Re: [tlug] Re: Post my article on tlug.jp?

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Curt Sampson writes:

 > That's not sophistry; it's what I hope is a sensible economic analysis
 > of the situation.

Dead on.

 > Keep in mind that the original point of all of this
 > was to look at how people made the decision

Demonstrating that much understanding (of what is crucial) is enough
get an A in my class; please show up and help the other students, but
it's not required to get the grade.  (Matriculating is, unfortunately.)

 > But I did think about it! I know well that some of the money I spend on
 > my laptop went to MS. But again, the bottom line of what I pay is the
 > same either way.

This is standard economic thinking.  However, Lyle's definition of
"free" and his apparent belief that money paid to Microsoft costs more
than money paid to another vendor are not unique to him, such beliefs
have real economic effects, and they may be evolutionarily efficient
in a way that economists are currently trying to come to grips with
(and publishing an enormous amount of bovine excrement in the process,
but that's not something y'all have to worry about :-).

It's been a long time since I read it, so it may be more technical
than I remember it, but an excellent layman-readable account of the
basic ideas is Robert Frank's "Passions Within Reason".  The book is
even better than the title.  It's definitely at a lower level of
technicality (and larger type for us oldsters :-) than "Folded,
Spindled, and Mutilated: US v. IBM".  (I mention the latter because
you can ask Josh about whether my definition of "suitable for the
layman" has any connection to reality. :-)