Uncategorized
Nominology
Nominology is my neologism for the study of naming things. I’m that good at it! Or at least I think I know good names when I see them. To some extent this is obvious. Ideally you want a name that’s unique, evocative, and not unwieldy. But I’d like to break those desiderata down and suggest... »
How Small the World
In the late 1960s, Stanley Milgram conducted one of the most famous — and perhaps one of the most misinterpreted — experiments in the social sciences. He enlisted volunteers from far off lands (Kansas and Nebraska, in his case) to route a package to one of two target individuals in Massachusetts: a stockbroker in... »
(More Than) A Penny Saved is a Penny Wasted, In Which I Trivialize the Entire Industry of Financial Planning
Prescript: This article is by popular demand, having won our meta poll at the beginning of the year. I predict three categories of reactions to it: (1) This is obvious. (2) This is obviously wrong. (3) This is just the rationalization I needed to keep doing what I’m doing! If there’s a fourth category... »
This Post Won’t Go Viral
Sometime during the late 19th or early 20th century, a simian immunodeficiency virus that infects wild chimpanzees made the jump to humans who hunted the animals. The mutated human strains spread from one individual to the next through intimate contact — usually unprotected sex or needle sharing — often leaving carriers absent of symptoms for... »
Car Insurance and an Ear Full of Cider
Yesterday Decision Science News asked “Should you buy car insurance?” By which they mean collision insurance, liability insurance being required by law in these parts. I’m shocked and appalled that decision scientists could even ask such a thing. Actually, it’s a good question with some legitimate subtleties. I just happen to have an unreasonably strong opinion about... »
