Cog Sci/Psychology Snippet for the Day

It is entertaining that i get my cognitive science/psychology snippets from Harvard's Business School. Entertaining, and creepy, in that the folks who are studying how we think are the folks who want to make or save a buck.

I haven't read the paper yet, so i don't know how much evidence is behind "Human nature being what it is" (did research turn this up or is this just an assumption?) but this insight seems intriguing.

A new paper by Robyn A. LeBoeuf and Michael Norton begins, "Imagine that your computer suddenly crashes: the screen turns black, the power drains away, and you cannot bring it back to life. How might you determine the cause of this event?" Human nature being what it is, they continue, instinct is to pin the cause on something that equates with the outcome. If the result was a small outcome—losing an e-mail that was of no consequence—then we might attribute the crash to a lunch burrito leaking on the keyboard. But if the outcome had serious repercussions—a wedding invitation list lost permanently—then we decide the cause must have been a targeted computer virus. Furthermore, we ratchet up or down our response to the event based in part on where we assess blame. We tend to link cause with outcome because it prevents us from perceiving ourselves to be at the mercy of capricious and arbitrary forces: "What do you mean a leaky burrito ruined my wedding?" Understanding this reaction can help firms plan for the choices made by consumers after a product has failed them. Read "Consequence-Cause Matching: Looking to the Consequences of Events to Infer Their Causes."

By the way, are we assuming this is a laptop that you've drooled your burrito on? Because a hacker isn't going to do anything that drains the power away. Bad power supply is more like it. Or, fan died and you've overheated. (Have a colleague who, when his disk was encrypted, his computer started crashing, and just putting an external fan system under the laptop stopped the crashing.)

Dear Universe, thank you for short lived side effects

I feel so much better today. Most of the side effects of Nitrofurnantoin (I'm trying to memorize this name) have faded, but given my easily triggered lungs the Hypersensitivity pneumonitis remains. The wikipedia page gives "common names" for Hypersensitivity pneumonitis when triggered by specific allergens. My favorite is Penguin Humidifier lung, Christine's is Cheese-washer's lung.

Let me note i was wearing an OSHA approved dust mask when fiddling with the dyes. This is Not My Fault but Nitrofurnantoin's Fault.

Yesterday evening we discussed whether we were going camping or not (AGAIN). We still haven't canceled, and now that i feel better, camping seems a happy plan.

Last night was pretty stressful, as Christine noticed neighbor orange cat Luigi sticking his head out from a gap in the rafters under the roof. Was Luigi trapped in the crawl space? Much worry and crisis-level action from Christine, including getting up on the roof. Yesterday was not tar paper day, and original plywood that remains still looks awfully weak. We assume that some of the weak plywood will remain because all it needs to support is evenly distributed gravel, not persons walking. I pointed out we live in the unit with the crawlspace access, and so we can get the cat out that way. One attempt led to a spooked Luigi: the next time Christine tried to get him out, Edward had found his way into the crawl space from the roof. Christine hauled Edward out. Later that evening, Luigi greeted Christine on the landing. He could get his way out (as i suspected).

Christine says Edward & Luigi seemed to think the crawlspace, filled with filthy fiberglass tufts, was the Best Thing Ever.

The roof work and these roaming cats remains a concern while we're out. Luigi's person is gone this whole week, so Christine had A Word with Luigi's pet sitter. I hate that this roofing is going on while we're gone.

Today, dye/laundry, check on a crochet project for the camping trip, find the GPS for the camping trip, and check on camera gear. I wonder if my camera bag will fit in Josie the Jeep's "trunk."

(no subject)

I've just created a diaspora account under my Elaine Grey name. If you are on diaspora, please connect to me there. (Someday they may allow different names for different aspects, and then i will be overjoyed!)

If you're on google+ and frustrated with it's policies, i'd be happy to get you a diaspora account.

Tuesday Fiber Tornado

[Before bed] I had an incredibly productive day of creative stuff. I am so glad that the previous day's ill health did not linger. HUZZAH! What follows are notes on the fiber activities of the day:
( dye resist dye wash sew dye dye dye )