Optimism

Whilst I was away in the Gold Coast where it is still 1992 and enjoying the delights of probably the worst hotel in Australia I caught up with this little piece in Time regarding optimism and its function as an evolutionary survival mechanism. “Scientists who study memory proposed an intriguing answer: memories are susceptible to inaccuracies partly…

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Apocalypse…Not Quite Yet

Slate has an interesting take on what happens to those who predict an apocalypse that doesnt come. This is an interesting piece but somewhat light on with regard to actually why we believe stupid things – for reasons other than being stupid. A more in depth look at our frailties is contained in my blog…

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Did I Miss Anything?

I must have slept through armageddon either that or it didnt happen. This entire little event that gained far more oxygen than it was worthy of proved that humans are fundamental irrational and that those with imaginary friends are even more irrational. In any sane and compassionate society anyone who claims to have voices in…

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Here Be Monsters

A crewman on a commercial tuna-fishing boat was the first to spot it: something shiny and metallic in the water off the ship’s bow. The crewman alerted the navigator, and the 280-foot San Nikunau slightly altered course to avoid a collision. As the ship came closer, the object revealed itself to be a small boat,…

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Bobby Fischer

Interesting piece on Bobby Fischer the chess grandmaster who moved from God like status in the world of chess to be a friggen mental case in his later years. His descent into wild and irrational behaviour is far from a unique narrative, particularly in chess. The history of the game contains many similar trajectories. As…

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Delusions…..again

I have written before about the nature of delusions and how permanent they seem to be in those that suffer them. Every time I come across something to do with such behaviour it reinforces in me that irrationality is the default state for humans and that there is not a lot that can really be…

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Game Theory

Excellent chat with game theorist Ariel Rubinstein. Ariel Rubinstein of Tel Aviv University and New York University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the state of game theory and behavioral economics, two of the most influential areas of economics in recent years. Drawing on his Afterword for the 60th anniversary edition of Von Neumann…

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