Very smart

The folks at Cafe Hayek remind us that it is the 50th anniversary of the publication of I,Pencil.

I cite it in all my classes. Few essays make the point about markets as well as this one. The NY Times recently included a piece on Rubik's Cube and pointed out that to solve it requires picking one of five-quintillion options.

A large metro area can include a million or more parcels of land. How many uses can each one go to? Ten? A hundred? The possibilities are now way beyond five-quintillion. Those peddling 'smart growth' plans for metropolitan areas should ponder I, Pencil. That would be very smart.