Video: how to buy a car using game theory
This video is about a car buying technique from Professor Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. I previously enjoyed one of his TED talks about predicting political events. The video is short and offers great practical advice for buying a car in America. Give it a watch:

Amazon’s $23.6 million book: a hilarious bidding war
Nearly 1 year ago, an out of print book about flies was listed at over $23.6 million on Amazon.com. As good as Peter Lawrence’s The Making of a Fly was, no one could see the sanity in that price. (thanks Robert for sending me the story) The listing was noticed by ...

Puzzle: the Riddler vs Batman and Robin
This is a puzzle adapted from Max Schireson's blog. It is based on the trope that villains tend to use elaborate execution schemes. Here is the problem:

When does 1/2 + 2/3 = 3/5?
We all remember how to solve 1/2 + 2/3 in standard arithmetic. You convert each fraction to the least common denominator (6), and find that 3/6 + 4/6 = 7/6. But at times, it can be useful to use a non-standard arithmetic in which 1/2 + 2/3 = 3/5. One example ...

Video: Tom Haverford uses game theory in relationship advice
Tom Haverford has a lot of funny ideas on the show Parks and Recreation. In one scene, he dispenses relationship advice to his friend about how to handle his anger. It turns out Tom has something of a hidden agenda, as the following clip illustrates.

Does Batman need life insurance? How nearly 3 in 4 of Americans don’t understand life insurance need
It may sound weird to analyze the insurance need of a superhero, but doing so can be an interesting educational exercise. In 2005, the LIFE foundation did a survey of 1,014 adults to get a sense of how Americans understand life insurance. Each person was asked to identify which character has the ...

Attacking a target optimally: an example of war game theory from RAND 1957
The Prisoner's Dilemma. The doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD). These are just two of the game theory ideas that came out of the RAND corporation during the 1950s, forever associating game theory with the non-profit think tank. But there were other interesting game theory applications, too. I came across a ...

Monday puzzle: candy mixture problem
Today's puzzle is said to be based on an oddity noticed at a candy company. Imagine a company wants to make a new product that contains 4 different flavors of candy. The manufacturing process randomly fills the bags with each flavor. The company is worried that some bags might not ...

Video: splitting the bill
Excedrin has a funny commercial about the annoyances that come with splitting the bill. This poor diner is with a group of friends who ordered the same thing, and yet use every excuse in the book to avoid paying their fair share. How many have you experienced? See the video after the ...

Video: monkey cooperation and fairness
While game theory was originally designed to explain human strategy, it turns out that the predictions are often applicable in animal behavior. Here is a fun video that shows an experiment about monkeys and cooperation.

4 stupid things people do when researching tax information online
Are credit card opening bonuses taxable? When is the deadline for contributing to an IRA? These are just a few of the questions people will be searching for with tax time just around the corner. These days, it will not be hard to find the answers online. There are so many good ...

Shoot your mate – game theory on TV shows
You are undercover and about to make a breakthrough with a mob boss. But your partner, not knowing your mission, tries to save you and gets captured. The boss suspects you might be working with the authorities. He asks you to prove your allegiance. He gives you a gun and requests you shoot ...

Monday puzzle: the train fly problem
This is a classic math puzzle. Here is the problem:

Picture: tasty money
I saw this on Flickr and found it amusing:   Picture by oskay, CC by 2.0   The picture comes from the Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, where you can read directions on how to make these interesting-shaped pretzels.

Joke: how to sell a dead donkey
I came across an old joke about how it's possible to turn a profit from selling a dead animal. While the story is not true, there is a lesson to be learned.