Monthly Archives: June 2009

Evoking Negative Images can make for Effective Messaging

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco has unmatched green credentials. A roof top garden called Living Roof, insulates the building. The solar canopy has 60,000 photo voltaic cells. The insulation in the walls is recycled denim. The disposable … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Living | Comments Off

Why do so many NBA games go to Overtime

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

There is a fascinating analysis of NBA scores by Jeff Ely and Toomas Hinnosaar on Ely’s blog Cheap Talk. Read through the comments as well which try to explain the data. The data plotted in the chart is the margin … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | Comments Off

Conflicts of Interest in Healthcare

Posted on June 14, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

Atul Gawande’s piece The Cost Conundrum in the New Yorker has created quite a buzz. Apparently, President Obama has been recommending it as a must-read. Peter Orzag, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for the administration, referred … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | 1 Comment

Spelling Bee Notes

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Basab Pradhan

Kavya Shivashankar won the 2009 Scripps Spelling Bee Championship, as has been widely reported. I watched the last few rounds of the contest. The Bee doesn’t sound like an exciting sport to watch, but once you get into it, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Stuff | 1 Comment