Saturday, August 2, 2014

OH NOAH, OH NO. AN ACADEMICIAN SEEKS STREET CRED BY ATTACKING FOR-PROFIT BUSINESSMEN

So there is this new guy on the Internet, Noah Smith. Having been awarded his Ph.D. in 2012, Noah Smith seems like a baby-faced Ph.D. barely out of his grad school diapers.

Nerds and Noah Smith

Noah has taken to attacking well-known speculator Peter Schiff, well-know financial blogger Mike Shedlock and the Austrian School of Neoclassical Economics.

Likely, Noah has learned there is a big contingent of Internet users who subscribe to Mises.org, Shedlock, Schiff and others. Likely, by attacking them repeatedly, Noah sees this as short-cut to Internet stardom. It seems Noah is trying to build an Internet reputation by associating his name with popular Internet figures — Schiff, Shedlock.

Noah first should show that he knows anything about reality irrespective of the crap that was shoved in his head in grad school. Noah Smith seems to be like most eggheads, insufferably self-deluded over importance that is woefully lacking.

That Schiff has $2 billion under management means Schiff and his team is doing something right. Schiff actually must devise speculation strategies, enough of which must be successful thus enabling Schiff to remain in for-profit, actual competition commerce, otherwise, Schiff's reputation would be so tarnished as no one would place cash and bank credits with him thus leading to his bankruptcy.

Noah Smith has exactly $0 under management. Not only does Noah not have any cash-denominated bank credit under management, but Noah relies on taxpayers of the State of New York to make sure Noah doesn't end up homeless.

I'd rather roll with Schiff than Noah Smith when laying out a bet on speculation. Rather than title his attack article on Schiff and Shedlock as When Entertainment Passes for Investment Advice, Noah should write one about himself titled, When Entertainment and Self-deluded Nerdiness Passes for Trustworthy Intellect.

It is unlikely that Noah has ever established a sustaining for-profit business in his life. Noah's public CV fails to detail anything like it. It would be interesting to see if Noah ever even held a job in any for-profit venture beyond a fast-food job during high school.

In effect, Noah is a ward of the State of New York, living off the taxpayers of New York, collecting what amounts to high-paying welfare. Noah might convince himself, deceive himself even that his employment is legitimate, but free market participants have not called for Noah's work. Noah's work would not exist without heavy subsidy from both the U.S. Congress through Pell grants as well as the State of New York through massively subsidized operations of SUNY.

Politicians alone by de jure have created Noah's job. Politicians alone impose duty upon themselves to give Noah the right to collect a paycheck in name from them for make-work politicians decree.

Academia economics is so flawed as knowledge as to be laughable. Anyone professing understanding of any economy by virtue of having taken a PhD in economics is the ultimate charlatan con-man. Yet, here Noah is ranting about Schiff and Shedlock as con-men.

Austrian, Keynesian — it doesn't matter. Both are schools of neoclassical economics and as such both arise from the same false premises — scarcity and utility give rise to price. Nothing could be more wrong and more stupid than to believe such. This is why academicians of all stripes get it oh so wrong.

The problem with jokers like Smith is they believe all of the foolish flawed theory pumped into their heads from their equally foolish professors.

Here is what one of his former SUNY Stony Brook students had to say about Noah:

"Noah Smith is a terrible professor. He's a straight economics academia with no way to relate to students. Knows nothing about real business while trying to teach business courses. Stay Away!! Far Away!!"
Here is what another student had  to say:

"No experience in teaching MBA courses whatsoever. PhD in Economics with no real world experience in investments or finance. Unclear in teaching methods and expects students to have a very strong background in mathematics and economics. Do not take this professor unless you want to be frustrated all semester."

For more on the failure that is economics, check out WHY IS THE ECONOMY SO HORRIBLE? BECAUSE ACADEMIA ECONOMICS IS FAKE.

Speaking of Oh No, here is the Knack singing Oh Tara, oh no.

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Friday, July 25, 2014

SATYA NADELLA, CEO OF MICROSOFT NEEDS TO THINK DIFFERENT(LY)

So today, Yahoo! News has a story by Zach Epstein of BGR who writes that Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft doesn't get why Apple's iPhone has been a smashing success and why Microsoft's smart phones have not been successful products.

Epstein quotes Nadella who has said, "any thinking consumer should consider Microsoft because guess what, you’re not just a consumer. You’re also going to go to work, you’re also going to be productive and we can do a better job for you in there. And that’s what I want to appeal to."

Nadella looks at quite wrong. Nadella fails to see that long ago, Apple execs forged a belief in the minds of many. Apple means "Think Different". So to many, Apple means, I'm not in the office right now. Work is over. Having Apple means I am more than my job.


So what does Microsoft mean to many? Blue Screen of Death. Office. Work. Spreadsheets. My jerky boss. Deadlines. Still no raise.

Epstein cites Yoni Heisler of iMore who says Microsoft execs harp on productivity for their USP, a USP no one cares about. In his public memo about Microsoft, Nadella wrote, “At our core, Microsoft is the productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world.” In reality, Microsoft is a company who sell business software accessible through desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Microsoft needs to break up. XBox, Surface, Nokia, Skype and PC games should become one firm. Someone else should take the helm at the firm selling XBox, Surface, Nokia. Maybe the new firm should go by the name Orange. The new firm should run with one slogan: Life. Easy. 

The other firm should consist of what is now the Commercial segment. All Office licensing should revert to this new firm.

Since his focus is productivity, Nadella seems like a guy ready-made for the commercial segment of the current Microsoft as a guy leading a company who sell business software and services. In a break-up scenario, the Nadella-run Microsoft should adopt a slogan as well:  Microsoft means business.

MSN, Bing and any other web properties ought to be sold off and not owned by either firm as Microsoft is not an ad media business.



No one cares about operating system software. No one buys smart phones nor tablets for the sake of productivity.

Everyone wants status from what they communicate with others. Communication is what people crave.

Look at the success of GoPro. Look at the success of Instagram. Look at the success of Pinterest.




Arguably, Apple means productivity far
more than Microsoft ever could. Apple delivers productivity where it counts — status gained with peers through communication.






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