Formula for Success: My Thoughts
…of the package. But as Daniel Wilson of the San Francisco Fed points out, the funding is not directly targeted to areas with the greatest slack in their economies, despite…
David Eagleman upends myths and describes the vast possibilities of a brainscape that even neuroscientists are only beginning to understand. Steve Levitt interviews him in this special episode of People…
…of the package. But as Daniel Wilson of the San Francisco Fed points out, the funding is not directly targeted to areas with the greatest slack in their economies, despite…
We just returned from four days of hiking in Big Bend National Park, and today we drove 500 miles in Texas along I-10. A number of oil wells were pumping…
Youth baseball — long a widely accessible American pastime — has become overrun by $10,000-per-year, for-profit travel leagues. Zachary Crockett peers inside the dugout.
…order to add things, I needed to sign up for Facebook. What to do?? My wife’s response, “Join the 21st century, Daniel.” Being an obedient husband, I did so and…
Fareed Zakaria says yes. But it’s not just political revolution — it’s economic, technological, even emotional. He doesn’t offer easy solutions but he does offer some hope….
Revisiting Steve’s 2021 conversation with the economist and MacArthur “genius” about how to make memories stickier, why change is undervalued, and how to find something new to say on the…
Cory Booker on the politics of fear, the politics of hope, and how to split the difference….
Fareed Zakaria says yes. But it’s not just political revolution — it’s economic, technological, even emotional. He doesn’t offer easy solutions but he does offer some hope….
For a number of years I’ve been impressed with the wireless credit-card machines with which many European restaurants equip their wait-staff. This substitution saves workers time (and also that of…
Once considered noble and heroic, pigeons are now viewed as an urban nuisance — one that costs cities millions of dollars a year. Zachary Crockett tosses some crumbs….
Photo: iStockphoto In the Wall Street Journal, energy guru Daniel Yergin writes of the massive promise of shale gas. It’s the subject of the current cover story of TIME: “This…
Does anyone have any real agency? What do McDonald’s and Oxford University have in common? And why did Angela give up on philosophy?
Can you quantify emotional intelligence? Who should you hire — someone smart, or someone good with people? And how did Angie do on an online emotional intelligence test?…
Those letters at the end of web addresses can mean big bucks — and, for some small countries, a substantial part of the national budget. Zachary Crockett follows the links….
What’s the difference between being popular and being cool? How has social media changed the trend cycle? And what do Taylor Swift and Walmart have in common?…
What happens when machines become funnier, kinder, and more empathetic than humans? Do robot therapists save lives? And should Angela credit her virtual assistant as a co-author of her book?…
The Wall Street Journal recently published a front-page story about the estate tax. Under current law (passed in 2001), the tax is scheduled to disappear next year (but come back…
…it’s very informative. If you’re looking to get caught up on how the SuperFreakonomics discussion of geoengineering is playing out, you can check in here and here. (HT: Daniel Lippman.)…
There is no sludgier place in America than Washington, D.C. But there are signs of a change. We’ll hear about this progress — and ask where Elon Musk and DOGE…
…see immediately… And Shane L pointed out that: The Romans had difficulty repealing the grain dole, once the people got used to it. Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow said…
According to a new working paper (abstract; PDF) by Daniel M. Hungerman, an economist at Notre Dame who studies religion, the answer is yes. At least in his Canadian data…
A column by Meghan Daum in the Los Angeles Times reports on the dating service Ashley Madison, which matches up married women and men who wish to have a quick…
For years, whale oil was used as lighting fuel, industrial lubricant, and the main ingredient in (yum!) margarine. Whale meat was also on a few menus. But today, demand for…
In a special episode of The Economics of Everyday Things, host Zachary Crockett explains what millennials do to show they care, how corrugated cardboard keeps your food warm, and why…
Photo: milesgehm Memes are made to be heisted. So here’s one I heisted from the (U.K.) Times‘s Comment Central blog by Daniel Finkelstein, who of course heisted it from someone…
…have established that cheering for a losing team can negatively affect happiness and self-esteem, so why do people persist in loving the underdog? Daniel Engber, exploring this puzzling propensity at…
My Dutch co-author and I biked to his office this morning, with very nice new bikes he owns. I remarked on them, and he said his university gives him the…
Performing at a strip club can be lucrative, but it requires financial and psychological savvy — and an eye for social trends. Zachary Crockett takes a look….
Only the finest restaurants have a chance to bask in their glow. Sometimes, it’s a bit too bright. Zachary Crockett squints at the menu….
