I host solo.
I was recently giving a talk about the benign violation theory, and Josh Kinal (@sealfur) reminded me of the old confetti bucket gag. The Harlem Globetrotters are famous for using the gag to the delight of the crowd. So, why is the confetti bucket funny? Most people will say surprise. But there are plenty of […]
My second “free research idea.” (Note: This one is not as good as the first.) People can be nasty. When people are nasty on the internet, they are called trolls. Urban Dictionary’s definition of a troll: One who purposely and deliberately (that purpose usually being self-amusement) starts an argument in a manner which attacks others […]
Massive online open courses (MOOCs) are growing in popularity. The New York Times, for instance, is mildly obsessed with them (see also Thomas Friedman’s excellent opinion piece about how MOOCs are a disruptive innovation). Now there is a behavioral decision theory MOOC, which is offered by Coursera and taught by Dan Ariely: And it’s not […]
During my sabbatical trip to the Erasmus Research Institute of Management, Nailya Ordabayeva showed me here research on how people have difficulty judging changes in size. The takeaway: People are not good at this task. (I swear that we were not drinking). —————————— The abstract of Nailya’s paper: Understanding consumer response to product supersizing and […]
I just arrived in Australia. After 20+ hours of travel and a seventeen-hour time difference, I have been thinking about the importance of sleep. Bad news: People likely sleep less now than ever before. Good news: The overall quality of people’s sleep is likely better (e.g., air conditioning, more privacy). Sleep is beneficial. And the […]
Laughter serves a signaling function. I suggest that it signals one of two kinds of situations: A situation that appears wrong is actually okay: -You see someone fall down.You are concerned until you hear the person laugh. -You tell an off color joke on a date. You worry they you may have offended your date […]
As part of our Humor Code project, Joel Warner and I asked a couple of NBA knowledgeable comedians the question: The answers were provided by Neal Brennan, the co-creator of Chapelle’s Show, and Alonzo Bodden, winner of Last Comic Standing. See the exchange in this Grantland column. A glimpse at the exchange: Joel Warner: First […]
The Humor Code is headed to SXSW. Come to our panel, “Comedy Tech: How Funny Shapes our Future,” on Saturday 3/9 at 3:30 PM. SXSW info. Facebook invite. Panelists: Alf Lamont, Joel Warner, Heather Knight and me. -We know that comedy and the Internet go hand in hand but is there more to this marriage […]
