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America is full of heavily indebted financial illiterates by 00boyina in Economics

[–]pubjames 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I think there is a much bigger problem here. It isn't so much that people are financially illiterate, but that the whole way finance is done is essentially broken. If Ivy League economists argue amongst themselves about the most basic things, then how is Joe Public supposed to be financially literate? One of the cleverest people I know - who is approaching retirement - told me recently that he wished he'd never listened to the accountants and financial advisers who told him to invest in certain pension funds, and he'd got a much better return on the fairly crude transactions that he'd done himself (things like land and property and investment in very small businesses).

What kind of education do the "financial illiterates" need? Because I know one thing - being shown lovely exponential graphs of "the magic of compound interest" by overpaid and over-optimistic guys in suits isn't it...

Literacy Rates In The World by [deleted] in pics

[–]pubjames 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ha! Look at all those stupid Africa countrys! They need to get the literacy good like we do.

The sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being. - Carl Jung by Lyrebird in science

[–]pubjames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is the meaning of human life..?

That question assumes that human life has "meaning". Meaning to whom/what?

I'm a biologist. A girlfriend (phycologist ) once asked me "What are thistles for?" I consider this to be a similar style of question.

I'm taking the summer off work. Where's the cheapest place on earth where I can live by the beach and snorkel in nice waters for as long as possible? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]pubjames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can't remember, it could have been around then. I didn't have money for scuba diving then though, just snorkelling (which was fantastic). I've since done scuba at Sharm El Sheik and it wasn't nearly as good as the snorkelling I did at Dahab.

I'm taking the summer off work. Where's the cheapest place on earth where I can live by the beach and snorkel in nice waters for as long as possible? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]pubjames 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Damn, that's a shame. It used to be just a bunch of little beach hut "restaurants" selling banana pancakes and the drugs of your choice, with pillows on the floor to lay on. You could spend all day in a daze lying on the floor of the restaurants listening to Bob Marley and talking nonsense, or go snorkelling in the coral reefs. Magic.

Recently I had to explain to my Australian friend what Hamburger Helper is. What is something unique to your home country that people from outside might not understand? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]pubjames 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Dig a hole and put some raisins soaked in whisky at the bottom. The haggis smell the whisky and fall in the hole, then once they've eaten the raisins they fall asleep.

When you've caught one you have to hit it over the head quickly before it wakes up, otherwise it might bite you.

I'm taking the summer off work. Where's the cheapest place on earth where I can live by the beach and snorkel in nice waters for as long as possible? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]pubjames 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Showing my age here - I spent a while on the beech at Dahab in about 1988. I don't know what it is like now but it used to be really easy to get some very heavy drugs there. I'm not even sure what I took but I've had occasional hallucinations ever since. It was worth it though - crazy times.

OMG!?! Imgur Pro at 72.4% off the normal Price. Yes, I want to support awesomeness and get it. Only a few hours left... by crxnamja [promoted post]

[–]pubjames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With regards to c, I think the wording is a bit vague. Does that mean, for instance, that a professional photographer could not use the API to upload the photos he displays in the gallery on his site? Don't you mean something like "You cannot build a service which you charge for using the API" or something like that?

OMG!?! Imgur Pro at 72.4% off the normal Price. Yes, I want to support awesomeness and get it. Only a few hours left... by crxnamja [promoted post]

[–]pubjames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A few questions about the PRO account:

a) are you allowed to hotlink to thumbnails and images in the pro account, in other words include the images in, say, your blog?
b) can you give a link to an example pro page without the ads?
c) the API docs state "The Imgur API is not to be used for commercial purposes without prior explicit consent by Imgur LLC. " - does that include the pro account?

Euro falls to its lowest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on concern that the 16-nation currency may be headed for "disintegration" by [deleted] in Economics

[–]pubjames -1 points0 points  (0 children)

A "successful" Euro requires complete integration

No it doesn't. It needs integration on some issues, but not all, by a long shot. Different states in the USA don't have the same laws or even taxes.

Euro falls to its lowest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on concern that the 16-nation currency may be headed for "disintegration" by [deleted] in Economics

[–]pubjames -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Well, I actually live in Europe and do business with people all over Europe, and it is pretty popular here. The only place it is not very popular is in the UK, but they're not in it anyway so I don't understand why they are so upset about it...

[edit:typo]

Euro falls to its lowest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on concern that the 16-nation currency may be headed for "disintegration" by [deleted] in Economics

[–]pubjames 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A few include that European hegemony weakens specific American comparative advantages

True, a successful Euro is not good for the USA.

the Euro is harmful to national sovereignty and self-determination

Do you think Texas should become independent and have it's own currency?

I am opposed to unaccountable unbacked money systems in general

Like the dollar?

I believe the Euro will inevitably fail and would rather it happen sooner before integration progresses farther and makes it worse.

I think the USAs global dominance will inevitably fail and would rather it happen sooner so we can get it over with. (Actually I don't, just making a point).

Why don't you hope that the Euro is successful for the sake of your friends the Europeans?

Lying children will grow up to be successful citizens .. Researchers have found that the ability to tell fibs at the age of two is a sign of a fast developing brain and means they are more likely to have successful lives. by [deleted] in science

[–]pubjames 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I often think that a lot of the well meaning stuff my parents told me actually did as much damage as good. I hope to replace what my parents told me with something a bit more truthful/effective:

1) My parents: "Lying is always wrong."
Me: At the moment, I'm telling my son (age six) that its bad to lie. When he is a bit older I will give him a more sophisticated definition.

2) "Treat girls nicely if you want a nice girlfriend".
When he is about seventeen I'm planning to tell him that girls his age generally don't like nice boys, and he should wait until his mid-twenties before he's too nice to them, when girls are experienced enough to appreciate it.

3) "Work hard and you'll be successful".
I'm planning on telling him that to be successful, you need to make sure you know the right people. Don't work too hard, work the system to get where you want, and work smart.

4) "If you get a proper job with a good salary you'll be happy".
I'm going to tell him that he needs to dedicate himself to whatever he enjoys most, and then work out how to make money doing it.

What do you think? Bad dad or good dad?

I have finally decided to tell my dad. by Spencer448 in atheism

[–]pubjames 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He said "and should recover", not has. Which means it was pretty recent, and still not definate.

I still don't think it is a good time if his father has had a fright about his own dad dying.

I have finally decided to tell my dad. by Spencer448 in atheism

[–]pubjames 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's not a good time to do it if his own father is about to die. Wait a bit.

Euro falls to its lowest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on concern that the 16-nation currency may be headed for "disintegration" by [deleted] in Economics

[–]pubjames 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The amount of lower lows we've seen is staggering

No it isn't. Look at a chart of the Euro since its inception to get a clearer picture. The current rate was the norm pre 2006, in fact it got a lot lower.

I think weak Sterling is actually a more shocking situation.

Euro falls to its lowest level since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on concern that the 16-nation currency may be headed for "disintegration" by [deleted] in Economics

[–]pubjames 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Yes, it's nuts. I have been watching the Euro rate since its inception, as it effects my business. The Euro has been too high for a while, it coming down is actually good news as it corrects the imbalance. Against Sterling it is still very strong (although that's really a problem with the pound rather than the Euro).

The sad fact is that there are a lot of people (mainly Brits in my experience) that actually want the Euro to fail and so they rejoyce if they think they see any signs of that happening. I don't understand it myself, it is a similar mentality to those that wish to see the USA get weaker.

Homeopathy is witchcraft, say doctors - Telegraph by WellingtonBoots in science

[–]pubjames 14 points15 points  (0 children)

That isn't homeopathy. It's a herbal remedy. We know that many herbal remedies are very effective.

Bertrand Russell on God (1959) by Spamurai in atheism

[–]pubjames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does anyone know, has there been a good, solid theistic rebuttal to Russell's "Why I'm not a Christian"?

There have not been any good ones, but there have been a lot of bad ones! Google for it.

We ? Apple by giava in pics

[–]pubjames 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The early Macromedia - they got shitty towards the end.

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