DoxophobiaI'd express my opinions
But I am afraid
Alternate meaning:
DoxophobiaPlease no standing ovations
Your praise is too much
Doxophobia Haiku
DoxophobiaI'd express my opinions
But I am afraid
DoxophobiaPlease no standing ovations
Your praise is too much
My Econ Homework
Not sure why I am posting this (perhaps it is because I hate to expende the energy to write something and then only have one person read it)... Enjoy!Do you think the assumption of the rational maximizer is appropriate for explaining individual decision making?
I do not think that the assumption of the rational maximizer fully explains the decisions that one makes. I do, however, think that the rational maximizer is effective at generally explaining how most people make decisions most of the time.
After reading the Sandara Blakeslee article, “Hijacking the Brain Circuits with a Nickel Slot Machine,” it is obvious that there are forces at work within people’s sub-conscious that often drive one’s every day decisions. The article posits that many of the decisions people make everyday are done without being fully aware that a decision is being made.
Newtonian physics does a splendid job predicting how most objects will behave in our universe most of the time, but this model doesn’t work for all situations. Then, Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity came along and provided a model that described our universe with a greater level of detail and specificity. (Even this model is incomplete, however, and required that newer and more specific models to be created). This movement from one model to the other makes for an interesting comparison to the rational maximizer argument above.
General Relativity used the Newtonian model as a springboard into general relativity – Newtonian physics, although not as precise as general relativity, works most of the time to describe most situations. Just as the rational maximizer model is effective at explaining how most people make decisions most of the time.
The same thing may be said about the rational maximizer argument. Although people may make most of their decisions on a subconscious level, we as humans create a consciousness based upon these decisions. Although the rational maximizer model is useful in describing how most people behave most of the time, the subconscious decision making process is needed to fill in some of the gaps or contradictions inherent within a rational maximization model. Drug and gambling addiction confound the rational model but the subconscious model is better able to incorporate it.
I can think of many examples of where decisions I have made that didn’t involve rationally deciding how I should act. A simple example would be paying for a soda pop at the cafeteria; let’s say I already have about a quarter pound of change in my pocket, but when the cashier tells me it’s $1.29, I hand her two dollar bills. If I would have reasoned it out I would have reached into my pocket and provided the cashier with the exact change. Instead, I have increased the tonnage in my pocket and forced my belt to do double duty to avoid public embarrassment.
Perhaps a better example would be socially drinking to excess. A friend is hosting a party; I know I have a busy day the following day, and tell myself that I will have just a few beers and let my pregnant wife drive home. One beer leads to another, however, and before I know it, it’s 5 A.M., I’m laying face down on a cold basement floor, my wife is steaming mad (rightfully so), and I ruin the entire next day because I can hardly get up out of bed without the world crashing in on me. It is hard to see the rationale in my actions that evening.
My 10 favorite words
[Note: not in rank order]
10. Pudibundity
9. Azure
8. Gewgaw
7. Spooney
6. Bungee
5. Lemniscate
4. Synaesthesia
3. Ashen
2. Placid
1. Bamboozle
Happy Valentine's Day
Valentines day... Not really my favorite holiday. In fact I think it may be my least favorite. There is something too contrived about the day. It has this bad flavor about it. Too much commercialism and schmaltzy romance. I am all in favor of romance, but just not the command perfomance kind. Romance is something that grows over time. Romance is holding hands on June 3rd; it's a good night kiss everynight; it's a hug for no good reason.There is one exception for February 14th, it is a pretty darn cute kid holiday. Those little cards and candies and handing out the cute-o-grams to everyone in the class. It's hard not to like that.
Ultrasound
Nothing like coming home from a great vacation and getting some wonderful news... Jenn and I had our ultrasound on Friday and the big news is baby is healthy! The bigger news... We are having a girl! Yes, we are bucking generations of my family's tradition of the oldest boy's first born child being a boy. Which both Jenn and I think is wonderful. It's so hard to describe how I feel about the whole experience. Of course I feel wonderful, but more than that, it's exciting and dream like. The fact that we will have a daughter puts a smile on my face. She will be daddy's little girl (or more likely I will be girl's daddy and she will have me wrapped around her finger by the time she can walk.) Smitten might be a good way to describe how I feel. It's all really fantastic.I have included one of the ultrasound images. Until recently I always found ultrasound images kind of spooky. I always thought they looked like some sort of Shroud of Turin thing. They always seemed to be the type of image that required the viewer to have a good imagination. Now, however, I just see my daughter and it makes me smile.
Back from Utah
We have returned from Utah and it was wonderful. Our hosts, Jenn's cousin and husband, were super nice. The skiing was fantastic. They had fresh snow on Sunday and we got to ski in the famous Utah powder about knee deep... it was heaven! On Monday, Jenn and I drove down to Moab to check out Arches National Park... The whole trip was everything a vacation should be, relaxing and invigorating.Two things that are funny about Utah
- Knee Shorts (apparently fashionable among the Mormons)
- Clean Flicks, movies with all the sex and swearing removed - what's the point? (also big with the Mormons)
Skiing in Utah
I will be on a mini-vacation the next few day. The wife and I are off to Utah to visit her cousins. She will be visiting and I plan on doing some skiing. For those of you who don't know, it is true that Utah has the best snow on earth. Has to do with the low moisture content in the snow due to the fact that the clouds form over the CA and NV deserts. The forecast calls for snow and I can hardly wait to get back on my skis. I used to ski 5-days a week from about age 16-20. I haven't gone nearly as much in the last 5 years, probably more like 5 times total since age 20. This is due, in large part, to the fact that downhill skiing in Minnesota is really depressing after skiing in the Mountains of Colorado for 3 years. I know that makes me sound like a ski snob, but there it is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)