Mike's notes.
If this blog has a core, at the moment, it’s about decision making. One way to change decision making is to change the initial conditions. One way to do that is to dial ease up or down. Losing weight is about introducing new habits and breaking old habits. WW, formerly Weight Watchers, uses ease a … Continue reading Going bananas for WW
One difference between the human brain and the laptop computer is that location matters. A human thinks differently, a computer compiles the same. This makes alchemy possible. This also makes academia tough. In behavioral science information presentation is everything. Order your tickets in the next 14:59. Put another way, what we see is all there … Continue reading Where are the notifications?
Recapping, it seemed like there was potential that a vegetarian diet was healthy. Without knowing where to start, my plan was to keep it simple, stupid. Simple substitutes work really well because we like easy decisions. If a dish called for rice, I used cauliflower. Spaghetti squash (roasted) became a friend. We also made a big … Continue reading Vegetarian Update 1
These are the additions to the full list below. Advice (verb). A suggestion based on unstated conditionals. Breath mint (noun). Candy with branding. See also: muffin/cupcake and flower/weed. Groupthink (verb). Interpersonal incentives plus culture. Reality index (noun). Via Dana Gioia. About his best teachers Gioia said, “They were older men who had served in the … Continue reading Summer 2020 definitions
These definitions are a series. “If you really study it”. (expression) a signal someone hasn’t changed their mind but is willing to capitalize on the current trend. Assumption (noun): To make a theory into a law. This is not an issue because of Moore’s Law. Middleman (noun). (1) the person who facilitates a transaction (2) … Continue reading Spring 2020 definitions
“A question that stymied me for years and years, a question I got almost anywhere I went, it seemed like every organization asked, ‘How do you manage to hire so many awesome people?’. “I said to look for fifty-one percenters, people who are emotionally wired to be happier themselves when they delivery happiness to you.” … Continue reading Danny Meyer is an Alchemist (and you can be too)
Moving to Florida in 2018 has been mostly positive. Y’all and ma’am are great and I use them each day. The weather is wonderful. We also make a boil. A low-country boil (minus the pesky crawfish) is a holiday and weekend staple. Boil water with seasoning; add potatoes, corn, onions, sausage, shrimp, enjoy. The ratio … Continue reading How we decide
One of the consistent behavioral psychology findings is the framing effect. People judge what is pointed out and consider the number attached to it. Two out of every three dentists approve chewing no-sugar gum. Sure, but do they caveat that with increased flossing? Heck, no one cares. The thinking goes that if it was flossing … Continue reading Numeracy + Psychology
Student’s don’t really see the dollars. They see tuition vaguely. I remember my first year of school, which I was paying for mostly myself, with the attitude of, ‘these are the books I need, I’ll just put them on the account or whatever’. I remember the vague feeling of a physics textbook costing a lot, … Continue reading Easy Money, Student Loans
Like engineers, we sit around and think about ways to make the good easier and the bad harder. In December of last year this happened when I swapped a tray of cookies into the pantry and replaced it with dried fruit, fresh fruit, and nuts. Though the cookies were still an arm’s reach away, they … Continue reading Design a minibar with Tim Harford
The Waiter's Pad 