We’re always thinking about stuff, this is where it goes.
So I’ve had this idea ever since we went up to the Global Research Center and Benjamin suggested I post it rather than just let it stew.
So … I’d really like to know what GE’s scientists and engineers are reading. Whether it’s blogs, newspaper articles or books, I just think it would make for an amazing list. You’d read that right? Anyway, would be great if we could make it happen.
And, in the spirit of sharing, here are a few of my favorite blogs as of late:
Frontal Cortex: Amazing neuroscience blog by Seed editor Jonah Lehrer
Snarkmarket: Just interesting stuff.
Cheap Talk: Economics blog mostly about game theory by two economics professors.
Jay Parkinson Blog: Since I’ve been getting into all this GE stuff Jay’s blog about health has become more and more interesting.
Sociological Images: A blog about how imagery shapes culture.
An idea we are playing around with is doing some kind of online science show for GE – what is a good way to do some storytelling around what the scientists and engineers are up to, non-fiction. I’m trying to work out something that is a more modern format though, instead of just shooting video and editing, I wonder if you would “friend” an experiment, in the social network sense, and if it would be compelling to follow along with science at its own pace. as in, some experiments and progress may happen quickly, some may happen slowly. Would it be fun in the long term to have a more ambient experience with a science “show”, if you followed along with it in a more documentary sense, using social media ?
The other day we had an hour call with David Lee, one of GE’s health economists (who we mentioned the other day). Anyway, I have about six pages of notes I need to parse and start posting, but this morning I was thinking about something very specific he said: People tend to overestimate small risks. A perfect example is cancer, while any individual’s chance of having it is relatively small we don’t tend to think about it that way. This overestimation can keep us from doing things like getting cancer screenings because we’re afraid of what we might learn.
So … In bed this morning I was wondering whether anyone had studied the effect of knowing this human trait on decision making. Like what happens if you remind people right before you ask them whether they’d like to be screened that all humans tend to overestimate the chances of something that is actually quite rare? Will have to ask David this next time we speak (and if it hasn’t been done maybe we can get someone to do the study). In some ways this feels like exactly the kind of intersection between marketing, health and economics that we can really be helpful in (as marketers).
Just a thought.