Freakonomics readers know that cars don’t cause traffic jams — drivers do. New technology might eventually eliminate drivers altogether, but probably not anytime soon. Meanwhile, at least one driver has taken matters into his own hands, posting YouTube videos of problem spots on his commute to embarrass transit officials into making repairs, the Los Angeles Times, reports. Are more to . . .
Say you’re hired for a new job. At the end of a four-week training period, your new boss offers you a big bonus to quit right then. Would you stay on the job, or take the money and run? Zappos employees interact on Twitter. Think of it as an employer’s test for whether you’ve come on board for the money . . .
The press is calling it the Dow Jones Industrial Average of American well-being. Every day, since January of this year, pollsters have called 1,000 Americans to quiz them on their health and happiness. The first set of results from this unprecedented survey were released on Wednesday, as the inaugural report of The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, and they find that 47 . . .
Craig Glenday with Lucky Diamond Rich, the most tattooed person. (c) Guinness World Records. As a kid, not only did I love The Guinness Book of World Records but I was dead set on getting into the book myself. The record: world’s longest gum-wrapper chain. I don’t remember how it got started, but somehow Judy Munson (the older sister of . . .
We can learn a lot about the evolution of democracy by studying pirates in history, says George Mason University economist Peter T. Leeson. As early as the 1670’s, pirates were experimenting with elected leadership, worker’s compensation and checks on executive power, the Boston Globe reports in this preview of Leeson’s forthcoming book The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates. . . .
Minnesota Representatives Michele Bachmann and John Kline are pushing to make English the official language of the United States (and reduce multilingualism). But would this put the U.S. behind other countries in global awareness and education? One of our readers, Andy Little, noticed his own language ignorance by his initial interpretation of this sign: When I saw this sign in . . .
In case you didn’t get your fill from our previous post, the e-mail guide Send — by The Times‘s OpEd editor, David Shipley, and former Hyperion Books editor-in-chief, Will Schwalbe — has a lot to say about e-mail mistakes. If you just made your own e-flub, visit their Web site, Thinkbeforeyousend.com — a collection of the worst e-mail mistakes. You’ll . . .
Screen shot from Arthur Shapiro’s blog. For fans of the Spinning Dancer illusion, let us recommend Arthur Shapiro’s Illusion Sciences blog, which features a new optical illusion every week. Shapiro, an associate professor at the Bucknell University Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, is a contestant in the Neural Correlate Society’s “Best Visual Illusion of the Year” contest, which . . .
In Moscow, you might be more likely to find a LoJack system on a dump truck than a Porsche. Russia’s domestic supply of construction equipment can’t meet the demand created by Moscow’s construction boom, Reuters reports — so thieves are lifting asphalt-pavers, cranes, and other heavy machinery from construction sites. Maybe someone can propose a construction charity at the next . . .
I blogged last July about the creative ideas Preston McAfee was bringing to the journal he edits called Economic Inquiry. One of his innovations was a “no revisions” option whereby an author could submit a paper to the journal under the provision that the journal publishes “as is” or not at all. If you are not an academic, it is . . .
Can texting make people more health-conscious? (Earlier) Are men really that visual? For those who are serious about their weather.(HT: Eric Floehr)(Earlier) The changing face of the “business expert.”
How’s this for a commitment device? Alexandra Von Feldmann‘s sculpture, the “Birth Clock” is a timepiece frozen in a glass bubble. The moment you break the glass, the clock springs to life, marking progress. Or, you can leave the glass intact as a reminder of your unwillingness to commit. Dubner and Levitt have written about commitment devices before, including replica . . .
Almost: … like seeing the Pope: texting him. … all commercial U.S. flights have no air marshals on board. … a German officer came that close to assassinating Hitler. … how far Rolls Royce Q1 orders were from $15 billion. … how close the human race might have come to splitting in two.
The E.P.A. has proposed new rules that would drastically reduce the permissible level of lead in air pollution. If the change goes into effect, it will mark the first time lead emissions standards have been tightened since the agency went after leaded gasoline in the 1970’s. If lead contributed to the crime falloff of the 1990’s, are we looking at . . .
A recent FREAK Shot sparked a series of photo submissions and comments about the best way for a sign to get people to do what it’s asking. In this video, Wired contributing editor Daniel Pink claims the most effective signs appeal to people’s empathies and don’t just give a command. (HT: Ross) He recommends, for example, preempting “Pick up after . . .
Price discrimination — charging different prices for the same product or service — requires preventing people who pay a high price for an item from being able to buy it at a low price. This is done by separating the markets — linking the price to different times when the item is bought, such as day or night, weekday or . . .
Here’s the most recent guest bleg from Fred Shapiro, editor of the Yale Book of Quotations. In recent weeks I have blegged for information about the origins of famous computer sayings, including proverbs such as “Garbage in, garbage out,” and, “Information wants to be free.” Computer culture seems to be a rich source of new proverbs such as these. For . . .
We recently solicited your questions for primatologist Frans de Waal. Of all his accomplishments, one of the greatest has been his ability to so well communicate his scholarly findings to a wide audience. Here is one compelling piece of advice he offered on that subject: “Keep the reader interested, whatever it takes, so long as you don’t violate the truth.” . . .
Tourists love Bali for its picturesque rice paddy views. But they also love it for a more modern attraction that’s threatening Asia’s food security and replacing paddys in countries throughout Asia — golf courses. Reuters reports that surging Asian economies, rising living standards, and a younger generation that prefers less labor-intensive resort and golf course employment have hurt Asian rice . . .
Parkside Market in Astoria, New York. The neighborhood grocery store is becoming an endangered species in many parts of the country, from New York to Seattle. Now, U.C.L.A. researchers have uncovered a link between the grocery gap and rising obesity, the Los Angeles Times reports. The study found that neighborhoods with dramatically more fast-food restaurants and convenience stores than supermarkets . . .
I’m struck to find that we pointy-headed economists have become a symbol in the presidential campaign. No, not evil trickle-down, right-wing economists who manufacture an uncaring government, or lunatic left-wing, regulate-em-all central planners who want to destroy innovation — but all economists. Last week I issued a challenge to find a coherent economist who would support the gas tax holiday . . .
Ebonya Washington, an economist at Yale, has a great paper that was just published in the American Economic Review called “Female Socialization: How Daughters Affect Their Legislator Fathers’ Voting on Women’s Issues.” She looks at members in the House of Representatives and looks to see whether their voting patterns change. She provides interesting evidence that, “conditional on total number of . . .
Levitt and I have a column in this Sunday’s Times Magazine about the attempt to bring to the sport of basketball the intense statistical analysis that Bill James has made popular throughout baseball. The column centers on the Boston Celtics, who have just completed the best-ever turnaround in N.B.A. history, winning 66 games this year after winning just 24 last . . .
Judging from this sign (and its unsettling verbiage), Gray’s Papaya isn’t counting on the tax rebates. So it’s offering its own version of economic relief: Photo: Jay Jones A cafe in Venice is doing something similar for subprime victims. Any other instances of recession discounts? Addendum: Apparently Gray’s Papaya has been offering their discount for a few years — pessimism . . .
Last week, we asked to see your photos and you responded with vigor — and from around the globe (Burma, Buenos Aires, Canada). Keep sending them here. Here’s a photo from Omair Khan, who took this in 2005 in New York City: On his blog, Barry Popik cites a 1982 Times article in which Mayor Koch announced the creation of . . .
Earlier this week, Dubner wondered what kinds of changes might make Major League Baseball more interesting to the modern T.V. viewer. A number of you suggested instituting salary caps. This chart comparing team performance with total player salaries over the 2008 season, by data visualization guru Ben Fry, does seem to suggest a link between higher pay and sluggish performance. . . .
Don’t fret about age — they’ll drink anyway. Are boys’ clubs and families the real glass ceiling?(Earlier) The amazing 11-foot computing engine.(Earlier) Pregnant women, watch your soft drinks.
The New York Sun reports that gas may hit $10 a gallon before too long, putting it in line with European prices. The ground is already shifting. Employers find that getting employees out of their cars and onto company-owned, Wi-Fi-enabled buses boosts productivity and morale. Fewer and fewer teenagers are getting driver’s licenses, and public transportation ridership is at its . . .
With more than $110 billion in tax rebates set to flow into taxpayer pockets starting today, everyone from big-box retailers to restaurants to debt-collection agencies is vying for a piece of the action. But what’s the smartest way to spend your rebate — for yourself and for the larger economy? Now that we’ve considered that, how are you really going . . .
Times columnist Nick Kristof recently highlighted economic research showing that climate change may be driving up the rate of executions of suspected witches in East Africa. Tough times in the Congo may have been behind the recent witchcraft panic there, where police arrested 13 people accused of using black magic to shrink men’s penises. University of Chicago economist Emily Oster . . .
You want to listen to Freakonomics Radio? That’s great! Most people use a podcast app on their smartphone. It’s free (with the purchase of a phone, of course). Looking for more guidance? We’ve got you covered.
Stay up-to-date on all our shows. We promise no spam.
