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Markets
Peter Richmond, Jrgen Mimkes, and Stefan Hutzler
in Econophysics and Physical Economics
Published in print: 2013 Published Online:
December 2013
ISBN: 9780199674701 eISBN: 9780191780066
Item type: chapter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
DOI: 10.1093/
acprof:oso/9780199674701.003.0016
This chapter argues that a slowly changing economy will not alter the
dither of a country by much and, empirically, it can be observed that
the foreign exchange rates can often be fairly stable over long periods
of time. This was the position with many countries within the European
Union during the latter part of the twentieth century, and probably the
reason why politicians thought they were able to introduce a common
currency. In effect, they supposed fluctuations were Gaussian and did not
exhibit power law tails. However, what is becoming clear is that the lack
of control of spending within parts of this new common currency area
during periods of low interest rates has given rise to unsustainable levels
of debt within some of these countries. Politicians argue that only with
greater central control and coordination of individual member countries
can the situation be stabilised.
Approaches to nonequilibrium economics
Peter Richmond, Jrgen Mimkes, and Stefan Hutzler
in Econophysics and Physical Economics
Published in print: 2013 Published Online:
December 2013
ISBN: 9780199674701 eISBN: 9780191780066
Item type: chapter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
DOI: 10.1093/
acprof:oso/9780199674701.003.0020
This chapter shows that, in economics, a statistical mechanics in which
the allowable states of the system are associated with a constant dither,
leading to free energies that are proportional to the logarithm of a
partition function, is not sufficient to describe fully economic systems.
At the very least, a gradient in the dither in either time or space, which
supports Carnot type processes, is required. Ultimately, it can be
expected that this is associated with human behaviour and the response
to economic situations. Different people can be expected to react in
different ways, depending on their access to information, their ability
to process said information, and their general attitude to risk and so
on. Furthermore, any one person may not react in the same way at
different times. The main point is that the dither in social systems is a
self-generated phenomenon, and to assume it is constant for an agent
may not always be appropriate.
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Dharma-Hall Convocations2
Jeffrey L. Broughton and Elise Yoko Watanabe
in The Record of Linji: A New Translation of the Linjilu in the Light of Ten
Japanese Zen Commentaries
Published in print: 2012 Published Online:
January 2013
ISBN: 9780199936410 eISBN: 9780199980680
Item type: chapter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
DOI: 10.1093/
acprof:oso/9780199936410.003.0001
This section of the Linjilu (LJL) records formal convocations given by
Master Linji in the Dharma Hall, where the master sits cross-legged
on a high-backed chair and gives a discourse to standing monks
facing him. Linjis patron General Wang asks the Master to speak on
Chans personal-realization-of-the-meaning-beyond-words, and the
book commences. This part unveils a central theme of the LJL, the
true person who cant be ranked, who Linji famously declares is a
magnificent piece of dried shit. Linji several times delivers the shout and
the whack with the rattan stick. The Master exhorts his followers not to
indulge in mental reflection and calculationboth understanding and not
understanding are mistakes.
Sangha Instruction
Jeffrey L. Broughton and Elise Yoko Watanabe
in The Record of Linji: A New Translation of the Linjilu in the Light of Ten
Japanese Zen Commentaries
Published in print: 2012 Published Online:
January 2013
ISBN: 9780199936410 eISBN: 9780199980680
Item type: chapter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
DOI: 10.1093/
acprof:oso/9780199936410.003.0002
This section consists of relatively long addresses of the Master to his
gathered monks, the sangha. He announces to them that the most
important thing for a practitioner of the buddhadharma is to behold
reality as it truly is. The following themes are sounded: the true person
is none other than the monks themselves, right in front of Master Linji;
there is no need therefore to go seeking outside oneself; in ones current
venue of activities (everyday life) nothing is lacking; to hesitate is to lose
dithering or mental reflection is bad; a realized true person brings to
bear everything hes got, that is, exhibits the non-verbal, unconstrained
embodiment of the spontaneity of the buddha nature; a realized true
person rides the vishayas (sense objects) and is never rotated
passively by vishayas, and so forth. This section paraphrases and alludes
to a wide range of Mahyna sutras, especially the ragama Stra.
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