Ryu's Blog

I enjoyed the bloggingheads series by Will Wilkinson,  one of my favourite moral philosophers/psychologists. The conversation with Clay Shirky on internet and culture is particularly interesting. Talks with Richard Florida and Dan Ariely on their recent books Who’s your City and Predictably Irrational are fun to listen as well, highly recommended for people interested in psychology, culture, and applied economics.

Below’s a brief reflection on the conversation with Richard Florida:

I agree with Florida that where one lives make a big differerce to one’s life, but not sure if the beneficial tradeoffs by consciously planning where to live can be easily achieved. Even though I’ve lived in many cities, most were not conscious decision. Only after I came to Singapore and started working have I begun to think that location matters. The people you might come across, cultural experience, career opportunities available, and quality of life differ widely across cities. Since I’ve grown up moving from place to place, I tend not to associate myself with any countries, and it’s easier for me to choose where I’d like to live. For now I’m happy where I am. If have chance I’d like to live in a major city in the US for a while, perhaps New York (no, I’m not a neurotic) or San Franscico.

PS: The first part of this conversation on why academics are generally bitter is very interesting as well; give me second thought on whether I really want to do a PhD. Here’s Megan’s speculations on why academics are bitter. The one who wants to be happy should followArnold Kling’s advice.