What's Really Going On Inside Our Heads When We Make Economic Decisions
An interesting report from tonight's News Hour w/ Jim Leher on PBS (one of my favorite programs on TV). Excerpt from beginning of segment:
...."an MRI of the human brain, cross-sectional images right through to the mind's deep core to see what's cooking inside -- cooking not in sickness, but in health. This animation is a composite of normal brains made at UCLA's Laboratory of Neural Imaging, one of dozens of labs where researchers are now trekking, "Fantastic Voyage"-style, to discover where specific thoughts and feelings arise.
And, as it happens, even economists are getting in on the action, asking how and where we humans think economically by seeing which parts of the brain are most active when we're deciding what we want and how to get it. One lesson thus far: The brain isn't quite as rational as the discipline of economics has long assumed, a finding that could have major implications right now given current economic uncertainty -- the falling dollar, rising interest rates, stock market volatility...."
Listen to Audio of Segment (RealAudio)
...."an MRI of the human brain, cross-sectional images right through to the mind's deep core to see what's cooking inside -- cooking not in sickness, but in health. This animation is a composite of normal brains made at UCLA's Laboratory of Neural Imaging, one of dozens of labs where researchers are now trekking, "Fantastic Voyage"-style, to discover where specific thoughts and feelings arise.
And, as it happens, even economists are getting in on the action, asking how and where we humans think economically by seeing which parts of the brain are most active when we're deciding what we want and how to get it. One lesson thus far: The brain isn't quite as rational as the discipline of economics has long assumed, a finding that could have major implications right now given current economic uncertainty -- the falling dollar, rising interest rates, stock market volatility...."
Listen to Audio of Segment (RealAudio)
posted by Jeff @ 10:57 PM - 1 Comments
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1 Comments:
I am simply amazed that the economists go away with their ridiculous model of the "Rational Economic Man." One trip to a casino should be enough to demonstrate the problem with that one.
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