Michikids are Argentinian?

[Heid the Ba]

A Map of US states renamed as countries with similar GDPs.

[Мастер]

Better brush up on those tango lessons!

Wow, New Jersey and Russia are similar in other ways too.

It looks to me like GDP is converted to a common currency at nominal exchange rates, not adjusting for purchasing power parity. An adjustment for purchasing power parity would move China up in the ranks.

I wonder what they would say about this at the world's leading site for the promotion of woo-woo-nomics?

[Arneb]

I wonder what they would say about this at the world's leading site for the promotion of woo-woo-nomics?

Ui, that sure sounds like a grudge. What happened?

[Heid the Ba]

I knew you wouldn't be able to resist it Comrade Footwear. :D It does look like a straightforward comparison of figures without any attempt at interpretation.

Still, how often do you see Bangladesh and Rhode Island compared?

I shudder to think what the BAUT wwo-woo-nomists would use this to show about Europe.

Minnesota as the Norway of the West brings out exactly what you say about purchasing power. Norway is a fine country but it is very expensive to live there; salaries, pensions etc. are high so they still have a very high standard of living. They are also salting away huge sums of oil revenue for the future and to pay for universal health care. How you compare that in real terms with Minnesota is beyond me.

[umop ap!sdn]

Cooool, next time somebody asks me if I'm Greek I can point them to this map.

[Мастер]

Ui, that sure sounds like a grudge. What happened?

Well, let's put it this way.

Suppose you are a physicist, or an engineer, or an astronomer. You went to school, worked hard to learn the field, gradually became an expert. Maybe you studied under some of the world's leading experts; maybe you made some contribution to field yourself.

Now some blowhard who is ignorant of material on page 1 of "Physics for Dummies" shows up, and decides he's going to tell everyone how physics works, since he's revolutionized the field himself, only the stuffy establishment won't recognize his genius because they are looking to protect their vested interests. Page upon page of retarded physics pile up at the local web forum, our anti-hero, totally ignorant of the field, knowing only one thing - that everyone else is even dumber than he is. Any attempt to counter junk physics with real physics is met with sarcasm, jeers, insults, by the person who knows less about physics than anyone, but is convinced that he knows the most. Eventually, he gets banned, gets tired and goes away, or whatever, and the real physicists vent their frustration at having to deal with this total moron, and bray about their intellectual superiority.

And what do the real physicists promptly do? After bitching about the junk scientist, they promptly turn into junk economists, posting idiotic, mornomic, against-the-mainstream economic retardation that would have any reasonably competent community college economics major rolling on the floor laughing (or crying), vigorously resisting any attempts to introduce real economics, and so on.

BAUT strikes me as mutual ****-sucking society where the economics woo-woos crow about their intellectual superiority over the science woo-woos.

Unedited, perhaps incoherent, but I've had enough of BAUT-hypocrisy for one lifetime.

[Squee]

does this mean I'm Australian?

[Enzo]

131 - US States Renamed For Countries With Similar GDPs

I found that headline unsettling. They managed to add in 81 new states without me noticing.

I will Peru-ze the map while I digest my Chile. If you say we are in Argentina, then I Bolivia. Uraguay I trust.

Still, how often do you see Bangladesh and Rhode Island compared?

Not often, not even here in fact. Bangladesh is New Hampshire on this map.

Rhode Island got to portray Viet Nam. Perhaps they will change the name of Woonsocket to Ho Chi Minhsocket.

[Heid the Ba]

Still, how often do you see Bangladesh and Rhode Island compared?

Not often, not even here in fact. Bangladesh is New Hampshire on this map.

D'oh! Must get a new short-term memory.

Edit: Tagfixy and:

On a brief calculation Scotland = Nebraska = Czech.

[pmcolt]

Hmm. My home state is now Sweden. I'd've preferred Switzerland, myself, but looks like Georgia took that honor.

One thing's for sure: I'm not going to trust any emails I get from the crown prince of Hawaii.

[Arneb]

Well, let's put it this way.
[SNIP]
BAUT strikes me as mutual ****-sucking society where the economics woo-woos crow about their intellectual superiority over the science woo-woos.

Wow, that's a pity. Not having read the threads where you clashed, I can only say that I see BAUT in a more positive light. I must say I would have loved to see you there. But seems over. Who were you, by the way?

[Мастер]

Wow, that's a pity. Not having read the threads where you clashed, I can only say that I see BAUT in a more positive light. I must say I would have loved to see you there. But seems over. Who were you, by the way?

Well, I am glad you didn't overreact to my overreaction :)

I am sorry that I paint with too broad a brush, most people there are pretty reasonable. However, I have (there and at other science sites) had the same unpleasant conversation over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and---well, get the idea?

For some of the people there, as soon as they are out of their area of specialty, all rational thinking goes out the window. Certain things are to be taken as an article of faith, and if you don't buy it, you're an infidel. To me, it is rather like visiting a site where it is taken for granted that the moon landings are faked, the evidence for this position is trivially debunked, any attempt to introduce real evidence is resisted furiously, complete with jeers and contempt for the colossal idiot who actually believes that they are real.

That's kind of how I feel about it. People make economic proclamations there all the time, and they're invariably total BS. However, I know any attempt to introduce any real economics is doomed to total failure-the people there are rational, therefore whatever they say is the truth, evidence be damned.

It is probably a matter of background and training, it may be a perfectly fine website for other people, but for me, within minutes, I sense a general contempt for a branch of knowledge I have spent many years becoming expert in, and am routinely lectured in it by people who are completely clueless. I find the much vaunted rational debunking of ATM ideas to be limited to science; for other branches of knowledge, the whole place is an ATM forum.

Well, I guess I've spouted off enough. Anyone who likes the place is free to go there; it's not the right place for me, it just gets me upset.

[MM_Dandy]

Minnesota as the Norway of the West brings out exactly what you say about purchasing power. Norway is a fine country but it is very expensive to live there; salaries, pensions etc. are high so they still have a very high standard of living. They are also salting away huge sums of oil revenue for the future and to pay for universal health care. How you compare that in real terms with Minnesota is beyond me.

Well, a signification portion of Minnesotans have Norwegian ancestry. In fact, I just ran across a site that claimed:

There are over 400,000 Minnesotans of Norwegian descent. That there is a connection between Minnesota and Norway cannot be denied.

Although I'm not entirely sure of the origins of that site, and can't speak to its voracity, it's probably safe to say that between 5% and 10% of Minnesotans have Norwegian blood.

[Superluminal]

Well, I live in Pakistan. And I always thought those people with turbans were just hillbillies.

[Lance]

It says I live in Mexico. After looking at my neighbors and reading the signs on local stores, I have no doubt it's true.

[hippietrekx]

Well. That was highly interesting. I hear they find Dino Bones in Argentina. Interesting.

[Мастер]

Some of the comments under the map (at the map site, not at this one) point out that the whole thing is total rubbish, Nazi Jersey having a higher GDP than New York, for example.

[umop ap!sdn]

I hear they find Dino Bones in Argentina.

Yeah, that sauropod with the bony nodules all over its back & sides. Saltasaurus? Gosh it's been so long since I was really into that stuff.

[Enzo]

Yes, they are often found with peppasaurus.

[umop ap!sdn]

:P

[Arneb]

For some of the people there, as soon as they are out of their area of specialty, all rational thinking goes out the window.

Yeah, I noticed that, too. Being totally clueless when it comes to economics, I tended to see what you describe in areas where I consider myself a reasonably well-informed amateur - philosphy, a bit of theology, literature, music, history. I shunned those discussions, however. My brush with our history Rambo animal showed me it was right not there.

In my own area of expertise, I must say I was surprised how much competence there was at a forum that is, after all, astronomy-centered. The debunking of the "HIV-was-genetically-engineered-by-evil-CIA/FBI/NSA/Zionist/Illuminati-thugs" was quite impressive.

[Arneb]

...and since I didn't catch my error in time for the editing timeout: The last sentence of the first paragraph should read

"... it was right not to go there".

Sorry for the mistake.

[Мастер]

Yeah, I noticed that, too. Being totally clueless when it comes to economics, I tended to see what you describe in areas where I consider myself a reasonably well-informed amateur - philosphy, a bit of theology, literature, music, history. I shunned those discussions, however. My brush with our history Rambo animal showed me it was right not there.

That's probably what I should have done - just told myself, it's the internet, nobody listens to these people anyway.

But, it is a web site filled with space enthusiasts, who have one answer to every problem: more space exploration!

Spending on space exploration creates jobs, as many will gleefully demonstrate. People are hired to build rockets and such things, and then they spend money on other things, supporting local businesses, which in turn spend the money, etc. This is why western society remained neolithic until space exploration began in earnest in the 1950s. Apparently spending money on other things doesn't have the same wondrous effect. Don't ask me why, I don't fully understand the principles of BAUT-nomics, I only studied real economics. Also, the taxation to support the spending on space exploration is for some reason magic non-job-destructive taxation. Again, I can't explain why, but I have learned that it is considered very ill manners to ask why. I do plan to become extremely rich using the principles of BAUT-nomics though, by transferring money back and forth many times between by chequing and savings accounts. When I transfer money from savings to chequing, the amount in my chequing account will be larger. Then when I transfer this larger sum back to savings, the amount in my savings account will be even larger. Then when I transfer it back to chequing, it will be still more. And so on. If anyone says that this scheme makes no sense, I will prove them wrong by calling them names, in accordance with the principles of BAUT-nomics.

Who is the history Rambo? I have noticed some people (I've got one in mind in particular) who seem to have a rather ideologically driven view of history. I usually hear the term "revisionist" used to refer to Marxists, but I'd say we've got some revisionists at the other end of the spectrum :P

In my own area of expertise, I must say I was surprised how much competence there was at a forum that is, after all, astronomy-centered. The debunking of the "HIV-was-genetically-engineered-by-evil-CIA/FBI/NSA/Zionist/Illuminati-thugs" was quite impressive.

Well, there are definitely people who know what they're talking about, but in my particular case, I find them drowned out by the that's-not-what-we-want-to-hear-so-it-must-not-be-true crowd...

Well, the right answer for me (and not necessarily for anyone else) is to avoid that place like the plague. I did learn a lot there, but I don't find it worh the baggage...

ETA - heavily edited to add lots of sarcasm.

[Мастер]

Well, I live in Pakistan. And I always thought those people with turbans were just hillbillies.

[Heid the Ba]

I gave up on BAUT as I kept having to explain:

1. The queen doesn't rule the UK in any meaningful sense.
2. The Church of England has no power, and few members.
3. We do have a constitution, just not a document called "The Constitution".
4. Actually US law didn't spring out of nothing in the 1770s, it is largely English law.
5. US civil rights are no wider ranging than those in most other western countries, and in some cases less so, particularly after the Patriot Act.
6. suing someone for $750 million in a frivolous lawsuit is not the same as being awarded $750 million.

Pointing this out (particularly 4 & 5) lead to more hassle than I could be bothered with.

I went there yesterday and looked over a bunch of threads and there was nothing to draw me back.