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Debunking the Marshmallow Myth: Rationality in Scarcity

photograph of several marshmallows, the largest in the center standing upright

On May 25th, researchers published findings that altered our understanding of a classic psychological study, the marshmallow test. In the famous test, young children are offered a marshmallow now, or two marshmallows later. Then, researchers follow up with the children, and supposedly those that delayed gratification for more marshmallows did better in terms of standardized tests and other measures of success. Continue reading “Debunking the Marshmallow Myth: Rationality in Scarcity”

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Can Our Financial System Survive?

“I was genuinely terrified.”, “We came so close to a global meltdown.” , “That was scary, mate. I mean, not film scary. Really scary.”

The date was September 15th, 2008. These were the reactions of some financial workers and bankers to the collapse of Lehman Brothers, as interviewed in the City of London by Joris Luyendijk.  “The City”  is the financial center in London. In his article for The Guardian Weekly, Luyendijk points out how our current financial system is “dangerously flawed”.  He believes that the collapse of Lehman “could very well have been a genuine breakdown of society.”  Even more terrifying is the fact that seven years after this event occurred, the reforms that banks had to endure in order for governments to bail them out were largely superficial. A new system is needed.

Continue reading “Can Our Financial System Survive?”

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The Ivy-Wall Street Pipeline

The Ivy League has always been associated with high status. It is the elite of the United States higher education system, boasting some of the most successful graduates in the world. Alumni from schools like Harvard and Yale have gone on to become politicians, doctors, artists and a variety of other accomplished careers. Yet, in recent years, one high-status career path has begun to dominate the graduating classes of the Ivies: the Wall Street analyst.

Continue reading “The Ivy-Wall Street Pipeline”