Category Archives: Economics

“The Salt Path” (2025): An Underappreciated Film That Includes Actual Humanity

Posted on January 24, 2026 by williamjcobb

So my wife and I are inveterate backpackers—the seasoned, often bedraggled kind. We’ve backpacked in many locations from Denali National Park in Alaska (perhaps the “wildest” backcountry) to Yellowstone and the Wind Rivers in Wyoming and many others. But truth … Continue reading →

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Ten Years Left of Humanity, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the A.I. Bomb: On Two Visions of the Upcoming A.I. Apocalypse: Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares’ “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies” and Mustafa Suleyman’s “The Coming Wave: AI, Power, and Our Future”

Posted on January 12, 2026 by williamjcobb

So I recently read the somewhat-infamous bestseller by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All (2025). It’s a white-knuckled warning about the imminent peril of ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence). … Continue reading →

Posted in A.I., A.I. 2027, A.I. Apocalypse, A.S.I. (Artificial Super Intelligence), Annihilation, books, Economics, Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares' If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, Mustafa Suleyman's The Coming Wave: A.I., Power, and Our Future, Uncategorized, Universal Income, writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Stephen D. King's "When the Money Runs Out: The End of Western Affluence," With a Nod to Gus Van Sant's "Promised Land"

Posted on November 16, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been reading Stephen D. King’s When the Money Runs Out: the End of Western Affluence, which seems like a perverse act. Of all the things to read in the world, why this? It’s mainly about macroeconomics, the global … Continue reading →

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On Hanna Rosin's "The End of Men": The End of Men? Maybe Not, But Thanks for Asking

Posted on October 26, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been reading Hanna Rosin’s The End of Men (2012)—why? out of sheer obstinacy, no doubt—which is at turns annoying, blockheaded, fascinating, fun, and scary. And for all those responses, it must be doing something right. I would have … Continue reading →

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"The Bird Saviors" as an Example of "Cli-Fi": The Hot, New Literary Subgenre—Climate Fiction

Posted on April 20, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’m amused to see this piece on NPR books, which defines a new literary subgenre called Cli-Fi, for Climate Fiction, via a good friend (Thanks, Elizabeth!), here. I’ve noticed a number of novels that have elements of Climate Change … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, Cormac McCarthy, Economics, The West, Weird Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

"A Flag From the Poor Kid": A Christmas Essay

Posted on December 18, 2012 by williamjcobb

So a week ago I attended my daughter’s first community choir event for the Christmas season, at a Lutheran church no less. It was a lovely—even, dare I say, spiritual—event, a crowd of darling children singing (or not) Christmas carols in … Continue reading →

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The End of Growth, Or to Quote Bette Davis, "Fasten Your Seatbelts, It's Going to Be a Rocky Ride."

Posted on October 15, 2012 by williamjcobb

So there’s a fascinating, if decidedly gloomy, piece in the NY Times today, about one economist’s challenging paper that argues the U.S. (and other industrialized nations) are in store for a dramatic decline in growth, here. The most interesting part … Continue reading →

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Fires, Plagues of Locusts, and Chiggers: Signs of the Apocalypse in Colorado, Or Is That Global Warming in Your Pocket?

Posted on June 27, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I believe in the biblical apocalypse as much as I do the Tooth Fairy, but replace the word “apocalypse” with “global warming” and we’re onto something real. The back roads of Custer County, Colorado are now covered with swarms … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, Economics, Politics, The West, Water Crisis, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Big Friend, Boohoo, Big Mess: How the Facebook IPO Symbolizes the False Hype of the Financial World

Posted on June 2, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’m mildly amused by the debacle that was Facebook’s Wall Street debut, in that I always found the multi-billion dollar value of FB to be an illusion. Now that it’s dropped in value by over $20 billion, my suspicions … Continue reading →

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