Misplaced Pages

No such thing as a free lunch: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 13:11, 1 August 2010 editCallmederek (talk | contribs)345 edits IP's edits were correct; "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch", is not an acronym; the redirect TANSTAAFL is what should be categorized. See Category:Acronyms← Previous edit Latest revision as of 14:37, 9 December 2024 edit undoPantarch (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users565 edits ContextTag: Visual edit 
(300 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Adage of the impossibility of getting something for nothing}}
{{About|the saying|the computing principle|No free lunch in search and optimization|the group|No Free Lunch (organization)}}
{{Redirect|No free lunch|the medical advocacy group|No Free Lunch (organization)|the theorem in mathematical optimization|No free lunch theorem}}
], a political emblem of the ] during the 1970s, features an arrow diagonally crossing the letters "TANSTAAFL."]]
"'''No such thing as a free lunch'''" (alternatively, "'''There ain't no such thing as a free lunch'''", "'''There is no such thing as a free lunch'''" or other variants, sometimes called '''Crane's law'''<ref>{{cite book | first=Arthur | last=Bloch | title=Murphy's Law and Other Reasons Why Things Go Wrong | year=1977 | publisher=Price/Stern/Sloan | publication-place=Los Angeles | isbn=0843104287 | page=69 | url=https://archive.org/details/murphyslawotherr0000bloc/page/69/mode/2up?q=%22crane%27s+law%22}}</ref>) is a popular ] communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. The ]s '''TANSTAAFL''', '''TINSTAAFL''', and '''TNSTAAFL''' are also used. The phrase was in use by the 1930s, but its first appearance is unknown.<ref name=safire/> The "free lunch" in the saying refers to the formerly common practice in American bars of offering a "]" in order to entice drinking customers.


"'''There ain't no such thing as a free lunch'''" (alternatively, "'''There's no such thing as a free lunch'''" or other variants) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. The acronyms '''TANSTAAFL''' and '''TINSTAAFL''' are also used. Uses of the phrase dating back to the 1930s and 1940s have been found, but the phrase's first appearance is unknown.<ref name="safire" /> The "free lunch" in the saying refers to the nineteenth century practice in American bars of offering a "]" with drinks. The phrase and the acronym are central to ]'s 1966 ] novel '']'', which popularized it.<ref name="verifier">{{cite book|last=Keyes|first=Ralph|title=The Quote Verifier|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|year=2006|page=70|isbn=978-0-312-34004-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Chrysti M.|title=Verbivore's Feast: Second Course|publisher=Farcountry Press|location=Helena, MT|year=2006|page=131|isbn=978-1-56037-404-6}}</ref> The free-market economist ] also popularized the phrase<ref name="safire">Safire, William ''On Language; Words Left Out in the Cold" New York Times, 2-14-1993 </ref> by using it as the title of a 1975 book, and it often appears in economics textbooks;<ref>{{cite book|last=Gwartney|first=James D.|coauthors=Richard Stroup, Dwight R. Lee|title=Common Sense Economics|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|year=2005|pages=8–9|isbn=0-312-33818-X}}</ref> Campbell McConnell writes that the idea is "at the core of economics".<ref>{{cite book |title=Economics: principles, problems, and policies |last=McConnell |first=Campbell R. |coauthors=Stanley L. Brue |year=2005 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Irwin |location=Boston |isbn=9780072819359 |oclc=314959936|page=3 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=XzCE3CjiANwC&lpg=PA3&dq=%22free%20lunch%22%20economics&lr=&client=safari&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q=%22free%20lunch%22%20economics&f=false |accessdate=2009-12-10}}</ref> The phrase and the acronym are central to ]'s 1966 ] novel '']'', which helped popularize it.<ref name=verifier>{{cite book|last=Keyes|first=Ralph|title=The Quote Verifier|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|year=2006|page=|isbn=978-0-312-34004-9|url=https://archive.org/details/quoteverifierwho00keye/page/70}}</ref><ref name="Smith 2006 131">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Chrysti M.|title=Verbivore's Feast: Second Course|publisher=Farcountry Press|location=Helena, MT|year=2006|page=131|isbn=978-1-56037-404-6}}</ref> The ] economist ] also increased its exposure and use<ref name="safire">Safire, William, ''The New York Times'', 2-14-1993 </ref> by paraphrasing it as the title of a 1975 book;<ref name="Friedman, Milton 1975">Friedman, Milton, ''There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch'', Open Court Publishing Company, 1975. {{ISBN|087548297X}}.</ref> it is used in ] literature to describe ].<ref name="Gwartney 2005 8–9">{{cite book|last=Gwartney|first=James D.|author2=Richard Stroup|author3=Dwight R. Lee|title=Common Sense Economics|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|year=2005|pages=|isbn=0-312-33818-X|url=https://archive.org/details/commonsenseecono00gwar_0/page/8}}</ref> Campbell McConnell writes that the idea is "at the core of economics".<ref name="McConnell 2005 3">{{cite book |title=Economics: principles, problems, and policies |last=McConnell |first=Campbell R. |author2=Stanley L. Brue |year=2005 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Irwin |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-07-281935-9 |oclc=314959936|page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XzCE3CjiANwC&q=%22free+lunch%22+economics&pg=PA3 |access-date=2009-12-10}}</ref>


==History and usage== ==History and usage==
==="Free lunch"=== ==="Free lunch"===
The "free lunch" referred to in the acronym relates back to the once-common tradition of ]s in the United States providing a ] to patrons who had purchased at least one drink. ], writing in 1891, noted how he came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures, in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. <blockquote>“It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts.″<ref>{{cite book|first=Rudyard|last=Kipling|title=American Notes|publisher=Standard Book Company|year=1930}} (published in book form in 1930, based on essays that appeared in periodicals in 1891)<br/> The "free lunch" refers to the once-common tradition of ]s in the ] providing a ] to patrons who had purchased at least one drink. Many foods on offer were high in salt (e.g., ham, cheese, and salted crackers), so those who ate them ended up buying a lot of beer. ], writing in 1891, noted how he
{{Gutenberg|no=977|name=American Notes by Rudyard Kipling}}</ref></blockquote>


<blockquote>...came upon a bar-room full of bad Salon pictures, in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts.<ref>{{cite book |first=Rudyard |last=Kipling |author-link=Rudyard Kipling |title=American Notes |publisher=Brown and Company |location=Boston |year=1899 |page= |oclc=1063540 |url=https://archive.org/details/americannotesrud00kiplrich |access-date=31 May 2014}}<br/>{{Gutenberg|no=977|name=American Notes by Rudyard Kipling}}</ref></blockquote>
TANSTAAFL, on the other hand, indicates an acknowledgment that in reality a person or a society cannot get "something for nothing". Even if something appears to be free, there is always a cost to the person or to society as a whole even though that cost may be ] or ]. For example, as Heinlein has one of his characters point out, a bar offering a free lunch will likely charge more for its drinks.<ref>{{cite book|last=Heinlein|first=Robert A.|title=The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress|publisher=Tom Doherty Assocs.|location=New York|year=1997|pages=8–9|isbn=0-312-86355-1}}</ref>

Some quotes exist from the time, arguing that these free lunches were not really free, such as in the Columbia ''Daily Phoenix'' of 1873: "One of the most expensive things in this city—Free lunch.",<ref> Columbia, SC ''Daily Phoenix'' 1873-09-06 p. 2</ref> ''L. A. W. Bulletin'' 1897: "If no one ever paid for drinks, there would be no 'free lunch', and the man who confines his attention to the free lunch, alone, is getting what he knows others pay for."<ref>{{cite magazine | title=The 'Free Lunch' Gang | magazine=L. A. W. Bulletin and Good Roads | volume=25 | number=24 | date=11 June 1897 | page=714 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JgcAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA714 }}</ref> and the ''Washington Herald'' 1909: "as a matter of fact, there is no such thing as free lunch. Somebody has to pay for it."<ref>{{cite news | title=Mr. Tillman's idea that free lunch is good enough for anybody | newspaper=The Washington Herald | date=2 November 1909 | page=6 | url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1909-11-02/ed-1/seq-6/#words=lunch }}</ref> When Chicago attempted to ban free lunches in 1917, Michael Montague, a saloon owner, made the case that "There is no such thing as free lunch. First of all, you have to buy something from the saloonkeeper before you can partake of the lunch. Lunch is the greatest tempering influence in the saloon. If a man takes a two-ounce drink of whisky and then takes a bite of lunch, he probably does not take a second drink. Whisky taken alone creates an appetite. If you want to create the use of whisky, pass this ordinance."<ref>{{cite news | title=Saloonman Denies Lunches Provided Patrons Are Free | newspaper=Oklahoma City Times | date=25 May 1917 | volume=29 | issue=47 | page=1 | url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86064187/1917-05-25/ed-1/seq-1/#words=lunch }}</ref>

TANSTAAFL, on the other hand, applies this more generally, and indicates an acknowledgement that in reality a person or a society cannot get "something for nothing". Even if something appears to be free, there is always a cost to the person or to society as a whole, although that may be a ] or an ]. For example, as Heinlein has one of his characters point out, a bar offering a free lunch will likely charge more for its drinks.<ref>{{cite book |last=Heinlein |first=Robert A. |author-link=Robert A. Heinlein |title=] |publisher=Tom Doherty Associates |location=New York |year=1997 |orig-year=1966 |pages=8–9 |isbn=0-312-86355-1}}</ref>


===Early uses=== ===Early uses===
] ]
According to ], ], on becoming mayor of New York in 1934, said "È finita la cuccagna!", meaning "No more free lunch"; in this context "free lunch" refers to graft and corruption.<ref name="safire" /> The earliest known occurrence of the full phrase, in the form "There ain’t no such thing as free lunch", appears as the punchline of a joke related in an article in the ''El Paso Herald-Post'' of June 27, 1938, entitled "Economics in Eight Words".<ref>{{cite web |first=Fred |last=Shapiro |authorlink=Fred R. Shapiro |title=Quotes Uncovered: The Punchline, Please |url=http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/quotes-uncovered-the-punchline-please/ |work='']'' – ] |date=16 July 2009 |accessdate=16 July 2009}} The earliest known occurrence of the full phrase (except for the "a"), in the form "There ain't no such thing as free lunch", appears as the punchline of a joke related in an article in the '']'' of June 27, 1938 (and other ] newspapers about the same time), entitled "Economics in Eight Words".<ref>{{cite web |first=Fred |last=Shapiro |author-link=Fred R. Shapiro |title=Quotes Uncovered: The Punchline, Please |url=http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/quotes-uncovered-the-punchline-please/ |work=] – ] |date=16 July 2009 |access-date=16 July 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Economics in Eight Words|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19580313&id=jPoeAAAAIBAJ&pg=7426,4042997|access-date=1 April 2014|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|date=March 13, 1958 | quote = "...first published in Scripps-Howard newspapers 20 years ago."}}</ref> According to etymologist ], this article was written by Walter Morrow.<ref>{{cite book | first=Marjorie W. | last=McLain | title=Peter Tamony: Word Man of San Francisco's Mission | date=1986 | publisher=Wellman Publishing | publication-place=Folsom, California | page=91 | url=https://archive.org/details/petertamony0000unse/page/91 }}</ref>
</ref> In 1945 "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" appeared in the '']'', and "there is no free lunch" appeared in a 1942 article in the ''] Daily Register'' (in a quote attributed to economist Harley L. Lutz) and in a 1947 column by economist ].<ref name="verifier" /><ref name="yale">{{cite book|title=The Yale Book of Quotations|editor=Fred R. Shapiro|publisher=Yale Univ. Press|location=New Haven, CT|year=2006|page=478|isbn=978-0-300-10798-2}}</ref>
In 1949 the phrase appeared in an article by Walter Morrow in the San Francisco News (published on 1 June) and in Pierre Dos Utt's ], "TANSTAAFL: a plan for a new economic world order",<ref>{{cite book |last= Dos Utt|first= Pierre|authorlink= |title= TANSTAAFL: a plan for a new economic world order|year= 1949|publisher= Cairo Publications, Canton, OH |isbn= }}</ref> which describes an ] political system based on his conclusions from "no free lunch" principles.


In 1942, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" appeared in ''Public Utilities Fortnightly'',<ref>{{cite journal | first=Ernest R. | last=Abrams | title=All Utility Companies Need Is a Square Deal | journal=Public Utilities Fortnightly | volume=29 | issue=6 | date=12 March 1942 | page=336 | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_public-utilities-fortnightly_1942-03-12_29_6/page/336 | quote=As some realist with a sense of humour remarked the other day, 'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.' Eventually, you pay for it. }}</ref> and the '']'' in 1945. A shortened version of the phrase, "there is no free lunch" appeared in a 1942 article in the ''] Daily Register'' (in a quote attributed to economist Harley L. Lutz) and in a 1947 column by economist ].<ref name="verifier" /><ref name="yale">{{cite book|title=The Yale Book of Quotations|editor=Fred R. Shapiro|publisher=Yale Univ. Press|location=New Haven, CT|year=2006|page=|isbn=978-0-300-10798-2|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300107982/page/478}}</ref>
The 1938 and 1949 sources use the phrase in relating a fable about a king (] in Dos Utt's retelling) seeking advice from his economic advisors. Morrow's retelling, which claims to derive from an earlier editorial reported to be non-existent,<ref>http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/no_more_free_lunch_fiorello_la_guardia/</ref> but closely follows the story as related in the earlier article in the ''El Paso Herald-Post'', differs from Dos Utt's in that the ruler asks for ever-simplified advice following their original "eighty-seven volumes of six hundred pages" as opposed to a simple failure to agree on "any major remedy". The last surviving economist advises that "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch".


In 1949, the phrase appeared in Pierre Dos Utt's ] ''TANSTAAFL: A Plan for a New Economic World Order'',<ref>{{cite book |last= Dos Utt|first= Pierre|title= TANSTAAFL: A Plan for a New Economic World Order|year= 1949|publisher= Cairo Publications, Canton, OH }}</ref> which describes an ] political system based on his conclusions from "no free lunch" principles.
In 1950, a New York Times columnist ascribed the phrase to economist (and Army General) ] of the Cleveland Trust Company. "It seems that shortly before the General's death ... a group of reporters approached the general with the request that perhaps he might give them one of several immutable economic truisms that he gathered from long years of economic study... 'It is an immutable economic fact,' said the general, 'that there is no such thing as a free lunch.'"<ref>Fetridge, Robert H, "Along the Highways and Byways of Finance," The New York Times, Nov 12, 1950, p. 135</ref>

The 1938 and 1949 sources use the phrase in relating a fable about a king (] in Dos Utt's retelling) seeking advice from his economic advisors. The original 1938 version differs from Dos Utt's in that the ruler asks for ever-simplified advice following their original "eighty-seven volumes of six hundred pages" as opposed to a simple failure to agree on "any major remedy". The last surviving economist advises that "There ain't no such thing as free lunch."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/no_more_free_lunch_fiorello_la_guardia/ |title=The Big Apple: "No more free lunch!" (Fiorello La Guardia) |publisher=Barrypopik.com |date=2007-03-08 |access-date=2016-05-14}}</ref>

In 1950, a '']'' columnist ascribed the phrase to economist (and army general) ] of the Cleveland Trust Company: "It seems that shortly before the General's death ... a group of reporters approached the general with the request that perhaps he might give them one of several immutable economic truisms that he had gathered from his long years of economic study... 'It is an immutable economic fact,' said the general, 'that there is no such thing as a free lunch.{{'"}}<ref>Fetridge, Robert H, "Along the Highways and Byways of Finance", ''The New York Times'', Nov 12, 1950, p. 135</ref>

The September 8, 1961, issue of ''LIFE magazine'' has an editorial on page 4, {{"'}}TANSTAFL', It's the Truth", that closes with an anecdotal farmer explaining this slight variant of TANSTAAFL.

By the late 1960s, the phrase had also been given the name "Crane's law", for example in an article by Henry D. Harral in the ''Pennsylvanian'' (1969).<ref>{{cite journal | first=Henry D. | last=Harral | title=Organizing City Hall to Respond to Problems | journal=Pennsylvanian | date=October 1969 | volume=17 | number=10 | page=19 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T4FWAAAAYAAJ&q=%22crane%27s+law%22 | quote=Some one recently said that Crane's Law was all one needed to know of the science of economics. Crane's Law states: 'There is no such thing as a free lunch.' }}</ref>

===Popularization===
In 1966, author ] published his novel '']'', in which TANSTAAFL was a central, ] theme, mentioned by name and explained. This increased its use in the mainstream.<ref name="verifier"/><ref name="Smith 2006 131"/>

Edwin G. Dolan used the phrase as the title of his 1971 book ''TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) – A Libertarian Perspective on Environmental Policy''.<ref>{{cite book |last= Dolan|first= Edwin G.|title= TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) – A Libertarian Perspective on Environmental Policy|year= 1971}} updated and reissued in 2011</ref>


===Meanings=== ===Meanings===
;Science
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2010}}
In the sciences, no free lunch means that the universe as a whole is ultimately a ]. There is no source of matter, energy, or light that draws resources from something else which will not eventually be exhausted. Therefore, the no free lunch argument may also be applied to natural physical processes in a closed system (either the universe as a whole, or any system that does not receive energy or matter from outside). (See ].) The bio-ecologist ] used this concept as the last of his famous "]".
TANSTAAFL demonstrates ]. ] described the concept as: "To get one thing that we like, we usually have to give up another thing that we like. Making decisions requires trading off one goal against another."<ref>''Principles of Economics'' (4th edition), p. 4.</ref> The idea that there is no free lunch at the societal level applies only when all resources are being used completely and appropriately, i.e., when ] prevails. If not, a 'free lunch' can be had through a more efficient utilisation of resources. If one individual or group gets something at no cost, somebody else ends up paying for it. If there appears to be no direct cost to any single individual, there is a ]. Similarly, someone can benefit for "free" from an ] or from a ], but someone has to pay the cost of producing these benefits.


According to American theoretical physicist and cosmologist ] "the universe is the ultimate free lunch", given that in the early stage of its expansion the total amount of energy available to make particles was very large.<ref>{{cite book | last = Hawking| first = Stephen| title = A brief history of time| url = https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofti00step_1| url-access = registration| publisher = Bantam books| year = 1988| page = | isbn = 0553175211}}</ref>
In the sciences, TANSTAAFL means that the universe as a whole is ultimately a closed system—there is no magic source of matter, energy, light, or indeed lunch, that does not draw resources from something else, and will not eventually be exhausted. Therefore the TANSTAAFL argument may also be applied to natural physical processes in a closed system (either the universe as a whole, or any system that does not receive energy or matter from outside). (See ].)


==== Economics ====
In ], the term is also used as an informal synonym for the principle of no-]. This principle states that a combination of securities that has the same cash flows as another security must have the same net price in equilibrium.
In economics, no free lunch demonstrates ]. ] described the concept as follows: "To get one thing that we like, we usually have to give up another thing that we like. Making decisions requires trading off one goal against another."<ref>''Principles of Economics'' (4th edition), p. 4.</ref> The idea that there is no free lunch at the societal level applies only when all resources are being used completely and appropriately – i.e., when ] prevails. If not, a 'free lunch' can be had through a more efficient utilization of resources. Or, as ] put it, "You can only get something for nothing if you have previously gotten nothing for something." If one individual or group gets something at no cost, somebody else ends up paying for it. If there appears to be no direct cost to any single individual, there is a ]. Similarly, someone can benefit for "free" from an ] or from a ], but someone has to pay the cost of producing these benefits. (See ] and ].)


==== Finance ====
TANSTAAFL is sometimes used as a response to claims of the virtues of ]. Supporters of free software often counter that the use of the term "free" in this context is primarily a reference to a lack of constraint ("libre") rather than a lack of cost ("]"). ] has described it as "free as in speech not as in beer".
In ], the term is also used as an informal synonym for the principle of no-]. This principle states that a combination of securities that has the same cash-flows as another security must have the same net price in equilibrium.


==== Statistics ====
The prefix "TANSTAA-" is used in numerous other contexts as well to denote some immutable property of the system being discussed. For example, "TANSTAANFS" is used by ] professors to stand for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Noise Free System".
In ], the term has been used to describe the tradeoffs of statistical learners (e.g., in ]) which are unavoidable according to the ]. That is, any model that claims to offer superior flexibility in analyzing data patterns usually does so at the cost of introducing extra assumptions, or by sacrificing generalizability in important situations.<ref>{{cite arXiv | last1 = Simon | first1 = N. | last2 = Tibshirani | first2 = R. |eprint=1401.7645 |title=Comment on "Detecting Novel Associations In Large Data Sets" by Reshef Et Al, Science Dec 16, 2011 |date=2014 | class = stat.ME }}</ref>

==== Technology ====
No free lunch is sometimes used as a response to claims of the virtues of ]. Supporters of free software often counter that the use of the term "free" in this context is primarily a reference to a lack of constraint ("libre") rather than a lack of cost ("]"). ] has described it as {{Double+space}}]{{Space+double}}.

The prefix "TANSTAA-" (or "TINSTAA-") is used in numerous other contexts as well to denote some immutable property of the system being discussed. For example, "TANSTAANFS" is used by ] professors to stand for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Noise-Free System".{{Citation needed|date=June 2016}}

==== Sports ====
] coined the abbreviation "TINSTAAPP", for "There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect",<ref>{{cite news | url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130411&content_id=44526640&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb | title=Even top pitching prospects are no sure thing | work=MLB.com | date=12 April 2013 | access-date=6 May 2013 | author=Leach, Matthew}}</ref> as many young pitchers hurt their arms before they can be effective at a ] level.

==== Social policy ====
Hungarian prime minister ] used this adage to justify his social reforms in the mid-2000s. As a post-socialist country, Hungary struggled with the illusion of the state as a caring and giving, independent entity, rather than being the embodiment of the community. The saying "there is no free lunch" represented that even if the state provides welfare or something else for the people in need, it is in fact bought or provided by other people of the same community through taxes. Therefore, the state cannot provide everything for everyone, and increased provisions given by the state can only be financed by economic growth, increased taxes or public debt.

==== Exceptions ====
Some exceptions from the "no free lunch" tenet have been put forward, such as the ] and ].<ref name="Friend">{{cite book| last = Friend| first = Tim| title = The Third Domain: The Untold Story of Archaea and the Future of Biotechnology| publisher = National Academies Press| year = 2007| page = | isbn = 978-0309102377| url = https://archive.org/details/thirddomainun00frie/page/21}}</ref> It was argued in particular that ] evolved to take advantage of the free lunch provided by the Sun, which also triggers production of vital oxygen in plants.<ref name="Friend"/> However, these too fall short in that the viewpoint is an ], Earth, with "free" inputs from the Sun. When viewed from the larger system context, the Sun/Earth or Solar System, there is no net energy exchange, and still "no free lunch".<ref>{{cite news | title = Is the earth a 'closed system' with the Sun providing the sole input?| url=https://www.quora.com/Is-the-earth-a-closed-system-with-the-Sun-providing-the-sole-input| date=11 December 2013 | access-date=26 November 2016| author = Wilson, Richard}}</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
{{Portal|Economics}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] – mathematical relationships specifying simple limits on derivative prices
* ]
* ] – story by Frédéric Bastiat written to illuminate the notion of hidden costs
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] – There Ain't No Such Thing As Government Interference in the '']''
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}


==References== ==References==
*Tucker, Bob, (]) ''The Neo-Fan's Guide to Science Fiction Fandom'' (3rd–8th Editions), 8th edition: 1996, Kansas City Science Fiction & Fantasy Society, KaCSFFS Press, No ISSN or ISBN listed.
{{Reflist|2}}


==External links==
* Tucker, Bob, (]) ''The Neo-Fan's Guide to Science Fiction Fandom'' (3rd-8th Editions), 8th edition: 1996, Kansas City Science Fiction & Fantasy Society, KaCSFFS Press, No ISSN or ISBN listed.
* , digitized text at Libertarianism.org


] ]
]
]
]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]


]
]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 14:37, 9 December 2024

Adage of the impossibility of getting something for nothing "No free lunch" redirects here. For the medical advocacy group, see No Free Lunch (organization). For the theorem in mathematical optimization, see No free lunch theorem.
The Libersign, a political emblem of the U.S. Libertarian Party during the 1970s, features an arrow diagonally crossing the letters "TANSTAAFL."

"No such thing as a free lunch" (alternatively, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch", "There is no such thing as a free lunch" or other variants, sometimes called Crane's law) is a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. The acronyms TANSTAAFL, TINSTAAFL, and TNSTAAFL are also used. The phrase was in use by the 1930s, but its first appearance is unknown. The "free lunch" in the saying refers to the formerly common practice in American bars of offering a "free lunch" in order to entice drinking customers.

The phrase and the acronym are central to Robert A. Heinlein's 1966 science-fiction novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, which helped popularize it. The free-market economist Milton Friedman also increased its exposure and use by paraphrasing it as the title of a 1975 book; it is used in economics literature to describe opportunity cost. Campbell McConnell writes that the idea is "at the core of economics".

History and usage

"Free lunch"

The "free lunch" refers to the once-common tradition of saloons in the United States providing a "free" lunch to patrons who had purchased at least one drink. Many foods on offer were high in salt (e.g., ham, cheese, and salted crackers), so those who ate them ended up buying a lot of beer. Rudyard Kipling, writing in 1891, noted how he

...came upon a bar-room full of bad Salon pictures, in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts.

Some quotes exist from the time, arguing that these free lunches were not really free, such as in the Columbia Daily Phoenix of 1873: "One of the most expensive things in this city—Free lunch.", L. A. W. Bulletin 1897: "If no one ever paid for drinks, there would be no 'free lunch', and the man who confines his attention to the free lunch, alone, is getting what he knows others pay for." and the Washington Herald 1909: "as a matter of fact, there is no such thing as free lunch. Somebody has to pay for it." When Chicago attempted to ban free lunches in 1917, Michael Montague, a saloon owner, made the case that "There is no such thing as free lunch. First of all, you have to buy something from the saloonkeeper before you can partake of the lunch. Lunch is the greatest tempering influence in the saloon. If a man takes a two-ounce drink of whisky and then takes a bite of lunch, he probably does not take a second drink. Whisky taken alone creates an appetite. If you want to create the use of whisky, pass this ordinance."

TANSTAAFL, on the other hand, applies this more generally, and indicates an acknowledgement that in reality a person or a society cannot get "something for nothing". Even if something appears to be free, there is always a cost to the person or to society as a whole, although that may be a hidden cost or an externality. For example, as Heinlein has one of his characters point out, a bar offering a free lunch will likely charge more for its drinks.

Early uses

TANSTAAFL: a plan for a new economic world order by Pierre Dos Utt (1949)

The earliest known occurrence of the full phrase (except for the "a"), in the form "There ain't no such thing as free lunch", appears as the punchline of a joke related in an article in the El Paso Herald-Post of June 27, 1938 (and other Scripps-Howard newspapers about the same time), entitled "Economics in Eight Words". According to etymologist Peter Tamony, this article was written by Walter Morrow.

In 1942, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" appeared in Public Utilities Fortnightly, and the Columbia Law Review in 1945. A shortened version of the phrase, "there is no free lunch" appeared in a 1942 article in the Oelwein Daily Register (in a quote attributed to economist Harley L. Lutz) and in a 1947 column by economist Merryle S. Rukeyser.

In 1949, the phrase appeared in Pierre Dos Utt's monograph TANSTAAFL: A Plan for a New Economic World Order, which describes an oligarchic political system based on his conclusions from "no free lunch" principles.

The 1938 and 1949 sources use the phrase in relating a fable about a king (Nebuchadnezzar in Dos Utt's retelling) seeking advice from his economic advisors. The original 1938 version differs from Dos Utt's in that the ruler asks for ever-simplified advice following their original "eighty-seven volumes of six hundred pages" as opposed to a simple failure to agree on "any major remedy". The last surviving economist advises that "There ain't no such thing as free lunch."

In 1950, a New York Times columnist ascribed the phrase to economist (and army general) Leonard P. Ayres of the Cleveland Trust Company: "It seems that shortly before the General's death ... a group of reporters approached the general with the request that perhaps he might give them one of several immutable economic truisms that he had gathered from his long years of economic study... 'It is an immutable economic fact,' said the general, 'that there is no such thing as a free lunch.'"

The September 8, 1961, issue of LIFE magazine has an editorial on page 4, "'TANSTAFL', It's the Truth", that closes with an anecdotal farmer explaining this slight variant of TANSTAAFL.

By the late 1960s, the phrase had also been given the name "Crane's law", for example in an article by Henry D. Harral in the Pennsylvanian (1969).

Popularization

In 1966, author Robert A. Heinlein published his novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, in which TANSTAAFL was a central, libertarian theme, mentioned by name and explained. This increased its use in the mainstream.

Edwin G. Dolan used the phrase as the title of his 1971 book TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) – A Libertarian Perspective on Environmental Policy.

Meanings

Science

In the sciences, no free lunch means that the universe as a whole is ultimately a closed system. There is no source of matter, energy, or light that draws resources from something else which will not eventually be exhausted. Therefore, the no free lunch argument may also be applied to natural physical processes in a closed system (either the universe as a whole, or any system that does not receive energy or matter from outside). (See Second law of thermodynamics.) The bio-ecologist Barry Commoner used this concept as the last of his famous "Four Laws of Ecology".

According to American theoretical physicist and cosmologist Alan Guth "the universe is the ultimate free lunch", given that in the early stage of its expansion the total amount of energy available to make particles was very large.

Economics

In economics, no free lunch demonstrates opportunity cost. Greg Mankiw described the concept as follows: "To get one thing that we like, we usually have to give up another thing that we like. Making decisions requires trading off one goal against another." The idea that there is no free lunch at the societal level applies only when all resources are being used completely and appropriately – i.e., when economic efficiency prevails. If not, a 'free lunch' can be had through a more efficient utilization of resources. Or, as Fred Brooks put it, "You can only get something for nothing if you have previously gotten nothing for something." If one individual or group gets something at no cost, somebody else ends up paying for it. If there appears to be no direct cost to any single individual, there is a social cost. Similarly, someone can benefit for "free" from an externality or from a public good, but someone has to pay the cost of producing these benefits. (See Free rider problem and Tragedy of the commons.)

Finance

In mathematical finance, the term is also used as an informal synonym for the principle of no-arbitrage. This principle states that a combination of securities that has the same cash-flows as another security must have the same net price in equilibrium.

Statistics

In statistics, the term has been used to describe the tradeoffs of statistical learners (e.g., in machine learning) which are unavoidable according to the "No free lunch" theorem. That is, any model that claims to offer superior flexibility in analyzing data patterns usually does so at the cost of introducing extra assumptions, or by sacrificing generalizability in important situations.

Technology

No free lunch is sometimes used as a response to claims of the virtues of free software. Supporters of free software often counter that the use of the term "free" in this context is primarily a reference to a lack of constraint ("libre") rather than a lack of cost ("gratis"). Richard Stallman has described it as "'free' as in 'free speech', not as in 'free beer'".

The prefix "TANSTAA-" (or "TINSTAA-") is used in numerous other contexts as well to denote some immutable property of the system being discussed. For example, "TANSTAANFS" is used by electrical engineering professors to stand for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Noise-Free System".

Sports

Baseball Prospectus coined the abbreviation "TINSTAAPP", for "There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect", as many young pitchers hurt their arms before they can be effective at a major league level.

Social policy

Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány used this adage to justify his social reforms in the mid-2000s. As a post-socialist country, Hungary struggled with the illusion of the state as a caring and giving, independent entity, rather than being the embodiment of the community. The saying "there is no free lunch" represented that even if the state provides welfare or something else for the people in need, it is in fact bought or provided by other people of the same community through taxes. Therefore, the state cannot provide everything for everyone, and increased provisions given by the state can only be financed by economic growth, increased taxes or public debt.

Exceptions

Some exceptions from the "no free lunch" tenet have been put forward, such as the Sun and carbon dioxide. It was argued in particular that metabolism evolved to take advantage of the free lunch provided by the Sun, which also triggers production of vital oxygen in plants. However, these too fall short in that the viewpoint is an open system, Earth, with "free" inputs from the Sun. When viewed from the larger system context, the Sun/Earth or Solar System, there is no net energy exchange, and still "no free lunch".

See also

Notes

  1. Bloch, Arthur (1977). Murphy's Law and Other Reasons Why Things Go Wrong. Los Angeles: Price/Stern/Sloan. p. 69. ISBN 0843104287.
  2. ^ Safire, William, The New York Times, 2-14-1993 "On Language; Words Left Out in the Cold"
  3. ^ Keyes, Ralph (2006). The Quote Verifier. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-312-34004-9.
  4. ^ Smith, Chrysti M. (2006). Verbivore's Feast: Second Course. Helena, MT: Farcountry Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-56037-404-6.
  5. Friedman, Milton, There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch, Open Court Publishing Company, 1975. ISBN 087548297X.
  6. Gwartney, James D.; Richard Stroup; Dwight R. Lee (2005). Common Sense Economics. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-312-33818-X.
  7. McConnell, Campbell R.; Stanley L. Brue (2005). Economics: principles, problems, and policies. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-07-281935-9. OCLC 314959936. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
  8. Kipling, Rudyard (1899). American Notes. Boston: Brown and Company. p. 18. OCLC 1063540. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  9. Phoenixiana Columbia, SC Daily Phoenix 1873-09-06 p. 2
  10. "The 'Free Lunch' Gang". L. A. W. Bulletin and Good Roads. Vol. 25, no. 24. 11 June 1897. p. 714.
  11. "Mr. Tillman's idea that free lunch is good enough for anybody". The Washington Herald. 2 November 1909. p. 6.
  12. "Saloonman Denies Lunches Provided Patrons Are Free". Oklahoma City Times. Vol. 29, no. 47. 25 May 1917. p. 1.
  13. Heinlein, Robert A. (1997) . The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. New York: Tom Doherty Associates. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-312-86355-1.
  14. Shapiro, Fred (16 July 2009). "Quotes Uncovered: The Punchline, Please". The New York Times – Freakonomics blog. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  15. "Economics in Eight Words". The Pittsburgh Press. March 13, 1958. Retrieved 1 April 2014. ...first published in Scripps-Howard newspapers 20 years ago.
  16. McLain, Marjorie W. (1986). Peter Tamony: Word Man of San Francisco's Mission. Folsom, California: Wellman Publishing. p. 91.
  17. Abrams, Ernest R. (12 March 1942). "All Utility Companies Need Is a Square Deal". Public Utilities Fortnightly. 29 (6): 336. As some realist with a sense of humour remarked the other day, 'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.' Eventually, you pay for it.
  18. Fred R. Shapiro, ed. (2006). The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press. p. 478. ISBN 978-0-300-10798-2.
  19. Dos Utt, Pierre (1949). TANSTAAFL: A Plan for a New Economic World Order. Cairo Publications, Canton, OH.
  20. "The Big Apple: "No more free lunch!" (Fiorello La Guardia)". Barrypopik.com. 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  21. Fetridge, Robert H, "Along the Highways and Byways of Finance", The New York Times, Nov 12, 1950, p. 135
  22. Harral, Henry D. (October 1969). "Organizing City Hall to Respond to Problems". Pennsylvanian. 17 (10): 19. Some one recently said that Crane's Law was all one needed to know of the science of economics. Crane's Law states: 'There is no such thing as a free lunch.'
  23. Dolan, Edwin G. (1971). TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) – A Libertarian Perspective on Environmental Policy. updated and reissued in 2011
  24. Hawking, Stephen (1988). A brief history of time. Bantam books. p. 144. ISBN 0553175211.
  25. Principles of Economics (4th edition), p. 4.
  26. Simon, N.; Tibshirani, R. (2014). "Comment on "Detecting Novel Associations In Large Data Sets" by Reshef Et Al, Science Dec 16, 2011". arXiv:1401.7645 .
  27. Leach, Matthew (12 April 2013). "Even top pitching prospects are no sure thing". MLB.com. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  28. ^ Friend, Tim (2007). The Third Domain: The Untold Story of Archaea and the Future of Biotechnology. National Academies Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0309102377.
  29. Wilson, Richard (11 December 2013). "Is the earth a 'closed system' with the Sun providing the sole input?". Retrieved 26 November 2016.

References

  • Tucker, Bob, (Wilson Tucker) The Neo-Fan's Guide to Science Fiction Fandom (3rd–8th Editions), 8th edition: 1996, Kansas City Science Fiction & Fantasy Society, KaCSFFS Press, No ISSN or ISBN listed.

External links

Categories: