University of Chicago economists are often criticized for their willingness to frame everything into a (rational) economics framework. The main example of this is Nobel laureate Gary Becker and his Treatise on the Family.
Now do you want to know what they really mean at U of Chicago Department of Economics by applying economics to daily life and issues? Here is a rather funny example (courtesy of Ngan Dinh who is a PhD student there):
Nothing new ! It's just a 'sophism'...
Sophisms do apply in whatever circumstances with whatever subjects...!
Posted by: Faivre Christiane | May 10, 2005 at 10:19 AM
Considering the misogynist in myself, it's of no surprise that I love that proof.
I'm currently an undergrad at the Singapore Management University, studying finance under a certain Jayaram Muthuswamy who did his PhD at Chicago. He's currently trying to disprove Riemann's theorem, so if he succeeds, I guess he'll do you guys proud.
Posted by: Min | May 20, 2005 at 01:58 PM
Very funny...and true! :-p
Christiane is right, this is sophism. It was explained by Aristotle in "On Rhetoric". But what I love in that joke is to make fun of the Chicago School. In way, transforming all aspects of the economic life into rational framework coule be seen as...sophism, no?
Posted by: Alex | May 26, 2005 at 04:53 PM
Supposedly found on a restroom wall in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT):
ME - SHE = 0
ME = SHE
M = SH
MIT = SHIT
Posted by: WT | October 01, 2005 at 06:00 PM
Hmmm... Isabel points out that you can only say |Girls| == |Evil|, so it's quite possible that Girls are in fact the negative of Evil. Then again, being a Girl, you would expect that of her kind.
Posted by: Russell Nelson | October 03, 2005 at 07:18 AM
Unfortunately the phrase is not "money is the root of all evil" but "the love of money is the root of all evil". Money itself is handy. You can buy stuff with it.
Posted by: Ross Parker | October 03, 2005 at 11:09 AM