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CEOs, Students, and Algorithms

Hummingbirds and flowers co-adapted over millions of years. As with the shapes of the flowers they take nectar from, hummingbird beaks grew to different lengths, some straight, some curved.

Photo: Sonia Nadales

However, some bees learned that they could access the nectar within tubular flowers by chewing a hole at the base and robbing the nectar from there. When that happens, the flower loses its nectar without getting pollinated.

We see this with humans and computers too. Continue reading “CEOs, Students, and Algorithms”

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Morals of the Moment

In an earlier post (Do We Create Shoplifters) we saw how a changed environment can change behavior.

That post focused on tech development with behavior change for the worse. In this post, rather than tech, I focus on good intentions that give no thought to second steps, or how a system may change. These good intentions backfire.

Let’s look at the unintended outcomes of otherwise well-meaning system changes in education, forest management, and hiring. Continue reading “Morals of the Moment”

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That Hair Trigger

A month after the inauguration of Donald Trump I made a mistake in my classroom. I invited in someone — someone I didn’t know personally — to be a speaker.

He came recommended, we had a phone call beforehand, and the day was set. He was to speak about the topic of customer retention metrics (what I teach off of this blog is quite different than what you might expect).

Halfway through the class, at the appointed time, he arrived. He set up his laptop and started with an introduction to himself and his company. But things soon got sidetracked.

At about his third slide, a strange look came over him. He started to make references to the recent election and how upset he was about it. Then the following exchange happened, which I’m obviously repeating from memory since there was no video.

“The thing you have to remember about Trump is that he is the Antichrist,” he said.

I glanced around the room. Continue reading “That Hair Trigger”

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Changes in Value (Part 2)

While I discussed silver, tulips, and drugs in Changes in Value Part I, here I look at education, art, spices, chicken feet, and conformity. What systems influence the value of things? Why does value change?

At the end I provide suggestions to assess your own situations.

Education

I’ve been critical of higher education on this blog before, but for other reasons. When it comes to the the price of a college degree — and here I’m mostly talking of the price of American college tuition — we’ve seen a doubling in price, adjusting for inflation, over the last 30 years. A number of factors combine to drive up the price.

Continue reading “Changes in Value (Part 2)”

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On Campuses Reopening

Around the US, college campuses closed in mid-March. And they generally closed earlier in parts of Asia and later elsewhere around the world. When should they reopen?

The president of Brown University wrote an Op-ed piece in the NY Times (published April 26) to address this question.

I’ll only call out a few quotes and suggest you read it for yourself.

“Our students will have to understand that until a vaccine is developed, campus life will be different. Students and employees may have to wear masks on campus. Large lecture classes may remain online even after campuses open. Traditional aspects of collegiate life — athletic competitions, concerts and yes, parties — may occur, but in much different fashions. Imagine athletics events taking place in empty stadiums, recital halls with patrons spaced rows apart and virtual social activities replacing parties.

“But students will still benefit from all that makes in-person education so valuable: the fierce intellectual debates that just aren’t the same on Zoom, the research opportunities in university laboratories and libraries and the personal interactions among students with different perspectives and life experiences.”

But the paragraphs that might be called tone deaf are these. Continue reading “On Campuses Reopening”

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Changing Minds on Coronavirus

Long-time readers of this blog know that I wrote about how disease spreads several times well before the recent coronavirus news. And then I wrote three posts on that. I’m hardly alone in my interest on this topic.

But apart from what we’re going through now, infectious diseases generally don’t get as much attention as I think they deserve. In terms of unintended consequences, I’m interested in the impact of disease on human decision making and where things went wrong, or well, in the past. As for the potential impact of COVID-19 in the near-term, some minds are changing in the midst of political, business, social, and educational impact.

And then there is the look back in history. When I recently learned the story of a European plague year’s impact on Dutch “tulipmania,” the modern and historical protective images intrigued me as well.

Left: a protective white suit used when dealing with extreme infectious environments. Right: European plague doctor “Doctor Schnabel” (Dr. Beak). Doctors stuffed sweet smelling flowers and herbs into the mask’s beak to protect against noxious fumes believed to transmit disease. Also note the waxed coat, hat, and gloves.

Continue reading “Changing Minds on Coronavirus”

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Incentives

The story had paused for more than two thousand years and with a surprise discovery was then suddenly back in play. In the 1940s and 1950s a sad mismatch of incentives after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls led to the destruction of parts of the ancient biblical documents. That destruction was something that no one wanted and yet, with these priceless historical items, it was logical. Why? Continue reading “Incentives”

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College Admissions Scandal

I tend to stay away from current events in writing about unintended consequences, but I’m weighing in on the recent college admissions scandal. After all, I’m a professor at the school with the most involvement. And the story isn’t really all that new. But it might play out differently than you expect.

tl;dr Is college too expensive? Short answer: yes. Longer answer: it depends. Point of the post: it will get more expensive. Continue reading “College Admissions Scandal”

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The University Fundraising Arms Race

Over the past two decades, American universities have created reasons to spend more and raise large donations, without end. What are the second-order effects of this increase in fundraising activity? 

American universities remain highly sought after for both American and international students. The trends over the last few decades include a larger population now attending college (both in total numbers and percentage of population) with lower acceptance rates (partly driven by the increased number of applications per applicant). These two trends continue in spite of greatly increased tuition. Continue reading “The University Fundraising Arms Race”