The Daily Mail reports that scientists have discovered that sleep deprivation increases cravings for junk food:
Here’s the skinny on the study…
Steve Siebold, author of “How Rich People Think,” spent nearly three decades interviewing millionaires around the world to find out what separates them from everyone else.
“It had little to do with money itself, he told Business Insider. It was about their mentality.”
Here are my favorites from his 21 Ways that Rich People Think Differently ….
I wish all of the talking-head bloviators had been forced to answer the question (correctly) before being allowed to pontificate about Brexit over the weekend.
Of course, Herman van Rompuy is the President of the European Union.
Everybody knows that, right?
Not!
Nigel Farage – a Brit member of the European Parliament and leader of the Brexit campaign – made that point colorfully clear in a classic takedown on the floor of the EP.
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Among the caustic jabs that Farage landed …
Amid the Brexit hysteria over the weekend, Google reported that – in Britain – the most googled questions were:
(1) How will Brexit effect me?”, and
(2) “What is the EU?”
Worldwide – and, probably among pontificating blowhard pundits — it was simply “What is the EU?”.
As a service to loyal readers, here are some key EU statistics.
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Some facts worth noting:
Total GDP for the 28 EU countries is only about 10% more than the U.S. GDP ($18.5 trillion to $16.8)
The Top 5 EU economies – Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain – account for more than 70% of the EU’s GDP.
Together,, the UK and Germany account for almost 40% of EU GDP
Specifically, the UK’s GDP is roughly 16% …. but, the UK only got 8% of the votes in the EP (European Parliament)
And, there’s more …
For sure, yesterday’s vote in the UK to leave the EU was a jolt to the Establishment – the world financiers, political elites and open border aficionados.
Cutting to the chase, the vote of the people appears to have swung on one issue: immigration.
According to Bloomberg, immigration surpassed the economy as voters’ major concern.
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And, since immigration into the UK is now essentially regulated (or unregulated) by EU whims, 75% of voters with immigration concerns logically opted to to pull the “Leave” lever.
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My take: Some implications for the U.S. election…
Obviously, the Establishment lost … and immigration emerged as a determining issue.
Hmmm …
The world economy is likely to take a short-term hit …. with some derived damage to the already weakening US economy … during the run-up to the election.
Double hmmm.
Imagine: what if Donald J. stops saying dumb stuff …
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… if your parents were Democrats.
And, I bet if your parents were Republicans, then you’re a Republican.
According to Smithsonian.com …
“The party affiliation of someone’s parents can predict the child’s political leanings about around 70 percent of the time.”
That’s pretty good, but “new research suggests ideological differences between partisans may reflect distinct neural processes.”
More specifically, researchers say that they can predict who’s right and who’s left of center politically with 82.9 % accuracy.
Here’s the study and its implications …
Previously, we posted What do high healthcare costs and high tuitions have in common?
A loyal reader reminded me of the connection between high tuitions and “Baumol’s cost disease”
To that point …
The NY Times ran a piece by Harvard Prof Greg Mankiew summarizing his views re: high and increasing college tuitions.
One of Mankiw’s identified causes is “Baumol’s Cost Disease”
Many years ago, the economist William Baumol noted that for many services — haircuts as well as string quartet performances — productivity barely advances over time.
Yet as overall productivity rises in the economy, wages increase, so the cost of producing these services increases as well.
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Education is a case in point …
Simple hypothesis: more folks are reading the Homa Files.
A more complex answer is offered by James Flynn is his book “Are We Getting Smarter? Rising IQ in the 21st Century”.
What’s his explanation?
According to UK’s Daily Mail …
Recent IQ research indicates that women are brighter than men … more clever … and better at multi-tasking.
Since IQ testing began a century ago, women have been as much as five points behind.
But that gap has been narrowing in recent years and this year women have moved ahead.
‘In the last 100 years the IQ scores of both men and women have risen but women’s have risen faster.’
Women are cleverer than men.
One indication: they’re better at multi-tasking.
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I’ve often said that the Lord shouldn’t have taken that 7th day off … she still had some work to do designing us guys.
Let the sheep defend themselves from the wolves …
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Talk about contrasts.
Yesterday, President Obama gave an uninspiring blah-blah speech to Orlando survivors and their families.
His focus wasn’t on the terrorist threat or Islamic homophobia.
Nope, he flashed his favorite shiny object: gun control.
Suffice it to say that I was unconvinced by his rhetoric.
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In contrast, Howard Stern went off on gun control with a compelling riff that has started to go viral.
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Here’s the essence of Stern’s commentary …
Unfortunately, this has become an annual event. A summer initiation of sorts.
Once again, I was detained for questioning by government officials.
This year was unusually unnerving.
No, it wasn’t by rogue TSA agents targeting an alleged conservative blogger.
Once again. I was suspected of crossing a border to illegally access government-provided services.
Here’s the story …
Yes, your (usually) mild-mannered man of the classroom … stood up on suspicion of unlawful conduct.
An intimidating officer of the state demanded to see a photo ID — proof of citizenship – and my car’s registration.
Really !
OK, it wasn’t the U.S.- Mexico border … it was the Maryland-Virginia border.
The services that I was allegedly attempting to use illegally: use of the “Anne Arundel County landfill and recycling center” (a.k.a. the local dump).
That’s right. In order to throw an old desk chair into the landfill dumpster, I had to show my driver’s license and to produce proof of Anne Arundel County, Maryland residency. Fortunately, I may be the only person in Maryland driving around with paid real estate tax bills in my glove compartment.
Think about it.
Maryland is a state that – for example – reportedly looks the other way when it comes to admitting illegal immigrants into public schools and allows them to pay in-state tuitions at colleges. No harm, no foul.
Photo ID to vote in Maryland?
No way !!!
Discriminatory.
But, the line gets drawn in the sand at the local dump.
I didn’t really mind showing my ID docs, but the situation certainly did make me scratch my head (again) …
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Now, researchers are trolling your web searches to auto-detect diseases.
The Washington Post recently channeled a study done by Microsoft — published in the Journal of Oncology Practice …
The essence: Microsoft’s big data analysts ID’ed folks who were querying questions like “how to treat pancreatic cancer” — hypothesizing that they might have been diagnosed with the disease.
Then, the researchers backtracked thru the prior searches done by those folks and detected a pattern of precedent queries that revolved around symptoms, e.g. abdominal swelling.
Bottom line: the researchers were able to use the inferred pattern of symptoms to early-predict a disease diagnosis for a statistically significant number people who queried symptoms.
That’s potentially big news in disease diagnosis, though doctors caution that for many diseases, the onset of patient-queried symptoms may be too late-stage for effective treatment.
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The Microsoft query- disease analysis reminded me of how Target created some Big Data buzz for analyzing purchase patterns to ID moms-to-be.
There are two basic retailer pricing strategies:
· Everyday Low Prices. Think Walmart with relatively constant prices and few sales
· High-Low Prices. Think Kohl’s with very high “regular” prices and frequent deep discounts.
Which strategy works better?
Let’s connect a couple of dots today …
A recent NY Times article explored “Why the Economic Payoff From Technology Is So Elusive”.
One example:
Look at this disconnect is in the doctor’s office.
Dr. Peter Sutherland, a family physician in Tennessee, made the shift to computerized patient records from paper in the last few years.
There are benefits to using electronic health records, Dr. Sutherland says, but grappling with the software and new reporting requirements has slowed him down.
Dr. Sutherland bemoans the countless data fields he must fill in to comply with government-mandated reporting rules…
He sees fewer patients, and his income has slipped.
The bottom line: over the years, due legal compliance and technology complexity, administrators (think: bureaucrats) have been added at a far faster rate than healthcare providers (think: doctors and nurses) …
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Hmmm.
Wonder why healthcare costs are so high …
What’s the link to college tuitions?
Yep, that’s one conclusion reported in a recent Family Studies research brief.
Focusing on the most current data – the yellow line — only about 1 in 20 virgin brides end up getting divorced … rates are substantially higher for non-virgin brides.
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The interpretation of the rest of the data reported by Family Studies is downright wacky, so let’s dig a little deeper…
Prior posts have channeled some work by PwC identifying traits that mark self-made billionaires.
Broadly speaking, the PwC study sorts business folks as “producers” or “performers”.
Producers are skilled at conceiving new ideas and bringing them to market.
Performers: They know how to optimize the known systems and products of an organization, and how to make the most of existing practices.
Which are you, a producer or a performer?
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Here’s a 9-question categorization quiz from Strategy + Business:
Click to take the producer-performer quiz
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S+B observes:
You might have to fill both roles at different times.
“After all, anyone who can launch a new product must have some ability as a performer. Similarly, most skilled performers also have some producer talent.”
But it’s rare for one person to excel as both a producer and a performer.
So if you’re aware of what you do best, you can more easily establish yourself in the most suitable environment, with the right complementary people, and map out your ideal role.
You’ll also know when to ask for help.
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Yesterday, we posted that there are about 1,800 billionaires in the world and that about 2/3s of them are self-made … not just born lucky.
According to a PwC study, the self-made billionaires usually started at a big company, some were fired from the big companies, and most became serial entrepreneurs.
Usually they got on the map with their first or second venture, but built their wealth through a series of successive (and highly successful) ventures.
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The PwC study also identified 5 traits that were relatively common across the self-made billionaires.
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Broadly speaking, PwC says concludes that most business managers are “performers” – linear logicians who are good at execution .
The self-made billionaires are “producers” who look at the world from different angles — allowing them to spot opportunities and to turn good ideas into great businesses.
More specifically, the PxC team concluded that “most self-made billionaires – the “producers” –practice five habits of mind — ways of thinking and acting that generate uncommonly effective ideas and approaches to leadership.”
The 5 traits:
1. Ideas: Empathetic Imagination
The producers typically worked in their field long enough to have an awareness of critical trends, empathy for customers, and knowledge of existing practices. Then, they added a healthy dose of imagination to change the game.
2. Time: Patient Urgency
“The creation of massive value in an industry does not happen overnight. The billion-dollar idea often comes after years, even decades, of commitment to a market space. Skilled producers learn to be patient. They know how to wait for the right idea at the right time. But once they hit on a compelling idea, they have a bias toward action that compels them to take urgent steps.
3. Action: Inventive Execution
Many executives take product design and go-to-market strategies as givens. “The business model, pricing, functions, sales pitch, and deal structure are treated as inherited, predefined by the models, costs, and pricing that already exist in the company and industry.“
Producers redesign opportunities everywhere – both in the product – broadly defined – and the implementation.
4. Risk: Relative, Not Absolute
“Producers, in general, are distinguished not by the level of risk they take, but by their attitude about risk. Most people measure risk in absolute terms: Will this business succeed or fail? Producers view risk in relative terms: Which option presents the greatest opportunity? If the opportunity is right in a risky venture, they’ll look for ways to mitigate risk”
5. Leadership: Teaming with Performers
“The idea of the solo genius is so pervasive in the way people talk about and think about extraordinary success that it obscures the real story of how good ideas become great businesses. Self-made billionaires are not alone. Producers have the ability to see beyond the parameters of what exists today to imagine new opportunities. Performers, in turn, have the ability to optimize and achieve within known parameters. Value creation requires both.”
Producers surround themselves with producers …
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Bottom line:
Yeah, wealth distribution is skewed. No argument there.
But, it’s wildly misleading to characterize the richest of the rich as folks who were just born lucky.
The majority of the made their own luck … and earned their wealth.
Sorry, if the facts don’t match the popular narrative …
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Tomorrow, take the Producer Quiz …
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With all of the vitriol now being cast at rich people, and with all of the broad-brush policy proposals to redistribute their wealth … you’re probably guessing a pretty big number, right?
Well, Forbes reports about 1,800 billionaires worldwide … holding $7 trillion… or roughly 7% of the total global gross domestic product.
1.800 isn’t a particularly big number, right?
But, even I concede, they skew the distribution of wealth.
The billionaires always seem to get caricatured as Saudi princes, one of Sam Walton’s descendants or Paris Hilton – all just lucky by birth and clearly undeserving.
Well, PwC’s think tank dug deeper into the numbers and uncovered some facts that tend to disrupt the popular narrative …
Well-intended engineers correctly interpreted the wrong data.
Excerpted from Everydata: The Misinformation Hidden in the Little Data You Consume Every Day
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I’m sure all baby-boomers have a vivid recollection, but for younger readers, here’s some background …
“On the morning of 28 January 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger, mission 51– L, rose into the cold blue sky over the Cape. To exuberant spectators and breathless flight controllers, the launch appeared normal. Within 73 seconds after liftoff, however, the external tank ruptured, its liquid fuel exploded, and Challenger broke apart.”
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What happened?
“The specific failure,” noted the Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, “was the destruction of the seals that are intended to prevent hot gases from leaking.…”
Investigators quickly focused their attention on a key part of the seals— the rubber O-rings that went in between two sections of the solid rocket motor— the “tang” and the “clevis.”
The O-rings on the Challenger needed to be flexible enough to compress and expand, sometimes within milliseconds.
But O-ring resiliency “is directly related to its temperature… a warm O-ring will follow the opening of the tang-to-clevis gap. A cold O-ring may not.”
In fact, investigators found that a compressed O-ring is five times more responsive at 75 degrees Fahrenheit than at 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
The air temperature at launch was 36 degrees Fahrenheit.
The commission’s report found “it is probable” that the O-rings were not compressing and expanding as needed.
The resulting gap allowed the gases to escape, destroying the Challenger.
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So why didn’t engineers stop the launch, given the cold temperatures?
Yesterday, Secretary Clinton delivered a major foreign policy speech.
Of course, it prompted flashbacks of the infamous Russian Reset …
Back in March 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with a small green box with a ribbon.
Inside was a red button with the Russian word “peregruzka” printed on it.
Clinton offered that pushing it would “reset our relationship” … ostensibly, for the better.
So, how did that all work out?
Those are the student demands at Ohio’s Oberlin College
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Students at Oberlin College are asking the school to put academics on the back burner so they can put more time and energy into political activism.
No kidding …
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According to The Week, channeling a New Yorker article:
“More than 1,300 students at the Midwestern liberal arts college signed a petition asking that the college get rid of any grade below a C … and some students are requesting alternatives to the standard written examinations, such as a conversation with a professor in lieu of an essay.”
The students say that between their activism work and their heavy course load, “A lot of us are suffering academically … finding success within the usual grading parameters is increasingly difficult.”
So, just forget about Ds and Fs and Incompletes … just go with As, Bs and Cs.
Might work …
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“You know, we’re paying for a service. We’re paying for our attendance here. We need to be able to get what we need in a way that we can actually consume it.”
“Because I’m dealing with other stuff, I can’t produce the work that they want me to do. But I understand the material, and I can give it to you in different ways.”
Like, one-on-one “conversations” with professors in lieu of written exams.
Really?
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Sounds pretty preposterous, right?
But, students point out that there are historical precedents.
In 2016, employees will pay $11,000 out-of-pocket … up $2,500 since 2012.
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Milliman – a well-regarded actuarial consulting” firm – has published an annual recap of healthcare spending since 2001.
The Milliman Medical Index tracks the total costs of providing health care to an average family of four covered by an employer-sponsored “preferred provider plan” … that’s about 155 million employees and their dependents.
The total includes the health insurance premiums paid by both the employer and the employee, as well as the actual expenditures for health care paid by the insurance plan and out of pocket by the insured family.
The big news: In 2016, the average healthcare costs for a family of 4 surpassed $25,000 for the first time … the $25,826 is triple the cost to provide health care for the same family in 2001 … and up about $5,000 since 2012.
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The bad(est) news is the increased proportion of the healthcare costs being shouldered by individual employees …
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