In the football stadium, the temperature is rising. There are only ten minutes left on the clock and the score is still tied at two apiece. It is a knockout game, so there is all to win and all to lose. The fans are going wild: they whistle; they sway; they chant. Then their eyes widen as a fouled player tumbles to the ground howling in agony. A collective groan echoes round the stands, at least, round part of the stands because not all the spectators perceived the altercation in the same way. (more...)
Archive for the ‘Behavioural Living’ Category
One Man’s Suffering…
Friday, February 17th, 2012I Need a Hero
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012The glittery notice posted the past few days on the front door at my son’s daycare centre read ‘We’ll be celebrating a fancy dress party on Monday – please bring your child in a costume’. My inner reveller was instantly aroused – one costume coming up! But my initial euphoria gave way to disillusionment though as I browsed downtown – the range of infant costumes (my son is now a year old) proved to be very limited. There were bears, bees, and furry monsters as far as the eye could see, but nothing to my liking and certainly not to my son’s. (more...)
From the Mouths of Small Children
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012“When can I have Facebook, dad?” asked my young daughter at the weekend, obviously envious of the seemingly tireless preoccupation of her older sibling. I told her that she was still too young but, based on the age at which her big sister finally nagged me into submission, I assured her that she would probably have it in about three years.
“Three years?” she gasped. “Facebook probably won’t even exist in three years.” (more...)
Our Inner Pinocchio
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012Have you lied yet today? According to some studies we lie about three times in every ten minutes of conversation[i], which means that unless you just woke up you have already let a few lies slip. Perhaps you told your neighbour how good she looks this morning, even if that wasn't strictly the case. (more...)
Smog in the Perfumerie
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012I have a particular weakness for oriental perfumes, especially the handmade varieties, even though they can be somewhat pricey. So when I stumbled across a Google ad by easyCOSMETIC offering the objects of my desire at an 18 percent discount to regular store prices, I was naturally drawn to it. In reality, there was probably nothing accidental about this ‘discovery’; Google undoubtedly put this ad under my nose in full knowledge that I like these things. Nonetheless, even after I had sought out the next best internet offer, the price was still nine percent cheaper. At least, this is what I thought at first. (more...)
Don Giovanni: A Tale of (almost) Unpunished Overconfidence
Friday, January 27th, 2012I was at the Frankfurt Opera with my wife on Saturday where Mozart's Don Giovanni was playing for the final time this season. We enjoyed the opera, but I saw Don Giovanni with completely different eyes than the last time I saw it about 30 years ago – back then I had not yet fully engaged with behavioural economics or behavioural living. You've heard of Don Giovanni, the rogue with all the women? In Spanish, he's Don Juan, the great seducer whose infidelity destroys not only the life of his wife, Doña Elvira, but also those of countless other women. (more...)
Lifelong Sport
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012I had to read in yesterday’s Guardian newspaper that my beloved gym, Fitness First, is in financial difficulty. The sports studio chain, the world’s largest, is in negotiations with its creditor banks to secure a reduction in the interest it pays on loans of over £600 million. Apparently, it is already struggling to meet the repayments. The report reminded me of the lifelong membership (access to all studios worldwide) that Fitness First offered in 2008 for the handsome fee of 4000 euros. Compared to the typical monthly subscription fee for established members of 80 euros, the figure seemed reasonable and, without taking foregone interest rates into consideration, subscribers would reach their breakeven after four or five years. (more...)
Tripping Over Small Probabilities
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012I know the feeling all too well – the sudden realisation that one’s keys are lost. The numbing sensation with each passing minute that one’s access has been denied to yet another place: home, office, locker, mailbox, and bike shed. So when I read my colleagues recent blog post about a friend robbed by a junkie, I was painfully reminded of an episode two years ago when my keys vanished. (more...)
