

As for EMC2, yes, you stirred the pot, and yes you helped raise awareness.
But you were not the sole nor primary reason things moved then.
You just like to think so.
You really have not changed the world, Sorry dude.

As for your life path, it bothers me not. I only feel a little pity for you and some shame that our society could let you waste yourself such as you have.

(P.S. I also have no student debt. Lots of education and work experience (continual even), and I managed it in such a way as I have no debt. Can be done.)
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)

MSimon
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Re: Freakonomics Author Steven Levitt Chicago Hilton 19 May

Post by MSimon »

ladajo wrote:
What else does it do? I can learn any new discipline in short order. My average is two weeks from ignorance to competence. About two months to excellence.

For a contractor as I am - it is a very valuable skill. I don't need years in an industry to be as good as those who have spent years.
Mike, seriously. You are now sounding like you really have delusions of grandeur.

If any of that were really true, you would be one of the richest folks on the planet, instead of on welfare.
Speaking of contracting, when and what was the last real contract or job you had? The online magazine thing didn't seem to work out so well or long.

As for EMC2, yes, you stirred the pot, and yes you helped raise awareness.
But you were not the sole nor primary reason things moved then.
You just like to think so.
You really have not changed the world, Sorry dude.

As for your life path, it bothers me not. I only feel a little pity for you and some shame that our society could let you waste yourself such as you have.

(P.S. I also have no student debt. Lots of education and work experience (continual even), and I managed it in such a way as I have no debt. Can be done.)
Depends. Money was never an interest of mine. Only a means to an end. An unusual attitude to be sure. But it is mine.

I currently have a use for money. You will be seeing something about it in the near future. If you want the skinny beforehand ask your usual sources. Or you could PM me.

As to "did I move the world?" Well who can be sure of all the causes? All I know is that Dr. B. thanked me and a couple of other guys personally. That seems significant given that he had never met me. He had to have used someone to track down my e-mail address. And when he died and for a few months after his family was in regular contact with me. So delusions? Maybe your animosity about my politics is getting the better of you. Not a useful attitude. Generally. Esp given that my politics is rising and yours is falling. Which was the point of this post. In case you hadn't noticed.

As to my waste? Well I have a medical condition which disbars me from the usual lines of work. Which was in part your doing. If you feel so bad about the waste why not campaign against drug testing or make an exemption for those with my condition? The trouble is there is no test for my condition. Which means a lot of people would cheat. So I have to be disbarred because of the cheaters. So be it.

I'm just collateral damage in the war. Surely that is acceptable to you. For a war that can't be won and is in fact being ended on terms of total surrender from your side. Or hadn't you noticed the subject of this post?

Have a nice day.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

paperburn1
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Re: Freakonomics Author Steven Levitt Chicago Hilton 19 May

Post by paperburn1 »

One thought feeds upon another thought, from one story grows another story, and in the end one cannot tell the truth from the fiction and from that, legends are born. When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness.
I am not a nuclear physicist, but play one on the internet.

MSimon
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Re: Freakonomics Author Steven Levitt Chicago Hilton 19 May

Post by MSimon »

paperburn1 wrote:One thought feeds upon another thought, from one story grows another story, and in the end one cannot tell the truth from the fiction and from that, legends are born. When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness.
And from death on occasion there is rebirth.

Sometimes what looks like a handicap is an asset.

The worm on occasion turns.
Engineering is the art of making what you want from what you can get at a profit.

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