Ayn Rand Quotes

“In proportion to the mental energy he spent, the man who creates a new invention receives but a small percentage of his value in terms of material payment, no matter what fortune he makes, no matter what millions he earns. But the man who works as a janitor in the factory producing that invention, receives an enormous payment in proportion to the mental effort that his job requires of him. And the same is true of all men between, on all levels of ambition and ability. The man at the top of the intellectual pyramid contributes the most to all those below him, but gets nothing except his material payment, receiving no intellectual bonus from others to add to the value of his time. The man at the bottom who, left to himself, would starve in his hopeless ineptitude, contributes nothing to those above him, but receives the bonus of all of their brains. Such is the nature of the ‘competition’ between the strong and the weak of the intellect. Such is the pattern of ‘exploitation’ for which you have damned the strong.”


“Learn to distinguish the difference between errors of knowledge and breaches of morality. An error of knowledge is not a moral flaw, provided you are willing to correct it; only a mystic would judge human beings by the standard of an impossible, automatic omniscience. But a breach of morality is the conscious choice of an action you know to be evil, or a willful evasion of knowledge, a suspension of sight and of thought. That which you do not know, is not a moral charge against you; but that which you refuse to know, is an account of infamy growing in your soul.”

Laws, Theories and Hypothesis

Scientific Law

• A statement of fact describing an action or set of actions. 
• Generally accepted to be true and universal. 
• Don't need any complex external proofs; because they have always been observed to be true. 
• Must be simple, true, universal and absolute. 
• Represent the cornerstone of scientific discovery.

Hypothesis

• An educated guess
• Rational explanation of a single event or phenomenon based upon what is observed. 
• Most hypothesis can be supported or refuted by experimentation or continued observation. 

Theory

• A hypothesis that has been verified and accepted to be true. 
• More complex and dynamic than a law
• Explains an entire group of related phenomena
• Components of it can be changed or improved upon, without changing the overall truth of the theory as a whole. 
• Must be falsifiable; must be capable of being modified based on new evidence. 

State Propositions

November 2010 Propositions

Prop 19 - Yes; I can't resist an opportunity to limit the government's control over a person's life.
Prop 20 - Yes; transfers the authority of voter districting from elected politicians to an independent commission.
Prop 21 - No; I don't support new taxes for items that the government is required by law to do.
Prop 22 - No; Very confusing, I don't understand the purpose and can't clearly identify the benefits, therefore it's a no. I'll have to read the actual wording in order to make a final opinion.
Prop 23 - Yes; only as a way to effectively repeal AB 32. AB 32 is the wrong way to control pollution.
Prop 24 - No; a no vote lowers taxes on California businesses.
Prop 25 - No; another confusing one that requires reading the actual wording.
Prop 26 - Yes; makes it more difficult for the State to raise revenues.
Prop 27 - No; a yes vote for Prop 20 must mean a no vote for 27.  They propose opposite initiatives.

Gold Prices Skyrocket

Gold's price could rise above 1,300 in 2010


Despite the fact the most governments are no longer on the Gold Standard, it appears that most investors still rely on the commodity when they are uncertain about the value of their cash or other investments.  


Interesting fact: 

On Tuesday, spot gold hit an all-time high at $1,267.20 an ounce. Bullion has quintupled since 2000 when it was trading at about $250 an ounce. 

 quintupled = 400% increase in value

The Large Hadron Collider

The LHC

Very informative and easy to understand video about the LHC.  Fascinating!

Cool Physics Website

I stumbled upon this website while looking into the nature of light.  I'll be visiting this sight quite frequently I presume.

The Physics Hypertextbook

Translation of Newton's Laws of Motion

Andrew Motte's Translation of Newton's Laws

What's Holding Back the Hiring

According to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, ObamaCare will hike taxes an estimated $15.2 billion,

Moreover, employer mandates, taxes and penalties will reduce funds available for private-sector hiring. 

Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010:

Decisions about investment and hiring will be delayed for quite a while — with millions of Americans out of work — until all the regulations are issued, and it becomes apparent what their impact will be. 

For example, the law will probably increase the cost of buying derivatives to hedge the risks of exchanging a foreign currency for U.S. dollars, as when a product is made in the U.S., sold overseas and paid for in a foreign currency (like euros or yen). If the hedging cost is too high, more companies are likely to lay off American workers and transfer manufacturing offshore where products will be sold, so costs and revenues will be in the same currency. 

...higher spending must be paid for with higher taxes that will reduce the after-tax return on investment. Consequently, rather than making capital available now, many investors remain on the sidelines, and many businesses are sitting on cash, waiting to see how high the taxes are going to be. 

Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)

What is it?

• Enacted 30 July 2002
• In response to several corporate and accounting scandals (Enron)
• Applies only to publicly traded companies. 
• Established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
• Provides independent oversight of public accounting firms providing audit services.
• Mandates that senior executives take individual responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of corporate financial reports.
• Defines the Security Exchange Commission's (SEC) authority to censure or bar securities professionals from practicing as a broker, advisor or dealer. 
• Increases the criminal penalties associated with white-collar crimes and conspiracies.
• Requires management and the external auditor to report on the adequacy of the company's internal control over financial reporting. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes–Oxley_Act

Cost/Benefit
http://www.section404.org/pdf/Lord%20&%20Benoit%20Report%20Do%20the%20Benefits%20of%20404%20Exceed%20the%20Cost.pdf
http://www.foley.com/news/news_detail.aspx?newsid=3074
Analysis

• Major criticism points to the cost of implementing this law in comparison to the benefit.
• Studies show that SOX disproportionately effects expenses for smaller companies.
• Studies indicate that SOX inhibits companies from being traded in the United States markets.
• An unusually large number of companies de-listed themselves from the NYSE after the law was passed. 
• The number of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) has decreased since the passing, but given other economic conditions, it is unclear to what extent SOX has on this.
• Proponents of the measure site increased investor confidence through the enhanced financial transparency. 

[More to follow]

Anti-Business Epidemic

The U.S. Anti-Business Epidemic

"The true producer Rand shows, makes just one demand of Washington: 'Get the hell out of my way!"

"But by 2007 the number of federal agencies and commissions riding roughshod over a businessman's rights had already mushroomed to more than 100...This included 2002's draconian Sarbanes-Oxley"

So much for the notion that the financial industry was deregulated at the time of the "Financial Crisis."

"Republicans have joined Democrats in blaming America's "free market," and vow, in Mitch McConnell's words, to "rein in Wall Street to prevent another crisis."

Books I would like to read

Let me compile a list of books that I would like to read.  Truthfully, I don't think I'll be able to get to most of these until I'm out of school.  Until then, my time will likely be filled with deadlines and exams so much so that I won't be able to enjoy them.  So it would be better to create the list now and then start to work on them if and when I can.

Anthem - Ayn Rand
The Wealth of Nations - Adam Smith
The Ethics - Baruch Spinoza
Critique of Pure Reason - Immanuel Kant
Second Treatise of Government - John Locke
Leviathan - Thomas Hobbes
Iliad, Odyssey - Homer
Principia - Isaac Newton
The Path Between the Seas - David McCollough (Sitting on my bookshelf with 1/4 read).

The Purpose

The purpose of this blog is an act to document my ideas.  Transferring those thoughts to text will require me to organize and solidify their contents.  I also hope to build upon certain ideas by providing links to relevant online materials.  I invite any curious wonderer to read and comment.