Lesson 2.3

Dear Reader,

Another corollary of Lesson 1.1 is that, because humans are fallible, they will never predict all the consequences of their actions. As such, there will always be unintended consequences. Always. (Lesson 2.3).

One of my favourite blogs that looks at (among other things) the impact of unintended consequences, Freakonomics, has a multitude of examples of these, from how legalising abortion seems to have contributed to reducing the crime rate, to how the name given to a baby is a better predictor than you might think of its future success. And the best part is, they've backed it up with empirical data analysis.

They have an interesting example of the potential impact that technology will have on real estate values.

xx - S