Jack’s Links

A dozen things from Richard Thaler: lots of interesting thoughts about how the academic collides with the market, EMH is a theme.

Children can tell abstract expressionist art from work by animals and other children: the real kicker here is that they can’t actually “tell”, it’s just that children as young as 4 are already capable of rating works by animals as “higher quality” than abstract expressionism. Contrary to the researchers’ thoughts, this does not seem to me like a good result for fans of the abstract.

Reaching training for babies: This makes a ton of intuitive sense and lines up well with a lot of pet theories I have about skill development in general. I think there’s a decent chance (25%?) that velcro mittens become a real thing.

The relationship between reading and writing: A lot of parallels to other disciplines here, it’s not just about creating, it’s about consuming and understanding what’s been done, what’s being done, and what people think can’t be done. I really liked the quote “The only people for a serious writer to compete with are the dead that he knows are good.”

Words to eliminate from your vocabulary: I agree that most people would do better in their speaking and writing to take heed (especially using ‘but’ when they should be using ‘and’), although I wonder what the other side of the coin when asking for help vs. assistance is. Maybe people are more likely to aid you if you ask for assistance than help and it’s a win-win? I’m not sure.

File Under ‘Markets Working As Intended’: A NYT article about the fact that if you are diagnosed with depression you will pay higher insurance rates. This article has some of the most confusingly chosen quotes I’ve ever seen, e.g., “It is scary to think that I am less insurable when I am likely someone who needs life insurance more than those without mental health issues” which is not so much ‘scary’ as it is ‘obvious’. Adverse selection is something insurance has been grappling with since the day it was first used.