June 21, 2019 - Chapter Thirty-six (pp. 155-159)


Two important bits of information are revealed in this chapter: one to discuss today and one to discuss tomorrow. The first is that Ahab has a previous relationship with a white whale. He offers a doubloon to whomever sights the whale first among the crew, subsequently nailing the doubloon on the mast for all to see. This doubloon will appear as the chapter of a later chapter.

What’s interesting beyond the idea of a white whale – on which far more down the road – is that Ahab sees fit to make a contest out of finding the whale and offers a monetary incentive on that basis. It says something about the economics of the situation certainly – a core assumption of economics as a science being that human beings respond to incentives.

We’ll learn more about the whale, most importantly its name and history, in the remainder of the chapter.

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