Charlie Brown Was A Blockhead
Mind Your Decisions looks at the game theory of the classic Thanksgiving showdown between Lucy and Charlie Brown. Time after time, Lucy would bring her football to the park and entice Charlie Brown to practice some place kicks.  Lucy would hold the ball, Charlie Brown would run full-steam to kick it only to have Lucy snatch the ball away at the last minute sending Charlie Brown flying, yelling ARRRRGGGHHH and landing in a heap.  What a blockhead.  Sure you can understand his willingness to trust her the first time, maybe even the first two times, but after that it’s pretty

Memory, Filtering, and Creativity
I have often proposed the following test, or measure, of creativity.  Try it here before reading on.  Time yourself.  Let’s say 30 seconds.  You are going to think of 5 words.  Your goal is to come up with 5 words that are as unrelated to one another as possible.  Go. Via Jonah Lehrer, I found this article that would give some backstory to my test.  I will paraphrase, but it’s worth reading the art

Is Poker Expertise Good for a Career in Finance?
Apparently, financial firms seem to believe that this is the case: An increasing number of hedge funds and brokerages are scrutinizing professional poker to find talent and analytical tools, according to financial recruiters including Options Group, a New York-based executive-search company. Susquehanna International Group LLP, the Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania-based options and equity trading company, uses poker to teach strategic thinking. “Someone who has made a

Whereupon I Relinquish All Remaining Ivory Tower Cred
Catch me on the public radio program Marketplace this evening. I will be talking about pinball. I sat here in Northwestern’s high-tech studio and talked into that thing to Ky Ryssdal. More than modern equipment, what the studio needs is a few candles and some incense. Also someone to look at me and pretend that everything I am s

Bribing vs Signaling
Cute video from Tim Harford on the information economics of office politics. (My theory is that in fact the managers will get stuck with cleaning coffee pots.  The wage-earners are already held to reservation utility while the managers are likely earning rents. And, as illustrated in the video’s epilogue, there is no fully separating equilibrium in the “threaten to resign” game.)