On envy

 Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently to build one for himself.
--Abraham Lincoln

Real heartfelt apologies are sometimes all that people need.

In a study of medical malpractice lawsuits, the top five reasons people gave for initiating the lawsuit were:

  1. So that it would not happen to anyone else
  2. I wanted an explanation
  3. I wanted the doctors to realize what they had done
  4. To get an admission of negligence
  5. So that the doctor would know how I felt

And the number one thing the doctor or hospital could have done to prevent the lawsuit? An explanation and apology.

How to Rapidly Improve Speaking Skills

"How is it that high-level Americans seem to speak less well than low level Brits?" I kept asking myself. And found no answer.

After a few weeks I came to a startling conclusion. The apparent superiority of the Brits had nothing to do with either intelligence or education. It was in fact physical.

If you pay attention, you will notice that the British, particularly the English, tend to form their words on their lips, while Americans form them in the throat. This phenomenon is particularly noticeable among males, whose deep, gravely voice is considered to be masculine, virile and seductive.

I believe that forming words in the throat puts abnormal strain on the larynx, which is why Americans so often tend to stumble over their words. They frequently interrupt their speech with interjections such as "um", "ah", and other irritating hesitations. This is not because they don't know what to say next. It's because they are giving their vocal cords a momentary chance to recover.
via acm.org

What interview questions did D.E. Shaw ask Larry Summers?

Ten people are bidding on a stock at 90, while 100 people are offering to sell it at 91. What price is the next trade?

Interviewees often say that since there are more sellers than buyers, the sellers get to determine the price. That logic usually yields an answer between 90 and 91. That's exactly wrong. "They're not thinking about what's going on in the real world," says Rubczyk. In reality, when there are more sellers than buyers, the price falls. So the next sale would probably be in the mid- to low 80s.