Wednesday, December 10, 2008

HUMP DAY

Today is readers day here at Elvis Loves Donuts, Inc. (That's right. We're a corporation)!

So, dear readers, today YOU choose the topic!!


Choose from one of the following:


1. Neoclassical Economics!

Classical economics, developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, included a value theory and distribution theory. The value of a product was thought to depend on the costs involved in producing that product. The explanation of costs in Classical economics was simultaneously an explanation of distribution. A landlord received rent, workers received wages, and a capitalist tenant farmer received profits on their investment. This classic approach included the work of Adam Smith and David Ricardo.

However, some economists gradually began emphasizing the perceived value of a goods to the consumer. They proposed a theory that the value of a product was to be explained with differences in "utility." This is called Utilitarianism and is associated with philosopher and economic thinker John Stuart Mill.

The third step from political economy to economics was the introduction of the "marginal theory of value" or marginalism. Marginal value means that economic actors make decisions based on the "margins". For example, a person decides to buy a second sandwich based on how full they are after the first one, a firm hires a new employee based on the expected increase in profits the employee will bring. This differs from the aggregate decision making of classical political economy in that it explains how vital goods such as water can be cheap, while luxuries can be expensive.






2. Physics!

Physics is the science of matter and its motion. It is the science that seeks to understand very basic concepts such as force, energy, mass, and charge. More completely, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the world around us and, more broadly, the universe, behaves. Note that the term 'universe' is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them. However, the term 'universe' may also be used in slightly different contextual senses, denoting concepts such as the cosmos, the world, and nature.

In one form or another, physics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, perhaps the oldest through its inclusion of astronomy. Over the last two millennia, physics had been considered synonymous with philosophy, chemistry, and certain branches of mathematics and biology, but during the Scientific Revolution in the 16th century, it emerged to become a unique modern science in its own right. However, in some subject areas such as in mathematical physics and quantum chemistry, the boundaries and the borderlines of physics remain difficult to distinguish.

Physics is both significant and influential, in part because advances in its understanding have often translated into new technologies, but also because new ideas in physics often resonate with the other sciences, mathematics and philosophy. For example, advances in the understanding of electromagnetism led directly to the development of new products which have dramatically transformed modern-day society (e.g., television, computers, and domestic appliances); advances in thermodynamics led to the development of motorized transport; and advances in mechanics inspired the development of the calculus, quantum chemistry, and the use of instruments like the electron microscope in microbiology.

Today, physics is both a broad and very deep subject that, in practical/fundamental terms, can be split into several subfields. It can also be divided into two conceptually different branches: Theoretical physics and experimental physics. The former deals with the inquiry and foundation of new theories while the latter deals with the experimental testing of these new, or existing, theories. Even though significant progress and important discoveries have been made in the field of physics during the last four centuries, many significant questions about nature and the universe still remain unanswered. In many areas of physics, it is still a continuing effort to try to gain a clearer understanding to the unknown and the outskirts of physics.





3. MUPPETS!!


The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson. Individually, a Muppet is one of the puppets made by Jim Henson or his company's workshop. Although the term is often used erroneously to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show and Sesame Street characters, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark linked to the characters created by Henson.

The word "Muppet" itself was said by Henson to have been created by combining the words "marionette" and "puppet"; however, Henson was also known to have stated that it was just something he liked the sound of, and he made up the "marionette/puppet" story while talking to a journalist because it sounded plausible.

After earlier unsuccessful attempts, The Walt Disney Company bought the Muppets in 2004. Exceptions include characters appearing on Sesame Street (as they were previously sold to Sesame Workshop), the Fraggles of Fraggle Rock (which are still owned by The Jim Henson Company), along with the above-mentioned non-"Muppet"-brand characters. The legal trademark on the term "Muppet" is currently held by The Muppet Holding Co., LLC (now The Muppets Studio, LLC,[citation needed] a division of the Walt Disney Company); although Sesame Workshop and the Jim Henson Company continue to use the term on their characters with certain permissions.

After nearly a decade, a new movie is in the works. Disney recently enlisted Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller to create the next Muppet movie for the studio. This will be the first Muppet theatrical film since Muppets from Space.




Just drop your ballot off at the post office and write "ELD, INC." on the front side.

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