How good is your bowling score?
I usually bowl a score around 130, but the other day I hit six strikes and wound up with 215. I took a moment to revel in the high score, but then I got thinking more critically. I was curious about how good the score was in a statistical sense. I was ...

Game theory in Jersey Shore product placement
Product placement gets tricky when a celeb's behavior sends the wrong image. Handbag companies were not happy to see reality star Snooki on Jersey Shore vomit in their handbags and defile their brands. And so, they fought back in an interesting way. Via NBCPhiladelphia: Well, it ends up that fashion powerhouses like Gucci ...

The psychology of spending
Why do we buy things we don't need? What factors cause us to buy irrationally? These are a couple of the main questions of behavioral economics. Lately I've been writing about this topic over at the money site Bundle.com, where I am a community editor. A few of my friends have liked ...

The world’s dumbest sign?
This one has to be in the running: Photo credit: jurvetson The image inspired many comments on its flickr page, like whether the wires were actually lethal, whether the fine would be levied on surviving family members, and whether the sign was real. Genuine or not, it's a really funny sign.

Game theory in Poker After Dark
There was a hand in the TV show Poker After Dark with some interesting strategy. The hand is from Season 6, Episode 49, and here's a clip where the hand gets interesting on the river: Youtube video: Poker After Dark hand at 7:52

A clever way to use a ‘worthless’ currency
Foreign investment is a tricky game. Not only must a company profit, it also has to transfer the profits home. Companies have done creative things to convert currency, and my favorite example is Pizza Hut in the former Soviet Union: For example, consider the situation faced by Pizza Hut when it wanted ...

Save on electricity costs by avoiding peak hours
Did you know electricity rates can change during the day, by as much as 40 percent? You might be able to save money by planning when you do laundry or run the dishwasher. As explained on the conEdison website: Energy-conscious customers can save money if you use electricity during off-peak periods when ...

Game theory in Gattaca
Applying for a job is often a game of signaling. The strategy is to highlight good signals, like grades or references, while downplaying bad signals, like lack of work experience or poor teamwork skills. The trickier part is signals you cannot control like gender, race, and height. It's nearly impossible ...

The game theory of music
Why do we like some music and not others? I learned a lot about this question in the fun read This Is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin. One of the parts I found particularly fascinating was an analogy between music and games in terms of complexity/enjoyment: To many adults, Raffi ...

The game theory of being a gentleman
At a cocktail party, I got up from the table to grab a finger sandwich. My date said, "Oh, can you grab one for me?" There were turkey and vegetarian options, so I asked, "Which one do you want?" To which she smiled and replied, "Hmm, I don't know." And there I was in ...

The game theory of perfect complements
Can you think of a use for an unpaired left shoe? Off the top of my head, I cannot. A left shoe only has value to me if I have the corresponding right pair. In economics terms, this is because left and right shoes are perfect complements. But I am in fact ...

A game to make driving safer
This is a very amusing idea to get people to obey the speed limit: Youtube video: speed camera lottery

An intriguing gas discount
Mike emails me about a curious promotion and asks me to analyze it: I noticed this interesting discount where a grocery store teamed up with Sunoco to give rewards to frequent shoppers. Here is the link with the details Basically, for each $50 spent at the grocery store, you can redeem for ...

Credible vs non-credible threat
In game theory, a threat is non-credible if it will never be executed. In real life, things are more nuanced. Len Fisher's Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life contains an amusing story in footnote 136 that illustrates: When I was a visitor at a Cambridge college in the United Kingdom, ...

The game theory of free drinks
A couple weeks ago, a New York bar had an interesting promotion: From 11pm to midnight every 5th drink each bartender serves will be free. That means if the person before you orders four drinks, you win. Doesn't matter if it's top shelf: gratis. (You still have to tip though, you ...