Unlikely Twins, Part II
By Brian | April 19, 2010
Both celebrating birthdays today:
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| Kate Hudson, Actress, NY Yankee Ex-girlfriend |
Eliot Ness, Iconic Crime Fighter |
Categories: Unlikely Twins | 1 Comment »
The Best of TED: Are we in control of our own decisions?
By Brian | April 14, 2010
Wow…has it really been two weeks since I posted anything here? Sorry about that, folks – and thanks for coming back. I’ll try to not stay away so long again…
Today, I continue with my Best of TED series, in which I share talks from the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference that have struck me over the years as particularly insightful or fascinating.
Today’s entry is by behavioral economist, Dan Ariely. In it, Dr. Ariely offers some frighteningly simple examples of how quickly and frequently we behave irrationally, even when we firmly believe we’re not. Here’s a taste:
Imagine I give you a choice. Do you want to go for a weekend to Rome? All expenses paid, hotel, transportation, food, breakfast, a continental breakfast, everything. Or a weekend in Paris? Now, a weekend in Paris, a weekend in Rome, these are different things. They have different food, different culture, different art.
Now imagine I added a choice to the set that nobody wanted. Imagine I said, “A weekend in Rome, a weekend in Paris, or having your car stolen?” It’s a funny idea. Because why would having your car stolen, in this set, influence anything? But what if the option to have your car stolen was not exactly like this. What if it was a trip to Rome, all expenses paid, transportation, breakfast. But doesn’t include coffee in the morning. If you want coffee you have to pay for it yourself. It’s two euros 50. Now in some ways, given that you can have Rome with coffee, why would you possibly want Rome without coffee? It’s like having your car stolen. It’s an inferior option.
But guess what happened? The moment you add Rome without coffee, Rome with coffee becomes more popular. And people choose it. The fact that you have Rome without coffee makes Rome with coffee look superior. And not just to Rome without coffee, even superior to Paris.
The kicker is this: having read the story, most everyone believes that they, themselves, would overcome the phenomenon. Other people may be silly enough to be swayed toward Rome simply because an inferior option is presented, but you would simply disregard that option and judge Rome vs. Paris on their merits, right? So if everyone, individually, is immune, why is it that as a group, we behave this way?
Watch the rest of the video for more:
Categories: The Best of TED | 1 Comment »
Ballplayer a ‘hit’ with his mother…
By Brian | March 31, 2010
In the preseason game between the Yankees and the Twins today, Twins’ leadoff hitter Denard Span hit a foul ball in the first inning, which made it into the stands just past the third-base dugout, and hit his mother in the shoulder. Paramedics treated her at the scene, and she returned to her seat (a different seat this time) by the next inning. From today’s New York Post:
Wanda Wilson was wearing a Span jersey and sitting with about 20 family members and friends near the third-base dugout. Span took a defensive swing in the first inning and sent a liner into the low box seats, hitting her near the shoulder.
A stunned Span sprinted into the stands and stayed with his mother while she got treatment. The split-squad game was delayed for a few minutes as she walked to first aid, and the Twins said she was sore but OK.
And if you think that’s strange, check out the Peanuts cartoon that appeared in today’s papers:
How’s that for a coincidence?!?
(Hat tip: Lee Salz and Mike Starr for putting these two items together)
Categories: Sports Talk, The World Wide Weird | Comments Off on Ballplayer a ‘hit’ with his mother…
How People Found Me – January-March, 2010
By Brian | March 31, 2010
And now, another installment of the irrationally popular, “How People Found Me,” in which I highlight some of the Google queries that resulted in people clicking through to I Should Be Sleeping. In today’s epside, we begin with:
1) Bizarre Billy Joel Queries
I’ve written about Billy Joel a fair amount in these pages, so I attract an eclectic array of search strings. For example:
Categories: Tech Talk | 3 Comments » By Brian | March 30, 2010 I’ve tried “regular features” on I Should Be Sleeping before, only to rack up considerable guilt for not keeping them up to date, and then abandoning them unless they’re brought back by popular demand. So I won’t promise any regularity here, but I have built up a considerable list of these videos, and my current plan is to share one every once in a while. For those who aren’t familiar with TED, it’s the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference, in which experts and luminaries of various stripes come to speak with other experts and luminaries who are willing to shell out a few thousand dollars to listen. Speakers have ranged from well-known folks like Al Gore and Bill Gates to virtually unknown college professors, researchers, artists and the like. The conference organizers cull what they believe are the best presentations and post them on TED.com, which means that just about every one of them is mildly interesting, and I’ve been jotting down the URL’s of the ones I’ve found particularly insightful for quite some time now. The first talk that made me jot down the URL was this one by conductor and classical music enthusiast, Benjamin Zander: In it, he talks about the lack of interest most people have toward classical music and his personal quest to change all of that. He starts by playing a short Prelude by Frederic Chopin on the piano, and acknowledging that by the second phrase, most people have begun thinking about their plans for their next vacation, and by the end, some have even nodded off to sleep. But then, he explains the mechanics of the piece, sets the right emotional tone, and plays it again. Even if you’re not fond of classical music (especially if you’re not fond of it), I highly recommend you watch the video. I was amazed at how effective his explanation was. I’ve been a musician for most of my life, and while I’ve always had a great respect for classical music and the musicians who play it well, I’ve never been able to make it hold my interest for very long. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Zander’s second playing of Chopin’s piece. All of that said, I hasten to point out that when I hear this…
I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day. …no one has to tell me what the author meant or how I should feel about it. Maybe that’s the advantage that popular music has over classical music right there. Or maybe the former has supplanted those qualities in the latter. Maybe Chopin’s audiences were able to understand his meaning without Mr. Zander’s explanation, in the same way that I understand Smokey Robinson? If so, it felt strangely satisfying to experience Chopin as it was originally intended. Kind of like Frederic Chopin – Behind the Music. Or maybe that’s a bit much… Categories: The Best of TED | Comments Off on The Best of TED: Music and Passion By Brian | March 28, 2010 The folks over at GeekDad have a helpful flowchart to help you decide: Now that’s some solid logic. ;-) Categories: Tech Talk | 3 Comments » By Brian | March 25, 2010 This obviously isn’t funny (although, in this case, no one got hurt), but the Associated Press deserves recognition for this gem of a headline: Gee – ya think?!? Categories: News and/or Media | 2 Comments » By Brian | March 18, 2010 In the last three days, the post I put up a year ago showing President Obama’s 2009 NCAA Bracket received 565 pageviews (in the previous three days, it received seventeen). Since there’s so much apparent interest, here’s the 2010 version: Have at it, folks… Categories: Political Rantings, Sports Talk | Comments Off on President Obama’s NCAA Bracket – 2010 Edition By Brian | March 17, 2010 Dear spammer, If you’re going to send me fake e-mail claiming to be from Citibank’s customer service department, you may want to note that Citibank doesn’t capitalize the “b” in their name. Also, you may want to spell words like “security” and “upon” correctly. Sincerely, It’s hard to imagine that people open these files at all (even though I know they do), but if you think your bank misspelled its own name and the word “security” in their security e-mail and you still open the file? Well, then, enjoy your virus. You are beyond help… Categories: Tech Talk | 1 Comment » By Brian | March 17, 2010 That’s right, boys & girls – it’s CENSUS time! I’ve seen all the ads telling me how important it is that I fill out the census, but I didn’t know this until I got the envelope: Required by law? Really? I wonder what the penalty is. And given that the letter is addressed to “Resident,” I wonder how they find me if I don’t fill it out. I mean, isn’t identifying me and the members of my household the whole point? If they show up to arrest me, haven’t they conclusively proven that they don’t need me to fill it out? You heard it here first, folks – We need Census Law Reform! Categories: Random Acts of Blogging | 5 Comments »Query Comments billy joel doesn’t like to clean kitchen Well, for a guy who doesn’t like to clean up, he sure has a knack for ensuring that he lives alone, huh? I guess he could always hire a cleaning service
The Best of TED: Music and Passion
When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May.
I guess you’ll say, ‘What can make me feel this way?’
My Girl.
Should You Buy an iPad?
Headlines
President Obama’s NCAA Bracket – 2010 Edition
(click to enlarge)If you’re going to do it, do it right…
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spam RecipientIt’s that time of decade again…
