Stock Analysts

Apparently when they get it wrong stock analysts stamp their feet and threaten to hold their breath until they turn blue STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS — Like oracles in the stock market, securities analysts come up with earnings estimates that are supposed to signal the worth of a company’s stock. But what happens when…

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The Illusion Of Understanding

The ever interesting and insightful Tim Hartford makes mention of the illusion of understanding complex systems in his latest blog. Switch on any business TV channel and you’ll be bombarded with scrolling quotes and jagged graphs. It’s all very well if you like to watch that kind of thing, but the flow of financial data…

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My Brain Made Me Do It

This is probably quite topical given the developments of the past few days. BRADLEY ALFORD, a money manager in Atlanta, just hit the panic button. No, really. Mr. Alford just hit the key on his computer that initiates the Wall Street equivalent of the nuclear option: Sell everything. He was acting on orders from two…

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My Brain Made Me Do It

This is probably quite topical given the developments of the past few days. BRADLEY ALFORD, a money manager in Atlanta, just hit the panic button. No, really. Mr. Alford just hit the key on his computer that initiates the Wall Street equivalent of the nuclear option: Sell everything. He was acting on orders from two…

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Overconfident Gibbons

Interesting piece on the evolution of overconfidence Confidence is an essential ingredient of success in a wide range of domains ranging from job performance and mental health, to sports, business, and combat. Some authors have suggested that not just confidence but overconfidence-believing you are better than you are in reality-is advantageous because it serves to…

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The Folly Of Prediction

Following on from this post – Freakanomics Radio has an hour long special on the pointlessness of predictions. It’s impossible to predict the future, but humans can’t help themselves. From the economy to the presidency to the Super Bowl, educated and intelligent people promise insight and repeatedly fail by wide margins. These mistakes and misses…

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This Sounds Famliar

Superstition appears to arise from situations of uncertainty (Burger & Lynn, 2005; Felson & Gmelch, 1979; Vyse, 1997). Skinner (1948) was one of the first to document’ superstition’ as a way of describing the behaviors pigeons showed when reinforced with food on a fixed time interval. The pigeons were presented with a situation in which…

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Just Looking

Have you ever fired up the Google box for the purposes of finding something pertinent and relevant to your next task only to find yourself four hours later amazed by your new found knowledge that a crocodile cannot stick out its tongue or that there is no Betty Rubble in The Flintstones chewable vitamins. Seeking…

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