Cascading Out of Control
Ever since the US Presidential election, social media has been in the news for many of the wrong reasons. Facebook has been criticized multiple times for allowing multiple accounts to spread data that has not been fact-checked and thereby acting as a medium by which these people can easily influence the voting patterns of many […]
Condorcet’s Paradox and the GOP Primary
In many ways the election of 2016 was a particularly unique election. After all, the interesting GOP primary season only yielded the least popular candidate in election history. Such results seem counterintuitive: a majority vote generally should yield a choice that is preferred by most. This article suggests that such a result was not a […]
Information Cascades, False News, and Addressing Proposed Solutions to False News potential for Further Cascades
http://www.vox.com/new-money/2016/11/16/13637310/facebook-fake-news-explained The article linked addresses the current debate surrounding fake news spreading on Facebook. This subject has been given increased coverage recently in light of the results of the election and the increased sensitivity of the world to information covered on social media. This election has been the first event to bring to light these […]
Asymmetric Information in the Stock Market
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-08-11/the-dirty-little-secret-of-finance-asymmetric-information In many market situations, there lies the problem of asymmetric information between the buyer and seller. Asymmetric information is the idea that one of the parties knows more information about the good than the other party in the market. Asymmetric information creates a market failure that inhibits efficiency in the market. In this case, […]
Network Effects in eCommerce
The article discusses the popularity of online marketplaces such as eBay and Etsy. The business models behind these marketplaces make it a highly attractive venture – the businesses simply facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers without taking responsibility for the products or services. In addition, online marketplaces enjoy high gross profit margins – up to […]
Asymmetric information in healthcare industry
Nowadays, increasing attentions are paid towards individual’s health as it is one of the most important aspects for a person’s well-being. Healthcares are highly demanded after a person gets sick or even before they get sick. Information about individual’s health condition can only be interpreted by well educated and professional such as doctors. Without the […]
Approval and Range Voting
Voters over the last several years have been more and more disenfranchised with the democratic process. As the article explains, voter turnout has seen a sharp decline in almost every democratic nation in the world. Even where voting is mandatory countries are struggling to get a majority of their voting population to come out and […]
Evolution Updated
The modern understanding of evolutionary biology is over half a century old. New understandings of genetics in the mid 1900’s was used to update Darwin’s reigning theory of evolution. This culmination is referred to as the Modern Synthesis. When you take a class in biology, starting in elementary school (apart from schools that feel […]
Network Effects Killed Myspace
We now live in a world that is dominated by social media. Cultural norms have shifted globally due to the wide use of outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram. This has had a tremendous effect on the way information is spread in the US. Information is spread much faster through social media than it […]
Mannequin Challenge information cascade
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/05/what-is-the-mannequin-challenge-bizarre-freezing-craze-among-tee/ Over the last few years, we have seen a number of viral trends sweep the internet, such as planking, the Ice Bucket Challenge, the Running Man Challenge, and ‘dabbing’. These videos would initially film one person doing a certain activity, such as planking, or laying down horizontally on an unconventional surface and having some […]
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