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Richard Thaler shares a poignant memory of his mentor, Amos Tversky, who, while facing terminal cancer, emphasized the value of storytelling in learning. Thaler uses this lesson in his classes, arguing that stories help people understand complex concepts.

Richard Thaler explains the 'winner's curse' using a classroom auction of a jar of coins. The highest bidder often overpays, illustrating how competitive bidding can lead to irrational decisions. This concept was first identified by engineers at ARCO when bidding for oil leases.

Nick Kokonas shares an experiment on loss aversion in restaurants. By requiring a $5 deposit for reservations, the no-show rate dropped from 14% to under 3%. Despite criticism from economists suggesting auctions instead, Kokonas found this method effective in practice, demonstrating the power of behavioral insights.

Richard Thaler highlights the concept of 'mental accounting,' where people irrationally categorize money, affecting their financial decisions. This concept is widely applicable and often leads to irrational spending behaviors.

Nick Kokonas discusses the concept of mental accounting, where people irrationally treat money differently based on its source or intended use. For example, people often feel compelled to use a $30 dessert they paid for, even if they're full, because of the sunk cost fallacy.

Richard Thaler discusses the resistance he faced in academia when introducing behavioral economics. He recalls a time when he presented his theories on saving behavior to a psychology department, and the audience laughed because they found the traditional economic models unrealistic. Thaler points out that economists believed people behaved like expert billiards players, acting as if they knew physics, which he found absurd.

Richard Thaler shares a story about how people are more likely to attend an event if they've paid for it, even if circumstances change. He notes that people will go to great lengths to honor a financial commitment, illustrating the power of sunk costs.

Richard Thaler and Danny Kahneman explored fairness in economics by asking if it's fair for a hardware store to raise snow shovel prices after a blizzard. Most people said no, except business school students, who believed it was justified based on microeconomic principles.

Richard Thaler explains that the 'Winner's Curse' is a concept where people often overbid in auctions, leading to overpayment. He shares a story about an editor who avoided bidding on a book because he understood this concept, illustrating its practical application.