Delicious LiveJournal Links for 1-17-2009

[andrewducker]

• Why so many minds think alike
  
  
  A new study in the journal Neuron shows when people hold an opinion differing from others in a group, their brains produce an error signal. A zone of the brain popularly called the "oops area" becomes extra active, while the "reward area" slows down, making us think we are too different.
  
  
  (tags: society psychology brains)
  
  
• The Birthday Calendar
  
  
  A modest proposal for calendar reform
  
  
  (tags: funny calendars)
  
  
• Zimbabwe unveils 100 trillion dollar banknote
  
  
  Remember that Zimbabwe redemoninated in mid 2008 and took 10 zeroes off the bills, and it hardly seems worth mentioning but they took 3 zeroes off in 2006. That makes this new bill 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 which may or may not be 1 nonillion dollars. It's a lot of zeroes, I may have missed a few one way or another.
  
  
  (tags: money currency zimbabwe inflation)
  
  
• An Economy of Faith and Trust
  
  
  Editorial on how rational theories of economics are based on a picture of human behaviour that's badly wrong.
  
  
  (tags: economics psychology)
  
  

Comments

[andrewducker]

I don't think any of it is new in the circles of economists or even those who pay attention to what's currently going on. But I don't think it's hit the mainstream - and a lot of people were sticking their fingers in their ears, because it's easier to believe simple things that feel right than it is to believe that the universe is actually a complex place with no easy answers.

[zz]

this conversation doesn't involve cheese. :(

[dreema.livejournal.com]

or ham!