Para inteligentes

Se que hay un par de matematicos, economistas, ingenieros, fisicos, personas inteligentes en general, que siguen el blog. Bueno, para ellos (y para los inteligentes que, a causa del destino, no terminaron siendo ni matematicos, ni economistas, ni ingenieros, ni fisicos), aca va un problemita (me hizo acordar a mi epoca del GRE):

Cual es el proximo numero en la siguiente secuencia?

2, 10, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19,...

Piensen el problema por su propia cuenta. Voy a poner la respuesta en el primer comentario.

Gracias Marcelita por enviarmelo.

iPod obligatorio en la escuelas?

Como? Que todavia no tienen iPod? Bueno, entonces no podrian estudiar en la Hudson County School de New Jersey. Aca esta el articulo de NY Times referente a la obligatoriedad del iPod como metodo didactico.

Por cierto, ya vieron el iPod Touch?

¿Como son los economistas?

Steven Levitt (economista, actual profesor de U Chicago y autor del libro Freakonomics) comenta en esta nota de su blog respecto a la tema de la chica espectacularmente hermosa (aca esta el post original del viernes pasado, y aca esta el articulo del NY Times al respecto):

"I have to say that the respondent has some pretty sensible economics in his answer. My guess, however, is that with that mindset he probably doesn’t have any more success with ladies than the gold-digging woman does with men. Just as politics often trumps economics when it comes to public policy, rational arguments rarely win the day in dating, love, and marriage.

I wouldn’t expect male economists to marry very well. Firstly, they tend to think like the guy who wrote this letter. Secondly, they tend to be nerds. Thirdly, they make very little money when they are young because they get so much education, even though their lifetime income is quite high. Yet I think it is fair to say that the economists I know have married stunningly well (myself included). We’ve all been puzzling over this fact for the fifteen years I have been in the profession. As of yet, no one has come up with a good explanation. I doubt it could be perfect foresight on the part of the women we marry.

Also, completely contrary to what an economic model might predict, I can’t think of any economist who left his wife in middle age for a younger “trophy” wife. There must be cases, but none that spring to mind.

So maybe economists aren’t such heartless, conniving people after all. Or maybe economists just care so little about human relationships that it’s not worth the trouble to try to acquire a trophy wife"

Repercusiones respecto a la chica espectacularmente hermosa

El Viernes pasado mencionamos aca que casarse por dinero no era nunca una buena idea. Parece que el tema ha dado la vuelta al mundo y generado cierta revolucion. Esto es lo que dice el NY Times sobre el asunto:

"Last month on Craigslist.com, someone who described herself as a “spectacularly beautiful” 25-year-old placed a personal ad seeking a husband who made at least $500,000 a year, because '$250,000 won’t get me to Central Park West.'

Last week, this exchange spilled over into the e-mail world, where the it turned into a popular item to send to friends as a joke. The difference between this and other outrageous share-mail messages, however, was that instead of remaining anonymous, its ostensible author signed his name and the company where he worked, which happened to be the investment banking division of JPMorgan Chase.

And Mr. Carney said he was not holding his breath that the Wall Street type would step forward. 'In the age of ultrasensitivity to sexual harassment, people might think that this guy’s response about women being depreciating assets is not exactly how they want their firm to be perceived by the public,' he said."

Aca esta nota completa que hace el NY Times sobre el asunto.

¿Quien gana el Nobel de Economia este año?

El Lunes 15-Octubre (dentro de una semana), la Swedish Academy of Sciences en Estocolmo anunciará el Premio Nobel de Economia de este año y, por supuesto, ya empezaron las especulaciones respecto a quien será el ganador. Mi vieja me recordaba justamente esto cuando hablabamos esta tarde y me preguntaba qué se comentaba por acá. Bueno, acá va mi terna (excluyentes entre sí, obviamente): Eugene Fama (por sus contribuciones en portfolio theory, asset pricing y movimientos en los stock prices), Jean Tirole (por sus investigaciones en organizacion industrial y regulación) o Lars Peter Hansen (por crear nada menos que GMM).

Aca están los pronósticos de Greg Mankiw, Thomson Scientific y Tyler Cowen.

En casa manda papá

Y la historia reciente se volvió a repetir, con paseo incluido, en el monumental. Gracias por tanta clase burrito... y gracias bosteros queridos por tantas alegrias...

"A las 14hs. en el Estadio Monumental se proyectó Papá por siempre, con la Participación estelar de: Radamel Falcao García con un zurdazo a los 23 minutos del primer tiempo y Ariel (BURRITO) Ortega con un penal convertido a los 31 minutos de la primer etapa."

Para los interesados en las estadísticas:

Estadísticas Históricas
Superclásico en Wikipedia
Papá por siempre

Por qué casarse por dinero no es una buena idea

Una increiblemente hermosa chica de 25 años quiere casarse con un tipo que gane por lo menos medio millón de dólares al año y pregunta qué es lo que esta haciendo mal. La respuesta de un candidato que cumple con los requisitos es sencillamente fantástica. El mercado del casamiento, nunca mejor explicado. Imperdible. Aca está el link (encontrado en el blog de Tyler Cowen).

Ph.D. Students para siempre?

Cuanto tarda un Ph.D. student en terminar su dissertation? En este articulo del NY Times se hace un breve analisis sobre el tema:

"For those who attempt it, the doctoral dissertation can loom on the horizon like Everest, gleaming invitingly as a challenge but often turning into a masochistic exercise once the ascent is begun. The average student takes 8.2 years to get a Ph.D.; in education, that figure surpasses 13 years. Fifty percent of students drop out along the way, with dissertations the major stumbling block. At commencement, the typical doctoral holder is 33, an age when peers are well along in their professions, and 12 percent of graduates are saddled with more than $50,000 in debt."

Para empezar bien el Jueves

Leer los comics de Dilbert me hizo recordar a mi comic favorito y, por cierto, atemporal. Un buen comienzo de dia (hagan click en la imagen para agrandarla):

Como cambia la economia la forma de pensar

El profesor Greg Mankiw nos remite en esta nota de su blog a un articulo de Scott Adams (creador del comic Dilbert) donde este ultimo explica la manera en la que economics cambia la forma de pensar de la gente:

"Anything you learn changes your brain. That’s the point of learning. And different types of learning strengthen different parts of your brain. For example, learning math changes your brain in a different way from learning art, or learning to juggle.

I studied economics in college. One thing I’ve noticed is that other people who have studied economics tend to think a similar way. Some of the similarity is probably because it takes a certain kind of person to be interested in economics in the first place. But I’m convinced that the study of economics changes brains in a way I can identify after about five minutes of conversation. In particular, I think the study of economics makes you relatively immune to cognitive dissonance."

Aca esta el articulo completo de Scott Adams.