AAPT Members

George Soros, famous for being a Philosophy major - er, um, incredibly successful money manager - has published a lecture reflecting on Philosophy and economic theory in the Financial Times. While it contains actual claims, including a reference to what Brain Science can teach us about critical thinking, I found this biographical bit esp. relevant:

FT.com / In depth - Soros: General Theory of Reflexivity

While I was reading Popper I was also studying economic theory and I was struck by the contradiction between Popper’s emphasis on imperfect understanding and the theory of perfect competition in economics which postulated perfect knowledge. This led me to start questioning the assumptions of economic theory.

I taught PhilScience last Spring, and the discussion turned a couple of times to the financial crisis. My understanding of economics is, well, null. So I couldn't really answer the students questions with anything approaching competence. This essay / lecture might come in handy in future discussions, or could be used as a reading in its own right.