by david allan van nostrand | Mar 22, 2021 | Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Unintended Consequences
Robots are machines that respond automatically and unthinkingly to the commands of others. They perform routine mechanical tasks that have been pre-programmed by humans. They are not sentient beings and are not capable of conscious thought. Robots are best at...
by david allan van nostrand | Feb 15, 2021 | Artificial Intelligence, Shaky Science, Voodoo Statistics
Long before automated resumé screening, a friend complained long and loud about how every time he needed to hire someone to work in the office, the phone would ring all day. Most of the applicants who called about the job were not the kind of people who had resumés or...
by david allan van nostrand | Feb 8, 2021 | Artificial Intelligence, critical thinking, numeracy
The game show Let’s Make a Deal was first shown on American television in 1963. It has been overhauled several times since then, with new hosts, models, and sets. In the original version, Monty Hall chose contestants from screaming audience members who dressed in...
by david allan van nostrand | Oct 12, 2020 | Artificial Intelligence, Fads, Marketing
In a shell game, three walnut shells are moved about swiftly and onlookers bet on which one the pea is under when they come to rest. It’s not actually a game at all – it’s a swindle con artists control through sleight of hand and illusion to fleece the mark (the...
by david allan van nostrand | Sep 7, 2020 | Artificial Intelligence, Organizational Behavior, Using Information
Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s aunt Edith Bouvier lived in a 28-room house with 300 cats. The home was so cluttered that 26 of the rooms were uninhabitable, leaving Big Edie and her daughter Little Edie to live in only one bedroom. When sanitation workers...
by david allan van nostrand | Jun 15, 2020 | Artificial Intelligence, Big Data
Neither would millions of people until Lee Lantz came along. A seafood merchant, he found a mild and flaky fish that tasted great. Its name, Patgonian Toothfish, was as unappetizing as its looks. He couldn’t change its appearance, so he made up a new name. He called...
