Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

DeLong: I had to decide whether to be a Civilization addict or an economics professor

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 3
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 template Next
  • #1

    DeLong: I had to decide whether to be a Civilization addict or an economics professor

    We've had politicians playing Civilization in (Swedish?) parliament, and now there's more from Brad DeLong:

    Three Faces of Greg Mankiw
    http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2006/07/three_faces_of_.html
    Yet another excellent post from Greg Mankiw. This time it's a three-sided cage match between Greg Mankiw, Greg Mankiw, and Greg Mankiw: Greg the Libertarian, Greg the Utilitarian, and Greg the Moralist: Greg Mankiw's Blog: Why I hate gambling: My personal philosophy is about 50 percent libertarian, 40 percent utilitarian, and 10 percent moralist. The libertarian and utilitarian usually keep the moralist pretty well contained: they have a 9 to 1 advantage, after all. But reading a recent article in Slate from the wife of a professional gambler let the moralist in me escape... Greg the Moralist: My view is that there are three kinds of gamblers, all of which sadden me. First, there is the compulsive gambler. When I was growing up, the husband of one of my mother's coworkers lost all their money in a fit of compulsive gambling. This occurred just as their teenage daughter was getting ready to apply to college. The college savings, as well as all their other savings, were gone. Watching this experience has most likely colored my view of the activity more broadly. Second, there is the recreational gambler. He spends, say, $20 a week on slot machines or lottery tickets.... [G]iven...


    I would certainly agree that lottery tickets are a very low-quality diversion, and that the computer game Civilization packs at least fifty times the diversion-per-buck of a scratch lottery ticket. (Indeed, I find it so powerful and diverting that I have no copies: There was a time when I had to decide whether to be a Civilization addict or an economics professor.]) But I don't want to get onto the moralist's slippery slope any more than Greg Mankiw wants to get onto the regulator's slippery slope.


    Another doctor of economics, Bryan Caplan, follows up:

    Self-Control and Civilization - Econlib
    http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2006/07/selfcontrol_and.html
    I’m not surprised that Brad DeLong shares my love of the great computer game Civilization: I’m tempted to jump in and head-butt the libertarian: If you were to ask a compulsive gambler if he really wanted to waste his life, he would probably say no: that the life he wound up with is not the […]


    I've played for hundreds of hours, mostly during my first year of graduate school.


    P.S. If you've got an early version of Civilization II, I wrote some fun scenarios for it, including a version of World War II where Hitler and Stalin begin as allies, and - for readers with cast-iron stomachs - a horrifying take on World War III...



    How soon before we have first head of state admitting he used to play Civ?
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Economists
    “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
    - John 13:34-35 (NRSV)

    Comment

    • #3
      I've long felt that if tyrants would only play Civ, they'd never need to go and do it for real. They certainly wouldn't have time.

      Civ can save teh world!

      Comment

      • #4
        Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
        Economists
        yeah

        all the good economists don't play civ... apparently
        Monkey!!!

        Comment

        • #5
          Originally posted by Cort Haus
          I've long felt that if tyrants would only play Civ, they'd never need to go and do it for real. They certainly wouldn't have time.

          Civ can save teh world!
          Maybe we should have given it to Bush:

          "Damn, these barbarians in the Iraq scenario are really annoying! Its like I can never get rid of them"

          “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
          - John 13:34-35 (NRSV)

          Comment

          • #6
            "Everything for the State, nothing against the State, nothing outside the State" - Benito Mussolini

            Comment

            • #7
              "Damn, war weariness is a pain in the ass! Need to get into Police State."

              "Hmm, P.S. + Theocracy would solve lots of my problems."



              -Arrian
              grog want tank...Grog Want Tank... GROG WANT TANK!

              The trick isn't to break some eggs to make an omelette, it's convincing the eggs to break themselves in order to aspire to omelettehood.

              Comment

              • #8
                Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


                Maybe we should have given it to Bush:

                "Damn, these barbarians in the Iraq scenario are really annoying! Its like I can never get rid of them"

                :nitpicking:

                More like the partisans everytime he reconquers a given city.
                "Just puttin on the foil" - Jeff Hanson

                “In a democracy, I realize you don’t need to talk to the top leader to know how the country feels. When I go to a dictatorship, I only have to talk to one person and that’s the dictator, because he speaks for all the people.” - Jimmy Carter

                Comment

                • #9
                  Yeah, but CivIV doesn't have partisans .
                  “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
                  - John 13:34-35 (NRSV)

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    I don't have CIV 4 so I wouldn't know. I was referring to Bryan Caplan's reference to Civ 2.
                    "Just puttin on the foil" - Jeff Hanson

                    “In a democracy, I realize you don’t need to talk to the top leader to know how the country feels. When I go to a dictatorship, I only have to talk to one person and that’s the dictator, because he speaks for all the people.” - Jimmy Carter

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      You. Don't. Have. CivIV?!
                      “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
                      - John 13:34-35 (NRSV)

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Old School.


                        Course my Birthday is coming up.
                        "Just puttin on the foil" - Jeff Hanson

                        “In a democracy, I realize you don’t need to talk to the top leader to know how the country feels. When I go to a dictatorship, I only have to talk to one person and that’s the dictator, because he speaks for all the people.” - Jimmy Carter

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          I have it... but it's not installed
                          CIVIII is treating me just fine for now
                          Monkey!!!

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            CivIV kicks CivIII's ass so hard it isn't even funny.
                            “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
                            - John 13:34-35 (NRSV)

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              I'm just scared
                              Monkey!!!

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 3 template Next
                              Working...
                              X