Ben Casnocha

Tyler praises Robin: If you are one of his detractors, or even just a common sense skeptic, you can always find many of his beliefs to be outright absurd, The real question, however, is how much you can learn from him and on that he is an A+. - Ben Casnocha

We find no evidence that immigrants crowded-out employment and hours worked by natives. At the same time we find robust evidence that they increased total factor productivity, on the one hand, while they decreased capital intensity and the skill-bias of production technologies, on the other. - Ben Casnocha

The average American spent “four hours and 49 minutes a day on average in front of the TV” during the most recent TV season, The Nielsen Company said Tuesday. A few minutes shy of the five-hour mark, the 2008-9 season average is the highest ever, according to Nielsen, up four minutes from the previous year. Compared with 10 years ago, viewing is up 20 percent. - Ben Casnocha

calculated a formula he claims delivers the monetary equivalent of the value of various milestones in life. The figures represent a lump sum a person would need to receive out of the blue in order to make him or her as happy as marriage would over a lifetime. When it comes to divorce, a man would be so devastated it would feel as if he had lost £61,500. A woman would be far less traumatised, feeling as though she had only lost £5,000. - Ben Casnocha

If you are designing an interface for a new type of system, you must start incredibly simple. But if you grow the interface complexity slowly, you can build up a body of experienced users who will help newcomers. Grow too slow and you become stale, grow to slow and you leave your users behin - Ben Casnocha

If you are designing an interface for a new type of system, you must start incredibly simple. But if you grow the interface complexity slowly, you can build up a body of experienced users who will help newcomers. Grow too slow and you become stale, grow to slow and you leave your users behin - Ben Casnocha

The problem with IQ tests is that while they are effective at assessing our deliberative skills, which involve reason and the use of working memory, they are unable to assess our inclination to use them when the situation demands. … “Some people who are intellectually able do not bother to engage very much in analytical thinking and are inclined to rely on their intuitions.” … - Ben Casnocha

The problem with IQ tests is that while they are effective at assessing our deliberative skills, which involve reason and the use of working memory, they are unable to assess our inclination to use them when the situation demands. … “Some people who are intellectually able do not bother to engage very much in analytical thinking and are inclined to rely on their intuitions.” … - Ben Casnocha

Drive the biggest vehicle you can afford to drive. Your greatest risk of death comes from a motor vehicle accident. Despite all the data from the government on crash test safety, I can say unequivocally that in a 2-car accident, the person in the larger car always fairs better. Force=Mass x Acceleration. The vehicle with larger mass imparts the greater force. Also, purchase the newest large vehicle that you can afford. Crumple zones in newer cars can expand deceleration time from 30 milliseconds to 90 milliseconds which decreases deceleration forces by a factor of 3. I am not a believer in global warming or man’s contribution to it, but if you are and you want to do your part by driving a Smart Car or a Prius you should be commended for potentially standing by your convictions with your life. Also, if your midlife crisis plans include a motorcycle or sports car, realize that you might resolve your midlife crisis by avoiding old age all together. It goes without saying to wear your seat - Ben Casnocha

Treating the old side-effects as the new core value would in many cases require non-profit status. This would push small stores who tried it towards the NPR model, with a mix of endowment, sponsorship, and donations, a choice that might be anathema to the current owners. However, the history of businesses that traffic in physical delivery of media has been grim these last few years. (This is the story of your local record store, RIP.) - Ben Casnocha

Mr. Morris said he keeps a set of binoculars handy, and isn’t bothered if the neighbors watch him in return. “It’s kind of comforting,” he said. “Everyone is alone together in their own separate units, but everybody knows how together they are. I don’t think it’s creepy. It’s kind of nice. That’s why you live in a big city.” - Ben Casnocha

the rise of memoir shows how "authorship has been democratized"; everyone has a story to tell and who better to tell it than the one who lived it? We put less faith in expertise and objectivity, and more in what's spoken "straight from the heart." - Ben Casnocha

videos of successful pitches - Ben Casnocha

Mr. Simmons may be the first sports writer to see the games purely from the view of the fan — and a very modern, unsentimental fan at that. As Mr. Simmons sees it, his job is not to get into the heads of the players, but into the heads of his readers. - Ben Casnocha