Standards wars involve lots of variables, and understanding them often seems more an art than a science. They generally involve just two big players, and end in a winner-take-all situation. James Surowiecki More Quotes by James Surowiecki More Quotes From James Surowiecki I tend to have a hard time working on pieces long before they're due. That's why I think the fact that I write a column is really good for me - the column has to be done, and there's no getting around it. James Surowiecki hard-timeswritingthinking Behavioral economists have shown that a sizable percentage of people are willing to pay real money to punish people who are taking from a common pot but not contributing to it. Just to insure that shirkers get what they deserve, we are prepared to make ourselves poorer. James Surowiecki realpaypeople Being unemployed is even more disastrous for individuals than you'd expect. Aside from the obvious harm - poverty, difficulty paying off debts - it seems to directly affect people's health, particularly that of older workers. James Surowiecki debtpovertypeople The ban on sports betting does exactly what Prohibition did. It makes criminals rich. James Surowiecki criminalsdoesports I tend to delay writing by doing more research - it's really the act of writing the piece that I have the hardest time with. James Surowiecki delaypieceswriting Tough times have always lent themselves to nativist sentiments and closed-door policies. But in the case of highly skilled immigrants these policies are a recipe for stagnation. James Surowiecki tough-timesrecipesdoors Sometimes even a smart crowd will make a mistake. James Surowiecki crowdssmartmistake Unlike fuel-economy standards, the most common method of reducing demand for oil over the past thirty years, a gas tax doesn't tell people what kind of car to drive. It simply raises the price of gasoline and lets people adjust their behavior accordingly. James Surowiecki oilpastyears The typical American corporation is a shareholders' republic the same way that China is a peoples' republic. James Surowiecki republiccorporationstypical No decision-making system is going to guarantee corporate success. The strategic decisions that corporations have to make are of mind-numbing complexity. But we know that the more power you give a single individual in the face of complexity and uncertainty, the more likely it is that bad decisions will get made. James Surowiecki decisionmindgiving There does seem to be some evidence that as people get older, they procrastinate less, perhaps because they feel the pressure of time more. James Surowiecki pressuredoepeople If army ants are wandering around and they get lost, they start to follow a simple rule:Just do what the ant in front of you does. The ants eventually end up in a circle. There's this famous example of one that was 1,200 feet long and lasted for two days; the ants just kept marching around and around in a circle until they died. James Surowiecki circlesarmysimple Unlike most government programs, Social Security and, in part, Medicare are funded by payroll taxes dedicated specifically to them. Some of the tax revenue pays for current benefits; anything that's left over goes into trust funds for the future. The programs were designed this way for political reasons. James Surowiecki payroll-taxpoliticalgovernment The problem is that groups are only smart when the people in them are as independent as possible. This is the paradox of the wisdom of crowds. James Surowiecki smartindependentpeople Addictive behavior is kind of the inverse of procrastination: procrastination is about not being able to do what you want to do, addiction about not being able to not do what you don't want to do (drink, use drugs, etc.) James Surowiecki addictiondrugprocrastination Life insurance became popular only when insurance companies stopped emphasizing it as a good investment and sold it instead as a symbolic commitment by fathers to the future well-being of their families. James Surowiecki investmentfathercommitment Linux is a complex example of the wisdom of crowds. It's a good example in the sense that it shows you can set people to work in a decentralized way - that is, without anyone really directing their efforts in a particular direction - and still trust that they're going to come up with good answers. James Surowiecki effortexamplepeople Lower oil prices won't, by themselves, topple the mullahs in Iran. But it's significant that, historically, when oil prices have been low, Iranian reformers have been ascendant and radicals relatively subdued, and vice versa when prices have been high. James Surowiecki iranoilvices One of the problems that exacerbates procrastination is the feeling that you have lots of different things to do and no clear sense of which matter more, when they should be done, etc. James Surowiecki procrastinationdifferentfeelings Making loans and fighting poverty are normally two of the least glamorous pursuits around, but put the two together and you have an economic innovation that has become not just popular but downright chic. The innovation - microfinance - involves making small loans to poor entrepreneurs, usually in developing countries. James Surowiecki fightingtwocountry
