The challenge of being a heterodox economist. After grabbing a free drink in the Friedman reception, I strike up a conversation with economist Michael Perelman in the hallway... Perelman, who is there for the EPI reception, works at the margins of the discipline; he is one of a few hundred self-described "heterodox" economists at the conference. His last book, Railroading Economics, was about the creation of the "free market mythology"... I ask him about how he relates to the so-called mainstream of his profession. "It's a mafia," he says quietly, his eyes roving over to the suits spilling out of the Freedom to Choose room. more inside

Fundamental physics in 2010 (low-quality flash video): a talk by notable theoretical physicist Nima Arkani-Hamed, professor at Harvard, as delivered to the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in February 2007. He gives a great introduction to the status and crises in the Standard Model of Particles and Interactions, together with his impression of how the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) with its unprecedented ability to make observations in the 10^-19m range will change the model. The talk should be accessible to a general audience.

You are all monkeysig. more inside

B.C. Legislature murals to come down. Last April, B.C. MLAs voted to remove murals from the Legislature, on the basis that the depictions of the First Nations were inaccurate and offensive (the murals, painted in the 30s, show aboriginals as subservient and inferior, and take a casual approach to representations of their culture). The debate continues -- is the removal tokenism, a whitewash of history, or simply a just correction?

Academic Freedom

US university students will not be able to work late at the campus, travel abroad, show interest in their colleagues' work, have friends outside the United States, engage in independent research, or make extra money without the prior consent of the authorities, according to a set of guidelines (pdf) given to administrators by the FBI.

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Dice Wars is an obsessively playable flash game that feels a bit like Risk. I started playing it months ago and I'll still give it a quick game before bed.