My blog turns three tomorrow! Three! There are not a lot of things at this point in my life I’ve worked on for three consecutive years.
At any rate, there’s nothing like New Year’s to look back over at the year past and see what I can…ignore making improvements on.
The most exciting thing that happened was adding Kelly to the blog. Her posts about things way cooler than the economic topics I like to tackle have rounded out the blog a bit—not to mention that they’ve eclipsed my hit count!
These are my ten favorite posts from the past year. My selection is essentially arbitrary. I used the data from the past year to guide my choices. With no further ado:
10) Newcomb’s Paradox: I’ve hardly resolved the problem to everyone’s satisfaction, but I found out after the fact one of my intellectual heroes had made a similar argument. Kenneth Binmore has a series of questions in his Playing For Real textbook that leads you to the same conclusion. I was really pleased to learn I had someone of his intellectual weight on my side!
9) Of Two Minds about Australia’s Minimum Wage: This year was all about the minimum wage here at the Politiconomist. There is more going on with the $15 minimum wage in Australia than meets the eye.
8) Checking Privilege: I’m glad that privilege is gaining mainstream accepting as an idea. But it’s definitely not a score that you have all the time.
7) Minimum Wage Debate: It’s probably bad form somehow to link a meta-page about a debate I had with Benjamin Studebaker, but oh well. This series collectively drew a lot of attention on both blogs. Basically, does raising the minimum wage help or hurt the economy? I said hurt, he said help. Much debate ensued.
6) Why White Culture Can’t Be Appropriated: But what about white culture getting appropriated! What about it? The case of Miley Cyrus (ugh, I know) illustrates the problems fantastically.
5) FYI (if you’re a teenage boy’s mother): This was my personal favorite thing Kelly wrote for the blog. The balance of humor and critique was thoroughly enjoyable. She takes on the internet’s least favorite slut-shaming mother!
4) The Odds Are in Peeta’s Favor: I like the Hunger Games. I like Game Theory. So, who is most likely to win a three-way duel in the Hunger Games? The answer may surprise you…
3) Why Did The Wage Stall in 1971?: A popular analysis points out that the average wage stalled in the late 60s. It’s tempting to think that this has to do with Reagan’s rise to power. In reality it is clearly a product of abandoning Bretton Woods.
2) The Woman Problem in JJ Abrams Star Trek: This piece got the most hits on the blog this year, and by a decent margin. (In fact, Kelly got 3 of the top 5 posts this year, including the top 2 spots. You go girl! If that’s not problematic.) Her deft plea for better writing of women in that franchise deserved the attention. Why does Hollywood find writing women so hard?
1) The Human in the Monstrous: The piece I am most proud of is this one. I firmly believe that justice is a human endeavor. I think this is one of my best statements of that.
Bonus: Doctor Who and the Math of Fixed Points: There has not been a year on this blog that this hasn’t been one of the top sources for hits. I compare a season finale to a mathematical function. And steadily, it’s making it’s way through the entire fandom, at about the rate of one person a day. Gallifrey falls no more!
Source:
http://thepoliticonomist.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/politiconomist-year-in-review-2013/