When my students grow too dependent on their calculators, I ask them to find a number that, when multiplied by itself, gives them 2. Students quickly see that since 1² = 1 and 2² = 4, the answer has ...

Making good decisions is not easy, and making the best possible (“optimal”) decisions is even harder. Instead, humans often use shortcuts and rules of thumb. From firm managers and policymakers to ...

In a previous post, we considered three of seven "irrational" habits of highly rational people. Here we consider the remaining four, as well as some suggestions for distinguishing the genuinely ...

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and ...

Why do irrational numbers exist? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Alon Amit, PhD ...

Most people rarely deal with irrational numbers—it would be, well, irrational, as they run on forever, and representing them accurately requires an infinite amount of space. But irrational constants ...