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The new astrology: by fetishising mathematical models, economists turned economics into a highly paid pseudoscience (mastodon.social)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by jlou@mastodon.social to c/general@lemmy.world

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The new astrology: by fetishising mathematical models, economists turned economics into a highly paid pseudoscience

https://aeon.co/essays/how-economists-rode-maths-to-become-our-era-s-astrologers

"‘If you get people to lower their shield, they’ll tell you it’s a big game they’re playing,’ he told me." "‘In economics..., if I’m trying to decide whether I’m going to write something favourable or unfavourable to bankers, well, if it’s favourable that might get me a dinner in Manhattan with movers and shakers,’ Pfleiderer said to me."

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[–] rbhfd@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

Bash the economic models, not the person who came up with them.

I don't know enough of the theory to dispute anything you said about the flawed assumptions. But I'm sure Nash's theories are solid under the presumed assumptions, which are for sure overly simplified and possibly deeply flawed. But then blame the people adopting these models without checking if the assumptions are valid.

It's like models that holds only for spherical cows in a vacuum and people want to apply it to giraffes on earth.

I would have been completely with you if you bashed the economic models, you gave a reasonable explanation on why they're flawed, if you wouldn't have multiple times mentioned the psychological issues of the mathematician who came up with it.