I read Blink over break. It dealt with different aspects of rapid cognition. One interesting idea in the book is the idea that tall people have a distinct advantage in becoming a leader in society. Americans have an unconscious preference for tall people in leadership roles. I also felt this push throughout my life to become a leader in several areas of my young life. Being a tall child, I now more clearly understand this urging to put me in leader roles.
I can also use an idea toward the end of the book for my Sociology project. The idea of being temporarily autistic due to a high heart rate will be useful in my report on sports.
I enjoyed this project because it got me to read more than I would have without the project. I believe I have exhibit a behavioral change due to this project. I will not continue to blog, but I will definitely continue read, primarily about Sociology and Psychology. I read a tad more than I expected during this project.
TOTAL READING TIME: 90 hr.
Page: Complete 263 Pages
Monday, April 12, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
What The Dog Saw: Conclusion
The rest of the book had a couple interesting articles, as well as a few average articles. The article on the homeless people reminded me of the global warming chapter in Super Freakonomics. It restated the idea that we often look for the more complex and expensive solutions to our problems when simpler solutions would suffice quite well. The other article I enjoyed was the article on choking v. panicking. Choking is thinking too much, panicking is thinking too little.
Goal: Read most of Blink over break.
TOTAL READING TIME: 80 hr.
Page: Complete 410 Pages
Goal: Read most of Blink over break.
TOTAL READING TIME: 80 hr.
Page: Complete 410 Pages
Saturday, March 27, 2010
What The Dog Saw
I read through the first of three sections he has in his book. The first article about the kitchen inventor was pretty boring. The ketchup article was interesting. I learned that ketchup caters to all of the taste receptors on the tongue. I do love ketchup. The third article about the smart investor who didn't take chances was nothing extraordinary. The one about hair color was also a bit of a snoozer. The last two were the most interesting. The article about the Pill was intriguing since the primary inventor was a devout Catholic. When I think of the Pill, I think of loose college women who use it as a prevention to pregnancy while having multiple sexual partners. I don't think of Catholics using the Pill to help with their "rhythm" method. The article also talks about the new health benefits of the Pill. I can see how it is a controversial topic in our church because it's common sense that the main reason people take the Pill is not to ensure reduced chances of getting cancer. It was a thought-provoking section. The last article was about "The Dog Whisperer". I've seen the show, and I've also seen parodies of the show = both enjoyable. The idea of body language and "phrasing" is an interesting topic to me. Good stuff.
TOTAL READING TIME: 73 hr.
Page: 149
TOTAL READING TIME: 73 hr.
Page: 149
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Tipping Point
I enjoyed reading this book. It dealt with three fairly simple factors responsible for starting epidemics: The Law of the Few, Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. In the chapter on stickiness, Gladwell mentions an experiment done in which students were given pamphlets on tetanus shots in which it was most effective, or "sticky", to give directions along with fear inducing pictures. This experiment was also mentioned in The Social Animal in the chapter on persuasion. His conclusion was that persuasion is most effective with specific directions along with fear. This conclusion can be explain by Gladwell's stickiness explanation. Another experiment cited by Gladwell was the experiment in which a prison is simulated in a basement to see how volunteers would act in the environment. This experiment was also talked about in The Social Animal as well.
Gladwell brings up the idea that humans can, on average, retain up to about six or seven (7-number of God, coincidence? I think not) things in a certain area of information at a time, such as phone numbers, tones, or sizes of dots. I thought of Outliers, in which it talks about Asians being able to remember numbers and add better than Americans because of the shortness of their numbers in the system.
TOTAL READING TIME: 67 hr.
Page: Complete 259 Pages
Gladwell brings up the idea that humans can, on average, retain up to about six or seven (7-number of God, coincidence? I think not) things in a certain area of information at a time, such as phone numbers, tones, or sizes of dots. I thought of Outliers, in which it talks about Asians being able to remember numbers and add better than Americans because of the shortness of their numbers in the system.
TOTAL READING TIME: 67 hr.
Page: Complete 259 Pages
Thursday, March 18, 2010
I Am America (And So Can You!)
Just got done reading this book, which I borrowed from the lovely, baby-face, Josh Trapp (hold your applause til the end. Thank You). It was written by Stephen Colbert. It was a funny and entertaining book; twas a fun and humorous read. The book is just a long segment of his TV series, along with all the commentary on his own writing in the margins, expressing viewpoints along the lines of an extreme conservative, Christian Republican.
TOTAL READING TIME: 59 hr.
Page: Complete 223 Pages
TOTAL READING TIME: 59 hr.
Page: Complete 223 Pages
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Last Words: Conclusion
The class this book most relates to is probably Religion due to the fact that Carlin has a specific routine called "There Is No God". In his routine, he points out that religion is one of the biggest scams of all time. To a point there is some truth to this. I believe the Bible to be completely true, but the steps certain churches take to get money to do things irrelevant to spreading the Word is ridiculous. This is not limited to the Christian churches. Some churches get so far and extreme that they provide comics like George Carlin reasons to question the sincerity and truth of that religion. Ironically, he grew up a Catholic, a church that is founded on irrelevant relics and works that are ridiculous.
TOTAL READING TIME: 52 hr.
Page: Complete 293 pages
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Last Words
I've read to the point in his life when he is a very famous comedian on several well known variety shows like The Ed Sullivan Show. The only problem is that he is completely sick and tied of the superficial and utterly fake behavior of everyone that he deals with on these shows. He doesn't want to have staged conversations with people during the show to give the appearance of friendship with someone he doesn't even like. Along with this problem, his wife has started drinking because of his extended absences, just as their child is under three years old. In his own words, "I was on a treadmill to nowhere. Without a clue how to get off."
This story so far had me thinking how George Carlin was going to change comedy. He is known for being edgy on politics and what not without having any inhibitions on what he said. At the point in the book I am in, he is in the middle of a pleasant, pleasing routine to make his money: selling-out. After the chapter I just read, I felt a change in the winds, directing his path in a new direction. So the song I thought of was "Wind of Change" by The Scorpions (great song and band). Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=0yQeSKa4RsU&pop_ads=0
TOTAL READING TIME: 48 hr.
Page: 137
This story so far had me thinking how George Carlin was going to change comedy. He is known for being edgy on politics and what not without having any inhibitions on what he said. At the point in the book I am in, he is in the middle of a pleasant, pleasing routine to make his money: selling-out. After the chapter I just read, I felt a change in the winds, directing his path in a new direction. So the song I thought of was "Wind of Change" by The Scorpions (great song and band). Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=0yQeSKa4RsU&pop_ads=0
TOTAL READING TIME: 48 hr.
Page: 137
Monday, March 8, 2010
Last Words
This is a book written by the famous comedian, George Carlin, who died in June 2008. He was not exactly the most self-censored comedian, but he had many insights on the type of conventional wisdom Americans accept as norms. Having read several books about sociological and general psychological topics, I wanted to read a book about one person to apply the things I've learned from the books. What book better than an autobiography by a famous comic I've heard of?
So far he's covered information on his parents, (Dad-alcoholic child-beater, like many Irish dads of that time. Mother-devout Catholic with high expectations from George) his brother (Beaten more as a child, mischievous with 3 court-martials in the Air Force), and his time in the Air Force (two court-martials).
TOTAL READING TIME: 46 hr.
Page: 69
So far he's covered information on his parents, (Dad-alcoholic child-beater, like many Irish dads of that time. Mother-devout Catholic with high expectations from George) his brother (Beaten more as a child, mischievous with 3 court-martials in the Air Force), and his time in the Air Force (two court-martials).
TOTAL READING TIME: 46 hr.
Page: 69
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Outliers: Conclusion
Legacy
The second half of the book is about the importance of cultural legacies. It's a good point that he makes, but it is also a potentially dangerous when people start stereotyping, which he says in the book. There is obviously a lot of truth behind the importance of cultural legacy. I thought the American summer vacations from school was an interesting topic. I think it's pretty interesting that no one ever discusses that, or at least if they do, they don't get much media coverage about the idea (or maybe I'm just not seeing the coverage). I personally, along with most students I'd assume, wouldn't want to deal with the work load of the KIPP school mentioned in the book. However, I agree with the idea that longer school days would help with understanding subjects, especially math. The kids that don't like math or aren't good at it are the ones that don't take the required time to fully comprehend the ideas. Not many students do there homework outisde of school, especially when they're parents don't pay much attention to theiur school work. Laziness is the primary reason most kids are doing poorly in math. The lack of parental guidance compounds the problem.
I enjoyed reading this book. The author does a good job at sticking to one point and driving it home with stories and intriguing statistics. I'll probably end up reading The Tipping Point soon
TOTAL READING TIME: 44 hr.
Page: Complete 285 Pages
The second half of the book is about the importance of cultural legacies. It's a good point that he makes, but it is also a potentially dangerous when people start stereotyping, which he says in the book. There is obviously a lot of truth behind the importance of cultural legacy. I thought the American summer vacations from school was an interesting topic. I think it's pretty interesting that no one ever discusses that, or at least if they do, they don't get much media coverage about the idea (or maybe I'm just not seeing the coverage). I personally, along with most students I'd assume, wouldn't want to deal with the work load of the KIPP school mentioned in the book. However, I agree with the idea that longer school days would help with understanding subjects, especially math. The kids that don't like math or aren't good at it are the ones that don't take the required time to fully comprehend the ideas. Not many students do there homework outisde of school, especially when they're parents don't pay much attention to theiur school work. Laziness is the primary reason most kids are doing poorly in math. The lack of parental guidance compounds the problem.
I enjoyed reading this book. The author does a good job at sticking to one point and driving it home with stories and intriguing statistics. I'll probably end up reading The Tipping Point soon
TOTAL READING TIME: 44 hr.
Page: Complete 285 Pages
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Outliers
The Three Lessons Of Joe Flom
This section wraps up the ideas of opportunity in the first half of the book. To be successful, it helps a lot to have been born at te right time, have a special opputunity to et your 10,000 hours in, and had the right parents. the book so far is pretty good. Now I get to learn how legacy affects success.
TOTAL READING TIME: 41 hr.
Page: 161
This section wraps up the ideas of opportunity in the first half of the book. To be successful, it helps a lot to have been born at te right time, have a special opputunity to et your 10,000 hours in, and had the right parents. the book so far is pretty good. Now I get to learn how legacy affects success.
TOTAL READING TIME: 41 hr.
Page: 161
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Outliers
The Trouble With Geniuses Parts I & II
The first part of the section deals with the idea that IQ matters to a certain point, such as height in the NBA. The second part of the section deals with the idea of self-entitlement being necessary for extremely gifted people to make it in this world. Gifted kids to learn how to "strong arm" their way to get their necessary needs. Gladwell says that poor children aren't taught this skill like the children of middle-class and above parents. I think that this skill now-a-days can be learned by simply watching television. Any kids show these days have child stars that constantly talk back to their parents. People are always saying kids pick up on violence from TV, so why couldn't they pick up that assertiveness as well? The sense of entitlement will still have a gap considering the amount of personal belongings a child has, but I would argue that it isn't as impossible as Gladwell says for poor kids to learn the savvy required to be successful.
TOTAL READING TIME: 40 hr.
Page: 117
The first part of the section deals with the idea that IQ matters to a certain point, such as height in the NBA. The second part of the section deals with the idea of self-entitlement being necessary for extremely gifted people to make it in this world. Gifted kids to learn how to "strong arm" their way to get their necessary needs. Gladwell says that poor children aren't taught this skill like the children of middle-class and above parents. I think that this skill now-a-days can be learned by simply watching television. Any kids show these days have child stars that constantly talk back to their parents. People are always saying kids pick up on violence from TV, so why couldn't they pick up that assertiveness as well? The sense of entitlement will still have a gap considering the amount of personal belongings a child has, but I would argue that it isn't as impossible as Gladwell says for poor kids to learn the savvy required to be successful.
TOTAL READING TIME: 40 hr.
Page: 117
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Outliers
The Matthew Effect and The 10,000 Hour Rule
Both of these chapters deal with the importance of special opportunities that significant outliers received on their path to fame and success. This idea caused me to think about the famous anti-slavery leaders we hold on pedestals, such as Abe Lincoln, Henry Clay, John Brown, and William Lloyd Garrison. These men were in the right place at the right time to start this movement. With the industrial revolution starting to take a toll on America, the need for slaves was becoming less significant. The incentive for enslaving fellow human beings was declining, allowing morals to resurface on the topic. Of course, as said in American Lives 2, not all slave owners and other whites agreed with slavery. The need for slaves was just too high to make a forceful attempt to abolish it. I think there's a lot of untold reasons for slavery and for its abolition
TOTAL READING TIME: 39 hr.
Page: 70
Both of these chapters deal with the importance of special opportunities that significant outliers received on their path to fame and success. This idea caused me to think about the famous anti-slavery leaders we hold on pedestals, such as Abe Lincoln, Henry Clay, John Brown, and William Lloyd Garrison. These men were in the right place at the right time to start this movement. With the industrial revolution starting to take a toll on America, the need for slaves was becoming less significant. The incentive for enslaving fellow human beings was declining, allowing morals to resurface on the topic. Of course, as said in American Lives 2, not all slave owners and other whites agreed with slavery. The need for slaves was just too high to make a forceful attempt to abolish it. I think there's a lot of untold reasons for slavery and for its abolition
TOTAL READING TIME: 39 hr.
Page: 70
Monday, March 1, 2010
Who Speaks For God?: Conclusion
The Third Test Of Politics: Civility
The author again talks about homosexuals. He dives in deeper to his points he is trying to convey. I agree that we shouldn't demonize homosexuals, pointing at them as the problem to failing families. It is obvious that the lowered moral standards of sexuality have a much larger role in causing those problems. I strongly believe that homosexuals shouldn't be allowed to marry though, but also think they should be allowed to have some rights as family. I basically agree with what the pastor is saying, although I would've liked to see him take a stance on what he believes about the topic as he did later on abortion.
This entire book as calling on people to make drastic behavioral changes, which are extremely hard to do, especially in a group as large as our society. It's good that he gives specific directions as to what he suggests to solve the problem, even though I don't think some of his solutions will work with grown adults (like gang summits and tidy talks with criminals). I also find it amusing that he constantly refers to the need to save "the children". We need to change for the sake of "the children". I just thought it was a bit funny that he used that card, even though there is truth to his point.
Overall I enjoyed this book. It was a different topic that was pretty interesting.
TOTAL READING TIME: 37 hr.
Page: Complete 193 Pages
The author again talks about homosexuals. He dives in deeper to his points he is trying to convey. I agree that we shouldn't demonize homosexuals, pointing at them as the problem to failing families. It is obvious that the lowered moral standards of sexuality have a much larger role in causing those problems. I strongly believe that homosexuals shouldn't be allowed to marry though, but also think they should be allowed to have some rights as family. I basically agree with what the pastor is saying, although I would've liked to see him take a stance on what he believes about the topic as he did later on abortion.
This entire book as calling on people to make drastic behavioral changes, which are extremely hard to do, especially in a group as large as our society. It's good that he gives specific directions as to what he suggests to solve the problem, even though I don't think some of his solutions will work with grown adults (like gang summits and tidy talks with criminals). I also find it amusing that he constantly refers to the need to save "the children". We need to change for the sake of "the children". I just thought it was a bit funny that he used that card, even though there is truth to his point.
Overall I enjoyed this book. It was a different topic that was pretty interesting.
TOTAL READING TIME: 37 hr.
Page: Complete 193 Pages
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Who Speaks For God?
The Second Test Of Politics: Community
In this section, the author blames many sources for the gap between the rich and poor. One of the sources he points to is gamblers. He refers to them as "socially irresponsible and greedy gamesmen". I don't think that gamblers are a source that is causing this large class discrepancy. Calling gamblers a source of the problem is like calling professional sports players a source of them problem as well. In most cases, people who become rich from gambling have put the time and effort into their skill that is necessary to earn their winnings. They may be greedy, but so is the rest of the world. As far as irresponsible goes, the only gamblers who are irresponsible are the many that lose their money habitually. In that case, most gamblers are only widening the gap by putting themselves on the poor side of the spectrum. Some gamblers also stumble upon big winnings without any skill. If this was bad then so would the lottery. The author says that gamblers shouldn't be admired. I find it somewhat admirable that people have enough confidence in their skill to put their own money on the line to earn more. It isn't much more different than the stock market.
The author also addresses homosexuals in this section. As a pastor that quoted the Bible numerous times in this book, I was expecting him to quote a passage in which it says marriage was established by God between one man and one woman. Instead, he refers to standard ideas of marriage as a "longstanding and deeply rooted concept of marriage as being between a man and a woman". I find it a tad odd that he couldn't find a single passage to quote referring to marriage. Instead, he calls our ideas of marriage simply a "deeply rooted" idea that is just society's norm, minimizing fact that it is God's law. the author also speaks about abortion. He claims that there is a "middle ground" between pro-choice and pro-life women. There differences between the two seem to be a little too extreme to find a middle ground between them.
TOTAL READING TIME: 36 hrs.
Page: 143
In this section, the author blames many sources for the gap between the rich and poor. One of the sources he points to is gamblers. He refers to them as "socially irresponsible and greedy gamesmen". I don't think that gamblers are a source that is causing this large class discrepancy. Calling gamblers a source of the problem is like calling professional sports players a source of them problem as well. In most cases, people who become rich from gambling have put the time and effort into their skill that is necessary to earn their winnings. They may be greedy, but so is the rest of the world. As far as irresponsible goes, the only gamblers who are irresponsible are the many that lose their money habitually. In that case, most gamblers are only widening the gap by putting themselves on the poor side of the spectrum. Some gamblers also stumble upon big winnings without any skill. If this was bad then so would the lottery. The author says that gamblers shouldn't be admired. I find it somewhat admirable that people have enough confidence in their skill to put their own money on the line to earn more. It isn't much more different than the stock market.
The author also addresses homosexuals in this section. As a pastor that quoted the Bible numerous times in this book, I was expecting him to quote a passage in which it says marriage was established by God between one man and one woman. Instead, he refers to standard ideas of marriage as a "longstanding and deeply rooted concept of marriage as being between a man and a woman". I find it a tad odd that he couldn't find a single passage to quote referring to marriage. Instead, he calls our ideas of marriage simply a "deeply rooted" idea that is just society's norm, minimizing fact that it is God's law. the author also speaks about abortion. He claims that there is a "middle ground" between pro-choice and pro-life women. There differences between the two seem to be a little too extreme to find a middle ground between them.
TOTAL READING TIME: 36 hrs.
Page: 143
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Who Speaks For God?
The First Test of Politics: Compassion
I find it interesting that the pastor has not yet specified his religion or exact beliefs in the book. It seems he is stressing more the idea of religion in politics than Christianity. Although he often refers to the Bible, it seems he advocates the basic morals that are inclusive in almost all religions, excluding Satan worship and religions of that nature. Considering different religions have different gods, the question "Who speaks for God?" may mean different things to different people.
I think it would be hard for any Lutheran to disagree with the goals the author is after. Although I think Lutherans would have to disagree that any positive religion is a good thing, knowing religions apart from Christ lead to hell. As a citizen, I understand that the morals religions hold are beneficial to our society as a whole. In today's society I think religion is a good thing for modern living. Of course in the ideal world, we would all be Lutherans. This can't be said of all time frames. Back in the day of human sacrifices and what not, I'd have to say that religion was not a general good for society.
The author also brings up welfare and the prison system. It is easier to just imprison criminals without trying to find the source of the criminal behavior. Fortunately, we live in a curious world were we have plenty of scientists and psychologists to study the source of crime. It would appear that we know the source of crime: single mothers, teen mothers, neglectful parents, general poor living conditions, and such. It is easier for the government to simply ignore these problems and sweep them under the proverbial rug. The author gives some good ideas to solve these routine problems in the book that would require some genuine cleaning.
I doubt that the solution given in Freakonomics of simply legalizing abortion is going to fly with the religious community though.
TOTAL READING TIME: 34 hr.
Page: 83
I find it interesting that the pastor has not yet specified his religion or exact beliefs in the book. It seems he is stressing more the idea of religion in politics than Christianity. Although he often refers to the Bible, it seems he advocates the basic morals that are inclusive in almost all religions, excluding Satan worship and religions of that nature. Considering different religions have different gods, the question "Who speaks for God?" may mean different things to different people.
I think it would be hard for any Lutheran to disagree with the goals the author is after. Although I think Lutherans would have to disagree that any positive religion is a good thing, knowing religions apart from Christ lead to hell. As a citizen, I understand that the morals religions hold are beneficial to our society as a whole. In today's society I think religion is a good thing for modern living. Of course in the ideal world, we would all be Lutherans. This can't be said of all time frames. Back in the day of human sacrifices and what not, I'd have to say that religion was not a general good for society.
The author also brings up welfare and the prison system. It is easier to just imprison criminals without trying to find the source of the criminal behavior. Fortunately, we live in a curious world were we have plenty of scientists and psychologists to study the source of crime. It would appear that we know the source of crime: single mothers, teen mothers, neglectful parents, general poor living conditions, and such. It is easier for the government to simply ignore these problems and sweep them under the proverbial rug. The author gives some good ideas to solve these routine problems in the book that would require some genuine cleaning.
I doubt that the solution given in Freakonomics of simply legalizing abortion is going to fly with the religious community though.
TOTAL READING TIME: 34 hr.
Page: 83
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Who Speaks For God?
The first chapter of the book speaks a lot about the Religious Right or the Christian Coalition. It's not surprising that a political group would try to benefit from the strong faith that many Christians have. It's hard to say whether the leaders of this group were knowingly trying to profit off of the "God bump", or if they truly believe that their policy would please God. It is harder to argue in favor of the latter because of the definite contradictions between their policies and the Bible. Of course some people can become so ingrained in their beliefs that it is almost impossible to see things differently, such as in the case of prejudice. It just seems unlikely that a group that supposedly promotes the importance of biblical morals in today's policies would ignore the Bible for policies. The book does make it clear that most Christians have recognized this and don't follow the coalition. It seems reasonable that each person should judge each issue on their own moral code. It also seems ignorant to blindly agree with one side of the political spectrum unanimously. There may be some Democratic policies about issues I'm not very informed on that I'd agree with over the Republican side. Of course, things like abortion and gay marriage are specifically mentioned in the Bible, so my view on those topics lay on the Republican side.
How I Feel About This Project: I think it's a pretty good project. I've started to enjoy reading more than I have in the past. The project gives me an incentive to read, and hopefully I will exhibit a behavioral change and the incentive will no longer be needed (as is your goal). I also think it's good to write about what you read to comprehend it more and receive more insight since you're forced to reflect on what you just read. I think if you do the project faithfully, it will be very productive.
TOTAL READING TIME: 33 hr.
Page: 41
How I Feel About This Project: I think it's a pretty good project. I've started to enjoy reading more than I have in the past. The project gives me an incentive to read, and hopefully I will exhibit a behavioral change and the incentive will no longer be needed (as is your goal). I also think it's good to write about what you read to comprehend it more and receive more insight since you're forced to reflect on what you just read. I think if you do the project faithfully, it will be very productive.
TOTAL READING TIME: 33 hr.
Page: 41
Monday, February 22, 2010
The Wisdom Of Crowds: Conclusion
The last part of the book is mostly about the wisdom of crowds idea in business. Since I'm not interested in business, this section was pretty dull for me. It seemed he just kept repeating his rules for a good group in different words. He writes in a straightforward style, saying his points directly. I wasn't much of a fan of this book. There were only a few interesting parts in the book that I enjoyed. The author didn't really convince me or inform me of anything new. Basically I took away from the book that under proper circumstances, a group will make a better decision than its individual members. I didn't really like the organization of the book either. There wasn't very much structure at all to what he was writing about. I prefer there to be structure in a book so it's easier to follow their mode of thinking, not random stories that incorporate the rules in no order. This book makes me appreciate the writing style and abilities of the authors of the Freakonomic books.
TOTAL READING TIME: 31 hr.
Page: Complete 271 Pages
TOTAL READING TIME: 31 hr.
Page: Complete 271 Pages
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The Wisdom Of Crowds
The author talks about the Columbia space shuttle accident in the section I read. It pointed out the NASA group that dismissed the possibility that any severe damage could have happened from the debris that hit the shuttle. He explains that this was an example of small a small group becoming dumber as a group instead of smarter. He also explains that being in a small group can actually cause polarization, which would the opposite idea of what a group is trying to accomplish. After explaining all this, he says there is a temptation not to use small groups at all because of the possible negative effects. There is a lot of responsibility that leaders and members of a small group have.
TOTAL READING TIME: 29 hr.
Page: 192
TOTAL READING TIME: 29 hr.
Page: 192
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Wisdom Of Crowds
I finished up the first part of the book. The end of the first part of the book dealt with coordination and cooperation problems. The coordination problems seem easier to solve since they are mostly solved naturally. Whether by established social norms or a self-invented technique, it seems we instinctively come up with solutions to coordination problems. On the other hand, cooperation problems seem to require much more moral and logical consciousness. Although cooperation is seemingly the obvious path to best results, it isn't the, as the book says, (economically) rational thing to do. It's no wonder why it takes so many years for innovations and inventions to come about in society. Things we take for granted and feel are necessities to life maybe could have been around years ago if some people were willing to collaborate and cooperate with one another. Things like racism could very well have stunted our societies growth over the years.
TOTAL READING TIME: 28 hr.
Page: 145
TOTAL READING TIME: 28 hr.
Page: 145
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
The Wisdom Of Crowds
There was a small section that used football as an example that I found intriguing. The example was which was a better decision: going for it on fourth down, or kicking a field goal/punting. The conclusion that was drawn was it is almost always smarter to go for it in a usual close call situation, depending on field position. The book points out that it is now conventional knowledge among coaches to take the 3 points whenever they can get them. It also points out that a recent coach has taken up the more aggressive and bold strategy, Bill Belichick. I doubt that many NFL coaches have read this book, and I highly doubt that many would change their coaching strategies from this type of book anyway. Although if a coach would here this mathematical proof that it is better to go for it, one would think a coach confident in his team would start to be more aggressive. Maybe we'll start to see the conventional wisdom to shift towards aggressiveness, especially after this year's Super Bowl (the onside kick to start the half by the Saints).
The was also a section on decentralization. The idea is that more specified groups seeking certain information is effective only when a successful way to aggregate the information is present. This led me to think of a newspaper editor. They work as a way to aggregate the information of fellow reporters on their specialized beats.
TOTAL READING TIME: 26 hr.
Page: 90
The was also a section on decentralization. The idea is that more specified groups seeking certain information is effective only when a successful way to aggregate the information is present. This led me to think of a newspaper editor. They work as a way to aggregate the information of fellow reporters on their specialized beats.
TOTAL READING TIME: 26 hr.
Page: 90
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