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Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Lars P. Syll — Critical realism and mathematics in economics


Several keeper quotes on mathematical modeling in economics, one from Keynes that sums up a lot of it. 

Here is an excerpt from the Keynes quote:
I cannot persuade myself that this sort of treatment of economic theory has anything significant to contribute. I suspect it of being nothing better than a contraption proceeding from premises which are not stated with precision to conclusions which have no clear application … [This creates] a mass of symbolism which covers up all kinds of unstated special assumptions.
Lars P. Syll’s Blog
Critical realism and mathematics in economics
Lars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University

See also

Steve Keen's Debtwatch
Critical Realism & Mathematics versus Mythematics in Economics
Steve Keen | Professor of Economics and Head of Economics, History and Politics at Kingston University London

4 comments:

  1. http://markwadsworth.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/full-reserve-banking-with-massive.html?m=1
    Promote to post please.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Also,
    http://voxpoliticalonline.com/2015/09/09/cameron-seems-keen-to-join-the-ranks-of-british-war-criminals/
    Promote to post please.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Two giant thumbs up for Keen on this one. It isn't the language of math that is the problem. It is the ignorant bastards that practice a few types of economics and pretend to be scientific or mathematical. Some of our statistical gathering agencies do fantastic economics, if you read their methods and analysis they are completely 100% honest, perfect methodology, clear about uncertainty, clear about meaning. They translate their methods, answers and madness into clear, perfect english for the masses. They should be honored and celebrated for their math and statistics and not grouped with the neoclassic numpties.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Tony Lawson video is more impressive - if somewhat long - since he argues that the whole of mathematical modelling within economics is a dead end from a ontological point of view.

    It's nice that Steve is still teaching the basics of complexity to people, but the problem is that this entire approach is still about curve fitting to beliefs.

    ReplyDelete