Assignment

*Read the excerpt of Chapter 4 of Philosophy of Science by Alex Rosenberg

-Question 1: According to Rosenberg, does Mercury's orbit disprove the Newtonian model of the solar system?

-Question 2: According to Rosenberg, is the Newtonian model used for sending satellites to the nearest planets?

*Read the excerpt of Essays in Positive Economics by Milton Friedman

-Question 3: Does the formula for falling bodies give accurate or inaccurate results when a feather is dropped? How about when a ball is dropped? What about when a ball is dropped from an airplane?

-Question 4: In explaining why leaves have accumulated on one side of the tree, Friedman notes that one hypothesis is that leaves have minds and have deliberately chosen to fall to one particular side of the tree. Suppose that a critic responds "we should reject that hypothesis because it is utterly stupid." Based on the reading, do you think that Friedman would agree or disagree with this critic? Why/why not?

-Question 5: Throughout the paper, Friedman consistently uses the phrase "as if." In the context of the billiard player, briefly explain (e.g., a few sentences) what Friedman means by "behaving as if..."

*Read the excerpt of Chapter 1 of The Structure of Economics by Eugene Silberberg

-Question 6: Silberberg mentions that the Ptolemaic explanation for planetary motion was replaced by the Copernican paradigm. According to Silberberg, was the Ptolemaic paradigm replaced because it was less realistic than the Copernican paradigm or was it replaced because the Copernican paradigm was simpler?

-Question 7: Silberberg notes that Economics assumes that tastes are constant. Does Silberberg say that a theory built on this assumption is realistic? Does he say that a theory built on this assumption can be useful?

-Question 8: Which of the enumerated facts on page 6 does Silberberg say that most would agree is irrelevant? What is the point that Silberberg is making by pointing out that most would agree that this fact is irrelevant?

-Question 9: According to Silberberg, how can we test the postulate of profit- maximization (on behalf of firms)? (Note that how Silberberg uses ‘behavioral postulate' is how Friedman uses ‘assumption')

-Question 10: According to Silberberg, can theories ever be proven?

-Question 11: According to Silberberg, economic theories need to be refutable. But why? To make them more realistic? To make them more useful?

*Read The Point of Economath by Paul Krugman

-Question 12: Paul Krugman claims that mathematical models are useful in economics. Why does he believe that math is useful in economics (assuming that the math is being used properly)?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a4b4bktkqm46nws/Readings.rar?dl=0