http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-kurson6jun06,0,6477820.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrailAccording to Ken Kurson of the Los Angeles Times nobody "give(s) much thought to Pierre de Fermat or Blaise Pascal," but thanks to Bob Barker, the probability theory developed by those "brilliant mathematicians from centuries past" has been seamlessly transmitted "into millions of homes for 35 years." Barker, who recently taped his last episode of The Price is Right, educated the public using "daily lesson(s) in the principles of behavioral finance." Besides being a staple of American "comfort entertainment," the game show was essential viewing if "you wanted to know how to exploit -- or get trapped by -- market inefficiencies and the often irrational behavior of competitors." And by combining "real prices" for real products with hot women, continuously fresh contestants, and the ever-youthful Prof. Barker, lessons were"made... as painless as possible."
No comments:
Post a Comment