Memes

Of course I wouldn't be making this comment if this were just a harmless, trite Homo economicus joke without the subtitle Economic "science". But just like making a joke about recapitulation theory, the second you make that joke and add Evolution "science" after it, you've gone from a lighthearted jab into science denial backed by a puddle-deep understanding of the field.

In college I participated in an economic experiment where everyone in the class had a laptop, and we went through trials with different variations of “keep $2 or give everyone else $1”. The payout was $20 to whoever had the highest total at the end, everyone else got nothing. I kept the money every time until the end and won.

Afterwards the Economics professor called me to the front and started in with “See, this person proves that people act in their own self interest.” and I had to say “Well if you actually gave them the money when I picked ‘donate’, like the original experiment called for, I would have done that.” The professor and his assistant were not happy.

The title of the post aside, I think the meme itself touches on something real in some people. Although I do think economics is an actual science, unlike some of the people in the comments comparing it to homeopathy or scientology.