Dan Ariely, author of Predictably
Irrational, explains
how the tradeoff of low pain for a long time versus high
pain for a short time led him to the study of economics.
Ariely is one of the main proponents of behavioral
economics, the argument that people are systematically
irrational. What is the tradeoff he faced? How does he deal
with a question of what it is that people prefer?
This commercial
for Fed Ex makes reference to the movie Cast Away in
which a Fed Ex executive is marooned on an island for five
years, a modern take on the Robinson Cursoe story. In the
movie the survivor opened all but one of the packages, and
delivered that one. What was the cost of not opening the
package in the commercial? What makes this commercial
humorous?
This is the introductory video of a series. If you want an excellent "talking-head" set of economic videos with funny commentary, check out the rest of what she offers. What is the significance of the title, "Economists do it with models?"
