Gojiberries (Page 19)

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Estimating Bias and Error in Perceptions of Group Composition

People’s reports of perceptions of the share of various groups in the population are typically biased. The bias is generally greater for smaller groups. The bias also appears to vary by how people feel about the group—they are likelier to think that the groups they don’t like

Incentives to Care

A lot of people have their lives cut short because they eat too much and exercise too little. Worse, the quality of their shortened lives is typically much lower as a result of avoidable' illnesses that stem frombad behavior.’ And that isn’t all. People who are not feeling

Unstrapped

When strapped for time, some resort to wishful thinking, others to lashing out. Both are illogical. If you are strapped for time, it is either because you scheduled poorly or because you were a victim of unanticipated obligations. Both are understandable, but neither justify ‘acting out.’ So don’t. Whatever

How Do We Know?

How can fallible creatures like us know something? The scientific method is about answering that question well. To answer the question well, we have made at least three big innovations: 1. Empiricism. But no privileged observer. What you observe should be reproducible by all others. 2. Open to criticism: If

Peer to Peer

Peers are equals, except as reviewers, when they are more like capricious dictators. (Or when they are members of a peerage.) We review our peers’ work because we know that we are all fallible. And because we know that the single best way we can overcome our own limitations is

(Software) Product Development Cycle

1. Solicit Ideas Talk to customers, analyze usage data, talk to peers, managers, think, hold competitions, raffles,… For each idea: 2. Define the idea Write out the idea for clarity — at least 5–10 sentences. Do some due diligence to see what else is there. Learn and revise (including abandon)