Reflections on the intersection of economics, history, politics, psychology and science
While serving as locally elected officials, we’d hear all the time from residents asking us why government didn’t act more like a business. After all, isn’t it capitalism that made this country great, so why doesn’t government operate in the same way? Thi
One of us (Mark) is a life-long consumer of science fiction. And, growing up in the 1960s, you can’t be into that genre without knowing more than a little about Robert Heinlein, who published from the early 1940s through the late 1980s. Heinlein delighted in sparking controversy…which is why he has been considered a towering
It feels like America has gotten dumber over the last few decades. Is that indeed true, and if so, why? As that is a bit vague and pejorative, the podcast looks at more specific issues, including ignorance, intellectual stubbornness, and lack of critical
For this tenth episode, Seth and Mark decided to have a little fun and stray from the modus operandi of the first nine episodes of The Boiling Frog. Just for fun, our hosts make this episode a series of diatribes, fulfilling the expectations of Seth’s wif
Risk is a concept not well understood by many people, particularly in a financial context. In this podcast we explore what it means in depth, why it is often a balancing factor for rewards, and how a better understanding of risk and reward can lead to bet
I recently ran into a great example of how pervasive hindsight bias is that I wanted to share. It appeared in some comments to an op ed I wrote which was published in the San Mateo Daily Journal, one of our local papers. My article argued the San Carlos City Council, on which I used
Hindsight Bias is Everywhere Read More »
A follow up from The Changing Lily Pad, this podcast explores why corruption exists, where it comes from and why it appears that there is more corruption in people and organizations that are conservative.
“Wokeness” and “Cancel Culture” are popular terms in our modern political and social parlance, but what do they actually mean? How should we think about the concept of “canceling” – is it behavior gone too far, or is it just about accountability?
How Hindsight Bias is not just an academic concept, but rather a critical flaw in human’s ability to think critically and avoid logical fallacies, particularly in issues of crime and gun rights.
6: Jumping to Conclusions Read More »
How a very simple concept in game theory – the Prisoner’s Dilemma – is omnipresent in our economic lives and in almost all social interactions, and the tension between individual incentives and societal good.
5: The Amphibian’s Dilemma Read More »