#AcademicRunPlaylist - 3/24/24

Winter is still holding on in Boston, and while staying bundled up I was able to listen to some talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was a great talk by Diane Coyle on how the digital economy raises questions about traditional economic approaches and why we'll soon just call it "the economy" at the Oxford Martin School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F30SRc7yZ_s

Next was a fantastic talk by Christos Mavrovitis (Mavis) on the disconnect between expectations and information reliability using odds from tennis matches at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. The core idea here is that variance in outcomes is much higher in smaller samples - I have a better chance of winning a single point against Roger Federer than a whole set. Since tennis tournaments have different win conditions, creating predictably different levels of variance, Mavis is able to demonstrate how odds diverge from the empirical optimal levels, with big implications for pretty much every field. Highly recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mO99GpGPB8

Next was an intriguing talk by Christian Moser on the effects of credit supply on wage inequality between and within firms at Columbia Business School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_TfzjP-eJY&t=1s

Next was a nice pair of talks by Andrew Keay and Joan Loughrey on judicial review of directors' business judgments at the Cambridge Faculty of Law https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUQt30MHJWY

Next was an excellent talk by Clintin Davis-Stober on effective combinations of individual forecasters for better group predictions at the Santa Fe Institute https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXaRqSKdQnU

Next was a fascinating panel on trademark law for video games, fictional brands, and beyond at the New York University School of Law with J. Thomas McCarthy, Mark McKenna, Rick McMurtry, and Makalika Naholowa'a. These talks give good background on this area, and move to the legality of Rick and Morty using McDonald's promotions as a plot device, replicas of real products in Minecraft, and more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfSzp23-E6o

Next was a wide-ranging talk by Eric Beinhocker on the shortcomings of the neoclassical economic model, the need to understand the economy and society as a complex system, and more at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-RdnoxSZiM

Last was an engrossing talk by Paul McLean on deriving network patterns from medieval Florence archival documents (!) at the SONIC Research Group https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH2jymw8W4Q