I think I just figured out why I like behavioural economics so much. It’s probably one of the only fields where there seems to be hope for the future. I’ve studied environmental sciences and, though there are good news stories, the news seems to be predominately bad: global warming, species extinctions, pollution etc. Now I’m [...]
Aux’s current “Video Throwdown”–a music video battle a la “Combat des Clips” for those of you from the 90′s–is between Acorn and local Montreal talent Land of Talk. You should vote for Land of Talk, not because it was directed by the other half of RadarLake and Land of Talk (and Suuns) member Joseph Yarmush. [...]
Have you ever really thought about how a company treats you before buying their product and after? Creating Passionate Users points out that there’s a pretty huge discrepancy: Think about it. The brochure is a thing of beauty, while the user manual is a thing of boredom. The brochure gets the big budget while the [...]
When I first heard Piano Phase by Steve Reich I though I was tripping. I said things like, “this shit is tripping me out” and “guys, I don’t want to alarm anyone, but, I’m tripping on this right here”. Seriously, mind blowing. I’m still discovering all of Reich’s music. If you’re new to Reich, his [...]
From Aid Watch this morning. A textbook definition of economics versus Bill Easterly’s definition of economics. Which do you find more interesting? Textbook: Economics is the social science concerned with how individuals, institutions, and society make optimal choices under conditions of scarcity. Easterly: Sorry, I’m not all that concerned with “how individuals, blah, blah, optimal choices, [...]
I just came across this series of 8mm films that a group of female friends in Brooklyn (yes, THE Brooklyn) have been recording in a the last little while in an apartment under the name, Girl Crisis. It’s all one take shots, recorded mostly accapella by a rotating cast of band babes in NYC. I [...]
Recently, I’ve been surrounded by people who have worked a lot with the Cree and Inuit and who are continually frustrated with the difficulties of working across cultural barriers. I don’t have much time today but here’s a neat Ted Talk by Jeremy Rifkin who thinks that, one day, definitely not soon, cultural boundaries might [...]
Most participants do not run a marathon to win. – Wikipedia On Sunday I will be honouring Wikipedia’s knowledge by trying not to win my first marathon. When I mention I’m running the marathon, the first question I get is: “Crazy. How long is a marathon?” The answer, 42.2km, usually prompts this question: “Weird. Why [...]
I have become profoundly interested in bias. Avoiding it is an important part of the research I do (studying bias and how to avoid it is a big part of epidemiology) but I also find it interesting to learn about the biases that are programmed into our tiny human brains. How sometimes, though we want [...]
My apologies to those outside of Montreal for taunting you with an event like this but, those who live in this great city should head over to Santropol Roulant‘s Iron Chef Cook-Off tomorrow (Thursday) night. From their Facebook page: Come join us for Santropol’s first ever Iron Chef cook-off! The event will take place on [...]
