3 ms·

This guy has been discussed somewhat by economists recently. Background: His claim is that all of our CPI calculations are wrong bc we should be using gauge th

This guy has been discussed somewhat by economists recently. Background: His claim is that all of our CPI calculations are wrong bc we should be using gauge theory rather than differential calculus to understand consumer utility. He got invited to the University of Chicago to give a talk about this theory. (This is one of the world’s top three or four economics departments.) While I was not personally there, I have read reports about what happened. He was repeatedly asked by people in the room to provide a simple example of a case where his theory would do better than current methods for calculating CPI: suppose there are two goods and two periods of time, e.g. Show us how we get it wrong and you get it right (and why) He did not do this. It seemed (according to reports from the room) that he was unable to do so. It seems (being charitable) like the guy has a habit of making dramatic claims like “I have solved X and everyone currently working on it has it wrong!” and then not being able (not remotely able!) to back it up.

ianai 5y ago
I'd be more charitable toward him - he's got a list of things to deliver upon if he wants his theories taken more seriously. It's a philosophy of science level thing to want a new theory that replaces other theories to improve on their understanding in some area by explaining phenomena the previous theory(ies) does not explain or providing the same understanding with fewer data needed.
- loceng 5y ago
  He's not trying to replace theories, he believes he's created the underlying theory that allows other theories like relativity and string theory be able to be connected, which currently aren't.
- privatdozent 5y ago
  Nobody finds it strange that he doesn't write these theories down?
xadhominemx 5y ago
> It seems (being charitable) like the guy has a habit of making dramatic claims like “I have solved X and everyone currently working on it has it wrong!” and then not being able (not remotely able!) to back it up. He’s a libertarian so it kinda comes with the territory

ianai 5y ago

I'd be more charitable toward him - he's got a list of things to deliver upon if he wants his theories taken more seriously. It's a philosophy of science level thing to want a new theory that replaces other theories to improve on their understanding in some area by explaining phenomena the previous theory(ies) does not explain or providing the same understanding with fewer data needed.

loceng 5y ago
He's not trying to replace theories, he believes he's created the underlying theory that allows other theories like relativity and string theory be able to be connected, which currently aren't.
privatdozent 5y ago
Nobody finds it strange that he doesn't write these theories down?

xadhominemx 5y ago

> It seems (being charitable) like the guy has a habit of making dramatic claims like “I have solved X and everyone currently working on it has it wrong!” and then not being able (not remotely able!) to back it up. He’s a libertarian so it kinda comes with the territory