Latest posts
On procrastination and preparing for an event..
Brilliant and hilarious description with fantastic graphics of how to think of the level of preparation for a talk, and on procrastination in the process! http://waitbutwhy.com/2016/03/doing-a-ted-talk-the-full-story.html
We are all susceptible to behavioral biases, here is a list of common ones
There are MANY behavioral biases, and their books, Kahneman, Ariely and Thaler (to name a few) explain what lies behind these biases. Fantastic books! However, sometimes a list of some common ones are welcome; in this article, 61 are presented....
Randomized control trial: The gold standard or overrated?
While randomized control trial (RCT) have long been seen as the epitome of evidence based research, having served to modernize the field of medicine, this article questions its use to test social policy. The argument is that where RCT's come into their own when...
Can algorithms replace academics?
In this video, Phil Parker at INSEAD argues for the use of computer programs / algorithms to help answer questions that have typically been done by academics; citing a computers ability to search through mounds of data and find trends and commonalities. He further...
“How to Build an Economic Model in Your Spare Time” by Hal R. Varian
The first academic book I got when I started at McGill was “Intermediate Microeconomics: A modern approach” by Hal Varian. It got me hooked on the subject. He is now both “Chief economist” at Google, and professor at Berkeley; and still does brilliant research....
Superforecasting – The art and science of prediction
A great new book by Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner, based on a long running experiment where masses of people have made predictions on a wide variety of topics. They have analyzed the data and found some traits common to those who consistently make good predictions,...
Richard Nisbett: Crusade against multiple regression analysis.. and more
Edge is a forum where great minds can meet and discuss their ideas; the quality of the content is first rate, though unlike a TED talk, they are less structured, less tight, and thus, more fill. In this video, Richard Nisbett talks about why he dislikes multiple...
How well do you see a correlation?
We have all read correlation matrixes, and have seen: As a rule of thumb, the following guidelines on strength of relationship are often useful (though many experts would somewhat disagree on the choice of boundaries). Value of r Strength of relationship 1.0 to -0.5...
Intro Statistics 9 Dance of the p Values
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The dance of the p-values
Criticizing the use of p-values has begun to be so common place that it is getting dull repeating it. However, in his class on Moderation and Mediation today, Dominique Muller recommended a YouTube presentation called: “The dance of the P-values”. It puts the...
12 Traits of Persuasive People
You are more persuasive than you think you are -- learn the powerful secrets of persuasiveness. http://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/12-powerful-secrets-of-really-persuasive-people.html?cid=em01011week39day24a There are people who are very good at getting other...
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http://www.influenceatwork.com This animated video describes the six universal Principles of Persuasion that have been scientifically proven to make you most effective as reported in Dr. Cialdini's groundbreaking book, Influence. This video is narrated by Dr. Robert Cialdini and Steve Martin, CMCT (co-author of YES & The Small Big).
Learn the Six Key Principles of Persuasion
Robert Cialdini presents his six principles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFdCzN7RYbw
Sources for graphics: lift your presentations
Good graphics can lift a presentation; however, not always easy to find. While there are several great commercial sites, there are also some that offer free stock graphics and photos. These include: https://unsplash.com/ http://www.freepik.com/ You can...
Energizers and de-energizers at work: A social network analysis study
The people we work with are a great source of inspiration, or demotivate; some fill us with energy, others drain it. These are the results from a study by Gerbasi et. al. (2015) "Destructive de-energizing relationships: How thriving buffers their effect on...
The rater in surveys as a source of bias.
As a method of collecting data, surveys have been widely criticized for the biases that are included in the data. When the source of biases are the same for both the dependent and the independent variable, (as in, what is used to explain, and what we are seeking to...
Science: The pursuit of ignorance
"In science knowing a lot of stuff doesn't make you a scientist ... knowing a lot of stuff is what helps you get to: Ignorance" He goes on to say that science is about knowing where in a dark room to look for a black cat. Worth watching to get an idea of what research...
Organizaton theory – a timeline
It can be useful to get acquainted with how the field has developed, and as such, found this diagram helpful, taken from a presentation by Lars Groth at UiO.
The link between “needed to treat”, “side effects” .. and how thinking about the correct statistics can be hard under stress..
This brilliant talk is on how to plan for stressful situations, so as to be best prepared to make the best decisions when the Coriolis in our brains are flowing freely; however, his example about how we evaluate medical risks under stress is brilliant, and worth...
Two inaugural lectures on the respective research interests of by my advisors
BI has started recording lectures held here, both by internal professors, and by guests, and make them available on their YouTube stream. This means that the lecture held by the Nobel Laureate Robert Merton on pensions is freely available; and I do recommend it!...
Stress is bad for you – TED
Stress, or pressure can be good for us, in the short term, by helping us focus and muster energy and mental resources to solve a given challenge. When stress endures over time, it becomes harmful. Watch this four minute TED video to see just how bad it is! ...
Good and evil nudging
Nudging has been all the rage since Richard Thaler introduced the concept some years ago... and the British and American government started their 'nudge units' to encourage citizens to make better decisions. In this article Thaler presents examples of how nudging is...