Why Alan\'s Article Sucked
The article had three examples of oversimplification. The first involved a book on the pschology of business negotiation, something an industrial psychologist would understand. But the last two examples were badly wrong.
The article distorted the Chicken Soup series, writing "some people have killed themselves by eating chicken soup". Puhleeze. The Chicken Soup series is a collection of anecdotes and aphorisms to make you feel better ... kind of like Chicken Soup. They do not advocate Chicken Soup for medical use. Besides, how many people have really died from eating Chicken Soup?
The article also said economists assume people's primary motive is to maximize their profits. Wrong. Economists assume businesses maximize profits; people maximize utility. You can learn this in introductory economics texts. What is galling is the cavalier criticism of economic progress. How does it compare to the progress of psychology in say, psychotherapy, Mr. Ph.D.?
Basically Alan was too lazy to read stuff he criticized. Ironically the article illustrates it's premise of the dangers of oversimplification. He tried to come up with some examples but didn't do his homework.
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