- The debate continues on whether talent matters.
- American teen birth, abortion and AIDS rate much higher than Dutch, what are they doing right?
- Coffee and women: first it was less depression, now it’s lower risk of cancer.
- Groupon nearly puts a London baker out of business.
- Productivity, subsidies, and rising tuition costs.
- Height and children: average men have the most kids.
- New study: nice guys can finish first.
- The dawn of neuroeconomics.
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Taller men get more women so they may tend to play the field longer looking to maximize the utility by optimizing their choice in woman. Thus marrying later and having less children.
Short guys… just ask George Costanza.
Based on my limited world view and bias I have two Suspected but uncollaborated Health Correlations tobacco/bi-polar disease; cats/autism. Please investigate and inform.
I was especially interested in the piece on talent. As a writing coach I work with all sorts of people with a wide range of “natural talent.” Some have a real ear for language, others, not so much. That said, I think it’s entirely possible for everyone to IMPROVE.
I find it discouraging when scientists focus on fairly arbitrary measures, such as “getting a PhD in physics” as a measure of intelligence and I worry that this will discourage people from trying to accomplish whatever it is they want to achieve, in whatever field. The question of getting a PhD — in anything — is only relevant to someone who wants or needs a PhD. And there is obviously a lot of game-playing you will have to engage in to do this. Measure of intelligence? Not so much, I think!
How is the baker getting screwed because of a discount she offered Groupon fault?
I agree with you Uthor. I don’t get why the baker’s poor business decisions makes Groupon a bad company.
- could have limited number for purchase
- no one told her to make discount 75%
She acts like no customers bought any other full price products or liked her cupcakes enough to make return purchases. Out of 8500 purchases, it has to have happened a few times.
Plus the free publicity gained by her crying “Groupon screwed me” in the press is worth thousands. I’m surprised if the baker doesn’t come out ahead at the end.
Actually she said that it was her poor business decision. She worked hard to honor the promotion that she had offered. The article’s author framed this as anti-Groupon. From the quotes in the article I does not seem that the proprietor blamed Groupon, rather herself.
The Dutch comparison is not honest at all and you at Freakonomics should know that.
What is not honest about this analysis is that America is demographically very different from the Netherlands. Blacks and Hispanics, who make up a large percentage of the American youth population have an abortion rate that is 4x the rate of white Americans. If you do a demographically honest comparison you will not find the vast differences claimed. For example, among American whites aged 15-19 the teen abortion rate is 11 per 1000 or approximately 1% in any given year.
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pdf