Food Fridays: A Health Choice You Do Not Want to Take with a Grain of Salt
Since I know a lot of doctors, I get to hear many interesting health stories. Today I share one story that got me thinking. I’ve changed some identifying information, but otherwise the story is true. One patient, whom I’ll call Sandy, was taking a prescription steroid to reduce inflammation. I am ...

Strategic Commitments: How to Lose Weight and Live up to New Years Resolutions
I went through on a two-year decision and I finally shaved my head last Friday. I got plenty of reactions from family and friends. I am happy with the look and lots of people have supported it. But even supporters have been puzzled: Why now? Why would you shave your head ...

A New Look
Last Friday I went through on a decision two years in the making. With my brother's help, I shaved my head (RSS subscribers: please click here to see my sidebar picture). I waited partly because it felt unprofessional to sport in an office environment. And partly because it is not ...

Food Fridays: Mind Over Platter
I was going to write about this topic, but in my research I found a great explanation. I usually don't link to other sites, but this article is really well written and expresses ideas I agree with. Plus, this saves me from having to write a post while digesting my Thanksgiving dinner... Here ...

The Non-Mathematical Guide to Fixed Point Theorems and Proving Nash Equilibria Exist
Today, I present a brain teaser and some related trivia for you to talk about during your Thanksgiving celebration. And in the spirit of game theory, you can use the trivia to distract others as you grab more turkey. Problem: The journey of the monk. One morning at 6 am, a monk ...

Food Fridays: Buy Fresh—From Chinatown?
Several months ago, I discovered a great part of San Francisco’s Chinatown: extremely cheap produce. The food was dirt cheap and looked appetizing. But was it too good to be true? I worried because I believe you get what you pay for. If a retailer sells a good for a lower ...

How I Saved my Friend 25 Percent in 5 minutes
My friend has a home surveillance service that costs him several hundred dollars a year. He has it even though his neighborhood has virtually no crime and someone is almost always inside his house. And the worst part: he rarely turns the alarm on when the house is actually empty. ...

Understand Counteroffers Through Game Theory and Three Questions
Mahesh asks a great decision problem: I am working at a firm. I get an offer from another firm. I declare my intention to leave. I get a counter offer with very little tangibles and a lot of promises. The promises look enticing. Should I take or leave? How does this ...

Welcome to Food Fridays, Plus a Recipe
I somewhat shamefully admit that some of my greatest passions started from watching TV and movies. I took my first game theory course because of the movie A Beautiful Mind, which chronicles the life of John Nash. And I took an interest in cooking and food after watching the Japanese ...

The Easy Answer
A couple months ago, I met with a friend who completed a masters program from a prestigious university. He was looking for jobs, but things were taking longer than expected. After his first few interviews, he realized that he was not at all interested in jobs related to his major. ...