The Sandlot – Smalls First Catch

In The Sandlot, neighborhood kids play an “endless dream game” all summer long. There are two kids on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to baseball talent and natural ability. Benny is the superstar on the local sandlot team. He has a clear absolute advantage over all the others in running, hitting, throwing, and catching. On the other hand, Scotty (nicknamed “Smalls”) possesses book smarts but is clueless about baseball. He can’t throw or catch and has little knowledge about baseball in general.

Benny uses his absolute advantage as an opportunity to train Smalls on how to catch and throw. Investing in training uses resources (like time and energy), but has the potential to payoff in the future. It takes Benny and the rest of the team a while, but Smalls eventually becomes a member of the term. Smalls may never have an absolute advantage in catching, but his comparative advantage in catching gets a little better with time.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission and summary.

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The Sandlot – Can Smalls Catch? How About Throw?

In The Sandlot, neighborhood kids play an “endless dream game” all summer long. There are two kids on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to baseball talent and natural ability. Benny is the superstar on the local sandlot team. He has a clear absolute advantage over all the others in running, hitting, throwing, and catching. On the other hand, this scene demonstrates the skills of Scotty (nicknamed “Smalls”), who is new in town, He possesses book smarts but is clueless about baseball. He can’t throw or catch and has little knowledge about baseball in general.

He’s still a valuable member of the team because Benny can only play one position at a time. While he may have an absolute advantage in all positions over Smalls, there needs to be a division of labor in order to field a team.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission and summary.

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Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Skipping Class

With summer break on the horizon, Ferris wants to skip school to enjoy a beautiful spring day near the end of the semester. In the opening scene, Ferris rhetorically asks how he could “possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this.” Nevertheless, there will be costs associated with his truancy. First, he admits:

This is my ninth sick day this semester. It’s getting pretty tough coming up with new illnesses. If I go for ten, I’m probably gonna have to barf up a lung, so I’d better make this one count.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1986

At this point in the school year, Ferris’ pattern of playing hooky has aroused suspicions that could land him in trouble. The opportunity cost of his day off from school is an ordinary day of classes free of the fear of getting caught and punished with repeating his senior year.

While Ferris manages a mostly relaxed day, by the end of the movie he undergoes a nerve-wracking sprint back to his house to beat his parents home and a nearly catastrophic confrontation with his principal. In spite of the unwanted stress associated with sneaking around, Ferris’ conclusion to his cost-benefit analysis for skipping school remains the same at the end of the movie: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around, you could miss it.”

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission.

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Surfer, Dude – What’s So Special About Surfing?

In Surfer, Dude, a soul-searching surfer (played by Matthew McConaughey) experiences an existential crisis when no waves come for over a month. When asked “what’s so special about surfing,” he responds with:

What’s so special about the wind? Surfing is to… be with that mystery. To ride
that mystery for as long as you can. And then when it’s over that’s cool because
you know what? You were there, in line and on time.
Surfer, Dude (2008)

Ocean waves can be forecasted, tracked, and even hunted by the most dedicated surfers, but ultimately, they are an unpredictable natural resource that is scarce. McConaughey’s character recognizes the value of this scarce resource beyond monetary terms.

Thank you to Amanda Mandzik for the clip submission.

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Point Break — The 50-Year Storm

An FBI agent goes undercover to infiltrate the surfing community. The agent learns about a “50-Year Storm” that is predicted to generate the largest wave imaginable. The surfers want to ride it and are willing to risk their lives to do it. The surfers are acutely aware of our limited time on earth and want to maximize their happiness while they can. Resources, like time and money, are scarce and individuals face tradeoffs when determining what objectives to pursue. In the case of riding the biggest wave known to mankind, that tradeoff may include their life.

Thanks to Mandy Mandzik for the clip submission.

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Surf’s Up – Cody’s Second Board and Tube Talk

Cody is a surfing penguin who is preparing for a big competition. He’s already broken his first board and his mentor Big Z is trying to break his second one. Cody doesn’t have a lot of time left for the big competition, so he’s focused entirely on getting this board finished. Time is one of our scarce resources, and requires us to make decisions about how to properly allocate them to get the most out of what we’re doing. When Big Z goes on a memory trip about riding a tube, Cody can only focus on how many points that would earn him in the competition. His focus on limited time and maximizing points is frustrating Big Z.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the scene recommendation.

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Surf’s Up – Building a Surfboard

Cody is getting ready for his first big competition with his mentor “Big Z,” but it turns out to be more difficult than he thought. Cody has gotten his hands on some koa board, the very best wood for building surfboards. In this scene, Cody is frustrated with how long it’s taking Big Z to build the board. Time is one of our many scarce resources, and Cody doesn’t feel like he has time to waste by slowly building this surfboard. He’s running out of time and needs to get it done much quicker.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the scene recommendation

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Surf’s Up – All You Need is a Board

Cody is a surfing penguin who wants to win a big surf competition. When he first started out, he thought the only things a surfer needed were a surfboard and some waves. In the beginning, he has little concern for the quality of his surfboard, but after meeting legend surfer “Big Z,” he learns the importance of a well-crafted surfboard using the best material available, koa wood. As Cody matures in the movie, he realizes that becoming a better surfer requires him to be more selective about his board and the scarce resources (including time) needed to build it.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the scene and summary!

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Surf’s Up – Wasted Day

A surfing penguin currently riding the wave of success enters his first professional competition. In this scene, Cody Maverick (Shia LaBeouf) spends his day making a board that he thinks will help him win the contest, but things aren’t looking too good. His mentor reminds him it’s supposed to be fun, but Cody reminds him know he doesn’t have time for fun. We all face a limit on our resources, which economists refer to as the scarcity principle. As a result, we have to make decisions about how we allocate those resources.

Thanks to Amanda Mandzik for the scene recommendation!

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WSJ: Drive-Thru AI Chatbot vs. Fast-Food Worker

In this video from The Wall Street Journal, senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern examines the performance of an AI chatbot versus a fast-food worker. Are these two inputs clearly substitutes or are their complementarities that could be exploited by companies? If the goal were only to produce the same amount of food as before with lower costs, we might expect to see a reduction in fast-food workers. However, this technological improvement may end up increasing output and subsequently requiring more tech and more labor.

Thanks to John Raby of Thorton Academy for the clip suggestion!

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