Sunday, February 19, 2012

A Photo from Hiking in Tehran



Last Christmas I went hiking with a group of friends in Chin Kalagh in Northwest of Tehran. Chin Kalagh has a decent trail which is not very crowded, unlike Darakeh and Touchal. The slope is mild at the beginning then it peaks up as one goes higher. The peak offers a breathtaking view of Tehran, Sa'adat Abad and Farahzad. My good friend Shayan has taken these photos in his last hike with other students from Sharif GSME. It is so wonderfully beautiful that I thought it should be shared.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Information or Truth

Yesterday I discovered World Affairs Council of Atlanta. Today theme was "Democracy. Democratization. Development". It was a great meeting, the speeches I was able to hear covered information technology transformation, development projects and the importance of democracy in achieving sustainable economic growth.
The interesting part of discussion was about social media and the reality. Many credited Facebook and Twitter with sparking Arab Spring. Speakers told the audience this is simply is not true. On the other hand all present admitted that internet has provided them with access to videos and individuals. However the stream of videos and photos and other contents from crisis areas in the world does not necessarily paint an accurate picture. Many referred to the fact that much of information could be distributed to broadcast a biased image. The internet and social media have reduced journalists' interactions with their subjects as well. Many sit in their offices and collect information via social networks. They even let social networks decide their agenda and headlines.
For me this highlighted the significance of personal motives or utility maximization behavior. Individuals do not send out information to tell the truth, but to tell their side of stories. And not everybody is truthful in recalling events and motives. As one of the audience pointed out "we have the information, but what is the reality?"
I think the greatest challenge in coming years is to overcome the asymmetry caused by personal motivations and interests.

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Arresting Data

The administrator of Mesghal.com has been arrested. He has been accused of attempting to distort the market as part of a plot to dis stabilize the economy. Mesghal.com is a website dedicated to covering  currency and precious metal markets in Iran and across the globe. It has become the reference for many who work in these markets in Tehran.

Thursday, February 02, 2012

A Contractionary Fiscal Policy

Well here we are the budget is in finally for IRI. It seems they are cutting spending, how successfully? no one will know.