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Great Quote on the Psychology of Science
ByadminI recently read Margalit Fox’s wonderful book, “The Riddle of the Labyrinth,” which tells the extraordinary tale of how three people, working in parallel, figured out the meaning of what, to me, look like random scribbles on ancient tablets – the language known as Linear B. In trying to deduce the riddle of these scribbles,…
On Why Thomas Jefferson Never Committed Suicide
ByadminUpon the death of his wife, Thomas Jefferson went into a deep depression. In crushing words, he described his state of mind to his sister-in-law, in a sentence that could be placed in psychiatric manuals next to a definition of depression: “All my plans of comfort and happiness reversed by a single event and nothing…
The Rise of Government Spending: An International View
ByadminAn article from The Economist last April explored Margaret Thatcher’s influence on government spending in Britain during her tenure as prime minister. The magazine published a very interesting graphic, showing the rise of government spending in five countries. I thought I would reproduce the picture for you here, because it illustrates some fascinating issues: First, at…
On Repetition and Good Writing
ByadminIn high school, I was taught not to repeat words too often in the same paragraph, or even within a relatively short essay. I know I am not alone in having been taught that way, because many of the people I’ve mentored over the years present me drafts of their writing which show that they…
Mark Twain on Sermonizing
Byadmin“Few sinners are saved after the first twenty minutes of a sermon.” Amen to that!
What Marathon Runners Have in Common with Used Car Salesmen
ByadminIn recent posts, I’ve presented several interesting pictures of how arbitrary thresholds influence behavior. I showed how airplane pilots speed up flights to make on-time arrivals, but don’t speed up late flights that won’t make it on time. I’ve shown that the price of used cars changes when the mileage on the odometer passes arbitrary round…