When life gets hard, when things don’t go my way, when a project doesn’t quite work out the way I planned, or when I want to sleep but can’t—like right now—I think of thinkers and leaders from the past and I remind myself that things could be much, much worse. Friedrich Hayek had to…
Art Carden
Art Carden is Assistant Professor of Economics and Business at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and an Adjunct Fellow with the Oakland, California-based Independent Institute. He has been a visiting researcher at the American Institute for Economic Research in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and at the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama. He holds a BS and an MA in economics from the University of Alabama as well as an AM and PhD in economics and a Graduate Certificate in New Institutional Social Sciences from Washington University in Saint Louis. His articles and reviews have been published or are forthcoming in numerous scholarly journals and other outlets. He writes regular commentaries for the Ludwig von Mises Institute and the Independent Institute, and he is a regular contributor to an economics weblog at www.divisionoflabour.com. He and his wife Shannon had their first child, Jacob, on July 31, 2008.Posts by Art Carden
Improve Your Writing With Word Limits
Here’s a scenario that might sound familiar: you are listening to a speech or presentation, or perhaps you are reading an article, an essay, or a report, and it becomes clear that the writer is using words without communicating. Some essays, articles, and books might be pleasant to read because the language is colorful, and…
On “The Substance of Style”
Review of Virginia Postrel, The Substance of Style (2004, Harper Perennial, Paperback) Virginia Postrel’s The Substance of Style is a book I’ve been meaning to read for a long time. Postrel has a rare combination of talents: her writing is fluid, vivid, and memorable, her writing is informed by careful economic reasoning, and despite…
Writing Research Papers
No matter where you are in your intellectual journey, the ability to assemble and analyze large amounts of complex information is a skill that can pay large dividends both in monetary terms and in terms of your overall satisfaction with life. What follows is a very short guide and template for writing excellent research papers. Re-Evaluating…
Review of Bill Hybels, “Holy Discontent”
Review of Bill Hybels, Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire that Ignites Personal Vision. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007. What really sets you off? What are the things in life that really get your blood boiling? In this short, provocative, and easy-to-read book, Willow Creek’s Bill Hybels uses his pastoral fluency to challenge the reader to…
Improve Your Charitable Giving: Let Not Your Left Hand Know What Your Right Is Doing
According to virtually every religious and ethical tradition, meaningful charity does not draw attention to the giver, and dignified charity does not draw attention to the recipient. Here I will offer an economist’s perspective on the Biblical injunction to “let not the right hand know what the left is doing” in charitable giving and will…
A Review of “The Art of Learning”
Review of Josh Waitzkin, “The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance.” New York: Free Press, 2007. Josh Waitzkin has led a full life as a chess master and international martial arts champion, and as of this writing he isn’t yet 35. The Art of Learning chronicles his journey from chess prodigy…
An Interview with Patrick Ritchie, Author of “The Credit Roadmap”
Patrick Ritchie is the author of The Credit Road Map, an in-depth look into how the credit world works. He is a certified instructor with the Arizona Department of Real Estate. Patrick is a guest lecturer for The Ohio State University and Arizona State University MBA programs. His book…
Learning from A Master: Review of “Bear Bryant, CEO”
Richard Truman. 2006. Bear Bryant, CEO. Sweetwater Press. Legendary coaches are great sources of inspiration and wisdom, and Paul W. “Bear” Bryant, the iconic coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide from the late 1950s through the early 1980s, is revered as something approaching a minor deity in the state of Alabama. There is a…
What I’ve Learned From Working in the Preschool Ministry
My son was born on July 31, 2008. To prepare for the trials and travails of fatherhood, I spent my Sunday mornings working in our church’s preschool ministry. It was really, really fun, and I look forward to getting back to it over the next couple of weeks (I’ve taken a hiatus because of travel…
A Quick Guide to Email: Not Being “That Guy”
If you’re reading this, odds are you are a knowledge worker whose time is very valuable and who requires large chunks of uninterrupted time in order to do whatever it is you are being paid to do. You aren’t cranking widgets. Instead, you’re trying to discover the history and social significance of widgets across cultural…
Recognize Excellence to Make a Difference
It was Monday, December 29 and I wasn’t happy. I had spent part of the morning at home working on odds and ends and another part of the morning at the office working on a book review and a few other things. I was in a funk because I’d forgotten to answer an email from…
Mister, Doctor, or Does it Matter?
My mother was the secretary at Glennwood Baptist Church in Morris, Alabama for about eight or nine years. My parents attended Glennwood for a while, and the pastor (David Bays) is someone I respect and admire very greatly. Even when I moved to St. Louis, after I got married, and after Shannon and I moved…
21st Century Opportunities
Productivity expert Jason Womack is working on a project aimed at teenagers on the careers of tomorrow. He asked me to contribute a few ideas, and he graciously agreed to let me turn it into an article for Lifehack.org. From where I sit, there are a couple of very broad categories in which people can…
Hunt, Gather, and Build: A Review of “Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method”
Gerald M. Weinberg has written dozens of books and hundreds of articles on computers, technology, consulting, and the craft of composition. Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method is an excellent survey of the methods he has used in order to produce this voluminous output. The comprehensive table of contents provides the reader with a clear…
