Re: [tlug] [OT] Say _no_ to the Microsoft Office format as an ISO standard

[Shawn <javajunkie@example.com>]

On Sun, 2007-07-08 at 03:43 +0900, Stephen J. Turnbull wrote:

> The problem with behavioral economics is that you look at people doing
> something you know is stupid and self-defeating, and you go, "OK,
> Windows sysadmins by nature are stupid and self-destructive."  If you
> start by assuming they know what's good for them, *then* you can
> uncover the organizational incentive aspect.

> Of course you can do both, but I see no advantage to doing that.

I saw an article about Gregory Clark, an economic historian at the
University of California, Davis, who posits that the Industrial
Revolution -- the surge in economic growth that occurred first in
England around 1800 — occurred because of a change in the nature of the
human population.  This was, the argument goes, a result of the upper
class having more offspring and passing their values along thus allowing
escape from the Malthusian trap (i.e. higher populations consuming
economic gains for a result of continued poverty).

Apparently he Gregory spent the last 20 years scanning medieval English
archives for the data he believes supports his position.

Maybe we linux users should strive to have more offspring.

Shawn