Comments on: The Morality of Career Choices http://www.markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/ Finding Interesting, Useful, and Beautiful Mathematical Patterns in the Universe Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:40:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Mark P Neyer.com » Blog Archive » On Morality and Career Choices (Redux) http://www.markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/comment-page-1/#comment-266 Mark P Neyer.com » Blog Archive » On Morality and Career Choices (Redux) Sat, 08 Sep 2007 20:56:21 +0000 http://markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/#comment-266 [...] wrote a post on the morality of different career choices, and got a lot of responses. I was trying to come up [...] [...] wrote a post on the morality of different career choices, and got a lot of responses. I was trying to come up [...]

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/comment-page-1/#comment-265 Anonymous Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:37:13 +0000 http://markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/#comment-265 there is no good but doog there is no good but doog

]]> By: markpneyer http://www.markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/comment-page-1/#comment-264 markpneyer Tue, 21 Aug 2007 05:51:42 +0000 http://markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/#comment-264 Mike, I think I really dropped the ball on this one. I'm going to re-write a followup to it, when I get the time. I'm sure i'll have plenty of that now that I'm starting grad school... Mike,

I think I really dropped the ball on this one. I’m going to re-write a followup to it, when I get the time. I’m sure i’ll have plenty of that now that I’m starting grad school…

]]> By: Mike http://www.markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/comment-page-1/#comment-263 Mike Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:07:32 +0000 http://markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/#comment-263 Hey Mark - A few comments. First off, study after study shows that absolute wealth and happiness are not really correlated. That being said, in a theoretical capitalism, the value a person gives society would be directly correlated with how much money they make. Before you acclaim the value of hedge funds, you should look at some of the huge events in history that are attributed to powerful individuals in the market - Jesse Livermore in 1929 crash, George Soros on Black Wednesday, the fall of LTCM, etc. Not to mention the obvious role money managers played in Enron, Worldcom, etc. There are arguments to be made both that they were positive forces in the market - and that they are dangerous and cause extremes that would not otherwise exist. Hedge funds do place bets on weather, but I'm not sure that stock prices are a good example. Stock prices are not really used to decide whether a corporation is going to get a contract, nor are there that many public corporations that rely so heavily on a single city. To use Katrina as a recent example, Katrina affected a huge number of corporations' stock prices, and not always in the way you may have guessed beforehand. However, I'm not aware of an example of how the stock market's anticipation (or lack thereof) had a huge impact on preparation or reaction to Katrina. It may be a better example to examine how the price of oil changed in anticipation of Katrina, and how this was beneficial or not. Hey Mark – A few comments.

First off, study after study shows that absolute wealth and happiness are not really correlated. That being said, in a theoretical capitalism, the value a person gives society would be directly correlated with how much money they make.

Before you acclaim the value of hedge funds, you should look at some of the huge events in history that are attributed to powerful individuals in the market – Jesse Livermore in 1929 crash, George Soros on Black Wednesday, the fall of LTCM, etc. Not to mention the obvious role money managers played in Enron, Worldcom, etc. There are arguments to be made both that they were positive forces in the market – and that they are dangerous and cause extremes that would not otherwise exist.

Hedge funds do place bets on weather, but I’m not sure that stock prices are a good example. Stock prices are not really used to decide whether a corporation is going to get a contract, nor are there that many public corporations that rely so heavily on a single city. To use Katrina as a recent example, Katrina affected a huge number of corporations’ stock prices, and not always in the way you may have guessed beforehand. However, I’m not aware of an example of how the stock market’s anticipation (or lack thereof) had a huge impact on preparation or reaction to Katrina. It may be a better example to examine how the price of oil changed in anticipation of Katrina, and how this was beneficial or not.

]]> By: Luke http://www.markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/comment-page-1/#comment-262 Luke Sat, 11 Aug 2007 23:06:19 +0000 http://markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/#comment-262 Its really impossible to say who is doing more good. what if alice saves someone's life. is that a plus? suppose that person ends up finding a cure for cancer. big plus for alice, for all the lives she now saves. what if that person ends up to be a serial killer? would u count that as a negative for alice? which brings me to my point. you can't quantify goodness or happiness. some things that are good/happy in the short term are bad in the long term, and vice versa, making the entire comparison system irrelevant. Its really impossible to say who is doing more good. what if alice saves someone’s life. is that a plus? suppose that person ends up finding a cure for cancer. big plus for alice, for all the lives she now saves. what if that person ends up to be a serial killer? would u count that as a negative for alice?

which brings me to my point. you can’t quantify goodness or happiness. some things that are good/happy in the short term are bad in the long term, and vice versa, making the entire comparison system irrelevant.

]]> By: markpneyer http://www.markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/comment-page-1/#comment-261 markpneyer Sat, 11 Aug 2007 21:06:34 +0000 http://markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/#comment-261 You make a very interesting point. If Alice cures sick people, then she allows them to return to work, which benefits everybody she works with and everyone who buys products from her company. I'll have to think about this more. You make a very interesting point. If Alice cures sick people, then she allows them to return to work, which benefits everybody she works with and everyone who buys products from her company. I’ll have to think about this more.

]]> By: Rex http://www.markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/comment-page-1/#comment-260 Rex Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:49:40 +0000 http://markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/#comment-260 "is necessary" should be added to the first sentence of the last paragraph. Dammit. “is necessary” should be added to the first sentence of the last paragraph. Dammit.

]]> By: Rex http://www.markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/comment-page-1/#comment-259 Rex Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:48:20 +0000 http://markpneyer.com/wp/2007/08/08/the-morality-of-career-choices/#comment-259 Meh, I'm not so sure about your argument there, because, in some ways, your not really comparing the same things. First, when Alice performs an operation on somebody, barring infection or some freak accident on the way home form the hospital, they will get better. When Bob makes a financial decision, for example, removing assets from the Houston area, the only people who that decision directly affects are the people who are represented in those assets, and even then, Bob's decision didn't really make them money, it just didn't cost them money. All the positive changes as a result of Bob's decision were really secondary ramifications, made by other people as a result of the results of Bob's decision. This presents two conclusions: 1) First, the idea of preference comes into play. Not everyone is going to follow the market trend in exactly the same way. Hell, if your invested in cleaning companies or construction, your transferring money into the area (I know its not hedge funds, but you get the point) Or they may not believe that the hurricane will make landfall, or the damage will be minor. The point is, not everyone pays attention 2) I seriously doubt that one person's moving of hedge funds would cause a massive displacement in financial assets. Perhaps a large group of financial managers, but then we would get into the mechanics of your "happiness unit" system. Would you divide the happiness gain amongst them? Perhaps give full credit to all of them? This would present another modification of the numbers. I think that further consideration of the secondary benefits of Alice's profession. Each of those 36,500 she operates on are able to continue living due to her operation. Therefore, would any happiness change they cause be ultimately attributed to her, like some sort of happiness pyramid scheme? Who knows, she might have even saved Bob's life with one of those operations. Meh, I’m not so sure about your argument there, because, in some ways, your not really comparing the same things. First, when Alice performs an operation on somebody, barring infection or some freak accident on the way home form the hospital, they will get better. When Bob makes a financial decision, for example, removing assets from the Houston area, the only people who that decision directly affects are the people who are represented in those assets, and even then, Bob’s decision didn’t really make them money, it just didn’t cost them money. All the positive changes as a result of Bob’s decision were really secondary ramifications, made by other people as a result of the results of Bob’s decision. This presents two conclusions:

1) First, the idea of preference comes into play. Not everyone is going to follow the market trend in exactly the same way. Hell, if your invested in cleaning companies or construction, your transferring money into the area (I know its not hedge funds, but you get the point) Or they may not believe that the hurricane will make landfall, or the damage will be minor. The point is, not everyone pays attention
2) I seriously doubt that one person’s moving of hedge funds would cause a massive displacement in financial assets. Perhaps a large group of financial managers, but then we would get into the mechanics of your “happiness unit” system. Would you divide the happiness gain amongst them? Perhaps give full credit to all of them? This would present another modification of the numbers.

I think that further consideration of the secondary benefits of Alice’s profession. Each of those 36,500 she operates on are able to continue living due to her operation. Therefore, would any happiness change they cause be ultimately attributed to her, like some sort of happiness pyramid scheme? Who knows, she might have even saved Bob’s life with one of those operations.

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