Thoughts
Thoughts are evolving thoughts or opinions, and may or may not be fully accruate. The intention is to checkpoint how I think about a particular idea over time an share my viewpoints.
On the Risk-Return Relationship of your Love Life
The Chinese Zodiac predicts your love compatibility with people of other signs, but let’s do more than that and bring statistics to the superstition. (Photo: Janet Hudson/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)
RETURNS ON LOVE - Chinese astrology tells of certain animal signs that, because of their inherent characteristics, have varying love compatibilities with each other. By applying statistics to superstition, we can also determine - generally - how nice, and how rocky, your love life ought to be based on your ruling animal. Also, we find that there is no positive risk-return relationship in Chinese astrology; that is, having a tumultuous love life doesn’t guarantee a reward.
On Giving Cash to the Poor
(Photo: Kris/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
GIVE A MAN A FISH SOME CASH - New research suggests that unconditional cash transfers to the poor may not be as misguided as usually perceived. Some studies have found that providing cash increased spending on food, education, and healthcare, as well as investment in productive goods, contrary to the popular notion that the cash would go towards questionable purchases. Data for the Philippines suggests that this might have potential, providing a more cost-effective manner to deliver poverty aid.
On the News: No Double Standard Here
On Crappy Opinion Polls and Belt Tightening
A Nielsen survey attempted to determine the changes in spending habits when food prices rise; that is: what spending items do people prioritize or sacrifice, when food becomes more expensive?
The survey was based on results from 29,000 online respondents (albeit from different countries) across February and March 2013. Filipinos, according to the survey, would be more flexible with luxuries such as clothing, accessories, eating out, and recreation, and would prioritize household expenses, meals, education, and health.
If this survey was intended to determine whether Filipinos knew what wise spending meant, then it was probably successful. However, if the conclusion is extended to whether Filipinos would actually do so, the survey falls short of saying anything meaningful.
On the Great Gatsby Curve and Electric Fences in South Africa
The Great Gatsby tells the story of a man who claws his way from rags to riches, but finds that wealth alone cannot provide him the privileges of those born in the upper class. On the economic side of things, a new and hotly debated idea, dubbed the Great Gatsby curve, encapsulates this anecdote in data. It illustrates the possibility that income inequality might lead to lower social mobility in a country.
An electrified city
Having recently gone to Johannesburg, South Africa to participate in a business case competition, I’ve of course taken the opportunity to explore the city as well. On our way to Sandton City, a shopping area, I began to notice that almost all of the beautiful buildings were nested in ominous, tall, and electrified fences:
Electrified fences tarnish the beauty of many of the buildings in Johannesburg’s Sandton business district
All this obsession with protecting private property made me wonder how much South Africa has managed to heal from the scars of Apartheid which, after all, only ended 19 years ago in 1994. Apartheid was a former policy of racial segregation in South Africa that caused huge disparities in the living conditions between blacks and whites in the country. It permeated everything from residential areas down to the public toilets.
On Annoying Elevator Companions
Elevator rides, despite being tediously mind-numbing moments spent avoiding awkward eye contact, are a necessary evil of city life, but sometimes, there are just some elevator companions that are bent on making your elevator rides even more of an annoyance than they already are. I’ve gone through my fair share of elevator rides, and would like to share four types of elevator companions that make me wish the doors cleave them in half (pardon the morbidity, it’s just hyperbole). If you’ve read my post on annoying drivers you’ll see that there are many things that annoy me.
Let’s see if you agree with me.
On Annoying Drivers
I hate slogging through Manila traffic. It’s a horrible waste of time to spend an hour on an otherwise ten minute trip. What’s worse - there are drivers who think that being a good driver means that you gain five seconds at the expense of multiple minutes for everyone else.
After a couple of years of this madness, I’ve had just about enough of it, and the only way I can release my road rage is here. I’ve isolated five of the most annoying types of drivers that make me want to pull my hair out.