Franke Book Review: A History of Money
by Mark Franke We think of money these days as anything but tangible. Venmo accounts, credit and debit cards, ACH transfers—we don’t really touch “real” money anymore. And so we can’t appreciate its importance in the development of civilization and our comfortable standard of living. “The History of Money: A Story of Humanity” (Henry Holt Read the full article…
The Outstater
Reality Check: NFL Economics BACK WHEN INDIANAPOLIS was selling its grandchildren to bring the Colts to town, an economist friend estimated that the contribution to the local economy would be equivalent to only three Walmarts. He was way off. When spread over 365 days, the daily economic “foot traffic” impact of an NFL stadium falls between that Read the full article…
The Outstater
History Matters, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez IT IS EASY to make fun of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and her flubs. It is clear she doesn’t understand the dynamics that created America or her own heritage. But she is not alone. It would be surprising if there are 20 Indiana legislators who would fare better. Surveys of how little this generation understands of Western Civilization are so discouraging that Read the full article…
Franke: Daylight Saving Folly
by Mark Frank “Time is the only scarce commodity.” I heard this on a Viking commercial from company chairman Torstein Hagen. His point, I assume, is don’t put off things you have always wanted to do. Since Viking’s clientele is largely aging retirees, his advice is certainly well given. The problem with time is that it Read the full article…
The Outstater
The Media: Prescience Matters “A journalist needs a disciplined reverence for the facts, because the temptations of story-telling are strong and seductive.” — Lance Morrow in “The Noise of Typewriters” A SCHOLAR OF OUR FOUNDATION is an expert at framing questions, instructions and context for Artificial Intelligence (AI). He and others are training a new profession, Prompt Read the full article…
Book: ‘Decade of Disunion’
by Mark Franke I have a fondness for counter-factual history, perhaps too much so. This category of fiction begins with a what if question about some critical point in history and then hypothesizes a chain of events to follow. Some end up with a radically different ending while others argue that history would have worked Read the full article…
