31 Jan 2004
Research Around the World Links Religion to Economic Development

Methinks this is another of Mark Twain's "damned lies" - Muslim nations are some of the poorest on earth, and the most economically backward, yet thanks to petrochemicals and relatively small populations, they have some of the highest per capita incomes in the world. And they're deeply, often legally, religious cultures and governments. Suppose this could've skewed the results?

India, on the other hand, is a deeply religious country, and is undergrowing a tremendous economic growth spurt. But the majority religion there, Hinduism, has no real concept of hell, in the Western sense. Their "reward" system involves reincarnation and spiritual, not economic, development. In fact, many schools of Hinduism despise merchants and bankers nearly as much as the Muslim countrymen.

Heathens are very much infected with the work ethic - it's not just a Protestant trait. Yet we have no hell in the Christian sense either, nor do we believe we'll be reincarnated as an ant if we screw things up in the here and now.

There's no doubt that culture does play a major role in economic matters: but there are simply too many variables in culture to ever be able to measure it. These people went fishing, and caught a tire. It's meaningless.

Two Harvard scholars have found that what really stimulates economic growth is whether you believe in an afterlife especially hell.

(link) [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

00:00 /Asatru | 0 comments | permanent link

The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business

The new list of 101 Dumbest Moments in Business, 2003 is out! Here's a sample (#40 on the list):

In February, Cornell University sends out an e-mail to incoming freshmen that begins, "Greetings from Cornell, your future alma mater!" The message is sent to all 1,700 students who applied for early decision, including the 550 who've been rejected.

Only read it if you've not got a drink in hand: otherwise, you'll spew on the keyboard!

From Business 2.0.

00:00 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link

Tucked Behind the Home Page, a Call to Worship

Sneaky bastards!

But in all seriousness, this is a technique we heathens would be well advised to consider. We have a very mainstream ethic, and would have few of the dilemnas that Christian sites face in relation to popular culture.

An increasingly popular strategy for evangelism on the Internet involves creating sites that attract visitors by avoiding overtly religious imagery or themes.

(link) [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

00:00 /Asatru | 0 comments | permanent link

MS drop authentication technique to foil phishing

Rather than simply fixing the display, or, better yet, correctly implementing the protocol, Microsoft chooses the easy way out - non-support. It really makes me wonder about the design of Internet Explorer - something we mere mortals will never see. But I'll bet it ain't very pretty in there...

(link) [The Register]

00:00 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link