The Impact of Social Networks in Wisdom of the Crowds
http://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2017/06/06/1615978114.full.pdf When determining the validity of information we receive, it is logical that we consider many factors. I frequently rely on the answers to the questions, “Where did the information come from?” and “Is it reliable?” Subsequently, it follows that in order for the source of information to be reputable, it must be created, or […]
College Students, ISIS Recruitment and Information Cascades
http://”https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/nyregion/isis-recruit-fbi.html As discussed in class, Information Cascades formulate the basis for many decisions we as students make. We often neglect our own thoughts and feelings, forgoing our independent direction thanks to mob-mentality or an underlying desire to be a part of something larger. College is a unique time in which we are constantly and perpetually […]
Information Cascades and Netflix
https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-america/2011/10/26/information-cascades If you ask any college student what they do in their free time, the most consistent leisure activity that is reported is watching some online-streamed media. In this case, when we think about streaming media, Netflix is the first media provider that we think of. In a study done by LendEDU, 92% of […]
Bayes Rule and Fake News
Fake news is the deliberate misinformation via print, broadcast, or social media. This is an increasing problem going on in today’s political climate. This problem is so prevalent that the president of the united states address it whenever he is being slandered. Due to the increase in social media use today the form of fake news […]
Fiat Money
Money is fake. The concept of fiat money is a very interesting concept often presented in introductory economics courses. At first, unintuitive, it can be understood much more easily once we bring in the idea of information cascades. Let us take the US Dollar for example. By itself, it is almost useless. The value of […]
Researchers Expose the Advantage of Prestige in Spreading Academic Ideas
View the research study here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328391438_Prestige_drives_epistemic_inequality_in_the_diffusion_of_scientific_ideas What factors impact the spread of an idea across academic communities? How important is the quality of an idea compared to the prestige of the institution it is coming from? Researchers at the University of Colorado, led by Allison C. Morgan, investigate these questions by conducting a research study […]
What Happened to Pocket Points?
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/pocket-point-pays-to-not-use-phone-2016-4 Pocket Points is an app that rewards students for not using their phone while in class. Users can earn points by simply opening the app and turning off their phone while on campus. Interestingly, the app also features an “Earn points with friends” function that allows the app to connect with other nearby users. […]
Bitcoin as an Information Cascade
https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2124079/why-bitcoin-could-trigger-next-global-financial-crash Recently in class we learned about information cascades. There are two types of information cascades. This articles focuses specifically on informational effects. The articles discusses how many investors are leveraging their bets on bitcoin, which could lead to the next global economic crash. Many investors do not know what they are investing in rather […]
Oh, I can do this: Getting overconfident by watching videos on YouTube
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-mishaps/201804/the-youtube-overconfidence-effect We human beings as social learners are always observing others. In class we discussed how these observations lead to copying others’ behaviors, and therefore affect the choices we make. But does simply watching videos of people doing certain things also have effects on our thoughts and beliefs? The answer is yes. In the […]
Where Do Childhood Games Come From?
The other day, I was doing work in the living room of my apartment as my housemates were having a very nostalgic conversation. One mentioned a game they used to play as a child called “Slide.” For those that aren’t familiar with this game or that never knew its name, it’s essentially a coordinated “clapping” […]
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