A recent article in the NYT, “Fossil Fuels’ Hidden Cost Is in Billions, Study Says” by Matthew L. Wald, described a study that Congress ordered to be conducted “to measure the costs not incorporated into the price of a kilowatt-hour or a gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel.” The study ended up measuring only those costs associated with “excess mortality — increased human deaths as a result of criteria air pollutants emitted by power plants and vehicles.” The study concluded that [emphasis is mine]

Nearly 20,000 people die prematurely each year from such causes, according to the study’s authors, who valued each life at $6 million based on the dollar in 2000.

A Very Brief History of the Evolution of Choice

The recently awarded prize by Netflix for coming up with a more accurate prediction algorithm has been on my mind lately. To be more precise, what I’ve been thinking about is what the winners have achieved with their algorithm. That is, why is being able to predict what people will like so important, or in more “useful” terms, what is the value of being able to predict what people will like?

Along those lines, I’ve been thinking about how market offerings have evolved to provide people with choices, and then later to help them select among their choices.

What Is the Purpose of Colleges and Universities?

How Do the Cutbacks Affect Education Game Players?

A recent article by the Associated Press, “College Cutbacks Make It Harder to Earn Degrees,” described the problems college students are confronted with in the face of drastic budget cuts at colleges and universities.

Inducing Adoption of New Technologies by Network Members

Creating Sub-Network Competitive Advantage

A recent article in the NYT, “E-Records Get a Big Endorsement” by Steve Lohr, describes how hospitals are seeking a competitive edge” by offering subsidies to doctors to join the hospitals’ digital networks: