-
Before I come up with my Econ Nobel forecast — a week to go, stay tuned– let us take a look to the 2010 Nobel Ig prizes related to Economics. The Economics Ig Nobel itself is perhaps not very unexpected this year–though not very creative either (I wonder whether Oliver Stone is behind this too; his latest movie gets pretty mediocre reviews– IMDb, RottenTomatoes— despite all the hype). The “Management” Nobel Ig reads much better (but I still need to check out that paper): “Alessandro Pluchino, Andrea Rapisarda, and Cesare Garofalo of the University of Catania, Italy, for demonstrating mathematically that organizations would become more efficient if they promoted people at random. REFERENCE: “The Peter Principle Revisited: A Computational Study,” Alessandro Pluchino, Andrea Rapisarda, and Cesare Garofalo, Physica A, vol. 389, no. 3, February 2010, pp. 467-72.”
- Mankiw’s excellent advice for all new college freshmen. Do learn some Economics, Statistics, and Finance, (ok, even Psychology, though this is second order) for your own sake… Couldn’t have phrased it better.
-
He rocks no matter the topic, or context. Colbert for President (Stewart can make an ideal Vice-President).
-
What would happen if Lars von Trier were in charge with marketing Denmark. Not that the real (at least, intended, later withdrawn) ad was much smarter. (With thanks to Fred for the links). If you ask me, the Danes should hire these Norvegians for the perfect branding job. Anyhow, good or bad PR, I am heading that way (momentarily with a headache in Schiphol’s Crown Lounge). Inter alia, training a bit for future chilly times in Chicago.
-
And finally, keeping it in Scandinavian context: Magnus beat the world. And he got a date with Liv Taylor: I’d say that’s worth the effort. See also his interview on the Pauw and Witteman Dutch TV show, before the world match (partly in Dutch, but you’ll manage).
