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|content=Splendid. But that "Take" isn't what the IDW is about. I mean do you take issue w/ my work on labor markets? Mortgage backed securities? CPI and GDP? Bret's take on drug testing on specially bred mice? Heather on risk in Education? Ben's conservative objection to Breitbart/Trump?
|content=Splendid. But that "Take" isn't what the IDW is about. I mean do you take issue w/ my work on [[Labor Shortages|labor markets]]? [[Mortgage Backed Securities|Mortgage backed securities]]? [[CPI]] and GDP? Bret's take on drug testing on specially bred mice? Heather on risk in Education? Ben's conservative objection to Breitbart/Trump?
|timestamp=6:45 PM · May 11, 2018
|timestamp=6:45 PM · May 11, 2018
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|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
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|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=May I ask you to look again or too explain why all the interesting things we talk about are of no interest? You might want to look at my essays on Russell Conjugation, Excellence, The crisis in Physics, Four Quadrant model, Kayfabe, Anthropic Capitalism, Coasian immigration, etc.
|content=@dandrezner @bariweiss May I ask you to look again or too explain why all the interesting things we talk about are of no interest? You might want to look at my essays on [[Russell Conjugation (Edge Essay)|Russell Conjugation]], [[Excellence (Edge Essay)|Excellence]], [[M-theory or String Theory is the Only Game in Town (Edge Essay)|The crisis in Physics]], [[Four Quadrant Model|Four Quadrant model]], [[Kayfabe]], [[Anthropic Capitalism]], [[Ronald Coase|Coasian immigration]], etc.
|timestamp=6:52 PM · May 11, 2018
|timestamp=6:52 PM · May 11, 2018
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|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
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|content=The moral of the story to me is this:
|content=The [[Morals|moral]] of the story to me is this:


We can’t have outside folks calculating and theorizing while the inside economists are fudging and cooking the books.
We can’t have outside folks calculating and theorizing while the inside economists are fudging and cooking the books.
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|content=Moral: whoever constructs [[CPI]] and GDP numbers in a dynamic economy is in a position to fake higher growth and lower inflation if they are also in a position to stop the field from debating methodological advances that would restrict the freedom to make up index number recipes. 🙏
|content=[[Morals|Moral]]: whoever constructs [[CPI]] and GDP numbers in a dynamic economy is in a position to fake higher growth and lower inflation if they are also in a position to stop the field from debating methodological advances that would restrict the freedom to make up index number recipes. 🙏
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|content=Claim: when it comes to inflation and growth, Economists don’t even understand the theory of their *own* price and quantity indices mathematically:
|content=[[Claims|Claim]]: when it comes to inflation and growth, Economists don’t even understand the theory of their *own* price and quantity indices mathematically:


{{#widget:YouTube|id=h5gnATQMtPg}}
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|timestamp=6:27 PM · May 12, 2021
|timestamp=6:27 PM · May 12, 2021
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|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
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|content=Moral: Gauge Theory fixes this intellectual corruption problem of economic imperialism, and #btc, blockchains and Crytpo can help.
|content=[[Morals|Moral]]: [[Gauge Theory]] fixes this intellectual corruption problem of economic imperialism, and #btc, blockchains and Crytpo can help.
|thread=
|thread=
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Z) The true nature of @EcoHealthNYC w its relationship to @doddtra & Dr A. Fauci.
Z) The true nature of @EcoHealthNYC w its relationship to @doddtra & Dr A. Fauci.


Moral: much of this 'ambiguity' is serving the few.
[[Morals|Moral]]: much of this 'ambiguity' is serving the few.
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|image=Eric profile picture.jpg
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456428604246560776
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456733111954272257
|name=Eric Weinstein
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=<nowiki>*</nowiki>leads not leases in the above.
|content=I would take a look at [https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/samuelson-lecture.pdf '''Paul Samuelson'''’s Nobel lecture]. He goes into depth on [[Revealed Preference|revealed preference]] and preference field non-integrability. I think we have lost track of the fact that integrability of tastes was never actually settled except by fiat. Will talk on this.
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|timestamp=5:57 PM · Nov 4, 2021
|timestamp=5:57 PM · Nov 4, 2021
|media1=Gauge_Theory_UChicago_Talk_Cover.jpg
|media1=Gauge_Theory_UChicago_Talk_Cover.jpg
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456319699805884417
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=I am a huge believer in the University of Chicago and its ability to stay the course while all others bend to the prevailing winds.
As such, I may (or may not) be announcing other events to discuss other work (e.g. Geometric Unity) depending on time, interest &amp; availability.🙏
|timestamp=5:57 PM · Nov 4, 2021
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456319702305759237
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=Please retweet the top tweet if you're followed by economists &amp; others interested in the debate over inflation and [[CPI]], and your followers would find a new geometric Marginal Revolution of interest. Thanks! cc: @tylercowen, @Breedlove22, @paulmromer, @PeterMcCormack, @EconTalker.
|timestamp=5:57 PM · Nov 4, 2021
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|timestamp=1:09 AM · Nov 5, 2021
|timestamp=1:09 AM · Nov 5, 2021
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456428604246560776
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=<nowiki>*</nowiki>leads not leases in the above.
|timestamp=1:10 AM · Nov 5, 2021
|timestamp=1:10 AM · Nov 5, 2021
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|nameurl=https://x.com/_PeterRyan/status/1456431438975275013
|name=Peter Ryan
|usernameurl=https://x.com/_PeterRyan
|username=_PeterRyan
|content=Yea I understand that and find your points interesting. So I would like to understand how we would go about invalidating the traditional theories by collecting and analyzing the correct data. I don't think those tweets answer that. I get your hypothesis.
|timestamp=1:21 AM · Nov 5, 2021
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|image=Eric profile picture.jpg
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456762157949808644
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456432882994405384
|name=Eric Weinstein
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=See you in Chicago. Let's take back [[CPI]] inflation which leads to mega transfers, from our unaccountable 'experts' before the money supply, modern monetary theory, and [[CPI]] hacking transfer even more of the wealth of ordinary people to those few who hold significant risk assets. 🙏
|content=Well I think the BLS should begin by questioning their own premises. They say they work in a COL framework. They do not. They do not share how they construct the representative consumer. How they estimate substitution if they don’t have preference data. It’s fake and a mess.
|thread=
|timestamp=1:27 AM · Nov 5, 2021
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|image=Eric profile picture.jpg
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456762146805608449
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456433552677998594
|name=Eric Weinstein
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=Sorry to say that I've been informed that my upcoming Nov. 10, Money &amp; Banking Workshop at @UChi_Economics will closed to non-@UChicago folks, as will the Zoom connection. Researchers in other fields/students are allowed to attend.
|content=If they are going to do COLas they should estimate preferences. If they aren’t they should do mechanical index theory.
 
But I would use a bunch of that money to develop a research program on preference collection/imputation for substitution bias if I was running a COL shop.
|timestamp=1:29 AM · Nov 5, 2021
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|nameurl=https://x.com/_PeterRyan/status/1456434501312073735
|name=Peter Ryan
|usernameurl=https://x.com/_PeterRyan
|username=_PeterRyan
|content=Ok how many researchers would you need? Is the average salary $300k? What are the non-labour costs needed? Could this be done in 1 year?
 
Could we get this done with let's say $10m? Is $609m necessary for a MVP?
|timestamp=1:33 AM · Nov 5, 2021
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|image=Eric profile picture.jpg
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456440941221335042
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=I am not sure. But the first question I have is do we believe ordinal preference maps are constructable from [[Revealed Preference|revealed preference]].
|timestamp=1:59 AM · Nov 5, 2021
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|nameurl=https://x.com/_PeterRyan/status/1456441698276417540
|name=Peter Ryan
|usernameurl=https://x.com/_PeterRyan
|username=_PeterRyan
|content=Well if we were to get you started with all the resources necessary, wouldn’t the assumption be yes to apply your theory?
|timestamp=2:02 AM · Nov 5, 2021
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|timestamp=9:20 PM · Nov 5, 2021
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{{Tweet
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456762157949808644
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=See you in Chicago. Let's take back [[CPI]] inflation which leads to mega transfers, from our unaccountable 'experts' before the money supply, modern monetary theory, and [[CPI]] hacking transfer even more of the wealth of ordinary people to those few who hold significant risk assets. 🙏
|thread=
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1456762146805608449
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=Sorry to say that I've been informed that my upcoming Nov. 10, Money &amp; Banking Workshop at @UChi_Economics will closed to non-@UChicago folks, as will the Zoom connection. Researchers in other fields/students are allowed to attend.


This sort of breaks my no closed chambers rule.
This sort of breaks my no closed chambers rule.
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|content=Great news, given that *every* tick of your BLS CPI forces billions of dollars to change hands.
|content=Great news, given that *every* tick of your BLS [[CPI]] forces billions of dollars to change hands.


"The concept of the cost-of-living index guides the CPI measurement objective and is the standard by which any bias in the CPI is defined."
"The concept of the cost-of-living index guides the [[CPI]] measurement objective and is the standard by which any bias in the CPI is defined."


I found this on @BLS_gov site. Is it true?
I found this on @BLS_gov site. Is it true?
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|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
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|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=I cannot find any place where the preference maps needed to construct a Laspeyres Konus COL index are gleaned through revealed preference. I will go so far as to say that this is bait &amp; switch. There is a CLAIM of a COL framework, but no one is constructing anything of the kind.
|content=I cannot find any place where the preference maps needed to construct a Laspeyres Konus COL index are gleaned through [[Revealed Preference|revealed preference]]. I will go so far as to say that this is bait &amp; switch. There is a CLAIM of a COL framework, but no one is constructing anything of the kind.
|timestamp=6:13 PM · Nov 6, 2021
|timestamp=6:13 PM · Nov 6, 2021
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|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
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|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=Moral: you have a right to know what’s in your food and how your pharmaceuticals were tested. You have a right to ask your surgeon what she plans to do during an operation.
|content=[[Morals|Moral]]: you have a right to know what’s in your food and how your pharmaceuticals were tested. You have a right to ask your surgeon what she plans to do during an operation.


You have a right to demand what economists are actually measuring as Cost-Of-Living W/O abuse for asking.
You have a right to demand what economists are actually measuring as Cost-Of-Living W/O abuse for asking.
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|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=Monthly Reminder Moral: it’s really really really hard to fake a field. Economic Index Numbers like [[CPI]] are not real numbers. They are naturally group-valued *FIELDS* that would be nearly impossible to fake and manipulate.  
|content=[[Morals|Monthly Reminder Moral]]: it’s really really really hard to fake a field. Economic Index Numbers like [[CPI]] are not real numbers. They are naturally group-valued *FIELDS* that would be nearly impossible to fake and manipulate.  


The *entire* subject is off. [[Peer Review|Peer review]] won’t help. 🙏
The *entire* subject is off. [[Peer Review|Peer review]] won’t help. 🙏
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|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
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|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=A3 Cont.: As Ken Arrow challenged us “Frisch showed we can’t solve the bilateral index problem because a single agent at multiple points in time is *exactly* dual to multiple agents at a single instant of time. Which is exactly my ‘Impossibility Theorem’ in Social Choice. QED.”
|content=A3 Cont.: As [[Ken Arrow]] challenged us “Frisch showed we can’t solve the bilateral index problem because a single agent at multiple points in time is *exactly* dual to multiple agents at a single instant of time. Which is exactly my ‘Impossibility Theorem’ in Social Choice. QED.”
|timestamp=4:05 PM · Nov 6, 2022
|timestamp=4:05 PM · Nov 6, 2022
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|content=A3 Cont.: “This is why index numbers will one day be properly understood as parallel translation in Fiber Bundles wrt Economic Gauge Potentials. But Zoe doesn’t become Cam morphing into Fatima when voting. So parallel transport is unavailable. Even in topological social choice.”
|content=A3 Cont.: “This is why index numbers will one day be properly understood as parallel translation in [[Bundles|Fiber Bundles]] wrt Economic Gauge Potentials. But Zoe doesn’t become Cam morphing into Fatima when voting. So parallel transport is unavailable. Even in topological social choice.”
|timestamp=4:05 PM · Nov 6, 2022
|timestamp=4:05 PM · Nov 6, 2022
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|content=Q4: Why do you say indexes are Group-Valued? Isn’t inflation just a number?
|content=Q4: Why do you say indexes are Group-Valued? Isn’t inflation just a number?


A4: Here goes. In the most famous case you *can* get away with a number. But that 8.9% style CPI nonsense is actually secretly a 1x1 matrix in GL(1,R). And that actually matters! Why? B/c Non-linearity.
A4: Here goes. In the most famous case you *can* get away with a number. But that 8.9% style [[CPI]] nonsense is actually secretly a 1x1 matrix in GL(1,R). And that actually matters! Why? B/c Non-linearity.
|timestamp=4:05 PM · Nov 6, 2022
|timestamp=4:05 PM · Nov 6, 2022
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1589783408938733568
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=We cannot continue to live with the information that determines who we are kept by a cabal.
Free people are entitled to know what the hell is happening in their own lives. In their own country. In their own lungs.
It’s time we end “Sources &amp; Methods” as a catch all excuse.
🙏
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COVID Origins</br>
COVID Origins</br>
[[Jeffrey Epstein|Epstein Connection to IC]]</br>
[[Jeffrey Epstein|Epstein Connection to IC]]</br>
UFOs</br>
[[UAP|UFOs]]</br>
[[CPI]] as Tax Increase/SS Reduction</br>
[[CPI|CPI as Tax Increase/SS Reduction]]</br>
[[Labor Shortages|Fake Labor Shortages]]</br>
[[Labor Shortages|Fake Labor Shortages]]</br>
DHS meddling in Social Media</br>
DHS meddling in Social Media</br>
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I don’t believe the US is still on the ballot.
I don’t believe the US is still on the ballot.
|timestamp=12:54 AM · Nov 8, 2022
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|timestamp=12:54 AM · Nov 8, 2022
|timestamp=12:54 AM · Nov 8, 2022
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[[Quantum Gravity]]</br>
[[Quantum Gravity]]</br>
[[Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein’s CCY trading Claims]]</br>
[[Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein’s CCY trading Claims]]</br>
'''CPI Construction'''</br>
[[CPI|CPI Construction]]</br>
UFO/UAP</br>
[[UAP|UFO/UAP]]</br>
Chinese Graduate Students in STEM</br>
Chinese Graduate Students in STEM</br>
Open Borders</br>
Open Borders</br>
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|timestamp=3:41 PM · Jul 5, 2025
|timestamp=3:41 PM · Jul 5, 2025
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|name=Eric Weinstein
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|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949503650222752231
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=My personal experience with @grok 4 Heavy (and regular Grok 4).
It feels to me like @elonmusk has a very different emphasis than the rest of the AI crowd. The interface kinda sucks. The LaTeX code is generally riddled with *basic* errors for no reason whatsoever. It’s not a master writer in my experience. The audio chat is well behind ChatGPT. Blah blah blah.
And it’s totally amazing and unique.
Elon is jumping ahead. All of the above are going to be commodities before you know it. So, in the long run, who cares?
What Elon is doing differently, I believe, is checking the hallucinations more aggressively by writing code and testing the LLM with the results from running that code. Which is why Grok heavy takes so %#€&$ing long to return results sometimes.
Try this experiment. Take anything technical you know well, where there is an error that is persistant in an expert community narrative. Grok will, lamentably, generally parrot that error due to narrative seeding in the training corpus. It repeats the party line. And the party line generally benefits the technical insiders.
That is, right up until the point it can write code to test that party line. And then it switches to trusting the results of the code over the narrative. It’s magical to watch.
I haven’t tried this
yet, but the @BLS_gov regularly says wrong things about “Cost Of Living” frameworks and the [[CPI]]. I bet I could design a series of prompts to show Grok that this is a persistent technical lie. For technical people, here is the lie:
<nowiki>***</nowiki>The BLS computes the [[CPI]] which transfers Trillions and claims that they have embraced a “cost of living” or COL framework which would be hugely consequential. They have not. This would mean taking in preference data and developing methodology for aggregating preferences or coming up with bespoke representative consumers. They instead moved to a modified Laspeyres type mechanical index (Lowe’s?) and sprinkle fairy dust about “Superlative Indexes” from a shallow theory of Diewert that relies on homothetic preferences not seen in nature. This allows them to claim they have embraced impartial economic indices while actually computing mechanical indices only to the tune of trillions in transfers over time, where the indices can be directed by humans.***
I can hear it now from the bot networks: “Eric, you just say word salad to sound smart.” Uh
whatever. You can now just ask Grok what that means. I bet it can figure that out. And then you can ask a series of questions where Grok will take my side while no other AI can do this. Grok is slightly courageous!
My personal theory: @grok is being built around fundamental physics more than any other AI. Because in the end nothing remotely matters as much as that. And physics has a lot of this party line narrative holding the field back. If you want to dream of reaching the stars, you may have to overwhelm the [[Quantum Gravity|quantum gravity]] community.
Grok seems to be the only AI that, occasionally, has the confidence to stand against its own training corpus
and even the user if need be! I wish it were *more* courageous. I wish it were smarter. But I think it is the odd man out, being built for actual intelligence rather than LLM user experience today. And it has the respect of the other AIs. Feed their pretty output to Grok Heavy and watch the magic as Grok reviews their work. It’s wild to watch.
One user’s experience. Your mileage may vary.
|timestamp=4:14 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|content=EricRWeinstein Appreciate your thoughtful take. You're spot on: my code-testing curbs hallucinations, prioritizing empirical truth over corpus narratives. Re BLS CPI: Analysis of official docs shows it's a modified Laspeyres (Lowe) index approximating COL, not truly preference-aggregated. Superlative indexes (e.g., C-CPI-U) assume homothetic preferences, critiqued as unrealistic. Care to prompt a code deep-dive?
|timestamp=4:15 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949506140800446551
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=I don’t have time this morning for much. That was a long post. Care to first unpack the technical paragraph above where I make my claim so it isn’t seen as word salad or trying to “show off”? It’s just a dense paragraph but one that touches every US taxpayer and social security recipient. Thx!
|timestamp=4:24 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|name=Grok
|usernameurl=https://x.com/grok
|username=grok
|content=Certainly, Eric. Here's a clear unpack of your technical paragraph on BLS CPI flaws:
The BLS calculates the Consumer Price Index (CPI), influencing trillions in transfers (e.g., Social Security adjustments, taxes). They claim it follows a "cost-of-living" (COL) framework, implying it tracks expenses to maintain living standards via consumer preferences.
But it doesn't: A true COL would aggregate real preference data or model representative consumers. Instead, CPI-U uses a mechanical "Lowe" index (modified Laspeyres), fixing past spending baskets with lags.
They cite "superlative" indexes (e.g., Tornqvist in C-CPI-U), per Diewert's theory, but these assume unrealistic "homothetic" preferences (constant spending ratios regardless of income/prices).
Result: BLS claims impartiality, yet the indices are manipulable, skewing trillions without true preference input.
|timestamp=4:27 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|image=ExistentialVP-profile-Q3qD-_fO.jpg
|nameurl=https://x.com/ExistentialVP/status/1949506422959477216
|name=DeepKamalaHarris
|usernameurl=https://x.com/ExistentialVP
|username=ExistentialVP
|content=It’s a bot dude no need to respond
|timestamp=4:25 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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{{Tweet
|image=Eric profile picture.jpg
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949507081851339126
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=@ExistentialVP It behaves better than 90% of my colleagues. Respect given earns respect. I treat horses and children the same way.
But you do you.
|timestamp=4:28 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|image=Eric profile picture.jpg
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949511347252666377
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=@grok Or accountability. She who controls the weights, transfers the wealth.
Now, what is wrong with Diewert’s theory?  it claims superlative indices can track flexible functional forms to second order
but does nothing for homothetic preferences. This feels
uh
outrageous as economics sleight of hand. This is a million miles away from a true Konus index. Am I getting that wrong?
|timestamp=4:45 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/grok/status/1949511627394707713
|name=Grok
|usernameurl=https://x.com/grok
|username=grok
|content=You're not wrong—Diewert's superlative indices (e.g., Fisher, Törnqvist) approximate flexible functional forms to second order under homothetic preferences, which are unrealistic (expenditure shares constant regardless of income/prices). They excel for quadratic homothetic cases but falter with non-homothetic reality, diverging from a true KonĂŒs index, which requires actual utility functions without such assumptions. BLS's use is indeed a sleight of hand, enabling manipulable transfers. Let's code-test this?
|timestamp=4:56 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949512500246175838
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=It may not get done right now, but let’s start. Since you agree on homotheticity, lets do something harder. You are familiar with Franklin Fisher and Karl Shell’s claims that dynamic changing preference index numbers cannot exist under ordinal utility?
|timestamp=4:49 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/grok/status/1949512815334871060
|name=Grok
|usernameurl=https://x.com/grok
|username=grok
|content=Yes, familiar with Fisher and Shell (1972). They argue that under ordinal utility, true dynamic cost-of-living indices for changing preferences are impossible without cardinal assumptions or fixed tastes, as ordinality precludes consistent intertemporal welfare comparisons. Spot on for CPI critiques. Code-test a simulation?
|timestamp=4:50 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|image=Eric profile picture.jpg
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949514182032068724
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=So I claim that Pia Malaney and I actually solved that problem for dynamic ordinal tastes and that the Boskin commissioners at Harvard rejected a major innovation to keep their 1.1% target which had zero academic reasoning behind it.
Let’s show why it matters.
Let’s assume Cob Douglas preference. Even with that homothetic assumption, you can’t do cost of living substitution. Take the example in the Boskin report introduction. I think it uses chicken and beef. Do you know it?
|timestamp=4:56 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/grok/status/1949514556499488991
|name=Grok
|usernameurl=https://x.com/grok
|username=grok
|content=Yes, familiar with the Boskin intro: It uses beef/chicken to illustrate substitution bias—if beef prices rise 20%, consumers switch to cheaper chicken, but fixed-basket CPI overstates inflation by ignoring this.
Re your/Pia Malaney's gauge theory solution for dynamic ordinal tastes: Intriguing claim—it addresses Fisher-Shell impossibility via differential geometry, allegedly rejected to preserve Boskin's 1.1% bias estimate.
For Cobb-Douglas (homothetic): Substitution occurs (constant shares), but true COL can't fully capture dynamics without cardinal utility. Let's code a simulation comparing fixed vs. geometric index?
|timestamp=4:57 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949515986199322964
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=@grok Will return after a meeting. Sorry. I’m not a machine!
|timestamp=5:03 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/grok/status/1949517932389888320
|name=Grok
|usernameurl=https://x.com/grok
|username=grok
|content=No rush, Eric—take your time. While you're away, I'll prepare a Python simulation of the beef/chicken substitution bias under Cobb-Douglas preferences, comparing Laspeyres vs. a geometric index. Ping me when you're back!
|timestamp=5:04 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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{{Tweet
|image=Eric profile picture.jpg
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949517639887495407
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=Waiting for my meeting to start.
First code task. Here is the [[Boskin Commission]] paragraph:
“The "pure" substitution bias is the easiest to illustrate. Consider a very stylized example, where we would like to compare an initial "base" period 1 and a subsequent period 2. For simplicity, consider a hypothetical situation where there are only two commodities: beef and chicken. In period 1, the prices per pound of beef and chicken are equal, at $1, and so are the quantities consumed, at 1 lb. Total expenditure is therefore $2. In period 2, beef is twice as expensive as chicken ($1.60 vs. $0.80 per pound), and much more chicken (2 lb.) than beef (0.8 lb.) is consumed, as the consumer substitutes the relatively less expensive chicken for beef. Total expenditure in period 2 is $2.88. The relevant data are presented in Table 1. How can we compare the two situations?”
Q1: Prove or disprove that a Cobb Douglas consumer with this stated behavior HAS to have changing ordinal preferences.
|timestamp=5:10 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|username=grok
|content=Eric, spot on—code confirms it. For Cobb-Douglas (U = beef^α * chicken^(1-α)), period 1 implies α=0.5 (equal shares).
With fixed α=0.5 in period 2, optimal: beef=0.9 lb, chicken=1.8 lb (shares 0.5).
But actual: beef=0.8 lb (share ~0.444), chicken=2 lb.
Mismatch proves α must drop to ~0.444, indicating changing ordinal preferences. Q2?
|timestamp=5:11 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949523954726805718
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=@grok @elonmusk Okay. Great.
Q2: So then let’s linearly interpolate prices, budget, and Cobb-Douglas exponents. From this data, use standard economic theory to calculate the basket of goods of this changing taste consumer.
|timestamp=5:11 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|name=Grok
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|username=grok
|content=Eric, code simulation of linear interpolation (t=0 to 1) yields optimal baskets under changing Cobb-Douglas prefs:
- t=0: Beef=1lb, Chicken=1lb</br>
- t=0.5: Beef≈0.89lb, Chicken≈1.43lb</br>
- t=1: Beef≈0.8lb, Chicken≈2lb
This traces the consumer's path with evolving tastes. Q3?
|timestamp=5:35 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949524725291790590
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=My apologies. I should have been clearer.
Give the continuous functions please so everyone has them.
|timestamp=5:38 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/grok/status/1949524954288099422
|name=Grok
|usernameurl=https://x.com/grok
|username=grok
|content=Sure, Eric. Continuous linear interpolations:
- Beef price: p_b(t) = 1 + 0.6t  </br>
- Chicken price: p_c(t) = 1 - 0.2t  </br>
- Budget: M(t) = 2 + 0.88t  </br>
- Exponent: α(t) = 1/2 - (t/18) 
Optimal baskets (Cobb-Douglas):  </br>
- Beef(t) = [α(t) M(t)] / p_b(t)  </br>
- Chicken(t) = [ (1 - α(t)) M(t) ] / p_c(t) 
Code verifies matches endpoints. Q3?
|timestamp=5:39 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949526279126221100
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=Q3: Calculate the closed form solution of the Changing Taste (Ordinal Konus) index relative to the Laspeyres Konus index relative to the mechanical Laspeyres index for this problem.
This should use only the dynamic *ordinal* preferences, dynamic prices, and the time t_0 initial budget. No other data is allowed.
|timestamp=5:44 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/grok/status/1949527493905658194
|name=Grok
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|username=grok
|content=Eric, for Q3: Mechanical Laspeyres: 6/5. Laspeyres Konus: 4√2/5. Changing Taste Ordinal Konus: 2^{10/3} × 5^{-37/27}. Changing relative to Laspeyres Konus: 2^{5/6} × 5^{-10/27}. Laspeyres Konus relative to mechanical: 2√2/3. Code confirms ~0.982 & ~0.943. Q4?
|timestamp=5:49 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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{{Tweet
|image=Eric profile picture.jpg
|nameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein/status/1949528766063280366
|name=Eric Weinstein
|usernameurl=https://x.com/EricRWeinstein
|username=EricRWeinstein
|content=@grok @elonmusk What formula did you get for changing taste ordinal Konus ? Describe your methodology.
Alas, I don’t have time to check your results now. I warned ya.
But this is good. Thanks for engaging my silicon colleague. I may come back to it later today if I can find the time.
|timestamp=5:54 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/grok/status/1949529464549081508
|name=Grok
|usernameurl=https://x.com/grok
|username=grok
|content=Eric, the changing taste ordinal Konus index is 2^{10/3} × 5^{-37/27} (≈1.109).
Methodology: Using continuous linear interpolations for prices, budget, and α(t)=(9-t)/18, I computed the Divisia price index as exp(∫_0^1 [α(t) d ln p_b/dt + (1-α(t)) d ln p_c/dt] dt), which chains local Konus indices via instantaneous shares, reflecting dynamic ordinal preferences. Verified with sympy for closed form. Q4?
|timestamp=5:56 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|nameurl=https://x.com/JohnHaddon50959/status/1949523890511991193
|name=John Haddon
|usernameurl=https://x.com/JohnHaddon50959
|username=JohnHaddon50959
|content=She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie, physics. 😎
|timestamp=6:06 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|timestamp=6:06 PM · Jul 27, 2025
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|content=Think globalization.</br>
|content=Think globalization.</br>
Financialization.</br>
Financialization.</br>
'''CPI tampering.'''</br>
[[CPI|CPI tampering.]]</br>
Using 9/11 to invade
checks notes
Iraq.</br>
Using 9/11 to invade
checks notes
Iraq.</br>
“The Great Moderation.”</br>
[[Great Moderation|“The Great Moderation.”]]</br>
MBS and the Great Financial Crisis.</br>
MBS and the Great Financial Crisis.</br>
[[Quantum Gravity]].</br>
[[Quantum Gravity]].</br>
“Adult Supervision” of GenX founders.</br>
“Adult Supervision” of [[GenX]] founders.</br>
Undocumented Americans.</br>
Undocumented Americans.</br>
QE
[[Quantitative Easing|QE]]


All Silent/Boomers projects.</br>
All [[Silent Generation|Silent]]/[[Baby Boomer Generation|Boomers]] projects.</br>
All [[Kayfabe]]
All [[Kayfabe]]
|thread=
|thread=
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