Seth Stevenson talked with MIT professor Dick Larson about queuing theory. Highlights include:

• Queuing theory is the theory about…queues. The ones we face at banks, supermarkets, or even virtual ones on the telephone.
• The field got its start in Denmark with the invention of the telephone. Telephone companies needed to know how many operators to hire based on how many callers there would likely be.
• Queuing theory addresses three aspects of human nature: We get bored in lines, we don’t like waiting longer than we thought we would, and we hate it when people are served out of order.
• It is mostly a perception game and Disney is the king of manipulating these perceptions at its theme parks.
• Video screens in Disney lines advertise the ride ahead – making the wait less boring.
• Disney also places estimate times to reach the front of the line – but it pads them so that you always reach the front before you were told you would.
• Disney also operates on a single line system so that it’s not possible for people who joined the line after you to be served before you.

To read many more interesting and quirky examples, including the company that put in mirrors to reduce complaints about long lines, why telephone systems still depend on queues, how restaurants deal with the problem, what the New York City subway does, what Wendy’s, American Airlines, and Citibank disagree about, what happens when you put queue theorists together in a line, and the field of business that queue theory fits into click here.

Source: Slate

Our music has been getting sadder over the years reports Tom Jacobs. Highlights include:

• According to researchers the lyrics of popular music have become more self-focused and negative over time.
• Since the 1960s a greater proportion of songs are written in minor modes – regarded as sadder than major modes. In fact the number of songs written in minor modes has doubled.
• The average tempo of songs has also decreased over time, and they reached their low in the 1990s.
• The trend in the slowdown of music tempo has been more pronounced in major-mode songs – suggesting that music has become more emotionally ambiguous.
• The percentage of female artists leading the charts has also risen although it peaked in the 1990s.
• Lady Gaga has bucked the trend. She has fast-tempo major mode recordings that have been popular.

To read more about how how this parallels the evolution of classical music from 1600 to 1900, how this relates to Aqua’s Barbie Girl, what this means for baby boomers and doomsayers, and more details of the methodology of the study, click here.

Source: Pacific Standard

Via: Marginal Revolution

Catherine Rampell parsed through the latest data from the Pew Research Center on gender differences in the work place. Highlights include:

• 66% of women between 18 and 35 say that being successful in a high-paying career or profession is important. For males it’s just 59%.
• This is a change from 1997 – when the same poll was last carried out, and men were more likely to agree than women.
• This trend is backed up by the fact that women now outnumber men on college campuses.
• This trend isn’t limited to young women. Roughly equal proportions of males and females between 35 and 64 say that a career is important.
• Just as in 1997, both males and females will put being a good parent and having a successful marriage as more important than a career.
• However for men the importance of having a successful marriage has fallen while for women it has risen.

To read many (many, many) more details about changing attitudes across genders and age groups, how the various percentages have changed, why women are investing in value added skills, the evolution in family values, why women now want it all, and the average age of first marriage, click here.

Source: The New York Times

Gabriel Rossman took a look at virtual social networks such as Twitter and Facebook from a sociological perspective and discussed how they differ from the social networks we maintain in our real non-digital lives:

• Until Facebook made some changes recently everybody saw the same profile of you. In the real world we manipulate what others see about us depending on who they are.
• Facebook also encourages friendships to accumulate whereas in real life they decay over time.
  • You could always unfriend them but not only is it time consuming, it can come across as a mean thing to do.
  • This is why a recent bug on Twitter causing people to randomly unfollow others is so interesting. You can tell the true strength of the relationship by whether or not people re-follow after being affected by the bug. Moreover it provides a convenient excuse to unfollow people without being seen in a negative light – people might think that it’s because of the bug – making it more like real life where there’s always uncertainty.

To read more about what sociological theories have to say, how this relates to Julius Casear, how Burger King branded itself as “the official fast food chain of America’s assholes”, and how sociologists feel about social networks, click here.

Source: The Atlantic

Torie Bosch argues that it’s about time we brought back home economics. Highlights of her argument include:

• At the turn of the 20^th century schools taught girls how to cook and in general be good ‘housewives’.
• It has since evolved into “family and consumer sciences” and while it’s now taken by both boys and girls it is far less common.
• In the face of America’s rising obesity crisis a return to widespread home economics teaching could educate youth about healthy eating.
• Studies suggest that contrary to popular perception, processed foods are actually more expensive than healthy alternatives. A home economics education could focus on those types of lessons.
• Kids in two-earner households often have to cook for themselves anyway, making the lessons practical and valuable.
• Such a course doesn’t have to take too much time away from other subjects. Math, for example, could easily be integrated into courses on food budgeting.

To read more including what Ikea believes the future of the kitchen will be, why home economics began to die out in the 1900s, the percentage of children today who learn some form of home economics, the effect that testing pressures have, and what the Journal of the American Medical Association has to say about it click here.

Source: Slate

Rajini Vaidyanathan reported on the rise of a new type of film in the Indian film industry:

• There has been a new class of films in Bollywood that is darker and grittier.
• These films often cast unknown actors in the lead roles.
• Directors say that it would not have been possible for them to make these films five years ago. However new sources of financing and developing technology have made it easier than ever to become a filmmaker.
• A unique challenge to Indian films is that the majority of a produciton’s revenue is made through box-office sales. Unlike in the west DVD sales are not a significant source of revenue. Therefore a widespread release is crucial.
• This doesn’t mean that the older-style Bollywood films are dead. Despite (or perhaps because) they have adapted a little, they still dominate the movie charts.

To read more about the film about the sperm donor, the director who is being compared to Tarantino, the five hour film that premiered at Cannes, a movie about bin Laden, and many other fascinating examples click here.

Source: BBC News

Studies suggest that people enjoy experiencing stories more after the ending has been spoiled for them, contrary to popular perception. How can this possibly be true? Stanley Fish explored some prevailing theories:

• There is a certain amount of pleasure to be derived from seeing the little hints and intricacies that only become important because you know the ending. If you were ignorant then you would’ve missed them because they seem unimportant.
• But suspense also seems to survive certainty. This is known as the ‘paradox of suspense.’
• Competing theories that aim to explain this paradox include the suggestion that it’s merely an extension of the suspension of disbelief, or that there’s a distinction between abstract and conscious knowledge.

Perhaps this explains why some movies and books start with the ending.

To read more explanations of the paradox, how this relates to the Challenger disaster, and what John Milton has to say about it, read Fish’s musings over here.

Source: The New York Times

Via: Marginal Revolution

Catherine Rampell explored the latest data that mapped out the glass ceiling for women. Highlights include:

• Men and women start off with a fairly sizeable wage difference. College educated men make about $40,800 after they graduate while similar women only make $31,900.
• But for several years after that wages rise at the same rate. In fact women have a slight advantage here.
• But around the age of 30 females’ salary increases begin to slow and by 40 they’ve run into the glass ceiling, and their pay stops rising.
• 30 is also around when women begin to have children.
• Women’s pay maxes out at around $60,000. In contrast for men it’s $95,000.

To read many more details including the strengths and weaknesses of the data set, the glass ceiling for men, and a graph of the actual data, click here.

Source: The New York Times

Katy Waldman has some fascinating descriptions of what the coming revolution in food packaging will mean for consumers:

• We will soon see the rise of smart packaging – packaging that can sense and respond to the information around it.
• This is in contrast to active packaging which is already fairly common. The silica gel packets that absorb excess moisture are an example of active packaging – packaging that serves some greater function other than protecting food.
• Examples of the coming future of smart packaging include:
  • A sensor that can detect a chemical that fruits release when they ripen – letting you know it’s safe to eat.
  • A drink label that will turn blue when it’s cold enough to drink.
  • A vegetable bag that will soak up excess oxygen in warm conditions ensuring that it lasts longer.

To read more about the coming future, what popcorn shows us about packaging, other potential applications of the technology, how it could help the lactose intolerant, changing the taste of grapefruit juice, the cultural shift in food preferences, some of the current military applications, a line of Aroma Waters that make use of it, and what the FDA has to say about it, click here.

Source: Slate