Sweet Potatoes: To wash, or Not to Wash
The similarities between Macaque monkeys and humans are undoubtedly similar – even eerily similar. It is therefore not shocking that the brain of these animals is commonly used to understand the mechanisms of the human brain. As such, it is not surprising that the idea of information cascades has been observed in our animal counterparts. […]
eBay, shoe reselling, and auctions
Link: https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/bidding/bidding?id=4003 In my free time, one of my hobbies is to resell shoes on eBay, from discount stores like Marshalls or Burlington Coat Factory. I can usually make fifty to one hundred percent return on investment from each pair of shoes, depending on how lucky I get. eBay has multiple ways of selling shoes/items, […]
Amtrak: COVID-19 Service Cuts & Network Effects
Amtrak is a quasi-public corporation that provides passenger rail service across more than 500 communities in the United States (1). The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on ridership levels, causing Amtrak to cut routes and reduce its work force (2). The trends that have been witnessed with Amtrak caused by the pandemic can […]
Facebook’s Negative Ties with Russian Networks
Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/24/facebook-removes-russian-networks-tied-intelligence-services-that-interfered-us-2016/ Craig Timberg discusses Facebook’s recent removal of Russian networks tied to the 2016 elections in “Facebook removes Russian networks tied to intelligence services that interfered in the U.S. in 2016.” While these two networks had primary focuses in European and Asian nations, there was little reach among U.S. audiences. Grophika, an outside […]
Search Engines as a Mirror for Society
Living as we do in an age of unrivaled social progress, many of us have been taught that “bias” is a bad word. Bias can actually play an important and necessary role in our world, but it is a double-edged blade. Without bias, search engines would not play the instrumental role that they do in […]
The Impact of Network Effects on Tinder
Tinder is an American social networking and online dating application that allows users to anonymously swipe to like or dislike other profiles based on their photos, a small bio, and common interests. Based on these qualities, two people are “matched” together and can start a conversation. When users sign in to this app, a seemingly […]
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