The Word Merchant

The Word Merchant by Stephen Heins explores environmental impacts, energy policies, and the economic dimensions of renewable versus traditional energy sources. It critically examines green energy initiatives, climate change narratives, and the role of fossil fuels, with an emphasis on factual information and questioning mainstream environmentalist perspectives.

Environmental Impacts of Energy Sources Economic Analysis of Energy Policies Debates on Renewable vs. Traditional Energy Critiques of Climate Change Narratives Political and Economic Influences on Energy Environmental Advocacy and Activism Global Energy Security and Infrastructure Ethical and Human Rights Perspectives on Climate

The hottest Substack posts of The Word Merchant

And their main takeaways

What Would Modern Polygamy Be Like?

0 implied HN points • 31 Jul 11
  1. Historically, polygamy mostly meant men having multiple wives, which was influenced by the desire for paternity certainty.
  2. With modern paternity testing, the need for one man to multiple women may not be as strong as before.
  3. In modern society with low infant mortality rates, polyandry (women having multiple husbands) could become more common than polygyny.

The Real News

0 implied HN points • 31 Jul 11
  1. Top news stories can overshadow more important material.
  2. Turkey's shift from a secular democracy to an Islamic state is significant.
  3. Changes in Venezuela reflect a potential shift away from communism.

Should King David and Solomon be in Jail?

0 implied HN points • 30 Jul 11
  1. Polygamy was practiced by God's chosen people in the Old Testament.
  2. Marriage and sex were legal at young ages in Jewish law.
  3. Modern American Christians and Jews may not defend behaviors from the Old Testament times.

WoW in Realspace, a Software Suggestion

0 implied HN points • 23 Jul 11
  1. In World of Warcraft, players can view a map showing the locations of their group members.
  2. Implementing a similar feature with smartphones and GPS could be useful in real-life situations.
  3. This technology would help people find each other in crowded places like art fairs or shopping malls.

Witch or Saint: A Story Seed

0 implied HN points • 16 Jul 11
  1. The story seed is about an English prosecutor during the trial of Joan of Arc.
  2. The protagonist must prove Joan is a witch but believes she is a saint provided to the wrong side by God.
  3. The plot explores the internal struggle of the protagonist between loyalty and his moral beliefs.
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In Search of Bogus History

0 implied HN points • 15 Jul 11
  1. Bogus historical facts are widely believed and false, like the misconception about Herbert Hoover's response to the Great Depression.
  2. The popular story of Columbus standing against the belief of a flat Earth against a spherical Earth is actually incorrect.
  3. There are many other historical misconceptions, such as myths about medieval witch hunts and overspiced medieval food.

The Death of Copyright: One Observed Solution

0 implied HN points • 06 Jul 11
  1. In digital form, intellectual property is easily copied and transmitted, making copyright enforcement challenging.
  2. Creators are finding solutions to the death of copyright by offering associated non-digital creations for sale while distributing digital creations for free.
  3. Creators like the Foglios can generate income from selling physical art tied to their webcomic, even if the digital content is freely accessible.

What is FaceBook Good For?: Part II

0 implied HN points • 29 Jun 11
  1. Facebook is mainly used to keep people updated on what others are doing, similar to following blogs.
  2. The author finds limited value in knowing what casual acquaintances or even friends are doing on Facebook.
  3. Author suggests keeping a small number of Facebook friends and using a fan page for sharing web work and projects.

Caplan Contra Krugman: A Very Clever Post

0 implied HN points • 21 Jun 11
  1. Krugman compares left and right understanding
  2. Libertarian economists vs. Keynesian economists in understanding each other's arguments
  3. Proposes an objective test to determine ideological understanding

Some POD Details

0 implied HN points • 21 Jun 11
  1. Consider tradeoffs when choosing where to sell a POD book for royalties and visibility.
  2. Direct sales through CreateSpace offer high royalties but may not impact Amazon rankings or allow for reviews.
  3. Point resellers to CreateSpace and others to Amazon to benefit from discount mechanisms and reach more potential buyers.

Thoughts on the Economics of Self-Publishing

0 implied HN points • 20 Jun 11
  1. Self-publishing can provide a decent income stream over time, especially with multiple books
  2. To make self-publishing profitable, tapping into wider markets and getting positive reviews are crucial
  3. Agents could shift focus from selling books to publishers to assisting authors in writing and promoting their self-published works

Lessons from Writing My First Novels

0 implied HN points • 18 Jun 11
  1. World building in novels feels more like discovery than invention.
  2. No plot remains unchanged when characters come into contact with it.
  3. Writing reveals unexpected layers and themes that can enrich the story.

Argument Against Interest: The Left and Palin

0 implied HN points • 05 Jun 11
  1. Critics on the left might be acting against their own interest by attacking Palin.
  2. Left-wing critics may be sacrificing a private benefit for a public good.
  3. The argument against Palin does not apply to Republican critics.

Salt, Fish Oil, and the Implications of Optimization

0 implied HN points • 21 May 11
  1. When making improvements in one area, there can be trade-offs in other areas.
  2. Body optimization by evolution might explain conflicting health studies on salt and fish oil.
  3. Consider overall effects on final goals before making changes in behavior or diet.

Are City People Rude?

0 implied HN points • 06 Mar 11
  1. The belief that city people are rude is widely held, but not supported by the author's personal travel experiences.
  2. Author's experiences in London, New York, and Paris show that strangers, for the most part, were helpful and friendly when asked for directions.
  3. Even in cities notorious for treating visitors poorly, the author found no evidence to confirm the reputation.

I Called It. Sort of.

0 implied HN points • 17 Feb 11
  1. The rise of the Tea Party created a three-party game in Washington.
  2. A coalition of Obama with traditional Republicans or the Tea Party was able to pass legislation.
  3. Tea Party Republicans assisted in scrapping funding for a jet engine opposed by Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Pad in My Pocket: The Two Screen Solution

0 implied HN points • 08 Feb 11
  1. The idea of a two-screen solution for smartphones is to provide a larger screen size without compromising portability.
  2. Kyocera Echo's design with two 3.5" screens offers versatility, functioning as both a mini-laptop and a smartphone.
  3. Having dual screens in smartphones could potentially offer a larger combined screen size than single-screen tablets, making it a convenient and portable option.

What Should Mubarak Do?

0 implied HN points • 30 Jan 11
  1. Questioning whether a dictator should become more democratic to stay in power.
  2. Considering if being a 'good guy' in a turbulent political situation is the best tactic for a leader.
  3. Looking at examples of dictators shifting towards democracy to gauge effectiveness in retaining power.

Promises, Pensions, Problems: A Proposal

0 implied HN points • 05 Dec 10
  1. State governments facing budget problems due to overly generous employee pension plans.
  2. One solution proposed is to limit state government contracts to the term of the current governor.
  3. Private corporations also face challenges with creating future obligations, like pensions, for their successors.

Concerning WikiLeaks

0 implied HN points • 05 Dec 10
  1. Government should keep secrets if they want them to stay secret.
  2. The government can't stop information from being shared once it's out there.
  3. Labeling many things as secret and giving access to many people increases the risk of leaks.

What Do You Call Reverse Plagiarism?

0 implied HN points • 06 Nov 10
  1. An online scandal occurred with a magazine called Cooks Source that was accused of publishing material from the internet without permission.
  2. The controversy sparked debates about the legal and moral implications of attributing words to an author that they did not write.
  3. The incident highlighted the importance of proper crediting and permission when sharing or publishing content.

The Election: What Does Obama Want? What Do I Want?

0 implied HN points • 27 Oct 10
  1. Divided government is seen as a good thing because it limits government damage.
  2. Obama may want Democrats to not fully control Congress to avoid blame for ongoing issues.
  3. Republicans doing well in the election could lead to a public rejection of Obama's policies.

The Constitution and the Separation of Church and State

0 implied HN points • 22 Oct 10
  1. The phrase 'separation of church and state' does not appear in the Constitution.
  2. The idea of an official state church supported by government money was well understood as an 'establishment of religion.'
  3. The modern concept of separation of church and state is based on court interpretations, going beyond the language of the First Amendment.

Is Christine O'Donnell a Nut?

0 implied HN points • 15 Sep 10
  1. Claims that Christine O'Donnell attended a Master's program at Princeton seem weak and based on misinterpretation.
  2. Accusations of O'Donnell being a 'masturbation hating candidate' stem from a single comment she made about biblical views on lust.
  3. Criticism of O'Donnell's views often neglects the context of her past actions and beliefs.

King Tut, Statistics, and a Pet Peeve

0 implied HN points • 31 Aug 10
  1. Be cautious with statistics and understand the results.
  2. Confidence results in statistics show the likelihood of getting a result under certain assumptions, not the probability of those assumptions being true.
  3. Knowing the difference between result likelihood and assumption probability is crucial when interpreting statistical analysis.

The Furnace of Akhnai: Story and Puzzle

0 implied HN points • 24 Jul 10
  1. Jewish law relies on scholars' interpretation, not divine intervention, for consistency.
  2. Legal scholars must follow the majority even if individual beliefs differ.
  3. The story of the Furnace of Akhnai highlights legal disputes and banishment based on differing interpretations.

Epithet Inflation: The Case of "Racism"

0 implied HN points • 21 Jul 10
  1. Current usage of the word 'racism' can demonstrate epithet inflation.
  2. The term 'racism' has evolved to the point where it can mean 'someone whose views about race I disagree with.'
  3. Discrimination based on race may not equate to racism in its most severe form.

Governments, Private Organizations, and Sunk Costs

0 implied HN points • 09 Jul 10
  1. People can express their views and pressure decision-makers informally, even without formal rights.
  2. Democracy may not always be the best decision-making model for large groups, as shown by examples in private organizations.
  3. An alternative to dealing with decisions made by others is to move activities out of their control.

How to Test Tests

0 implied HN points • 26 Jun 10
  1. Having multiple judges evaluate the same test can help measure reliability.
  2. Calculating the standard deviation of scores can indicate the likelihood of chance results.
  3. Comparing test results can provide insights into the reliability of reports.

Prediction vs Explanation

0 implied HN points • 23 Mar 10
  1. Predicting something in advance is different from explaining it after the fact.
  2. The likelihood of a theory being correct can be influenced by the person proposing it.
  3. Having evidence of past successful predictions can increase trust in a theorist's future predictions.

My Response to Robert Frank's ...

0 implied HN points • 13 May 10
  1. Robert Frank argues that poorer people are worse off due to the existence of richer people.
  2. The claim that the existence of rich people makes the less rich materially worse off seems mistaken.
  3. In reality, poor people, on average, stand to gain materially from the existence of rich people.

Robert Frank's Reply to My Reply to ...

0 implied HN points • 12 May 10
  1. High social rank can provide better access to healthcare and education.
  2. Both absolute and relative quality of education are important in modern labor markets.
  3. Income and wealth inequality can lead to indirect costs for the poor and middle-income families.

Mass Production Blackmail

0 implied HN points • 16 Apr 10
  1. Mass production blackmail is a scheme where scammers send enticing emails to many people, then demand money and threaten to expose the correspondence if not paid.
  2. In the example shared, the scammer duped numerous men by sending generic responses and then asking for money under the threat of exposing the situation to their wives.
  3. This practice can be highly lucrative for scammers, as they invest minimal effort but can obtain significant amounts of money through manipulation.

My Quest for the Ultimate Cell Phone

0 implied HN points • 10 Mar 10
  1. Consider using a portable bluetooth keyboard with an Android phone for extensive writing.
  2. Explore the possibility of running Android on Windows Mobile phones for more options.
  3. The Dell Mini-5 may offer a good solution as it is designed as an internet device with a 5" screen and Kindle app.

Words: "Sustainability"

0 implied HN points • 10 Feb 10
  1. Sustainability means doing things to last a long time.
  2. Belief in sustainability assumes things will stay the same, which might not be true.
  3. Resources change over time, so what's sustainable now might not be later.

Jewish Law and Constitutional Interpretation

0 implied HN points • 30 Nov 09
  1. Jewish law involves interpreting divine text and creatively adapting rules over time.
  2. There are parallels between legal systems in different cultures when dealing with evolving laws.
  3. Both Jewish law and constitutional interpretation entail finding a balance between strict adherence to text and adapting to modern needs.

Arbitrage, Comparative Advantage, and World of Warcraft

0 implied HN points • 16 Nov 09
  1. In World of Warcraft, players have found a way to exploit the neutral auction house for arbitrage.
  2. The inability to easily convert gold between factions hinders profitable exchange despite price differences.
  3. Understanding comparative advantage in trading goods between factions can lead to profit, similar to real-world economic principles.

Plumbing and indirect causation

0 implied HN points • 12 Nov 09
  1. Changing one element in a system can impact other elements unpredictably.
  2. Understanding causal links is essential to predict outcomes when making changes.
  3. Interconnected causation can lead to unexpected solutions and effects.

Trust Online: A World of Warcraft Anecdote

0 implied HN points • 10 Nov 09
  1. In online games like World of Warcraft, trust is essential for in-game transactions.
  2. High level characters in the game are trusted more due to reputation and time investment.
  3. Guild memberships can serve as an additional layer of trust in online transactions.

Global Sea-ice, Deceptive Reporting, and Truthful Lies

0 implied HN points • 12 May 09
  1. The trend of shrinking Arctic sea ice cover is continuing.
  2. There was deceptive reporting about the sea ice extent data.
  3. Recent years have seen low sea ice extent events despite the recent increase.