scrape_r_rational/data/cache/2bue7b.md

[Educational] Deathonomics 1-3: Let's learn price theory with ponies

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• u/None:

  Be sure not to miss [Charley and the Coase Theorem.](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10509958/1/Charley-and-the-Coase-Theorem)
  

  • u/PeridexisErrant:

    Lovely.
    

• u/traverseda:

  >“I have things to do, an economy to destroy, a sister to…hm, is there a word for the act of totally eradicating every component of somepony’s utility function? No matter. Leave.”
  
  Should give you a general idea of this authors work.
  

  • u/None:

    *Is* there a word for that?
    

    • u/traverseda:

      Probably. How do you feel about german loan words?
      

• u/traverseda:

  Seriously. You write so interestingly. It's like pratchett.
  

  • u/None:

    Yes, I am riffing off his style pretty hard. And you want me to use footnotes, and pretty soon the pony in black will be TALKING LIKE THIS. I might as well surrender and declare Equestria perfectly flat and traveling through space on the back of a reptile.
    

    • u/None:

      Honestly, it has a sun and moon that have to be moved *manually*, via *telekinetic magic*.  A flat planet is the *simplest* explanation here.
      

• u/alexanderwales:

  I just wanted to say that I continue to read and enjoy what you're writing - I've got the college Econ 101 understanding of much of this stuff, but your writing is helping me to grok things that I before only understood on a rote level.
  

  • u/None:

    Yay, learning! Now if I could just convince you to write a story about Lex Luthor assuming control of the Federal Reserve....
    

• u/None:

  > In this chapter an economics puzzle is presented. In the next chapter Twilight Sparkle will try to solve it. Do try to solve it along with her.
  

• u/None:

  I would be interested in comments on how successful this story is from a pedagogical perspective, and also generally. I can tell a lot of economics-themed pony stories and indeed have planned quite a few, but there is little point if people can't take much of this. What interests and works for you about this story, what doesn't, how could it be better and more interesting, etc.?
  

  • u/traverseda:

    You're targeting a niche of a niche. So don't be surprised if your readership is low.
    
    And I imagine that most of your target audience is generally busy. I'm only catching up with the tail end of Economic is Science now.
    
    It's certainly expanded my vocabulary. Most of the economics lessons are already apparent. Not that I have any real specialized economics knowledge. Although I do dabble. Mostly it's because of generic lesswrong stuff.
    
    I think you could do a lot with footnotes. "Have I ever told you about how pencils are made" demans a more thorough explanation.
    

  • u/rationalidurr:

    All of the economics you've explained so far have been okay, but it would have been better, for me anyway, if you used more practical examples in explaining the theory, I have trouble understanding why marginal cost rises, when i assume that a factory would get proficient at making a product. I enjoy the short comedic parts and subtle references. 501st unit.  Haha!
    

• u/Charlie___:

  Suppose I'm Rarity, and I have to pay 1000 bits for dressmaking equipment before making my first dress - the cost of my first dress is 1000 bits. But then the marginal cost of further dresses is very low, maybe 5 bits. If I sell dresses at 6 bits, sure I don't lose money per dress, but that doesn't make it profitable to be a dressmaker, since the cost of the first dress was so high - I'd rather just loan my 1000 bits to Rainbow Dash.
  
  But if selling at below, say, 30 bits means it's not profitable to be a dressmaker, this means that if I, Rarity, charge 30 bits, ponies with 1000 bits lying around will not be willing to become dressmakers to try and undercut me at 29 bits. Therefore I can raise my prices to 30 bits without anypony undercutting me and causing me to lose business. And since I can, I should, so long as other ponies keep buying my dresses enough to make each increase in price profitable.
  
  -
  
  Or suppose I'm Pinkie Pie, and I know everypony in town. The marginal cost of a cupcake is 1.5 bits, so if a pony is poor or doesn't like cupcakes much I charge them 2 bits. But if they really like cupcakes or can afford it, I know they'll pay even if I ask them for 3 or 4 or sometimes even 5 bits! Everyone pays a price they're happy with and I make way more bits than if I just asked everyone for the same price.
  

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