Here's an apropos one on the economics of Halloween:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid
601039&refer=columnist_hassett&sid=aEwsesS1.LmU

It's hard to tell if they're being serious...


--- \/	 FROM Daniel Reeves AT 06.10.31 17:27 (Today)	\/ ---

> I'd like to move the thread below to improvetheworld.  In particular, do any 
> of you have any additions to the list at the bottom of this email?
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Dave Morris  
> Subject: Re: WHITEBOARD yootles VERSION 121
>
> Good point about the value of human lives. If you can quantify the risks 
> people are willing to take in an emotionally acceptable/effective venue (i.e.

> people aren't bidding to let you shoot them in the head, they're bidding to 
> let you remove their safety belts etc.), then that can help guide our 
> government in quantifying how much they should spend on ridiculously useless 
> safety precautions that are guaranteed to cost way more than they're expected

> (expected value of benefit to society) save.	  That's cool.
>
> Dave
>
> On Oct 28, 2006, at 1:04 PM, Daniel Reeves wrote:
>
>> I guess a dating service is an obvious way to monetize mate-finding.
>> If you wanted to get more extreme you could imagine a social institution 
>> that involved a betting pool among the 2 people who start dating so that 
>> you can hedge against the risk of wasting your time on dates that won't 
>> lead to marriage.  That may well amount to the more interested (desperate) 
>> party paying the less desperate party to "give them a chance."
>> 
>> Interesting thought experiment.
>> 
>> As for the utility of a human life, that's easy.  It's about 20 million 
>> dollars.  Or was it 2 million?  I forgot.  Some number of millions.
>> It feels objectionable to say something less than infinity but in fact it's 
>> logically incoherent to say infinity.  Based on how much we're willing to 
>> spend on safety equipment in cars, how much more pay we need for risky 
>> jobs, how often we deem it worth it to overhaul/re-inspect planes, etc etc 
>> -- an implicit value on human life can be inferred.
>> 
>> 
>> --- \/   FROM Dave Morris AT 06.10.28 10:01 (Today)	 \/ ---
>> 
>>> I fail to see how yootles can help you choose a mate. What's the thought 
>>> there?
>
>>> Or is it like a dating service? I'll pay you one million yootles to find 
>>> me the right person?
>>> 
>>> Just curious.
>>> 
>>> And [DTH]? How many yootles is the value of a human life anyway? Hmmm.
>>> 
>>> On Oct 27, 2006, at 6:23 PM, WHITEBOARD-AGENT wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Someone thought the following update to the whiteboard was worth your
>>>> attention.  But please check the web for the actual latest version.
>>>> http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves/whiteboard/yootles/
>
>
> LIST OF THINGS IN SOCIETY THAT ARE NOT MONETIZED/YOOTLIFIED THAT COULD BE:
>  (add any crazy thing you can think of -- it's just brainstorming)
>
> [RID] getting a ride to the airport from a friend
> [DIN] voting on what to have for dinner
> [LOV] choosing a mate
> [MOV] helping someone move
> [ADV] seeking advice
> [DIV] dividing up chores
> [MTG] picking a time for a meeting
> [FIL] p2p file sharing
> [IMG] image tagging
> [WIK] wiki editing
> [BET] beta testing
> [PRI] prioritizing help-desk requests
> [FAV] miscellaneous small favors from friends/family (includes MOV, RID,
>      shopping, etc)
> [POT] deciding who should bring what for a potluck
> [ACT] picking activities, destinations, events for vacations / dates /
>      evenings out, etc
> [MYN] prioritizing and allocating computational resources
> [HEA] health care (triage, pain scores, various insurance issues)
> [DTH] the value of life
> [BAB] baby-sitting club (parents taking turns babysitting)
> [TIP] tipping on blogs
> [DIG] news aggregation and editorial tasks
> [REP] reputation systems
> [DSH] taking turns loading the dishwasher / taking out the garbage /
>      cleaning the bathroom / etc.
> [RES] pick which of us has to drive / book flights / pick up tickets /
>      make appointment / etc.
> [NAM] deciding what to name one's child
> [SPM] spam control
> [FUT] corporate policy making (futarchy)
> [ANS] a much better alternative to points on Yahoo!Answers!
> [CWA] is it really a free world? [I don't understand this question;
>      elaborate? --dreeves]
> [PIF] payitforwardmovement.org
> [OSS] incentive system for open-source development, yootles voting for new
>      features
>

-- 
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/dreeves  - -  search://"Daniel Reeves"

"Very funny Scotty.  Now beam down my clothes."