Reviews for Electric Power Plant Engineering

The average rating for Electric Power Plant Engineering based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-07-08 00:00:00 Steve Berman I really have to reread this tough volume to digest it properly. It basically weighs in on some issue of praxeology (that also concerns the rest of human endeavours), namely: In what sense can we talk meaningfully about the future based on what is known know; how do opportunities, profits, losses of tomorrow exist within both the mind and ontologically, in the world of today; and most importantly, how can praxeology construct a language that can guide us through the future in a practical sense? The monograph starts with introducing Lachman's and Kirzner's dispute in interpreting the mental framework and the role of the entrepreneur, and the way in which he aims to settle the dispute. Then he goes on deeper into core of the problem. It's a very tough book, and I see a lot of utility from re-reading it. And so, when I do that, I will add to this review my full analysis.

Review # 2 was written on 2007-10-04 00:00:00 Mark Buckham A short book describing a very particular set of criticisms related to Austrian economics, in particular related to the ability of praxeology (the "logic of human action," the foundational framework of the Austrian school) to predict future events. The particular question relates to the Austrian idea that the free market tends toward equilibrium. Selgin suggests that this equilibrium can be seen through the concept of equilibration, that is, the destruction of profit opportunity upon market action. "Wherever there is action, there is an imagined profit opportunity. Where there is no action, there are no such imagined opportunities; and where there are no imagined profits, there is no action—that is, viewing things in a dynamic context, there is no basis for the modification of plans.” Thus, a market action is taken because profit opportunity exists; but once that action is taken, the profit opportunity is gone: Any imagined profit related to that action is either realized or unrealizable, meaning no further profit opportunity exists. Any further profit opportunity would relate to a new market action. This is all well and good, but I didn't actually read this book for its economic lessons, but rather for its praxeological ones. As it happens, the first third or so of the book is a good primer on praxeology as a general study, as opposed to its application in economics where has historically most often applied. I believe there may be a variety of ways that praxeology could be applied to other disciplines beyond economics (and closely related fields, like game theory), but unfortunately most of what is discussed about praxeology is couched in economic terms – distinguishing what is praxeology and what is economics from a praxeological perspective is sometimes quite difficult. In developing his argument, Selgin does a good job here of placing praxeology in context of opposing nihilistic views of historicism and positivism/empiricism.