Jun 29, 2009
After we released our show about Stochasticity, we received a lot of comments about the idea humans can be just as predictable as coins. In that show, Jonah Lehrer was telling us about a study on the 82-83 76ers, and he was saying that even when a basketball player is supposedly hot – really on a streak – he is no more likely to make his next shot that any other time. Basketball players are slaves to their averages. Well, it turns out this isn't the whole story.
In fact, right before we released the show, Jad got a call from Steve Strogatz, a mathematician from Cornell University.
After talking to Steve, we turn to neuroscientist Paul Glimcher, as he and Gregory Warner explore whether the little choices we make every day are predictable or not.