Posted by Eddie O'Shan
on February 16, 2005
I go to the washeteria/lavanderia/laundrette to sluice the skivvies but today it was a bit of a horror story. More than half the machines were broken. Apparently the owner is a tightwad, and even when they get repaired, stiffs the repair guy for most of his fee. The kicker is that when the coin boxes are emptied, he complains about how slow business has become. The place was almost deserted.
It sounds like a great example of cognitive bias at work. I’m sure there is a great trite moral to be derived about self-maintenance but I’m too shallow for that.
Posted by Eddie O'Shan
on February 15, 2005
According to Wikipedia:
Cognitive bias is distortion in the way we perceive reality
They have a list of examples and types of cognitive bias. It’s painful to go through the articles and recognize myself in the categories, but even worse that I can’t see myself in others that no doubt apply. It is hard to see how anyone makes a rational decision at all.
Reading about misinformation effect gives me serious doubts about the vaunted effectiveness of trial by jury.
Posted by Eddie O'Shan
on February 15, 2005
A rant (PDF file) by Dave Hitt at ChangeThis.com points out that laws tend not to expire, even though the social mores and technology on which they stand are in constant flux. He suggests a best-before date.
Monuments crumble. Sequoias die. Heroes are forgotten.
Fame fades. Even a Hostess Twinkie gets stale after ten or
twelve years. The only things that last forever are laws.
It doesn’t matter if a law is goofy, or stupid, or
downright vile. Once it’s on the books, it is likely to
stay there forever.
Regardless of your opinion on the Microsoft antitrust case, does it makes sense to
prosecute a software company with a law that was written in the 1800ʼs to deal with
textile mills, then updated a hundred years ago to go after railroad barons? Wouldnʼt
it be better to have more up-to-date laws dealing with the problems of our times?
And if it makes sense with antitrust, why not with every other law as well?
Posted by Eddie O'Shan
on February 14, 2005
Have you ever wondered why people have lawns? They’re obligatory in many neighbourhoods yet almost completely functionless. They don’t support any livestock, yet seem require constant effort, precious water resources and noxious chemicals just to meet some imaginary standard. Maybe the motivation to display a neatly shorn patch at the base of your house is Freudian. Better than concrete, I suppose.
Posted by Eddie O'Shan
on February 14, 2005
gladwell dot com / The Talent Myth
I found this article about Enron a couple of weeks ago. Apparently it is famous and I’m late to the party.
The management of Enron, in other words, did exactly what the consultants at McKinsey said that companies ought to do in order to succeed in the modern economy. It hired and rewarded the very best and the very brightest—and it is now in bankruptcy. The reasons for its collapse are complex, needless to say. But what if Enron failed not in spite of its talent mind-set but because of it? What if smart people are overrated?
Such silliness seems appropriate in a city like Houston, founded by selling the idea that a mosquito-infested swamp was a tropical paradise.
Posted by Eddie O'Shan
on February 12, 2005
Ever had a brainwave that didn’t stand the test of time? Wonder why the foibles, delusions, faux pas and mass hysteria of the world persist? So do I.
ideation
n : the process of forming and relating ideas