NYTimes Freakonomics article/blog post about an interesting study that used prediction markets (futures markets) at Google to measure information flow at Google based on similarity of trading decisions (similar trading implies shared information). Sent by Leanna Gingras to an SI mailing list.
Quote from the article:
I don’t know about your firm, but we academics are too self-important to ever sit in cubicles. Our research suggests that this may be unfortunate, and perhaps many of the best ideas in economics never occur, because the idea is waiting for us at a water cooler conversation at which we never arrive. I would love to see my colleagues brainstorm more often and more freely.
There is criticism of the study in the comments, as well as further ideas.