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11/20/2006

Milton

Milton Friedman died last week. Professor Gary Becker can do a much much much better job remembering the great Chicago economist. I highly encourage you to read it. As for my comments, I'd just want to apply this to things that I deal with.

In general, the GSB works like a free market in many aspects. The bidding system (arg), the flexibility of classes, the freedom and non-funding of student groups, the membership fees student group charges, the freedom to choose your own study group, public information on professor ratings, etc etc. The idea is that the ultimate user of the MBA (i.e. that would be me and my colleagues) will know what is best for him or her. The individual will act according to incentives offered and results he or she wants to achieve.

And in general, I believe that the market works as well. The students know best. Provide the path(s) and the tools to walk the path(s)... and the students will do the rest according to their incentives and preferences. But then of course there are many big egos in the school who think they know what's best for all the others. Sometimes, they are right; other times, they are wrong. For the few who try to provide tools, paths, and also the not-so-subtle push that you should follow my lead or else you will drown, I say think about Milton Friedman. You might be right about some points, but at the end it's up to the individual.

I have just formed a positive correlation between me being bothered and me remembering my dreams. Lately, I've been remembering my dreams. Some of them were really really weird (along the lines of shit in a bathtub... not good) too. Anyway, I'm going to sleep... I will let you know if I remember my dream in a few hours.

I'm slowly linking names and faces to blogs. Slowly. Look, I'm not that perceptive, okay?

1 comment:

Le Voyageur said...

I read Becker's story on Friedman a few days ago and it made me want to pick up a few of Friedman's books. We'll see whether that actually happens, but your analogy regarding the M.O. at Chicago is a good one.