Translating among the econ

I mentioned it on my blog the other day as well as here, but I thought I'd translate the snippet Duncan Black flagged as being an example of overly mathematical economics into a more readable form. I'll even emphasize the point by not using LaTeX.

Here's my translation of the mathematical symbols ...

     We assume that there are a finite number of commodities ℓ. The consumption of agent i is defined by the set of ℓ positive numbers labeled xᵢ. Agent i's utility function in state tᶰ is uᵢ(xᵢ,  tᶰ). We sometimes assume a quasi-linear economy: the ℓth quantity is a numeraire and the consumption of agent i is defined by ℓ-1 positive numbers and one positive or negative number xᵢ. The utility function uᵢ becomes uᵢ = vᵢ(xᵢ-ℓ, tᶰ) + xᵢℓ. The endowment of agent i of type ti is set of ℓ numbers labeled ωᵢ consistent with the definition of xᵢ (assumed to be independent of the state -- with this assumption, all private information concerns agents' preferences and beliefs.)

     These quantities now define an admissible exchange economy E. 

Or maybe we can go simpler ...

There is stuff. Each person has certain amounts of stuff and they like it to varying degrees. Sometimes one type of stuff is money and they like that differently. Everyone starts with some stuff. This defines an economy.