Yet when he retired, he himself, like most people, used a simpler heuristic that generally works better: He divided his retirement funds equally among a number of fund managers.

WSJ: Matt Ridley on Gut Feelings and the Writings of Gerd Gigerenzer | Mind & Matter

All that is known right now, he wrote, is that Tarceva works better than a sugar pill given with supportive care--meaning patients don't get other cancer drugs they otherwise might receive, such as Taxotere from Aventis (nyse: AVE - news - people ) and Iressa, a similar pill from AstraZeneca (nyse: AZN - news - people ).

FORBES: New Risks For Genentech Drug

"Hopefully, I can just use my force for even better good, and I hope that it works, " he says.

CNN: Mini Darth Vader uses force for good

But sentences should reflect a better understanding of what works to reduce the "serious matter" of re-offending, he added, saying re-offenders "are likely to commit more serious crime".

BBC: Prison reform plans welcomed by Lib Dem peer

If people, especially children, cooked more - so they were more connected to their food and how it works - they would also care more about food, and be better equipped to waste less, he says.

BBC: Should you smell food before throwing it away?

Friend says that he is cognizant of the fact that he's trailing Pfizer, and that he is investing in IGF-1 only because he thinks Merck can develop a market for the drug by having a better scientific understanding of how the drug works--and testing it in populations, and as part of drug combinations, where it will be most effective.

FORBES: Cancer Revolution, Or Me-Too Mess?

He gives the example of a simulation that lets someone who works in marketing make financial decisions so that they develop a better understand budgeting issues.

CNN: Tackling business problems with online games

"It is dubious whether it will ever be economically viable even if nuclear fusion works commercially or if helium-3 is a better option than other elements available on earth, " he told CNN.

CNN: Mining the moon for a nuclear future