In 2005, the US National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets were looking for a talented player to add to their roster. The usual scouting reports and analyses delivered a list of names. Some of them were unavailable or too expensive, and others did not seem like the right fit for the team. Then, using advanced analytics capabilities, the(..)
On a cold, misty morning in 2007, a man started playing the violin at Washington DC Metro Station. It had been three minutes, when a middle-aged man noticed the violinist. He slowed his pace, stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule. Four minutes later, the violinist received his first dollar—a woman threw the money in the hat and,(..)
A young boy was learning to fly a kite. A parrot got entangled in the unsteady string of the kite and fell to the ground. The boy watched in distress as the injured bird lay an egg before taking her last breath. Heartbroken, he made a little nest on the branch of a tree and nurtured the egg. The egg hatched and out emerged the most beautiful bird he had(..)
It is the month of August, on the shores of the Black Sea. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. These are tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town. He enters the only hotel, lays a 100 Euro note on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in(..)
