Diversification

Published

on July 26, 2010

. 23 Comments

With the economy still faltering and economists increasingly in disrepute, I’ve decided that prudence dictates the acquisition of a new marketable skill. How am I doing?

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23 Responses to “Diversification”

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1 1 Patrick
July 26, 2010 at 7:27 am

Awesome, that was really cool, but I have some questions:
What was the music?
Shouldn’t the strings tangle up, or what are they attached by?
Simply, what are they called?
2 2 Dave
July 26, 2010 at 8:30 am

You say that the economy is faltering. Geithner said that the economy is recovering.

You can’t have it both ways.
3 3 Steve Landsburg
July 26, 2010 at 8:50 am

Dave: I bow before your brilliance.
4 4 dWj
July 26, 2010 at 8:58 am

Patrick: I believe that’s “The Devil Comes Back to Georgia”, Charlie Daniels’s follow up to his big hit, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, which is basically the same music.

Not getting the strings to tangle up is, of course, the point.
5 5 Steve Landsburg
July 26, 2010 at 8:59 am

Patrick:

1) The music was “The Devil Comes Back to Georgia” from Mark O’Connor’s CD “Heroes”. This song is a sequel to Charlie Daniels’s classic “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”. Not many songs are good enough to merit a sequel, but if any is, then this one is. You might also be interested in the dazzling cover version by Those Darn Accordions.

2) They are chains, not strings, and yes, they should tangle up, and do, every single time you attempt this, for approximately a week or so until you figure out the pattern. You also hit yourself a lot, in two places, of which the less painful is the back of your head. Then you hand them to your 18 year old stepson who takes a total of 15 minutes to get it perfect.

3) They are called poi. I still have hundreds of other tricks to learn. There are lots of good videos on YouTube. I’ve also found a lot of valuable guidance at http://www.homeofpoi.com .
6 6 Bradley Calder
July 26, 2010 at 9:13 am

You should sign up for a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class, it is not only marketable, but also confers positive strength, cardio, strategic, and defensive benefits.
7 7 Steve Landsburg
July 26, 2010 at 9:54 am

Bradley: I’m trying to get all that from aerial silks, though in this case it’s my daughter who has all the natural talent.
8 8 bart.mitchell
July 26, 2010 at 11:12 am

The words ‘don’t quit your day job’ come to mind.

Call me when your’e doing poi with fire.
9 9 Scott F
July 26, 2010 at 12:22 pm

Marketable is the understatement of the year… this is gonna be huge on the underground-folk-rock-rave-club scene! The only questions that comes to mind are how to I get my hands on my very own Poi, and do you give lessons?
10 10 Bradley Calder
July 26, 2010 at 1:12 pm

That looks fun, I’ll see if I can find a place in Beijing where I can try it.
11 11 Bob
July 26, 2010 at 1:48 pm

Let’s see Paul Krugman try that!

In answer to your question, do you remember last week’s discussion on comparative advantage?

:-)
12 12 Steve Landsburg
July 26, 2010 at 2:48 pm

bart.mitchell:

Call me when your’e doing poi with fire.

Keep watching this space.
13 13 Dave
July 26, 2010 at 4:24 pm

Steve – slightly off topic. Is there any chance of asking your publisher to put “Fair Play” up available for kindle? I’m guessing it costs close to nothing and I can guarantee at least one sale.
14 14 Steve Landsburg
July 26, 2010 at 4:39 pm

Dave: I’ll ask.
15 15 GregS
July 26, 2010 at 6:03 pm

Nice video, Steve. The Force is indeed a marketable skill.
16 16 Bob
July 26, 2010 at 7:56 pm

Wow! I am stunned! How do you manage to get those balls to change color? Is it accomplished through pure mind power, or do you somehow send energy coursing from your hands and through the chains?
17 17 Steve Landsburg
July 26, 2010 at 8:13 pm

Bob: The secret is revealed only to a select subset of those who have slaved for 60 hours a week through five years of grad school and 80 hours a week through seven years of assistant professorship. Feel free to submit your application.
18 18 David
July 26, 2010 at 10:12 pm

Indeed, the video poses many, many Big Questions.
19 19 Bob
July 26, 2010 at 11:09 pm

Steve:

Drat! I’ve done grad school, but without fulfilling your hours requirement. I’m not a big fan of ordeals, preferring to make a virtue out of laziness. This explains why I will presumably never match your accomplishments.
20 20 Thomas Purzycki
July 30, 2010 at 2:09 pm

I was on vacation so I missed this gem until now. I’d suggest learning the backwards weave next – you’ll still risk hitting yourself a lot in two places, but one is a lot less painful and the other can be dodged if you’re paying attention…
21 21 Steve Landsburg
July 30, 2010 at 3:04 pm

Thomas Purzycki: Thanks. I’ve been working on getting more versatile with the forward weave (doing it over my head, and just generally being more graceful), and I think I’m finally ready to move on to the next move.
22 22 Jennifer
July 31, 2010 at 5:54 am

Very entertaining. My first time commenting, but I had to say I noticed (as a former baton twirler with this trick in her arsenal) that you seem to be pretty right-hand dominant. Your left hand just moves back and forth while the right hand does all the work.
23 23 Steve Landsburg
July 31, 2010 at 8:49 am

Jennifer: Thanks for this. You’re right, and I’ve been working on fixing this.