Freakonomics schwag is up for offer at the end of this post. As such, it may actually be worth slogging through the brief economics lesson that follows. The Coase Theorem is a somewhat rare species of beast: an economic theory that is both completely counterintuitive and yet often right in practice. The idea is named after Ronald Coase, one of . . .
What does the first letter of your name say about you? The new wave of thought-operated technology. Is “iTV” the future of television? (Earlier) Marc Chandler lectures on patterns in global currency.
The current conventional wisdom is that the rise of Internet video may mean the end of television as we know it — a view that extends to the music industry as well, as we’ve seen before. Viacom’s $1 billion copyright infringement suit against the Google-owned YouTube continues to lumber on, and the TV writers’ strike has led to speculation that . . .
Economist Alan Krueger‘s excellent work on terrorism — which we’ve discussed before — comes to the conclusion that suicide bombers tend to be surprisingly well-educated. They are not generally the poorest of the poor; in fact, they are more likely to be middle class members of society. Now it turns out that further support for Krueger’s assertions is coming from . . .
How well has the Radiohead experiment fared? (Earlier) Employers adopting personality tests to avoid “hiring jerks”. A “How To” for corporate prediction markets. Are we more likely to vote for candidates we perceive as being “like us”?
PCs on the downswing in Japan. Can brain atrophies among the elderly lead to unintended racist views? The economics of death in the U.S. The Top 10 “wackiest” science experiments.
Will a TV writers’ strike send more viewers to the Web? Do conservatives eat sushi? A culinary breakdown An analysis of “pay what you want” music donations (Earlier) AFL team offers fans a deal: they make the playoffs, or season tickets are free (Earlier)
Video This is a subject we wrote about in Freakonomics, based on a really interesting paper called “What Makes You Click?” by Günter J. Hitsch, Ali Hortaçsu, and Dan Ariely. The story we told in the book was an aggregate one, based on thousands of online daters’ data. But we thought it would make sense to go out on the . . .
Can a future of Internet gridlock be avoided? Corporate prediction markets conference kicks off in Kansas City, Mo. A breakdown of Halloween spending. Expert debunks myths about current U.S. wages and productivity.
“Anti-groping Appli” on cell phones now available for Japan’s female commuters. Will the growing wage gap affect elite colleges’ admissions? (Earlier) Coal-fired plants dominate electricity in China. (Earlier) Monkeys may have cognitive dissonance. (Earlier)
Last week, I requested your suggestions for things to do with 24 spare hours in Las Vegas. This is what’s known as a bleg — i.e., using your blog to beg for something. You were so smart and generous with your suggestions that we’ve decided to try out the bleg as a regular feature, though probably not quite in the . . .
Google creates digital fingerprinting to enforce copyrights. Is ambiguous racism more harmful than blatant racism? (HT: BPS Blog) U.S. cancer deaths on the decline. Are iPhones toxic to your health? (Earlier)
Between the lawsuits against file-sharers and news of Radiohead’s digital-only album release, the digital distribution of music has become a big story. We recently hosted our own discussion on the issue here.. But for some people, this is very old news. Take the case of Peter Alexander, an economist in Washington, D.C., who has been researching and writing about the . . .
Public school or private school: does it matter? Test security firm Caveon sees business thrive at U.S. schools. (Earlier) Employers impose “no e-mail” days; workers rebel. Are antidepressants safe for children?
Portal? Or how about: A Confuser… the Screen … the Box … God … HAL … or how about Abra, short for “artificial brain.” These were among the many suggestions you wrote in response to our contest asking readers to rename the computer. Let me say it once again: our readership is awesomely creative, smart, and funny. Thanks for all . . .
Does the Internet need replacing? Airport security to focus on remote-control toys. (Earlier) Can cheating in online games be stopped? (Earlier) Woman sues for $1 million over iPhone price cut. (Earlier)
In Freakonomics, we wrote about Paul Feldman, an economist turned bagel delivery man who began charging his customers based on the honor system. From the experiment, he found that, all in all, people were pretty honest. Now the band Radiohead is borrowing a page from Feldman’s playbook, but on a much grander scale. One of the most popular bands in . . .
Two weeks ago, I blogged about my inability to recognize how new technologies would change my life for the better. I typically wait years to adopt things, then do so grudgingly, only to find within days that I don’t know how I ever lived without them. I asked our readers to offer suggestions about my next life-changing technology. The enticement: . . .
In Freakonomics, we make the argument that a child’s first name doesn’t affect his or her life outcome. I am guessing that most inanimate objects, too, are relatively unaffected by the names they happen to pick up — even if the names aren’t very good. It has always struck me that a lot of the things we do and use . . .
Smirnoff owner contemplates buying Absolut. (Earlier) Average U.S. household now spends $1,200 a year on consumer electronics. (Earlier) BMA lobbies for “presumed consent” rule on organ donation. (Earlier) Woman leaps into Japanese sumo ring, causes panic. (Earlier)
Before I was in the writing industry, I was in the music industry. While the economics of journalism have changed a lot over the past 20 years — witness the demise of Times Select and the potential demise of the Wall Street Journal‘s pay site — many other aspects of the writing industry haven’t changed much at all. If you . . .
What’s the solution to air pollution in China? Becker and Posner speak. (Earlier) Also in China: man dies after three straight days of online gaming. (Earlier) More than a quarter of a billion people to use mobile dating services by 2012. Does smoking marijuana have long-term effects?
Attack of the killer text message spam. (Hat tip: Consumerist) Local businesses lagging in online markets. Jogging near traffic can harm your heart. (Earlier) Why do terrorists restrict their business to illegal drugs?
Easy credit also bad for bankruptcies. Gathering data on late adopters. (Earlier) Should people in poor health be allowed to donate organs? (Related)
In March, Dubner and Levitt tackled the realities of identity theft. Now, with phishing scams getting ever cleverer, state government databases leaving sensitive private information accessible to the world, and identity thieves expanding their schemes into Web giants like Facebook, it’s worth asking: how will the problem of identity theft be solved? Technology innovators have been plugging away, of course, . . .
I’m a notoriously late adopter of technologies. It is not a conscious decision, and I don’t take any pride in it. I just do not have enough imagination to figure out ahead of time how much I will like things once I actually have them. E-mail is a good example. I couldn’t see how e-mail would be of much use . . .
Are cows really the next energy source? U.S. Internet surfing time to surpass TV time. Good thing stars don’t care about privacy: Google Earth launches. (Earlier) Do Jim Cramer’s picks make money? (Earlier)
The post that follows isn’t likely to make anyone happy. It is our third recent post about Freakonomics.com’s RSS feed. Here is No. 1 and here is No. 2. For the readers who have no idea what a feed is and don’t care, this post is probably of zero value. Feel free to skip it. The people who do read . . .
Video In the video player over to the left, you’ll find a new short video that’s a brain tease about your brain. Go give it a click, and then leave your answer in the comments section of this post.
A one-time religion student at Columbia University, Chris Napolitano took a job at Playboy in 1988 as an editorial assistant in the fiction department. He went on to become features editor, executive editor, and in 2004 reached the top job, editorial director. (The editor-in-chief title remains reserved for founder Hugh Hefner.) In the spirit of Jim Cramer, Mark Cuban, and . . .