I used to imagine that when two people are trying to act in their own self-interest, the result is a kind of tug-of-war: In other words, there’s a loser and there’s a winner, and the winner is the one who pulls harder to get their own way. These days, however, I find it helpful to … More Tug of Cooperation
This semester, I’m upping my exercise regimen to include strength training at the University of Minnesota gym. I’m really enjoying feeling satisfyingly exhausted, but I do always wonder why, if I go to the gym to get stronger and have more energy, it makes me feel so weak and drained afterward? By now (I’ve been … More Contracts with myself
Previously, I talked about a problem I perceive with doing experiments in real life: what’s good for you to do might be bad when everyone does it. In order to tell, you have to tally up the benefit to you minus to the total detriment to everyone else, which is hard since those negative consequences are may … More The problem with real-life experiments: followup
I’m often amused by the way small children who are learning to walk will use an adult’s leg for support just as readily as a piece of furniture. To a young child’s eyes, we grown-up giants must seem so strong and immovable that, if we are doing what they want, it’s because they’ve convinced us … More Immovable giants
When I hear about expert economists who disagree on policy recommendations, I think, “Surely this could be solved by experiment!” What if, instead of arguing over, say, whether raising the minimum wage would help or hurt the economy, we just try it out somewhere and see what happens? I would love to see more evidence-based … More The problem with real-life experiments
We are making great strides in moving in. We have a books on our shelves, hooks for our keys, and cookies in the cookie jar. But one of the things that was surprisingly difficult for us was finding a dresser. Most of our furniture came from IKEA, and we were able to check out the … More The quest for a dresser
Owen Biesel 