The last post reminded me of an econometrician joke!
Three econometricians went out hunting, and came across a large deer. The first econometrician fired, but missed, by a meter to the left. The second econometrician fired, but also missed, by a meter to the right. The third econometrician didn't fire, but shouted in triumph, "We got it! We got it!"
More economist jokes on this site. Which, incidentally, features a new addition to the infamous "Politics explained" joke email that we've all gotten approximately one million times:
ANARCHY: You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors kill you and take the cows.
DEMOCRACY: Two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for dinner.
That's why we live in a Republic.
I thought that was a statistician joke.
A conventional economist and an efficient market economist are walking down the street. The conventional economist says, "Look! There's a twenty dollar bill in the street. Let's go get it!"
The efficient market economist says, "Naw, if that was a real twenty dollar bill, someone else would already have picked it up."
Am I the only one who thought that the one near the end about how the blind guys should play at night was actually a really good suggestion? Might be a bit of a pain for the caddy, but I'm sure there's still a net gain to be had there.
ANARCHY: You have two cows. You sell the milk at a fair price. Your neighbors kill you and take the cows, or not, depending.
"The efficient market economist says, "Naw, if that was a real twenty dollar bill, someone else would already have picked it up.""
No, that was 20 years ago. Now the second economist says "quick, pick it up before the market adjusts."
Isabel - An econometrician is just a statistician that seldom gets to work with good data.
I first heard these two with engineers as the befuddled protagonists, but they work here, too:
1. On Utility
An economist is walking from the office to the deli when one of his colleagues pulls up on a shiny new motorcycle. The first economist is impressed. "Where did you get this beauty?"
The second responds, "Strangest thing. I was walking up 5th Street yesterday during my lunch hour, when a thin young woman in a one-piece leather riding suit pulls up on this bike, parks it along the curb, unzips the suit and throws it to the ground, and then stands there naked as a jaybird and proclaims, "This is your lucky day. Take whatever you want."
The first economist strokes his hand over the flawless chrome and nods approvingly. "Your instincts are as sound as ever! The riding suit surely wouldn't have fit you."
2. Time Management
An architect, an artist, and an economist are discussing the value of a wife versus a mistress in relation to their careers. "I enjoy designing and expanding a stable, beautiful realationship with my wife," the architect explains. "A sound marriage is preferable to any mistress."
The artist disagress. "Boring! For you see, there is a glorious burst of light in an illicit tryst with a flightly lover. To have a mistress! -ah, it is true passion, it is."
The economist sniffs. "I'll take one of each, and make sure they both are quite aware of it."
The other two turn and stare at him, jaws agape. "What? How can that ever work?"
"Rather well," replies the economist. "The wife assumes you're spending time with the mistress. The mistress assumes you're spending time with the wife. Meanwhile, you can be in the office finally finishing up that statistical analysis..."
Joke #1 is also recycled into an actuary joke.
http://fourthcheckraise.blogspot.com/2008/06/three-toed-frog.html
You have talked about unintended consequences. So, this guy (Finnish guy living in Canada) has his own story:
"During his career, the aptonymous Finnish political cartoonist Kari Suomalainen had a pretty amazing freedom to say things that others were not allowed to even think, such as criticizing the Soviet Union and its toadies. As a kid I am sure that I didn't fully understand everything, but one humorous observation that I remember was pointing out how in the Finnish journalism, a Russian general always warns ("varoittaa") but an American general always bullies ("uhoaa"). Kari passed away in 1999, but it's interesting to imagine what he would be drawing today about... well, you know, those things that you are not allowed to criticize or even mention. However, there was one particular cartoon whose general form I don't remember seeing anywhere else. In the first panel, a guy at his desk is reading a newspaper, and a speech balloon above his head says "This summer, the state television channels are going to play more Bulgarian and Hungarian films... excellent!" In the second panel, the guy is silently grinning, and since there is no speech balloon, we now see the sign "Video store" above his head. This simple template could be used to make a whole series of cartoons to educate people about the unintentional consequences of various well-meaning policies. (Peter Bagge, I am thinking of you!)"