Zoo Station

Over the years, Marginal Revolution has become one of my absolute favourite blogs to read. In fact, given my crazy schedule, I've had to cut down on reading my RSS feeds diligently and yet, MR remains among my diet of 5-10 blogs I read everyday, no matter what. So, when I heard that Tyler had a new book (Discover Your Inner Economist, it's called) out, I could not wait to pre-order it out on Amazon. From what I can tell, it seems to carry on the noble, mathematics-free, curiosity-driven economics tradition of Steve Levitt, Tim Harford etc. No surprise if you've been a regular reader of MR, I guess.

If you've never read MR and are wondering what the fuss is all about, here is a link to a New York magazine profile/book review of Tyler Cowen.

Among this new crowd of economists, Cowen, a 45-year-old professor at George Mason University just outside D.C., is a cult hero, insofar as he co-runs an influential blog called marginalrevolution.com. You don’t need to be an economist to enjoy it. There are only a handful of posts a day, but the range of ideas is awe-inspiring. Cowen weighs in on everything from “wage compression”—when bosses give raises at a rate below productivity gains—to household pets, arguing that “if you must support the life of either a cat or a dog, choose the undervalued cat.” (Dogs’ friendly disposition increases the odds of their being well-cared for by other people, while the natural diffidence of cats makes them more susceptible to neglect).

What is most pleasurable about Marginal Revolution, though, is the heavy dose of cultural opinion and advice dispensed by Cowen. He is a world-class polymath who whips through graphic novels and 816-page bricks like Africa: A Biography of the Continent, listens to everything from Bach to Brazilian techno, searches out exotic cuisines all over the world, and still finds time to travel to remotest Mexico to update his collection of amate painting. For him, deep immersion in culture defines the good life, and his readers get the vicarious benefits.

Tyler also periodically puts out lists of his favourite things, which are a testament to his catholic tastes and amazing curiosity. Here is one of those lists. For me, one of the best finds in recent times thanks to Tyler has been the Brazilian electronica outfit, Suba. Their album, Sao Paulo Confessions, is some of the most amazing electronic music I've heard in recent times.