Tom Au

16,164 reputation

12369

bio	website
	location	New York, New York
	age	55
visits	member for	1 year, 8 months
	seen	5 hours ago
stats	profile views	183

I took a double major in Economics and History in college in the 1970s. My "sweet spot" probably lies at the intersection of those two subjects. For instance, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" was really an "economic" admonition--to conserve ammunition.

I am the published author of "A Modern Approach to Graham and Dodd Investing" (Wiley, 2004), an (economic) "history of the future," and the unpublished author of "Axis Overstretch," an economic analysis of World War II.

	16,164 reputation	bio	website		visits	member for	1 year, 8 months
12369 badges		location	New York, New York		seen	5 hours ago

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May 29	revised	What was the social context which inspired M.M.Murphey to write a country western song about Geronimo's Cadillac? added paragraph about social context
May 29	revised	In U.S. military forces, did black soldiers suffer a heavy racial segregation during World War II? edited title
May 29	reviewed	Leave Open What is the difference between a professional historian and an amateur?
May 29	comment	What is the difference between a professional historian and an amateur? I would say that Churchill was a "historian" because he PRACTICED history (and wrote about it later). In his case, a lot of "history" was actually autobiographical.
May 28	comment	Did the pope try to suppress the number zero? I would note the zero was an ARAB (Muslim) "invention," so the Popes had at least some incentive to suppress it.
May 28	reviewed	Approve suggested edit on How widespread was the practice of chaining slave rowers to the ships?
May 28	comment	In ancient Rome, did a lot of people feel guilty about owning slaves? Great answer. +1. And not just because it's your first effort on the site.
May 28	comment	What was the social context which inspired M.M.Murphey to write a country western song about Geronimo's Cadillac? @FelixGoldberg: Geronomimo was a historical figure, and M.M. Murphey was an acclaimed musician whose signature song was about Geronimo so it almost certainly has historical relevance. Especially given the times, and Murphey's other (countercultural) activities during those times. More detail will be forthcoming in an answer, if I get to answer.
May 28	comment	Did the Eastern Roman Empire materially contribute to the fall of the Western Roman Empire? @Sally: Based on the above dialog, I have taken the liberty of "editing in" the last piece.
May 28	revised	Did the Eastern Roman Empire materially contribute to the fall of the Western Roman Empire? Add followup.
May 28	comment	Did the Greeks win the battle of Salamis because their rowers were “free”? @MarkC.Wallace: To the best of my recollection, the faculty advisor in question was this man. law.yale.edu/faculty/11819.htm. Apparently, he had seen, or perhaps graded, a paper alleging the above in 1978. The paper itself is probably not available, but it must have been based on some sources. Then the issue is, can we track down the sources.
May 28	comment	What was the social context which inspired M.M.Murphey to write a country western song about Geronimo's Cadillac? Another good question that was badly worded. I have fixed it to the best of my ability and joined the votes to reopen. Note to non-Americans: The early 1970s was a time of social protest, but this song is striking even in this context.
May 28	revised	What was the social context which inspired M.M.Murphey to write a country western song about Geronimo's Cadillac? added 147 characters in body; edited tags
May 28	revised	What was the social context which inspired M.M.Murphey to write a country western song about Geronimo's Cadillac? edited title
May 28	comment	Did the Greeks win the battle of Salamis because their rowers were “free”? @MarkC.Wallace: Thanks for the edit. The Greeks were outnumbered something like 2 to 1. That didn't matter as much as it might have in the open ocean, because the in the Straits around Salamis, you could only have combat of X on X ships at a time. The Greek ships outmaneuevered the Persians at every step of the way and won. But I could attirbute "outmaneuever" to "outrow." Probably only someoen with a naval or maritime background could answer this definitively, perhaps a rowing hobbyist; my faculty adviser couldn't, some 35 years ago.
May 28	asked	Did the Greeks win the battle of Salamis because their rowers were “free”?
May 27	comment	Did the Eastern Roman Empire materially contribute to the fall of the Western Roman Empire? I would ask @Steven Drennon. He is a moderator and the most senior of the three people who closed the original question. Sorry to be so "political" here, but the question has been "barely" re-opened.
May 27	awarded	Convention
May 27	comment	Did the Eastern Roman Empire materially contribute to the fall of the Western Roman Empire? It was a pretty good question as it was, and the removal of the counterfactual probably removes the last obstacle to a reopening.
May 25	answered	Where, when and why did the practice of proxy marriage originate?