General

The Atlantic: The Ph.D Bust: America’s Awful Market for Young Scientists—in 7 Charts

The issue is STEM is too broad a category. There is good demand for computer science graduates all the way up to PhD level, but not so for, say, civil engineering graduates.

The STEM surplus is much more severe at the PhD level because funding for PhD students are not following private market demand close enough. At the undergraduate level, within a few years after the private market for a field starts worsening, students stop flocking towards the field.

General

必須指出，一成外來本科生和七成外來研究生在世界級的大學並不罕見，罕見的是在香港，這些外來生幾近全部來自同一國家。

本土外來研究生一視同仁受資助亦是大學間的慣例，而本科資助則因地區而異。現在的問題是香港政府不是民選，所以資助外來生是沒有社會共識下推行的。

It should be pointed out that having 10% undergraduates and 70% graduate students being foreign are common among world-class universities. What so special in Hong Kong is that virtually all these foreign students came from the same country.

It is also common to subsidize local and foreign graduate students alike, while the practice regarding undergraduates varies. The problem in Hong Kong is that with a government essentially appointed instead of elected, the policy of subsidizing foreign students lack public consent.

Political Economy

【明報】三成白領加薪輸通脹 一成凍薪減薪

工會要求加薪幅度追得上通脹大家見慣，但這要求其實不一定合理：若加薪一定等如通脹，即僱員的平均購買力永不改變。但隨著發展中國家越發富有，他們的國民對各式物品的需求亦會上升，要維持已發展地區的購買力則供應必須同時增加。生產效率還在上升中的產品如電子器材還有可能是這樣，但有些供應相對固定的物品則不大可能。

這情況在眾多物資均來自大陸的香港會特別顯著。香港人還是有心理準備工資遲早追不上物價。

While it is common for unions to ask for raises that compensates for inflation, it is necessarily a reasonable request: if pay raise always equal inflation, then employees’ purchasing power can never change. Given that developing regions are becoming richer, maintaining purchasing power in developed region is only possible through increase in supply of goods. This is possible for products which productivity is still on the rise—such as electronics—but quite impossible for many other goods.

This phenomenon is particularly apparent in Hong Kong, where a significant proportion of goods come from Mainland China. Residents of Hong Kong will have accept a degree of decline in purchasing power eventually.

Political Economy

香港常常自詡世界最自由經濟體系，但現實卻是壟斷處處，還要不少是出自政府之手：的士牌、教車師傅牌、小販牌、廣播牌，通通都不肯再發，多年來亦沒有就反壟斷立法。

自由進出市場係競爭的必要條件，這是所有讀過經濟學的學生都知道的。可惜傳統上最強調自由經濟的團體通常是商會支持，目標只想減少從政府而來的競爭。真正有競爭的自由市場可不是他們想要的。

Though Hong Kong prides itself being the world’s freest economy, in reality it is plagued by numerous monopolies. The government plays its role in maintaining the situation: it refuses to issue more taxi license, driving-instructor license, hawker license and broadcast license to name a few, nor did it enact competition law till recent.

Free entry and exit is necessary for competition, a requirement known to every student of economics. Unfortunately the organizations that advocate “free economy” the most are usually supported by the business community, with the objective of discouraging competition from the government. Real competition is not something they desire.

General

重閱提摩太前書二章及哥林多前書十四章，就不解為何香港某些教會不斷反對性向歧視*諮詢*，卻容許性別歧視*條例*的存在。聖經教導以性別禁言，教會就不怕被「逆向歧視」了？還是那些教會的一眾長執心中「真理」是會跟據教友背景而改變的？

Re-reading 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14, one has to wonder how leaders of some churches in Hong Kong can so fiercely oppose public *consultation* on legislation against sexual orientation discrimination, while at the same time allow the Sex Discrimation *Ordinance* to exist. The Bible silences individuals purely by gender, now is that not a subject vulnerable to “reverse-discrimination”? Or is it that the “truth” those church leaders believe in changes with the composition of their flock?

General

防末日自殺 阿根廷法國封山

在指出明天末日無根據的同時，相信年輕地球論的基督徒最好不要指摘別人不理性，因為年輕地球論的科學根據也是乏善可陳。
While it is appropriate to point out the lack of evidence supporting the theory that tomorrow is the apocalypse, believers of Young Earth creationism should not criticize others as irrational, as YEC does not really have scientific backing either.

Political Economy

大家可能沒留意，但數家油公司的價格戰已經持續了好一會。眾所週知數家西方油公司的油站價格一向相同至小數點後兩個位。從經濟理論來看，這可以是競爭激烈做成，亦可以是合謀定價的結果。但除非國際原油價格有著非同尋常的大幅下跌，否則價格戰的出現就代表著以往應該是後者。
A price war has been going on among gas stations in Hong Kong. It is well-known locally that the major western oil companies all set the same prices down to 1 cent, a behavior that is consistent with both the competitive model and the cartel model. But unless there is a significant drop in international crude prices, otherwise the price war almost certainly indicate the latter.

General

近期見到太多提點基督徒要防範東方閃電的連結。對不起， 我對此實在頗為討厭，甚至覺得虛偽。讓我們從非信徒的角度，換個字眼看看：

「基督教傳教有四大原則，包括一、全民皆兵：每個信徒都是傳教士，而教會架構亦以傳教為主；二、指令明確：信徒按照教會高層領袖的安排傳教，並設有傳教規條，指導其信徒傳教方式；三、容易掌握：他們會向未信者派發其教義書籍及手冊，方便明白其信仰內容；四、重複單向：信仰內容都出於聖經，傳教時沒有討論空間。」

「基督徒不會用hit and run的方法，而是潛入不同群體—『摸底』，『鋪路』，然然鎖定對象，做『針對』。 」

「先與人建立關係，取得人的信任，剛開始會關心、請吃飯，不會馬上傳教。」

「他們到後來才拿出他們的那些書來，才使用基督教專用的述語。」

「基督徒很斯文，不會踢館，搶咪，拉標語……他們看來是一頭很乖，很純，很熱心的小羔羊。」

如果東方閃電在本港做了甚麼犯法的事，教會應去報警。沒有的話我敢說東方閃電信徒和很多香港的基督徒一樣，只會理直氣壯的覺得自己正為義受逼迫。