[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Wakan Tanka

Not knowing what Entrepreneur means is like, who cares, money is all that matters in the end, IMO ...how the heck do you expect someone as sluggish as this to know the word "Entrepreneur"?!?

He's an economics major. If he doesn't even know one of the four factors of production, then I fear for his academic future, let alone his hopes of becoming a civil servant.

Originally Posted by Arabesque

I don't know, is it really that much of a shock? I've seen Business Students struggling to even remember the proper pronunciation, let alone definition, of entrepreneur.

You echo an interesting point that SeijiSensei made to me recently, about the relative lack of entrepreneurial zeal in Japan. I'd leave it to him to present the point, if he feels like it.

I think it's only in America where business studies is regarded highly. As a business and computer-science undergraduate in Britain, some 15 years ago, my dorm-mates majoring in economics used to scoff at business studies as "economics lite".

They did have a point, I felt. Certainly, in terms of quantitative rigour, economics hits a lot harder than the fuzzy-wuzzy strategy case studies I poured over in business classes. Granted, this may be more a reflection of how business is taught outside the United States, than on the nature of business studies itself.

Originally Posted by Arabesque

I tell you, I would've went down that path if it came with a free Succubus.

Heh, thanks for reminding me that satyr are only male. Yes, I very much look forward to having my own personal sex slave succubus in the gilt settings of the financial district. And I think I'd fare above average (assuming that fighting prowess there is proportionate to one's entrepreneurial ability in real life), at least for a while, even if I doubt I'd be a top player.

Since we're venturing into more worthwhile discussion, I might as well point out that I do enjoy the many allusions to hell, from the number of the beast to Masakaki's role as the "devil" who tempts. It ties in with the popular idea that "money is the root of all evil", even while we can't seem to live without it.

(Which reminds me, I got to get around to reading The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson. It's been sitting on my shelf for too long.)

Even more interesting is the use of "hell notes" in the district. I'm referring to the paper currency that Q eats, for example. Seems to me that the device is inspired by the Chinese tradition of burning such currency as offerings to dead ancestors, in the superstitious belief that they need money to spend in hell.

Which always lead me to wonder about the rate of inflation down below, given that people usually burn notes in denominations of thousands, if not tens of thousands.