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Cognitive
Unlocking the Reptilian Brain: Understanding the Amygdala
October 15, 2017
It’s about the shape and size of an almond, nearly as old as the dinosaurs, to whose reptilian brains it bears a considerable resemblance. When you’re walking home late at night, it’s shouting out to you, bogging you down with panic as you navigate your way in the dark, ready to jump at every corner at whatever or whoever might be hiding there. It’s there again when you’ve had it with your significant other and the wet towels they’ve left carelessly on the floor, or when you need that...
October 15, 2017
It’s about the shape and size of an almond, nearly as old as the dinosaurs, to whose reptilian brains it bears a considerable resemblance. When you’re walking home late at night, it’s shouting out to you, bogging you down with panic as you navigate your way in the dark, ready to jump at every corner at whatever or whoever might be hiding there. It’s there again when you’ve had it with your significant other and the wet towels they’ve left carelessly on the floor, or when you need that...
For Your Brain’s Sake, Keep Moving
October 14, 2017
Because we can never have enough reasons to keep exercising, a new study with mice finds that physical activity not only increases the number of new neurons in the brain, it also subtly changes the shape and workings of these cells in ways that might have implications for memory and even delaying the onset of dementia. Last year, in an important study published in NeuroImage, the researchers found for the first time that young brain cells in adult mice that spent a month with running wheels in their...
October 14, 2017
Because we can never have enough reasons to keep exercising, a new study with mice finds that physical activity not only increases the number of new neurons in the brain, it also subtly changes the shape and workings of these cells in ways that might have implications for memory and even delaying the onset of dementia. Last year, in an important study published in NeuroImage, the researchers found for the first time that young brain cells in adult mice that spent a month with running wheels in their...
Richard Thaler Wins Nobel for Work in Behavioral Economics
October 9, 2017
The Nobel prize in economics has been awarded to Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago for research showing how people's choices on economic matters — whether on savings or game shows like "Deal or No Deal" — are not always rational. The 9-million-kronor ($1.1-million) prize was awarded to the academic for his "understanding the psychology of economics," Swedish Academy of Sciences secretary Goran Hansson said Monday. Thaler is considered one of the founding fathers...
October 9, 2017
The Nobel prize in economics has been awarded to Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago for research showing how people's choices on economic matters — whether on savings or game shows like "Deal or No Deal" — are not always rational. The 9-million-kronor ($1.1-million) prize was awarded to the academic for his "understanding the psychology of economics," Swedish Academy of Sciences secretary Goran Hansson said Monday. Thaler is considered one of the founding fathers...
AI and Predicting Settlement
October 3, 2017
The National Law Journal reported yesterday on SettlementAnalytics and their predictive algorithms. “The world’s first quantitative legal measurement to indicate the likelihood of a lawsuit proceeding all the way to trial and adjudication” according to the company. I am profoundly skeptical. But if it’s essentially an app that takes a few data points and predicts the likelihood of a case going all the way to trial (an eventuality that is not terribly common in any context,...
October 3, 2017
The National Law Journal reported yesterday on SettlementAnalytics and their predictive algorithms. “The world’s first quantitative legal measurement to indicate the likelihood of a lawsuit proceeding all the way to trial and adjudication” according to the company. I am profoundly skeptical. But if it’s essentially an app that takes a few data points and predicts the likelihood of a case going all the way to trial (an eventuality that is not terribly common in any context,...
Kiser’s Soft Skills for the Effective Lawyer
October 1, 2017
I was really pleased to meet Randall Kiser at last year’s ABA conference. I was very impressed by his important study (co-authored with Martin Asher and Blakeley McShane), Let’s Not Make a Deal: An Empirical Examination of Decision Making in Unsuccessful Negotiations. The top-line finding was that in 85.5% of cases, parties went to trial when one of the parties would have been better off to accept the other side’s last offer. Plaintiffs received an award less than or equal to the defendant’s...
October 1, 2017
I was really pleased to meet Randall Kiser at last year’s ABA conference. I was very impressed by his important study (co-authored with Martin Asher and Blakeley McShane), Let’s Not Make a Deal: An Empirical Examination of Decision Making in Unsuccessful Negotiations. The top-line finding was that in 85.5% of cases, parties went to trial when one of the parties would have been better off to accept the other side’s last offer. Plaintiffs received an award less than or equal to the defendant’s...
The Psychology and Neurobiology of Mediation
September 26, 2017
This article discusses the neurobiology of what is perhaps the most common problem in mediation: people take the conflict...
September 26, 2017
This article discusses the neurobiology of what is perhaps the most common problem in mediation: people take the conflict...
Beyond ‘Managerial Judges’: Appropriate Roles in Settlement
September 25, 2017
Settlement is prevalent, and crucial to the functioning of the U.S. judicial system. But the pretrial regulatory framework in the courts is largely discretionary, and its emphasis on management does not fully take into account all the consequences of combining settlement with adjudication. The label “managerial judge” does not differentiate between the functions involved in managing a settlement process and the very different role of serving as a settlement neutral. By introducing this distinction,...
September 25, 2017
Settlement is prevalent, and crucial to the functioning of the U.S. judicial system. But the pretrial regulatory framework in the courts is largely discretionary, and its emphasis on management does not fully take into account all the consequences of combining settlement with adjudication. The label “managerial judge” does not differentiate between the functions involved in managing a settlement process and the very different role of serving as a settlement neutral. By introducing this distinction,...
Relational Contracts of Adhesion
September 21, 2017
Not all digital fine print exculpates liability: some exhorts users to perform before the consumer relationship has soured. We promise to choose strong passwords (and hold them private); to behave civilly on social networks; to refrain from streaming shows and sports; and to avoid reverse-engineering code (or, worse, deploying deadly bots). In short: consumers are apparently regulated by digital fine print, though it’s universally assumed we don’t read it, and even if we did, we’ll never be sued...
September 21, 2017
Not all digital fine print exculpates liability: some exhorts users to perform before the consumer relationship has soured. We promise to choose strong passwords (and hold them private); to behave civilly on social networks; to refrain from streaming shows and sports; and to avoid reverse-engineering code (or, worse, deploying deadly bots). In short: consumers are apparently regulated by digital fine print, though it’s universally assumed we don’t read it, and even if we did, we’ll never be sued...
Legal Theory Bookworm: “How Judges Think” by Posner
September 20, 2017
The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends How Judges Think by Richard Posner. Here is a description: A distinguished and experienced appellate court judge, Richard A. Posner offers in this new book a unique and, to orthodox legal thinkers, a startling perspective on how judges and justices decide cases. When conventional legal materials enable judges to ascertain the true facts of a case and apply clear pre-existing legal rules to them, Posner argues, they do so straightforwardly; that is the domain...
September 20, 2017
The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends How Judges Think by Richard Posner. Here is a description: A distinguished and experienced appellate court judge, Richard A. Posner offers in this new book a unique and, to orthodox legal thinkers, a startling perspective on how judges and justices decide cases. When conventional legal materials enable judges to ascertain the true facts of a case and apply clear pre-existing legal rules to them, Posner argues, they do so straightforwardly; that is the domain...
Misconceptions About Nudges
September 19, 2017
Some people believe that nudges are an insult to human agency; that nudges are based on excessive trust in government; that nudges are covert; that nudges are manipulative; that nudges exploit behavioral biases; that nudges depend on a belief that human beings are irrational; and that nudges work only at the margins and cannot accomplish much. These are misconceptions. Nudges always respect, and often promote, human agency; because nudges insist on preserving freedom of choice, they do not put excessive...
September 19, 2017
Some people believe that nudges are an insult to human agency; that nudges are based on excessive trust in government; that nudges are covert; that nudges are manipulative; that nudges exploit behavioral biases; that nudges depend on a belief that human beings are irrational; and that nudges work only at the margins and cannot accomplish much. These are misconceptions. Nudges always respect, and often promote, human agency; because nudges insist on preserving freedom of choice, they do not put excessive...
