prior probability

That is the subtitle of this fascinating 2023 report by Brian Reinhart explaining why jalapeño peppers are less spicy now. (Hat tip: Aaron Cohen.) Yes, some conspiracies are real!

During my visit to the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum at Waseda University (which, by the way, is an exact replica of the Fortune Theatre in London’s famed West End; see here), I saw the 1950 movie Rashomon in one of the rooms of the first level of the theatre-museum, so this week’s “Wikipedia Wednesday” refers to an academic concept that was inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s classic film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon_effect

I am also following the progress of another experimental aircraft, the hypersonic ‘Stargazer’ (see here, for example). Tweet hat tip: Internet ‘information monster’ extraordinaire, Tyler Cowen.

Toyko update 3/25: I forgot to mention my two favorite papers from this year’s International Adam Smith Society (IASS) meeting at Waseda University in Tokyo earlier this month. One was “Adam Smith’s theory of music” by Tetsuo Taka (Kyushu University); the other was “Smith’s skepticism about the imitative nature of instrumental music: the unconscious recognition of absolute music” by Eiko Yamamoto (Seikei University), who also performed a number of 18th-century musical compositions on the piano at the banquet on the final night of the Adam Smith Tokyo conference. Alas, neither paper is posted online yet, but I will link to them as soon as they become available.

My daughter Adys and I overheard this beautiful ballad the other day while walking along Takeshita street, a crowded and narrow alley in the colorful Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo.

That is the tantalizing title of Brian Frye’s latest work-in-progress. Among other things, my colleague and friend tells the story of Warhol v. Goldsmith — a case I have blogged about before; see here — and how this case might transform (pun intended) the fair use doctrine. Also, check out Professor Frye’s full SSRN webpage. All 112 (at last count) of his scholarly papers are licensed “CC0/public domain”, so his readers are free to use them in any way we want!

Vernal Equinox Day is a national holiday in Japan! More details here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu-Mex

File under: “transculturation“?

Ronald Coase was an English economist who explained why harms are reciprocal in his oft-cited paper on “The Problem of Social Cost“, which forever changed my view of law, economics, and even morality. (Hat tip to my torts professor Guido Calabresi for introducing me to Coase’s work.) What is Coase’s theory of reciprocal harms and why is it important, you might ask? Read my 2023 Mercer Law Review paper “Coase’s Parable” to find out! (Hat tip for today’s tweet: the Amazing Tyler Cowen.)