Are we wired to make money? Or to lose it? “Nova” (8 p.m., PBS) examines the role of psychology and emotions in financial markets and the making of bubbles and other market disasters.
Along the way, “Nova” looks at the innate desire of people to “win” something, anything, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. To demonstrate this point, the filmmakers hold an auction where a $20 bill eventually sells for $28. This is a classic experiment in behavioral economics. “It’s designed to be a trap,” says Richard Thaler, professor of Behavioral Economics at the University of Chicago. “The emotional desire to win drives the bidding and leads to a situation in which two people are trying to lose the least.”
“Nova” examines how such impulses are repeated millions of times a day across marketplaces, with profound effects on us all.