Excel model conventions
Convention over configuration is a design principle that should be applied to Excel models. To my knowledge, there aren't clear conventions for how data should be »
Pricing APIs is hard
When given a choice, companies prefer to set prices based on a percentage of the value that they create. In advertising, auctions dictate the market value »
Jobs after automation
Some industries have enthusiastically adopted technology to improve their operations, while others have remained skeptical. Instead of fighting to protect jobs that can be done effectively »
The Jones Act
The Jones Act bans foreign vessels from carrying freight between US ports. But, because US-flagged vessels are typically more expensive, businesses have had to devise work-arounds. »
Resorting to the court of public opinion
Litigation is prohibitively expensive for most small companies. Unfortunately this means that small companies, that have legitimately been wronged by parties with more resources, can't realistically »
Democracy and state government
Democracies are designed to reflect the will of the people they govern. But, this only works if voters are informed and aware of the voting records »
Gate checked bags
Now that airlines charge for checked bags on domestic flights, an increasing number of people (including me) bring a carry-on and a personal item (i.e. »
Deep Blue vs AlphaGo
The chess match between Deep Blue and Gary Kasparov seemed to receive more press than the recent go match between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol, which is »
Which apartments are rent controlled?
Recently I've wondered why some apartments are rent controlled and others aren't. Intuitively, it seems like legislation should make it one way or the other. Tenants »
Recruiting via BFS vs DFS
Breadth first search focuses on examining one level of data at a time, while depth first search exhaustively investigates one line of inquiry to completion before »