Read, baby, read. And then jingle. Smooches. JBR -----Original Message----- From: kelley <kwalker2 at gte.net> To: J. Barkley Rosser, Jr. <rosserjb at jmu.edu> Cc: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 3:01 PM Subject: Re: kids v. economists
>At 02:05 PM 2/21/01 -0500, J. Barkley Rosser, Jr. wrote:
>>kelley,
>> Before I blow this popsicle stand, let me send
>>you in the direction of the Journal of Mathematical
>>Sociology just to depress the hell out of you.
>
>why would it depress me?
>
>> Actually
>>what is considered by many to be one of the most
>>important papers in economic complexity theory
>>first appeared there in its first volume. That is
>>Thomas C. Schelling, "Dynamic Models of Segregation,"
>>Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 1971, vol. 1, pp. 143-186.
>> Basically it is how a little bit of prejudice, locally applied,
>>can lead to a whole lot of segregation, globally experienced.
>>The little bit of segregation is the shoe that got lost....
>> Standard econ math (and econometrics) is quite a bit
>>more these days than just multiple regression, which will not
>>get one published in a leading journal generally these days.
>>Barkley Rosser
>
>yeah, that's not the case in soc, tho. we still use variable analyses,
>regression analysis, and variations on the theme, for the most
>part. that's why i've argued for mathematical sociology as the way to go
>when looking at social structure. you see, that's supposed to be what
>makes "us" unique -- that we deal with social structure and see it as
>having generative properties distinct from the aggregate of individuals --
>and what we love to bash economists for! but when it gets too mathematical
>and complex you aren't saying that much, not to mention that people
>completely recede from the picture. and we want to deal with
>people--motivations, beliefs, etc as well. it's a stumper, but what the
>methodology part of my diss is trying to deal with -- moving between the
>micro, meso, and metalevels of analysis. but perhaps after your latest
>globetrotting you can give me an overview -- just for fun. i can do my own
>homework, of course, but i was curious what lefty types have to say about
it.
>
>thanks, kelley
>
>