Changes

5.  What is the “invisible hand”?  Discuss what it is, using an example (which could be from the story in the lecture about the making of a pencil).

5.  What is the “invisible hand”?  Discuss what it is, using an example (which could be from the story in the lecture about the making of a pencil).

6.  There are many parables by Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (and one in Mark) which use familiar concepts of money and economics in order to teach a deeper, more profound spiritual point.  Examples are at Matthew 13:18-23 and 44-46; Matthew 18:21-35; Matthew 20:1-16 and 33-46; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 7:36-50; Luke 12:13-21; Luke 14:15-24; Luke 15:8-10; Luke 16:1-13 and 19-31; Luke 18:9-14; and Luke 19:11-27.  Pick one of these parables and explain both the economic point and the deeper spiritual point.  Any thoughts on why Matthew has more economic parables than Mark does?

6.  There are many parables by Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (and one in Mark) which use familiar concepts of money and economics in order to teach a deeper, more profound spiritual point.  Examples are at Matthew 13:18-23 and 44-46; Matthew 18:21-35; Matthew 20:1-16 and 33-46; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 7:36-50; Luke 12:13-21; Luke 14:15-24; Luke 15:8-10; Luke 16:1-13 and 19-31; Luke 18:9-14; and Luke 19:11-27.  Pick one of these parables and explain both the economic point and the deeper spiritual point.  Extra credit: why might the Gospel of Matthew have more economic parables than the Gospel of Mark does?

7.  "Caveat emptor" or "carpe diem":  pick one of these concepts and explain what it means to you.

7.  "Caveat emptor" or "carpe diem":  pick one of these concepts and explain what it means to you.

9.  Improve on the lecture's definition of scarcity, and/or discuss the Ehrlich-Simon disagreement.

9.  Improve on the lecture's definition of scarcity, and/or discuss the Ehrlich-Simon disagreement.

10.  Imagine that you are riding on an airplane and need to finish a written project by the time it lands in order to earn a fee of $500.  The passenger next to you, however, keeps interrupting you by complaining about how she lost a $5 bill in the airport before the plane took off.  You keep asking her to forget about it, but she won't.  What would make sense in economic terms for you to do to get her to stop bothering you about it?

10.  Imagine that you are riding on an airplane and need to finish a written project by the time it lands in order to earn a fee of $500.  The passenger next to you, however, keeps interrupting you by complaining about how she lost a $5 bill in the airport before the plane took off.  You keep asking her to forget about it, but she won't.  She keeps bothering you so much that you cannot get your work done, which is worth far more than $5.  What would make sense in purely economic terms for you to do to get her to stop bothering you about it? Explain.

11.  "There is no such thing as a free lunch!"  Discuss the concept of (economic) scarcity in the context of that saying.

11.  "There is no such thing as a free lunch!"  Discuss the concept of (economic) scarcity in the context of that saying.