Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Science, Economics, and Storytelling

Which will have the bigger long-term impact on stocks -- not to mention human health -- the reactors in Japan or Obamacare?  The former is unlikely to have any significant effect on human health, despite the press using phrases such as "nuclear crisis" almost interchangeably with "small leak" (as it always does) -- and the absurd European energy commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, deploying the phrase "apocalypse," which one suspects he would also have deployed if vegetables were exposed to higher than average amounts of pesticide.  

"Almost everything is out of control," he said, sounding a lot like that Alan Fram and Eileen Putnam column that James Taranto has been mocking for three years.  The Europeans shutting down reactors over the situation in Japan makes about as much sense as shutting down the Jersey Turnpike over a freak nineteen-car pileup on the Autobahn. 

Ali Kokmen (who used to sell manga) has not given me his predictions, but he has pointed out this article about an MIT economist who tries to explain Obamacare in comic book form.  More comics during my "Month of Heroes" entries in April.

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