Related, an excerpt: One of my pet peeves are people who try to reduce a vector to a scalar, with no admission of the information loss. For some reason, this h

Related, an excerpt: One of my pet peeves are people who try to reduce a vector to a scalar, with no admission of the information loss. For some reason, this has become accepted practice when it comes to estimating our standard of living. Suppose the economy grows 5% but violent crime goes up 10%. Has the standard of living increased? Suppose the price of gasoline declines 30% but people stop going to church. Has the standard of living increased? Suppose the price of cell phone plans decline 90% but the people who speak your language become a minority, and people who speak a different language become the majority. Has your standard of living increased? Suppose your wages increase 10% but the amount of air pollution increases 200%. Has your standard of living increased? Suppose your wages increase 20% but the government changes the law to make it easier for companies to fire workers, so you face a greater risk of losing your job. Has your standard of living increased? In every case, we are talking about a vector that can not be reduced to a scalar without information loss. http://www.smashcompany.com/philosophy/if-women-had-invented-economics-there-would-be-no-assumption-of-a-global-optimum http://www.smashcompany.com/philosophy/if-women-had-invented...