Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Sunday, June 7, 2015
I Don't Always Have Fun, but When I Do, I Prefer to Have it at the Expense of Someone Else
In economics, there is a term called utility. For example, it basically means how much pleasure (or what your payout is) depending on a certain outcome. Let's say that I give you two choices. Choice A gives you a payout of 1, and your opponent a payout of 2. Choice B gives you a payout of 0, and your opponent a payout of -1. In table form, it would look like this:
So basically, you can say that if you choose A, then you both would make a lot of money. If you choose B, then you make zero, but your opponent loses money. Normal, rational people would choose A, and you can make money at no expense to others. However, if you're like some people, and like to see other people suffer more than you like to see yourself succeed, then you can choose B and essentially pay your 1 unit of potential winnings to see your opponent lose 2 units of potential earnings and also have to pay 1 unit back. It's up to you.
By the way, what I presented was called the ultimatum game. There are other forms of these types of games, if you're unaware, with various names. For example, the following is called the prisoner's dilemma, in which both parties have a choice.
In this case, you see that for the column player, choice A is always better than choice B. For the row player, the same is also true. So the Nash Equilibrium would be both people choosing A. Because in this case, there's no way to guarantee that your opponent makes less than you, so there's no way to have fun at the expense of someone else. I don't like games like this, unfortunately. They are no fun.
There's another thing that happened called the murder of Kitty Genovese. It's also something that you can solve mathematically. Look that up by yourself and tell me what you think. Basically, Kitty Genovese got murdered and no one called 911, because there were too many people. If there are more people, then there's less of a chance that someone calls 911. And that's because you think that the more people there are, the more likely it is that someone other than you will call 911. But in reality, everyone is a misanthrope and thinks this way, so no one calls 911, and a nice girl like Kitty Genovese gets murdered. But don't believe me. Just look it up.
If you're interested in learning more about this stuff, don't ask me, you should ask someone who is better at these games. I always play games irrationally, just to screw with my opponent. So beware.
| Choices | A |
|---|---|
| A | 1,2 |
| B | 0,-1 |
So basically, you can say that if you choose A, then you both would make a lot of money. If you choose B, then you make zero, but your opponent loses money. Normal, rational people would choose A, and you can make money at no expense to others. However, if you're like some people, and like to see other people suffer more than you like to see yourself succeed, then you can choose B and essentially pay your 1 unit of potential winnings to see your opponent lose 2 units of potential earnings and also have to pay 1 unit back. It's up to you.
By the way, what I presented was called the ultimatum game. There are other forms of these types of games, if you're unaware, with various names. For example, the following is called the prisoner's dilemma, in which both parties have a choice.
| Choices | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| A | -5,-5 | 0,-10 |
| B | -10,0 | -1,-1 |
In this case, you see that for the column player, choice A is always better than choice B. For the row player, the same is also true. So the Nash Equilibrium would be both people choosing A. Because in this case, there's no way to guarantee that your opponent makes less than you, so there's no way to have fun at the expense of someone else. I don't like games like this, unfortunately. They are no fun.
There's another thing that happened called the murder of Kitty Genovese. It's also something that you can solve mathematically. Look that up by yourself and tell me what you think. Basically, Kitty Genovese got murdered and no one called 911, because there were too many people. If there are more people, then there's less of a chance that someone calls 911. And that's because you think that the more people there are, the more likely it is that someone other than you will call 911. But in reality, everyone is a misanthrope and thinks this way, so no one calls 911, and a nice girl like Kitty Genovese gets murdered. But don't believe me. Just look it up.
If you're interested in learning more about this stuff, don't ask me, you should ask someone who is better at these games. I always play games irrationally, just to screw with my opponent. So beware.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar?
Not much, because let's assume that a pack of 6 goes for $6. If you go to the Aldi, a pack of 6 Kodiak bars is like $3, if you like knock-off brands. So basically a Klondike bar is worth $1 (plus tax if you come from a state that charges tax for food purchases). Then, you have to go to the store to buy them. Let's assume that you have to drive 8 mile total to the store and back, so that's like $1 worth of gas. So now it's up to $2.
Anyways, let's get back to something meaningful. Now let's value your time as well. If you're 0-9 years old, your time is worth ($100)/hr. If you're 10-18 years old, your time is worth ($50)/hr. If you're 19-22 years old, your time is worth $0/hr. If you're 23-29 years old, your time is worth $50/hr. If you're 30-39 years old, your time is worth $100/hr. If you're 40-49 years old, your time is worth $50/hr. If you're 50-59 years old, your time is worth $0/hr. If you're 60-69 years old, your time is worth ($50)/hr. If you're 70-79 years old, your time is worth ($100)/hr. If you're 80-89 years old, your time is worth ($150)/hr. If you're 90-99 years old, your time is worth ($200)/hr. If you're 100-109 years old, your time is worth $1,000/hr. If you're 110-119 years old, your time is worth $10,000/hr. If you're 120-129 years old, your time is worth $100,000/hr. If you're 130-139 years old, your time is worth $1,000,000/hr. Note that ($X) means negative $X, for those of you unfamiliar with the notation that I stole from someone else.
Please neglect all of these values if you're reading this blog. For all readers of this blog, your time is worth ($1,000)/hr, since you could have accomplished something meaningful in the time that it takes you to read this blog every day.
Here's Jeralean Talley, of Inkster Michigan, who is the oldest person in the world, at the young age of
Let's say that on average your time is worth $100, and it'll take 30 minutes to go shopping and back, so that's $50. So in total, a Klondike bar is worth $52, since someone has bothered to bring it to you so you don't have to go to the store.
What can I buy with $52? Many things.
-A flight to Baltimore
-A roundtrip bus ticket to New York
-204 McNuggets
-One Red Sox ticket
-2 tubes of Glycogen
-A full tank of gas
-Tuition at Wollongong University (Dubai)
-A Klondike Bar
So, what would you do for a Klondike bar?
This is what I'd do to a Klondike bar.
Monday, May 18, 2015
How the Race was Lost - Giro Week 1
None of the major favorites have lost the race yet, except Uran, who is fighting bronchitis and is over 2 minutes down on Porte, Aru, and Contador. We'll see what he can do on the TT. Of serious note is the loss of Domenico Pozzovivo from the race. He crashed badly on Stage 3 and was taken to the hospital. Obviously, he had to abandon.
Other ways to lose the race include not being able to start the race, like Davide Rebellin, because the race organizers hate you for doping in the past. Or having a poor TTT, like Lampre.
Worst of all, you could lose because some idiot sticks out their camera into the field during the bunch sprint at the end of a stage, like in Stage 6. Daniele Colli gets the worst of it, and Alberto Contador also comes down and dislocates his shoulder. Twice.
And this is what resulted. Note that his forearm has been censored in this picture because it is bent the wrong way. You don't want to see what I saw.
Let's see who else loses in week 2.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
About Gout
Gout is a disease that affects 3 million Americans annually. Also termed gouty arthritis, it causes acute inflammatory arthritis in certain joints, most commonly at the metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe. Gout is usually caused by higher than normal concentrations of uric acid in the bloodstream. The uric acid will crystallize at certain joints, which also results in auto-immune inflammatory action. This is what causes the horrible inflammation and pain. This is sometimes caused by diet, genetics, medication, and other underlying medical conditions.
There are many ways to prevent gout, but no universal treatment. Basically, everyone's gout is different. Usually, NSAIDs are prescribed to alleviate pain and reduce inflammation. At times, steroids are also used to control pain. If you've had gout once, there's a larger chance that you'll have it again. If you have gout, you are at an increased risk of hypertention, diabetus, metabolic syndrome, and renal and cardiovascular disease. The instances of gout have increased significantly in the last 20 years.
Traditionally, gout has been termed the "disease of the rich", as eating lots of rich foods was often believed to cause gout. There's some truth to that, as eating lots of purine-rich foods seem to cause gout. So what should you not eat because of purine levels? Here's a list of stuff you should avoid if you want to avoid gout:
- Alcohol, especially beer (some wine is ok; spirits are iffy, beer is definitely a no-go).
- Organ meats, like liver, gizzard, tripe, kidney, heart, tongue, etc.
- Poultry, especially goose and duck.
- Sweetbreads.
- Bacon.
- Red meats, including pork, beef, and lamb.
- Game meats, including venison.
- Shellfish.
- Chicken and chicken stocks.
- Some fish, including tuna, trout, sardines, herring, anchovies, cod, bluefish, carp, halibut, perch, etc.
Just avoid these things, exercise a lot, and you'll be good to go. Don't be like Bobby.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Game 7 Never
Well, it's over everyone. It's been a good ride. And with that, this blog will come to a close. At least temporarily. Until I become undepressed. Don't expect too much, I'll need about a week to recover fully. In the meantime, you should check out all of my favorite blogs. Look out for my race losing analysis of the first week of Il Giro.
Sorry everyone, we tried, but it just didn't work out. Maybe next year. But almost certainly not.
Sorry everyone, we tried, but it just didn't work out. Maybe next year. But almost certainly not.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Game 5 - Well, the series is over. Also, I hate all Australian Basketball Players
Everyone get out your Blackhawks gear, because they are, and have been, quite clearly Chicago's best team for the past 5 years.
Also, I hate all Australians. They are dirty players. Like Dellavadiva. What a horrible person. I think I hate him more than LeBron. He's a horrible person. Just like every other Australian basketball player out there. Like Joe Ingles. Except Luc Longley, he's ok.
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