To answer your first question:

Is an iPhone really the best place to learn the underpinnings of the global economy? No, of course not. You have a couple hundred thousand dollars and four to eight years to spare? Go to Harvard. The iTunes App Store, however, is a fun place to learn some basics. And most former nerds or still nerds own iPhones; it is the inexplicable blood-born obligation of the middle class male.

So without further hubbub, I present a smattering of what I've absorbed over the past few months from the slab of plastic in my pocket. I think these concepts have made me a better employee, small business owner, and money conscious consumer. They might have also irradiated my junk, effectively making me infertile -- science is still looking into cellphone rays, so only time will tell.