naked economics

My aunt previously mentioned to me that i have wasted two years on my life in this place. I suppose there are many arguments one could make to support that statement, but there are also counter-arguments that can be used. Overall, i do not feel that i have wasted my time.

The second best thing that happened to me was my exposure to economics. The first of it happened during lunch, when they would debate various topics, mostly about other countries  and public policy. Although i did not join in, it was more due to a lack of understanding rather than a lack of interest. This was followed by exposure to the work done by the economics team, in particular when sitting in on the eria conference. I still remember that thrilling feeling (same as the very first time i watched star wars episode 4), when discovering that you could use simple models to predict emissions from different countries using various assumptions. How these assumptions are built is a science in itself, and the implications of such studies are both endless and fascinating!

Since then i have learnt more about why renewables are not widespread and why energy efficiency is not popular. I am also proud to say that i have worked on a cba myself. I have come to like economics alot, even though i had no love for it in jc. While engineering is useful, i find that economics is more interesting since there is the human factor involved. It is just remarkable how markets work in bringing food from the fields and farms to your table.

Of course, i have no formal training in economics at all. I think it is important to be able to think like an economist, simply because one must be able to see the pros and cons of any intervention or policy action. In that aspect, economics is very similar to systems thinking, both of which require a certain amount of training before one can think in that manner.

I found myself in the "economics" section of the library last week and came across Naked Economics by Darrell Huff. Although i have not finished reading the book, i have to say that i am loving every page of it. It provides an econs 101 lesson without any equations, but is peppered with examples, anecdotes and humour. If this was the textbook given to us in jc, i think my life would have been very different.