The Myth of the Rational Voter, by Bryan Caplan.#

Extraordinary insights in this book. The ingenuity and incisiveness of Bryan's blog, but lasting for two hundred pages. It is a pleasure to read, and there are new insights constantly. I would highly recommend the CATO book forum about this book, by the way.#

On preferences over beliefs:#

Suppose your friend thinks he is Napoleon. It is conceivable that he got an improbable coincidence of misleading signals sufficient to convince any of u. But it is awfully suspicious that he embraces the pleasant view that he is a world-historic figure, rather than, say, Napoleon's dishwasher. [p. 119]

The chapters on supply side and market fundamentalism are great.#

On immigrants:#

If an Indian desperately wants to move to the United States but is unable to get a vise, voting to make India more like the United States seems like the next best thing. But there is a crucial difference between the two actions. A migrant who leaves his homeland gives up psychological benefits, such as the belief that his nation is the best in the world, in exchange for a big jump in his material well-being. A voter who turns his back on his nation's political tradition gives up psychological benefits but---since policy is beyond his control---is not a penny richer. [p. 206-207]

The Rise of LDS dot Org and the Decline of Everything Else#

Let’s say that brother Smith and sister Young are asked to speak next Sunday and are both given the topic of personal revelation. As they prepare, it is very likely that they will both go to the official website and type ‘personal revelation’ into the search field. The server will give them both identical results, with talks by general authorities ranked in order of relevance. Next Sunday, both Smith and Young will be seen on the stand with their scriptures and a sheaf of papers an inch thick. Both stacks of papers will contain long passages of cut and paste material from general authorities’ conference talks, right down to a word for word recounting of the personal anecdotes of the GA in question. Their talks will cover the same ground, quote the same scripture passages, and relate the same third person experiences. And it wouldn’t be surprising to hear the speakers express amazement at the workings of the spirit, which contrived to put the same words in their mouths. That is especially ironic under the circumstances, given that the topic is personal revelation.

The writer has brilliant irony.

Allegory in Harry Potter (Spoilers)#

No Buttons#

Rowling gives additional Harry details (Notice the mention of an Encyclopedia.)#

Mormonism in strange places (read comments)#

The 8 Strangest Communities on the Web#

Book of Mormon Plagiarism (Funny)#

Absurd Comic Book Origins#

Amazing Shoes!#

The Selfish Reason to Have More Kids#

Interview with JK#

Serious Interview with JK#

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Street Gangs#

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict (Awesome)#

The dangers of compulsory education#

Q and A on the Community of Christ#

On Getting Creative Ideas#