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The Intelligence of Nations
Modern Japan has very few of the world’s natural resources—oil, forests, precious metals. Yet this archipelago has given rise to the world’s third largest economy. Nigeria, by contrast, is blessed with ample natural resources, including lots of land, yet it is one of the planet’s poorer nations. Why is that? Why is there not a simple link between natural bounty and prosperity? The short answer is national intelligence. A nation’s cognitive resources amplify its natural resources. That’s the view of University of Washington psychological scientist Earl Hunt, who argues that, given equal national intelligence, Nigeria would be richer than Japan.
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“We’ll always have Paris.” Really?
One of the most memorable lines in film comes from the 1942 classic Casablanca, when the cynical ex-pat Rick tells his former lover Ilsa: “We’ll always have Paris.” Rick is referring to their brief romance on the eve of World War II—a courtship that ended abruptly with the Nazi invasion of France. When he speaks those words to Ilsa in the movie’s final scene, Rick has accepted that he and Ilsa will never be reunited. There are higher causes and historical forces at play, but at least they will always have that one cherished memory. Or will they? When the jaded anti-hero Rick speaks those tender words, he is really stating his theory of human memory—and assessing his own.
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How Americans Think About Wealth
OK, so I confess I woke myself up at 3:45 AM to watch the royal wedding, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Who doesn’t like a good fairy tale? But in order to savor the spectacle, I had to temporarily suppress my discomfort in the face of such opulence. Behind the fairy tale is some of the most obscene wealth inequality in the world. And it’s not just England. Wealth inequality is at historic highs in the U.S. as well—with some estimates suggesting that 1 percent of Americans control nearly half the nation’s wealth. Or to put it in starker terms, the bottom 20 percent of Americans hold a measly one-tenth of 1 percent of everything—real estate, stocks, bonds, art, anything of value.
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The Perils of Comparative Thinking
“I wept because I had no Porsche, and then I saw a man who had no BMW.” That’s an ancient proverb, slightly doctored for modern American sensibilities. The point is that, regardless of our life circumstances, we derive our happiness and our disappointment from comparisons with others’ fortunes. Indeed, the human brain seems to be perversely wired for relative judgments, even when the comparisons sabotage our well-being. Is there any way to avoid the comparison trap? It should be obvious that my successes or failures in life have nothing to do with you, nor do your troubles or good fortunes reflect on me. How can we make meaningful and helpful comparisons, while avoiding maladaptive ones?
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The Hazards of Teamwork: Does Group Study Disrupt Learning?
The classic 1973 film The Paper Chase explores the challenges of first-year law students at Harvard, focusing on a handful who come together to form a study group. These groups are formed to manage the vast amount of learning that 1-L students are expected to absorb, on everything from contracts to property to the Constitution—but in this case the collaboration is a disaster. A combination of stress and competitiveness and pettiness sabotages the group effort, leaving the individual students on their own as they face the rigors of final exams. Study groups are very popular—and not only in law school.
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Quicksilver message: How to send a public health warning
When I was a smoker, I paid no attention to the constant health warnings about tobacco. It’s not that I was unaware that cigarettes posed serious risks. They were spelled out in black-and-white, right there on my pack of Camels. I just put them out of my mind—for future consideration. I quit smoking long ago. The years have made me more averse to health risks in general, and I take precautions when I can. For example, I’ve seriously cut back on canned tuna in my diet, based on what I’ve read about mercury risks. The idea of quicksilver in my tuna fish sandwich makes me uneasy. Mine are the kinds of decisions that drive public health officials crazy.
