[MSJ] - Day 14: Halfway and Still Going Strong

The line for lunch was really long today

Now that we are halfway through the program, I finally feel like I have a real routine going on now. The first week I was still getting used to my surroundings, and then on the weekend I was waking up later and doing things other than class in the morning, so it didn't help. Now for a rundown of my morning routine: I wake up at about 7:45, shower, check the weather to see if it will be hot, very hot, or crazy hot out, this determines whether I wear long pants or shorts and a t-shirt or a tank top, and then I get dressed appropriately. I then walk down to the dining hall for breakfast and text people to see if people are already eating and where they are sitting. I usually eat scrambled eggs and potatoes with some salsa or hot sauce in for breakfast, and then at about 8:45 I start walking to class to be there five minutes before nine. It's all really exciting, I know.

Reviewing the lecture slides

The topic we covered this morning was trade. In economics, trade occurs when one company or country has a comparative advantage over another. This means that they can produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than another company or country. A lower opportunity cost basically just means that you are more efficient at making a certain good. For example, Florida has a comparative advantage for growing oranges when compared to New Jersey. This is because Florida is better at growing oranges than New Jersey because of its climate. If New Jersey is better at growing spinach, for example, it would make sense for New Jersey and Florida to each specialize in the things they are better at growing and trade for them. This was one of the concepts that was easier for me to understand right away.

Alex (center) wanted to be on my blog

In the afternoon, we did another experiment with Ted, this time meant to model public goods. We had the option to put money into a public good, or save it for ourselves. All the members of our group (which was done anonymously through a website) would benefit slightly from all the money put into the public goods, and you could benefit to a greater degree if you kept the money to yourself. Ted put a twist on it after a few rounds though, you could choose to "punish" people by taking away some of their profits at a small expense of yourself if they were not contributing enough to the public good.

This evening I started working on the problem set due Monday while chilling with people in my house.