Human behavior & complex social problems
A modern phenomenon is the increasing cost and sophistication of events and mundane products. For example, before the existence of the now ubiquitous children’s “buffets” in Brazil (places where parents celebrate the birthday of their kids), birthday parties used to be a simple combination of best friends, a cake and homemade sweets. I do not…
In his books (“Luxury Fever” and “Darwin Economy”), Robert Frank argues (based on compelling data) that the great and inescapable villain of overconsumption is the ever growing demand for positional goods. According to him, this is such a powerful and inescaple force inasmuch as we human beings are driven to signal status. The process neatly resembles…
Terminei de ler o excelente “The signal and the noise”, escrito pelo estatístico americano Nate Silver. No livro, as tentativas de previsão em diversas áreas são analisadas, com seus sucessos e fracassos. O autor analisa áreas como os esportes, o mercado acionário, as eleições e o clima. O capítulo sobre aquecimento global deveria ser lido…