Hi Alan and Steve.

I know you are both busy.  Don't worry about replying to this.

We have been talking recently about how to get Minsky used.  And I had a thought...

I bought this book a while ago thinking it was about 'dynamic economic modeling' -http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modeling-Dynamic-Economic-Systems/dp/1461422086/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392910319&sr=8-1&keywords=Modeling+Dynamic+Economic+Systems

It actually turned out to be a kind of user manual/tutorial for a program called Stella thinly disguised as a book about Dynamic Economic Modeling.  I felt tricked because it really was about the software and not the economic ideas - but the concept of mixing the theory with a practical tool is still an interesting one if executed a bit more honestly. If STELLA did not cost 2,000 I might have followed the book anyway but I did not want to invest the time on acquiring skills I was never going to be able to use.

Steve's papers about dynamic modeling make tough reading. I know he includes Minsky models but the approach presumes you are already an economist/economic modeler and already know now to use Minsky.  Also Minsky on its own does not draw you on anywhere in particular unless you are already into this kind of modeling.

What would appeal to me is a book (ebook) about Steve's ideas on dynamic economic modeling which gives you exercises using Minsky and links the theory to the 'observed' results in Minsky . That way the theory and the practice re-enforce each other.  As you learn each brick in the model you learn how to add it to Minsky and get to see it in action getting a little positive re-enforcement with each step.

The user is given something concrete to do with Minsky
The user is given bits and pieces they can play with to develop there own ideas
The user is made familiar with Minsky so that it is more likely to occur to him/her in the future as a solution if an applicable application comes along.
The theory is more easily taken in with accompanying exercises.
The user searching for information on dynamic economics is steered towards Minsky.

This might be especially relevant if Steve really has found the final piece to complete his economic dynamic model. This could be a way of making it accessible as far down the technical scale as possible.

I know no-one has the time etc... but I thought it might actually work a bit (when Minsky ready) so I should bring it up.

Best Regards.

All,

It would be good to have an online users forum for Minsky. There is software available, some of it free, but free is not essential. Does anybody have experience with how difficult these are to maintain, which ones are the best, whether it is a good idea in the first place, and how it might feed in to the QA for the developer?

Alan

PS: It is do-able as the first e-mail goes out, so folks can find it up and running when they visit the site. 

All input appreciated.