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Education Reading

Latest Read: Nudge

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler, and Cass Sunstein. At the time of publication both Thaler and Sustain were faculty at the University of Chicago. Cass departed for a role in the Obama Administration then began teaching at Harvard. In addition, Richard won the Nobel prize in economics in 2017.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler, Cass Sunstein

Nudge certainly brings out the small, subtle pushes that our modern-day world makes in swaying one’s opinion or real-world choices.

I was certainly finding myself laughing at passages between Thaler and Sunstein, really enjoying their work very much

Admittedly, stepping back from the often suggested, and overused technology ‘hammer-and-nail’ approach to computer problems, we unquestionably desire to simply change behaviors.

Within Part 1: Humans and Econs / Section 3: Following the Herd Thaler displays how priming may be worth your consideration.

Comparatively, the choices we on a daily basis are proving to be often poor. Nudge certainly helps us identify how we make these choices.

On the other hand, the surprise by Richard and Cass, our choices are really never presented in a neutral way. Nevertheless, this is how we become susceptible to biases, which may lead us to make poor decisions.

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Cyberinfrastructure Education Flat World Globalization Innovation Network OpenSource Reading Technology

Latest Read: The Undoing Project

Michael Lewis wrote The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Change Our Minds. This story is about the lives of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. Honestly I am not sure why it took me so long to read this book. Kahneman’s book Thinking Fast and Slow was very enjoyable (my review here) and one that I think about often.

Lewis acknowledged this story was a result of his bestseller Moneyball.

He learned the insights to data he was seeking about baseball was already available from Kahneman and Tversky.

Daniel accepted the Nobel Prize in 2002 for his work. He acknowledged it should have been a joint award with Amos, who died from cancer eight years earlier.

Kahneman and Tversky focused on behavioral economics known as heuristics in judgment and decision-making. Their unique collaboration proved how unreliable human intuition can be. The results of their research can be staggering. For over twenty years they worked to prove our minds play tricks on us. This is simply based upon inaccurate memories and false stereotypes.

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Education Innovation Reading

Preview: When to Rob a Bank

Could not think of a more focused book title: When to Rob a Bank from the Freakonomics dynamic duo of Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. Looking forward to reading this book. I have never been disappointed in the research and economics of their stories. When to Rob a Bank marks the 10 year anniversary of their original bestseller Freakonomics.
when to rob a bankFrom their legendary initial release Freakonomics and their follow-up bestseller Superfreakonomics to their book Think Like a Freak and even to their highly anticipated movie. When to Rob a Bank should be a very enjoyable read and an opportunity to review some of their most striking stories.

And I must admit after living in Chicago the segment of the Chicago mother looking to inspire her son was a story I felt many around Chicagoland could understand to some degree.

Their approach to telling stories on their blog over the last ten years led them to some amazing stories …. and some that totally missed the mark.

A collection of their best blog posts has been compiled into When to Rob a Bank.

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Design Education Globalization Innovation Reading TED

Freakonomics the movie

The movie everyone should have been waiting to see….on your computer before at the cinemas.

In an unusual move Freakonomics the Movie is coming to iTunes first on September 3rd and then to a theater on October 1.
Since I read this book (review)

Tags: SUPERFreakonomics, Stephen Dubner, Steven Levitt, Economics, datasets, innovation, energy, population, poverty, technology, Sudir Venkatesh, terrorist, trends

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Education Globalization Innovation Reading Technology

SuperFreakonomics’ Authors on GeoEnginnering

University of Chicago Economics Professor Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner about Geoengineering Global Warming Fixes.  Their data about innovation planning shows how important creative thinking can be in addressing global problems.  From their followup best seller Freakonomics called SuperFreakonomics:

I really enjoyed what Levitt and Dubner’s research revealed in both books, it was very enjoyable reading.  Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (my review) and their recent followup SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance (my review) are two can’t miss books!

Tags: SUPERFreakonomics, Stephen Dubner, Steven Levitt, Economics, datasets, innovation, energy, population, poverty, technology, Sudir Venkatesh, terrorist, trends