Friday, April 21, 2006
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Monday, October 24, 2005
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
an indecent proposal
A young boy went up to his father and asked, "What is the difference between potentially and realistically?"
The father considered the question, then replied, "Go ask your mother if she would sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars.
And ask your sister if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for the same.
When they've told you, come back and we'll talk."The boy went to his mother and asked, "Would you sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars?" The mother replied, "Of course I would! I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that."
The boy then went to his sister and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?" The sister replied, "Oh my God! I would just love to do that! I would be in heaven if I had that chance!"
The boy pondered this for a bit and went back to his dad. His father asked, "So could your mother and sister help you understand the difference between potentially and realistically?"
The boy replied, "Yes, potentially we're sitting on two million dollars, but realistically we're living with a couple of sluts."
http://deepinmymind.blogspot.com/
The father considered the question, then replied, "Go ask your mother if she would sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars.
And ask your sister if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for the same.
When they've told you, come back and we'll talk."The boy went to his mother and asked, "Would you sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars?" The mother replied, "Of course I would! I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that."
The boy then went to his sister and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?" The sister replied, "Oh my God! I would just love to do that! I would be in heaven if I had that chance!"
The boy pondered this for a bit and went back to his dad. His father asked, "So could your mother and sister help you understand the difference between potentially and realistically?"
The boy replied, "Yes, potentially we're sitting on two million dollars, but realistically we're living with a couple of sluts."
http://deepinmymind.blogspot.com/
Sunday, October 09, 2005
the majority are damn fools
Failures of crowd intelligence
In order to make his case, Surowiecki studies situations (such as rational bubbles) in which the crowd produces very bad judgment,
and argues that in these types of situations their cognition or cooperation failed because (in one way or another) the members of the crowd were too conscious of the opinions of others and began to emulate each other and conform rather than think differently.
Although he gives experimental details of crowds collectively swayed by a persuasive speaker, he says that the main reason that groups of people intellectually conform is that the system for making decisions has a systematic flaw.
In order to make his case, Surowiecki studies situations (such as rational bubbles) in which the crowd produces very bad judgment,
and argues that in these types of situations their cognition or cooperation failed because (in one way or another) the members of the crowd were too conscious of the opinions of others and began to emulate each other and conform rather than think differently.
Although he gives experimental details of crowds collectively swayed by a persuasive speaker, he says that the main reason that groups of people intellectually conform is that the system for making decisions has a systematic flaw.
He thinks that what happens when the decision making environment isn't set up to accept the crowd is that the benefits of individual judgments and
Too centralized: The
Too divided: The
(He cites the SARS-virus isolation as an example in which the free flow of data enabled laboratories around the world to coordinate research without a central point of control.)
Too imitative: Where choices are visible and made in sequence, an "information cascade" can form in which only the first few decision makers gain anything by contemplating the choices available: once this has happened it is more efficient for everyone else to simply copy those around them.
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