Psalm 17 - A Prayer Before Faculty Meetings! ; )
6 I call on you, O God, for you will answer me;
give ear to me and hear my prayer.
7 Show the wonder of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked who assail me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.
10 They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a great lion crouching in cover.
13 Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down;
rescue me from the wicked by your sword.
14 O LORD, by your hand save me from such men,
from men of this world whose reward is in this life.
You still the hunger of those you cherish;
their sons have plenty,
and they store up wealth for their children.
15 And I—in righteousness I will see your face;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
Proverbs 16 -- Institutions and Markets
[11] A just weight and balance are the LORD's: all the weights of the bag are his work.
When teaching principles of economics, I spend a fair amount of time reviewing with students the important unseen infrastructure behind market transactions. The amount of trust that goes into even relatively simple daily activities is phenomenal, especially when that trust is given to strangers. This is only possible because of a complicated and interrelated systems that we have developed and continue to develop. Whether or not one thinks that Sarbanes-Oxley, for example, is good policy, it is legislation that arose out of a concern with trust in market-supporting institutions.
An Often Misquoted Verse that People Don't Realize Is a Bible Verse
[18] Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 15 -- Nonlinearities in Knowledge
[14] The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.
The idea of "virtuous cycles" and "vicious cycles" is widespread. Today's verse gives us an example of how to apply the idea to knowledge. Once one has understanding, then one knows to seek, but without the understanding one does not know to seek and so feeds on foolishness. The tough question, then, is how to be sure to attain the virtuous cycle (understanding --> seeking knowledge --> more understanding) rather than its vicious counterpart. The easy way is for this process to begin as a child. In this chapter (and previous chapters) there is emphasis on the importance of learning from one's parents. Isaac Asimov's father was a Russian immigrant and ran a drugstore in Brooklyn. When his father asked how Isaac knew so much, he replied that he had learned it from his father. His father was skeptical, so Issac explained, "You taught me to read and to value learning. The rest was easy."
Wisdom, like money and industrial investment, is easier to obtain once you already have some. However, it is difficult to start the process. These nonlinearities make the mathematical analysis of these processes more challenging as well as complicating the implementation of any policies to improve the outcomes. The challenge for the interested reader is to think about how to quantify knowledge (check the research by Paul Romer if you are interested in an influential approach) and wisdom.
Psalm 14 The Virtues of Capital
4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest.
I read this passage as a warning to those who might fear investing in capital because it will require upkeep. Wise investments (oxen) generate a stream of benefits (feed) that help sustain the value of the investment.
Like most american's, my biggest investment is my home. My wife and I sometimes feel like we are living to "feed" it. Any ideas about how I can get it to feed itself? Or should I admit that its a consumption expenditure (in which case, why not go back to renting)?
Proverbs 13 -- Faculty Recruiting
[20] He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
My motto when recruiting faculty has always been to "find someone better than me." Granted, there are those who consider this to be a farcically low hurdle, but the principle is valid in any event. One interesting theoretical justification for a tenure at colleges and universities is that it reduces the incentive to hire people who make you look good by comparison, rather than hire the best possible people. This is important because if I'm successful at implementing my motto, then the long run outcome is that I'm the worst person around. Without the protection of tenure, the argument goes, I might be worried about my job security if I'm the worst person around. As the verse points out, the long run best interest of the department and institution is to have wise people rather than fools around, so it is important to create the correct incentives to populate the faculty with wise people.
The other interesting aphorism on this topic is "A people hire A people, B people hire C people." I've heard two reasons for this outcome. First, only the A people don't feel threatened by other A people. Second, the B people are unable to recognize true ability, and wind up with the least common denominator as a result.
