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Is there a field that is similar to economics but is empirical and about building working systems rather than just theories, and incorporates recent high tech a

by ilaksh 6y ago

Is there a field that is similar to economics but is empirical and about building working systems rather than just theories, and incorporates recent high tech advances, and accounts for sustainability by incorporating things like finite resource tracking? Personally I think almost all of it is outdated and have no respect for economists. To back systems that perpetuate such gross inequity it seems most must have a very dated and reductionist Social Darwinist mindset. The first thing we need is to start to incorporate technology into society, such as by comprehensively tracking resources. Things like distributed technologies are the best starting point for this. Then when we use point systems for distributing control over resources (money) that should be a high tech system that is integrated with resource tracking and regulation. The way the current system works is kind of like if someone built an MMORPG and only included one stat --- money. Then, instead of server code for managing things, the powerful Economic Cult characters estimated what was happening and tried to regulate everything by controlling the spawn of gold coins.

dash2 6y ago
> Is there a field that is similar to economics but is empirical and about building working systems rather than just theories, and incorporates recent high tech advances, and accounts for sustainability by incorporating things like finite resource tracking? Yes. It's called "economics". Empiricism is absolutely central to modern economics. Here's the latest AER, the top journal.[1] 7 out of 8 articles are empirical. 4 out of 8 actually use the word "Evidence" in the title; by now this is practically a meme. Incorporates high tech advances: interested in machine learning? Here's an overview for you: https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c14009/c14009.pdf https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c14009/c14009.pdf Accounting for sustainability? First, environmental economics is an entire subfield. William Nordhaus won the Nobel prize[2] for estimating the costs of global warming, oh, and have you heard of the Stern Review? More broadly, the field of economics was famously defined as "Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses" (my italics). Sounds like it might be relevant to finite resource tracking. Lastly, I'm not sure why you think economists support the current level of inequality. I'd wager most don't. Maybe you've heard of Capital in the 21st Century, which put inequality squarely back on the political agenda. It's by Thomas Piketty, an economist. [1] https://www.aeaweb.org/issues/625 https://www.aeaweb.org/issues/625 [2] I beseech you not to tell me how It's Not Really The Nobel Prize. Everyone knows. Nobody cares.
ReflectedImage 6y ago
FinTech hires Maths PhDs for this sort of thing.

by ilaksh 6y ago

dash2 6y ago

> Is there a field that is similar to economics but is empirical and about building working systems rather than just theories, and incorporates recent high tech advances, and accounts for sustainability by incorporating things like finite resource tracking? Yes. It's called "economics". Empiricism is absolutely central to modern economics. Here's the latest AER, the top journal.[1] 7 out of 8 articles are empirical. 4 out of 8 actually use the word "Evidence" in the title; by now this is practically a meme. Incorporates high tech advances: interested in machine learning? Here's an overview for you: https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c14009/c14009.pdf https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c14009/c14009.pdf Accounting for sustainability? First, environmental economics is an entire subfield. William Nordhaus won the Nobel prize[2] for estimating the costs of global warming, oh, and have you heard of the Stern Review? More broadly, the field of economics was famously defined as "Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses" (my italics). Sounds like it might be relevant to finite resource tracking. Lastly, I'm not sure why you think economists support the current level of inequality. I'd wager most don't. Maybe you've heard of Capital in the 21st Century, which put inequality squarely back on the political agenda. It's by Thomas Piketty, an economist. [1] https://www.aeaweb.org/issues/625 https://www.aeaweb.org/issues/625 [2] I beseech you not to tell me how It's Not Really The Nobel Prize. Everyone knows. Nobody cares.

ReflectedImage 6y ago

FinTech hires Maths PhDs for this sort of thing.