http://www.technewsworld.com/story/54380.html
 
            In his article, “Information Asymmetry: Shattered by Technology”, Theodore F. di Stefano gives some general information about how you, as a buyer, can avoid getting ripped off by instances of asymmetry of information. In terms of the auto market, healthcare, trading stocks and getting a mortgage, his central argument is that the best way […]

I chose to review a paper by Milo, Itzkovitz, Kashtan, Reuven, Levitt, Shen-Orr, Ayzenshtat, Sheffer, and Alon titled “Superfamilies of Evolved and Designed Networks.” This paper tackles the problem of how to characterize networks despite vast differences in scale. It accomplishes this by identifying “network motifs” within the structure of various networks. Here a […]

So I should start with a disclaimer, since it’s not very popular right now to defy the idea that global warming is ruining our planet. DISCLAIMER: I am a strong supporter of protecting the environment. I think finding an alternative source for energy is should be one of our nation’s top priorities. […]

StumbleUpon is a webservice which allows users to surf interesting sites based on links it feeds users via a browser toolbar. While this is clearly not the same exercise as searching for websites based on content, it does provide users with a way to find relevant information about certain channels which are popular within some […]

One commonly cited example of the network effect is the battle between two video formats in the 1980’s: VHS and Beta. We are lucky enough to be in the middle of a similar battle right now, in the form of HD DVD versus Blu-ray. Unlike VHS vs. Beta, neither of the two new […]

The majority of initial hits on Google returns for “Schelling’s Segregation Model” link to websites containing applets allowing you to watch the model at work. Not only is this tool entertaining to play with but it also offers insight into deeper cultural questions. In particular, three professors from UCLA, Sander, Schreiber, and Doherty, were interested […]

In the past few classes we’ve been discussing how ideas and preferences travel virally through a population until they hit a cluster. A principle assumption throughout these exercises has been the intelligence and logical behavior of the individual. It’s important that once an individual with better information has spoken out against the trend that the […]

http://pubs.wri.org/pubs_content_text.cfm?ContentID=575
One of the largest problems facing environmentalists is that of cascade effects surrounding the possible extinction of one species or another. Especially when a “Keystone” predator, one that controls the surrounding population, vanishes, the effect creates a cascade, where the predator’s main pray multiplies and drives out other minor pray, and then in turn consume […]

If you have been reading the news lately, you will have read about Don Imus, a former CBS radio host who was fired last Thursday for calling members of Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed ho’s.”
What led to his firing? At a superficial glance, perhaps it was completely due to Imus’s bad judgment in using offensive […]

Is Justin Timberlake a Product of Cumulative Advantage?
This weekend’s New York Times Magazine has an article from Duncan Watts on the topic of network effects. The article covers many of the topics that we have covered in class, including the “rich get richer” effect and the MusicLab experiment. Watts draws from examples such as Harry […]