Curly Girl

Intro ( G - A - F - E - C - B )

G - C

Babe, I’m about to explode, You should have told me how you work.

Half kiss, guess it’s enough, find you sexy, wanna have you, but I’ll keep you for desert.

Curly girl, your hair is twisting my mind, Don’t mind waiting, I’m just saying when you’re mine you’ll twist all night.

Oh really? Now you wanna compete? If you think I am a rookie guess the last guy I just beat?

Come on hon, I don’t care who you’re with. I just wanna have my share, I won’t be jealous or a bitch.  

G - C - D - D# - D

Ok, let me think just a bit. To be honest I don’t know if I can keep up with all this.

Say what???

G - C - D - D# - D

Just saying even if you’re the best, when I get my hands all over you it will be so much mess.

G - C

So what? Who said more mess is worse?

Say what???   

What if we could figure out a way to clean the dirt and go

Intro ( G - A - F - E - C - B )

No clue what you mean  /  Shut the fuck up and sing with me:

Come with me let’s go

To this place unknown

Promise you’ll have fun

Least I’ll make you smile

A reta e o ponto

Como sói dizer-se

Dói

Ser um só corpo

E não poder

Preencher o quarto

Ser cem em dialética

Binário em aritimética

Sem transcender a barreira

Entre o possível

E o factível

Pudesse compartilhar

Com meus pares

Quiçá tocar

Em conjunto

Notas que só se encontra se não se busca

Seriam tantas canções

Mas que seria

Daquele momento

Meu?

E qual a graça

Do particular

Não-traduzível

Por definição

Tomar a forma

Quadrada

Inerente à tradução

Da sensação em equação?

Golden Slumbers

Late thoughts, early morning, Was I dreaming or thinking?

Was I in charge of that mellow orchestra?

Conducting the notes which shall come hereafter,

Taming my fears, scared yet laughter

Glows up my face as I go up

That stage and look at you.

I turn my back and all is quiet,

Lift my arm and all in fire,

Notes are flying side by side,

Reaching ears, souls and minds.

That’s my hope, my eyes are closed.

Final note and I turn back,

Eyes wide open, you’re not there.

Yet tomorrow never knows
Whether the tide comes or goes.

Can you vivisect a moral agent?

Homo Economist,
Let's make a deal.
You say your model
Need not be real.
For agents act
As if they behaved
In such and such fashion,
Thus morals are vain.

I take your claim,
My friend Eco,
And respect your game,
Are we friend or foe?
Though one point need be
Clarified.
I did not get
Where morals lie.

We come full circle,
You explain again.
I'm just trouble minded
And can't understand.
Plausible, neat and wrong,
That's what it seems,
Yet it is quite hard
To discuss the seams.

So what's the deal?
Are you ready to talk?
Tell me why should one worship
Your method as God.
Religion disguises in so many forms
And sticking to dogmas is one of its norms.
But meet me half way on this sweet coffee-shop,
I know you make more, but we'll split up the cost.

Sleep Tight

I want to live
I want to die
I want to go
Where angels guide

Someday I will fly
But not today
Today I will stay
Within my sway

Lost and found
We've always been
A sweet true love
Perhaps a dream

For all is true
Is fantasy
Hence all not true
Not worthwhile

I wish that we
Could reconcile
Yet not today
It cannot be

Perhaps it's not
Supposed to be
At least for now
Or hundred years

Yet there is a bond
I can't deny
Which leads me straight
Up to your heart

And sure I'll see
You everyday
Although you'll be
So far away

So sleep tight love
As every night
You've done all
The last years so bright

Sun will always
Shine for you
And wake you from
Your sweet curfew

I'll miss you so
That's all I say
But life's like this
There is no replay

Debunking Economics – Don’t shoot the piano!

I have argued elsewhere that it is meaningless to criticize mathematics per se. As Steve Keen puts it, “while it is undeniable that an inordinate love of mathematical formalism has contributed to some of the intellectual excesses in economics, generally this reaction is as erroneous as blaming the piano for the discordant notes of a bad piano player. If anything should be shot, it is the pianist, not the piano”. His book combines sound theory (Marx – Schumpeter – Minsky – Keynes) and chaos theory (non-linear differential equations) to analyze the inherent instability of a monetary economy.

He argues that poor scholarship leads to bad theory, both regarding the lack of knowledge in the history of economic thought as well as the lack of proper mathematical training. It is interesting to note that neoclassical economists are so vain about their unlimited mathematical skills and reject their critics on the basis that they do not understand math and therefore aren’t in a position to criticize their work. This can be traced back to Walras:

“As for those economists who do not know any mathematics […] let them go their way repeating that ‘human liberty will never allow itself to be cast into equations’ or that ‘mathematics ignores frictions which are everything in social sciences’ and other equally forceful and flowery phrases”

Ironically, Kalecki who was a great mathematician (see Libânio) was left at the backwaters of economics, which leads to the conclusion that the neoclassical claim to be scientific does not hold up to scrutiny. Since he had a Marxist background where classes were the basic unit of analysis and did not use the conventional tools – equilibrium, utility and production functions, optimization – he was ignored, as anyone who doesn’t follow the dogmas will. To put it short, mathematics on itself won’t take you to the ivory tower of neoclassical economics.

Tony Lawson, trained as a mathematician, supports Keen’s point that you don’t need to be a bad mathematician to be critical of economics. Eric Weinstein, in the same vein, proposes Gauge Theory to deal with economic issues. Evolutionary economics and complexity theory, as well, provide alternatives based on evolutionary game theory and computer simulation that are far from nonmathematical and take the social and historical much more seriously than standard economics.

For every flaw of standard theory there are ancillary assumptions to save the day, however, as Lakatos argues, this is a sign of a degenerative scientific research program, one in which the hard core is constantly being incapable of explaining new phenomena and most effort is applied at adjusting the ancillary assumptions.

Hence, whether you are enthusiastic of Keen, Kalecki, Weinstein, Evolutionary Economics, Complexity Theory (or what have you) you are entitled to say: “don’t shoot me, I’m only the piano”. However, be aware you won’t be invited to play in the lousy gigs where most of the audience goes. But, who said the best parties are the most crowded?