Cosma Shalizi (2007): Foundational Dismal Science Blogging: "Who knew that Reinhard Selten was the author of a dialogue http://bactra.org/sloth/selten-dialogue.pdf on the foundations of economics?...

...The participants are a Bayesian, an economist, an experimental psychologist, an "adaptationist" (i.e., an evolutionary game theorist), a population geneticist, an ethologist, and a "Chairman" standing in for Selten. The topic, rather than the nature of love or justice, or even the ideal city, is, in the Chairman's words, "What do we know about the structure of human economic behavior?" The ultimate answer is "squat all, but it's not Bayesian; we need lots of experiments" (Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Selten phrases this somewhat more elegantly).... On a not-unrelated note, Bowles and Gintis http://tuvalu.santafe.edu/~bowles/2000QJE.pdf are also looking at the foundations, and bringing to mind a pair of contractors who are telling the homeowner that, sadly, sadly, everything will have to be replaced...


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