Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Temperature Disutility

My buddy Hakan recently posted on Facebook:
Hakan Tarakci 's "Temperature Disutility Function" can be given by y(T) = (T-23)^2 + 8*max(0,T-28)^3. Here, T is the temperature in degrees Celcius. To convert to Fahrenheit, use 73 instead of 23 in the first term and 82 instead of 28 in the second term. Obviously, the lower the disutilization value, the happier I am which implies t...hat 23 degrees Celcius is my ideal temperature. I also prefer 0 degrees to 32 degrees.
This is one of the most, if not the most, illustration of the concept of utility I've ever seen, so I asked Hakan to email me a graph of his temperature disutility function, which he gladly did:

Now, that is what I call Economics for the Everyday Man. And Hakan should be awarded an honorary Econ. PhD although I am not sure if he'd want one...

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