Led by Queen’s University Psychology professor Meredith Chiversk (sic), the study found that men’s reports of feeling sexually aroused tend to match their physiological responses, while women’s mind and body responses are less aligned. [link]

It’s actually Meredith Chivers – who is a bit of a celebrity, having appeared on Charlie Rose and other media outlets.

In any event, a blogger – Amit Varma – asked (as a follow up to the article above):

I wonder what academics do on vacation. [link]

The answer? Have sex, of course. But for research purposes only.

WHICH economy has enjoyed the best economic performance over the past five years: America’s or Japan’s? Most people will pick America. The popular perception is that America’s vibrant economy was sprinting ahead (albeit fuelled by credit and housing bubbles that have now painfully burst), whereas Japan crawled along at a snail’s pace. And it is true that America’s average annual real GDP growth of 2.9% was much faster than Japan’s 2.1%. However, the single best gauge of economic performance is not growth in GDP, but GDP per person, which is a rough guide to average living standards. It tells a completely different story. [link]

A decreasing birth rate, an increasing GDP per capita – it should all sound familiar to us. Assignment #5 had a problem about decreasing birth rates and the demographic transition.

Turns out that India’s growth is not that great when you look at it from a GDP per capita perspective:

Indians love to boast that their economy’s growth rate has almost caught up with China’s, but its population is also expanding much faster. Over the past five years, the 10.2% average increase in China’s income per head dwarfed India’s 6.8% gain.

GDP per capita is, I think, the more important measure. Average income provides us with more insight than total income, especially in places where there are vast disparities in income. Can you think of another, more accurate measure of wealth? Something other than the average?

“People are increasingly exposed to the idea of surrogacy in India; Oprah Winfrey talked about it on her show,” said Dr. Kaushal Kadam at the Rotunda clinic in Mumbai. Just an hour earlier she had created an embryo for Mr. Gher and his partner [an Israeli couple] with sperm from one of them (they would not say which) and an egg removed from a donor just minutes before in another part of the clinic. [link]

This is a free-market solution to a problem caused by excessive regulations in the Western markets. And it would certainly make Malthus proud. Don’t get me wrong, I heartily support it – any flow of capital to my home-country is (in most cases) a good thing.

Now, if only we could let free markets solve the problem of poverty, starvation, and gross overpopulation… Any modest proposals out there?

Clearly, Indian wealth has a different flavor than American wealth. All four of the Indian billionaires inherited substantial fortunes, suggesting that in India, wealth is still determined more by your parents than by your career or your ideas. While that’s changing, the number of large fortunes made by purely self-made entrepreneurs still lags far behind the U.S. And many of the biggest fortunes in India come from old-fashioned industries such as oil, steel and real estate.

Yet over time, I wouldn’t be surprised if an Indian — or a Russian or a Mexican — takes over Warren Buffett’s spot atop the list. [link]

Optimistic, but still a long way to go.

At the unveiling, Mr Tata said that the top-end variant on display could find its way to Europe one day, though there’s nothing planned for now. “The Nano will address global markets in due course but when it will do so has not been decided.”

And when it does, the Euro Nano will be a different animal even though design wise it would remain the same. “We will upgrade the car when we do decide to sell it in Europe or elsewhere—not the design but it will meet all the regulatory and legislative requirements,” Mr Tata said. “The car for Europe and other developed markets will be an evolution of the current model. But that will happen only after we establish the product in India.” [link]

The Nano is probably the only Indian innovation to get mainstream press coverage in the West since the invention of zero. And indeed, it’s quite an invention. But people – know when to draw the line.