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Assorted links
1. Photos from inside a Colombian prison.
2. How to increase altruism in toddlers?
3. Soviet mathematics as pure status competition.
4. How people count money, across culture (video).
5. Real vs. placebo coffee: people don't know if it's decaf.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on November 8, 2009 at 01:21 PM in Web/Tech | Permalink
Comments
It DOES matter (for performance) whether it's decaf; but the consumers don't notice that it's decaf.
Posted by: Cafadict at Nov 8, 2009 1:33:41 PM
I expected the Colombian prison to be something rather horrendous, on the level of the Midnight Train; but it actually looks better than some photos of French prisons that I have seen earlier. Can't find the link to the French prisons, though ...
Posted by: Marian Kechlibar at Nov 8, 2009 1:51:55 PM
BTW As a studied mathematician: one of the advantages that the Soviet mathematicians had was that their work did not depend on expensive equipment. Most interesting mathematical problems do not require anything more than a pencil and a paper, plus books for reference.
When I studied mathematics in Prague in 1996-2001, the library was FULL of old, dusted but high-quality Russian mathematical books. Having studied azbuka only for 2 years, I had some trouble studying from them, but I still could. The younger generation is not able to read them at all, because azbuka is a complete stranger for them.
Sometimes I wonder how many unorthodox approaches and unconventional proofs are buried there in the dusty shelves, inaccessible to the Western world because of the language barrier.
Posted by: Marian Kechlibar at Nov 8, 2009 2:00:41 PM
Thanks Cafadict, wording is better now.
Posted by: Tyler Cowen at Nov 8, 2009 2:21:23 PM
I drink coffee in the morning because if I don't, I have a thundering headache by noon.
Posted by: Bartman at Nov 8, 2009 5:39:30 PM
The Colombian prison looks better than I would have expected. My prior on developing country prison is Midnight Express, which is probably not fair.
Posted by: liberalarts at Nov 8, 2009 6:27:35 PM
with regards to the counting habits, i think the video they showed for afgahnsiation, pakistan is simply not true for what i have observed...its more like the one they showed for india,etc...
Posted by: Random at Nov 8, 2009 6:32:41 PM
I thought the increase in altruism in toddlers was obvious. Monkey see monkey do.
Posted by: Dan at Nov 8, 2009 7:25:20 PM
"Real vs. placebo coffee: people don't know if it's decaf."
I suspect if I substituted a placebo for my coworkers' coffee, they would be collapsed and gasping in the hallway by noon. One drinks over 3 pots a day by himself!
Posted by: Jacqueline at Nov 8, 2009 8:34:49 PM
Re #4 - I'm from Poland and I always used the supposedly "Turkish" method, so I doubt accuracy of this video.
Posted by: Tomasz Wegrzanowski at Nov 9, 2009 5:59:01 AM
@Jacqueline:
Did you have this comic in mind, or is it just a pure coincidence that the scenarios are so alike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQK3dbWHH04
Posted by: US at Nov 9, 2009 6:38:18 AM
Do my eyes deceive me? An interest in increasing altruism on a libertarian blog? Ayn Rand would not have approved.
Posted by: Tom at Nov 9, 2009 7:40:39 AM
Of course she would. Increasing altruism in people is awesome...as long as it isn't you.
(Just kidding, but we might as well play along with all these commenters who go to their government jobs and work pro bono and actively eschew status)
Posted by: Andrew at Nov 9, 2009 8:45:37 AM
Of course much of this blog, and for that matter most of blogosphere economics, is basically a sort of trolling, but really - 'pure status competition'? Right - just like the early Christian matyrs. Because no-one is ever really motivated by the desire to figure something out, or to be true to their faith, or anything like that. No, it's always pleasure, or status, or self-esteem, that's the real goal...
Posted by: Nattering Nabob at Nov 9, 2009 10:22:36 AM
So in college my roommate and his girlfriend drank coffee constantly. They raved about how they needed it to stay awake. He bought the huge tub of coffee.
So, I went and bought the exact same tub but in decaf. I switched out the Decaf for the real stuff. I had to leave the room every time they talked about how tired they were - time to brew another pot!
Thing is, I ended up telling him at the end of the year. he was really upset even though I had basically gotten him off coffee (which ex-ante he claimed he wanted).
Posted by: Mo at Nov 9, 2009 4:27:54 PM
The article about Russian mathematics was very interesting. I've read about the state of biology under the Soviet Union in a book about pseudoscience. The Soviet government rejected the theory of genetic inheritance in favor of the idea that an individual's improvements are directly passed on to their children. For example, an athlete would have more athletic children, not because he or she had genes that promoted athletic talent, but because he or she exercised and trained more. This flawed theory was promoted by claiming that the theory of genetic inheritance was contrary to the Soviet government's ideologies. I assumed that all other branches of research in Russia would have been similarly stifled. It's very fortunate that the Soviet government didn't try to control the research of mathematics. However, I think it would have benefited both the United States and Russia if mathematicians were able to communicate with each other. Mathematics is a field in which a new discovery can be used to fill in some missing piece of a separate problem. Without the barriers to communication that existed in the Cold War, I think that mathematics would be more advanced today.
Posted by: Stephen N. -WCU 1257 at Nov 9, 2009 5:53:21 PM
Dan's right -- monkey see, monkey do. However, I see the helpful behavior as happening more when they are nearer 24 mos rather than 18.
Posted by: Donna B. at Nov 10, 2009 1:42:57 AM
